Today was another terrific one to one session with Martin Simpson. I have been seeing Martin for a few years now and enjoying our sonic explorations of all manner of instruments, bith electric and acoustic. I am especially interested in his process of writing songs and of course is is well known as one of the greatest musicians on planet Earth. Today I took over the Shimo Comet 3 and the new 5 string baritone made by Rob Collins, both of which he really liked.
I was also lucky enough to get a preview of what will be his next album which is a trio and sounds fantastic. Martin has of course won numerous BBC folk awards and continues to create quite astonishing music. Its fair to say that without his influence I would never have initiated The Small Change Diaries or entertained stretching my interests beyond playing guitar. Martin has taught me huge amounts about exploring beyind conventional tunings and opening my ears up to all manner of new sonic possibilities.