In My Veins

The first single from Freyja Elsy’s upcoming EP ‘To Stop The World Turning’ is out today. Have a listen to ‘In My Veins’ while you ready my memories of collaborating on it.

I first worked on this song with Freyja preparing a live version for her first headline show back in April 2025. The chiming guitar riff came from a keyboard idea Freyja had written years before. Some electric pianos let you record and store ideas on them. Freyja rediscovered this motif and brought it to the song as a guitar part.

Later that year we headed to StudiOwz in West Wales to record the track along with the rest of the EP. You can read about the sessions from Freyja’s POV at her website

Going into the session I knew we would the main guitar part with a bright, chiming, chorus tone. It offers a counterpoint to the tension in the sparse piano and double-bass and fills the gaps of reflection when the vocal drops out. The great thing about being in the studio is people end up in ideas mode. Owain Jenkins (engineer and owner of StudOwz) suggested doubling the guitar part with a random guitar he had lying about. He had restrung it so of the strings covering 2 ascending octaves they all sat in a range of 1 octave. It made the notes and resonant frequencies cluster together and a added a lovely, vibrant harpsicord-esque shimmer which sits in the left headphone.

After that we added some driving acoustic guitar to reinforce the folk side of the folktronica aim. Freyja took the lead in guiding me about when the make the rhythm busier and when to just let the chords ring, creating contrast in the different verses and choruses. As an arranger this is one of my favourite, simple tricks in songs. Variation instead of straightforward repetition can add tension and release and also help reinforce the shift in lyrical mood as the song develops.

The lyrics evoke the way in which snatches of memory move in and out of focus as we age, grow and reflect on our lives; a fluid, dynamic arrangement made perfect sense. Freyja’s mix did an excellent job of drawing the ear to the shifting elements. In the ‘are you reaching out’ section my mind goes between the vocal, the guitar motif and the swirling snatches of glitchy voices that sound like flashbacks to a dream that catch you as you’re waking up.

I hope you enjoy listening to the song and stay tuned for the next release from the EP.

album one - june update

The songs have been finished, lyrics finalised, demos made. Now I’m in the midst of recording the final parts, reviewing the takes and getting ready for mixing.

Some of the songs started life back in 2019 when I was completing my Master’s in Songwriting and Production at the University of South Wales. We were given endless prompts, tasks and challenges and every time I picked up an instrument, sat down with a notepad or just found myself with a moment alone and idea would pop into my head.

As I finalise the songs I’ll go into more detail about the process and the meaning.

For now, I want to thank Andrew Sanders at King’s Road Studios for his help with the core sessions. He very much took the lead in capturing excellent takes by Lucas Eldridge which helped the songs feel so much more alive and vibrant. Sanders also added plenty of tambourine, shaker and cabasa. As a drummer it takes him a lot less time than me to lock into a tempo and find the right rhythm to compliment a drum part.

We also re-amped the bass and keyboard parts. This gave them so much more character, as they had been initially recorded at home straight into my computer or using plugins. Sending the signals back out into amps then recording them with a mic responding in real time to air being moved, then sending those signals back in through rack compressors and EQs, it added the colour and tone that was missing from the demos.

The vocals have been tracked in two ways. Sessions at USW with Finn (of Small Miracles) were great for the parts where I needed to open up and sing loud. Finn is a great coach for this as a big, bold, performative singer. Having them gesturing and responding from the control room really helped me instil a live energy to the big choruses on the album. Some of the mic choices also brought out the necessary breathiness in chilly songs like Cold Air.

However, I found it more effective to track the most emotional and personal lyrics at home. I could take and re-take a line repeatedly without worrying about using another person’s time and energy, getting the phrasing just how I needed it to be.

There are two songs left to track, which we plan to capture as live takes. I’ll play guitar and sing simultaneously, capture a few options and pick the one that feels best.

Beyond that, some ear candy has been commissioned from Freyja Elsy and Jim Webster will be adding banjo to the opener then, I think I’ll be ready to mix.