Mark Chadwick releases his second solo album, ‘Moment’ on June 16th. Recorded and mixed in seven days at Metway Studio in Brighton and featuring Alex and Tom from Electric Soft Parade on drums and piano, Ben Paley on violin and Graeme Ross on double bass the album captures the ten tracks live as played.

Mark’s motivation for the album was to make something ‘quick, immediate and beautiful’. Taking songs that had been written on acoustic guitar at his kitchen table, he played them once through to the band and, following one practice run through, each song was laid down on its third take. The result captures the immediacy of the approach, giving the album a freshness that harks back to both the early rock n roll recording of the late 50’s and 60’s and the folk canon of simple songs well played. A primary influence for Mark in both the approach and the album was Van Morrison, specifically ‘T B Sheets’, which was written and recorded in a similarly straightforward manner.

For Mark, the album is ‘an honest look at drink, life and love’ and particularly his relationship with the former and its effects on the latter two. Don’t go expecting a ‘rehab’ record however, for Mark that process is ‘one-size fits all and I did not fit the size’ , trusting instead to confront that addiction and its cure through his music, ‘in a sensible and a, hopefully, insightful way’. As a songwriter and recording artist for over 25 years the ten tracks also see Mark taking stock of his journey to date and, to a degree, looking forward to the next chapter.

Throughout its ten tracks, ‘Moment’ is a reminder that the simple song can be the most effecting, the likes of the chorus of the album’s title track swelling to a crescendo that is as emotionally intense as it is straightforward. Mark’s trust in his musicians and the honesty of the lyrics combines to create an album that crosses styles from folk to rock without ever losing its fleetness of foot, each performer playing intuitively without outside direction.