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a bit of songwriting background...
"I've always written songs. Usually when I should be doing something else. Like
accounts...or housework". The first original song Jennifer recorded was "The
Fair Maiden" with her celtic rock/pop band Madigan back in 1997 which, according
to John O'Regan of Folk Roots, "marked her out as a vocalist of sublime power...
gently luring the listener into a web of disarming surrender."
The reviews were good, and a few more of her songs found there way into her subsequent duo with fiddler Henry Sears, receiving such plaudits as "A virtual masterclass in modern songwriting on a traditional theme..." (Tradition Magazine) and “.. songs which expand the frontiers of the English ballad...." Alex Monaghan (Living Tradition)
But traditional folk was not the only style she wrote in - as shown in performances
with alt. country/acoustic rock band The Rainkings and her own Champagne For
Breakfast Band.
The Champagne For Breakfast Band came out of a recording of some of Jennifer's
songs made in 2004 that featured good friends like Leon Hunt (banjo), Miranda
Sykes (double bass/vocals), and Henry Sears (fiddle/whistle/ mandolin/vocals)
with Al Thomas on electric and slide guitars and Eddie John on drums.
"The recording was never meant to be much more than a demo, but the musicians
were so good I decided to try and turn it into an album. Unfortunately it was
compromised by a number of factors from the start. Despite remixing and re-recording
some of the tracks the following year (in same studio as KT Tunstall and with
a producer boasting some pretty impressive credentials) I still wasn't totally
happy with the finished result although it had been a lot of fun to do."
Only a couple of hundred copies were pressed before Jennifer withdrew the CD
and went back to the drawing board. "It was very disheartening at the
time but I learnt an awful lot from that project. How important it is to work
with the right people, plan well ahead, and keep hold of your original vision."
Jennifer's own songs went on to make up a large proportion of the duo set with
Miranda Sykes. "Miranda
and I decided that we would move away from traditional material in the duo and
perform whatever songs we liked" Miranda had been a fan of Jen's songwriting
for some time ( 'Killing Time' was given the jazz treatment on The
Miranda Sykes Band album of 2005).
"Whilst touring with Miranda I was getting
such a good response from our audiences that I knew it was
time to make a proper album. I'd done a lot of arranging and composing in previous
bands so I wasn't that willing to just hand over my songs to someone else to
produce as they saw fit, but I was keen to work with someone who understood the
acoustic world I knew so well ".
Jennifer and producer Josh Clark first discussed
the possibility of working together in early 2006. They shared similar musical
interests and influences, and so began the process of recording 'A Few Small
Things'.
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making "A Few Small Things"
"It was difficult to find the time I wanted to devote to the album, so when I started making "A Few Small Things" I gave up a lot of my regular performance work and got myself a job in a bookshop two days a week. I had to leave after the boss caught me writing in my notebook instead of stacking shelves!" Jennifer then worked as an SA on BBC 1's "Lark Rise to Candelford" to earn some extra cash in between recording and editing sessions. "Great experience, but I'm not good with those early mornings...!"
"Choosing the songs for the album was not easy. I've always been pretty eclectic in my writing styles but I felt that there was a danger of making a rather disjointed album. In some ways I've gone full circle - back to something quite English after soaking up a mix of celtic, american roots, rock and world music.
In the end I went for an intimate collection of songs that had a reflective mood on the whole, and arranged them as simply as possible. We decided not to include any gratuitous solos or long instrumental passages." (There's only one proper solo on the album, performed by Clive Gregson)
"I wanted to strip everything back and do something quite understated. The starting point of each recording was always my singing with the guitar, and the arrangement grew out of that. There are no click tracks or synthesised sounds of any sort. I wanted space, natural dynamics, and most importantly for the lyrics and the emotion of each song to shine through."
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