Frequent Traveller
6th June 2011 sees the release of ‘Frequent Traveller’ - a longplayer made in truly unique circumstances and the first of its kind. A concept album in its purest form, this cinematic trip was written and recorded on the train journey from Victoria to East Grinstead and back over the course of a year. The nature of the album’s making came about as the two hour daily commute to and from work was the only spare opportunity he had. The rest of his time is spent with his family, or at his day job.
Armed with a laptop, small keyboard and a good pair of headphones, The Frequent Traveller transformed the train into his recording studio, fusing soundtrack-esque electronica with traditional organic instruments, poetry and sound design.
The pre-commute ‘Victoria’ begins with a sombre soundscape before the pace and intensity picks up as the journey does. The rhythmic drive of the train is reflected in the pace of the pieces, which from ‘Clapham Junction’ to ‘Sanderstead’ pound aggressively in a variety of electronic styles, before settling into a detailed and pristine set of tracks that paint vivid pictures of the atmosphere within the train and the visual worlds whizzing by outside, from ‘Riddlestown’ to ‘East Grinstead’. The intensity of the day resolves itself over the duration of the journey both physically and sonically, calming into lush sounds as the city is left behind.
The emotional sentiment of the album is that which every commuter faces at the end of each day - knackered and having to face the arduous journey of their homebound commute, desperate to reach their comfort-zone.
His inspiration for the music was the changing landscape he was travelling through, from the industrial decay of south London to the stunning countryside of west Sussex”. “Over one year he wrote twelve tracks, one for each stop on the line, evolving from harder industrial electronica, to blissful ambience as the album progressed and the journey neared its end. He created transitions between tracks/stops, using the carriage ambience and announcements from the journey and added poetry related to his experiences, plus the characters he encountered along the way.” Frequent Traveller is composed to fit in real-time with the 18.23 journey from Victoria.