By my early 20s I was looking for something a bit different, and eventually left Saturnines and became one half of Monk and Canatella with Simon Russell - a crazy crossover act consisting of breakbeats, samples, detuned guitars, shouting/rapping and vocals.
We were signed to Bristol label Cup Of Tea Records. We released an album Care In The Community, a few EPs and caused a stir touring with an unpredictable adrenaline-fuelled live show before signing to the legendary Telstar Records. A couple of years and one album (Do Community Service) later it came to an end. We continued to work on a few ideas in the mid-2000s culminating in a final performance at Itchycoo festival near Shepton Mallet in 2009.
In 2010, I put a band together with Bassist/Producer Martin Dupras and former Saturnine Chris Thomas and recorded and self-released my first solo album Voyage Of Oblivion (2012).
Featuring guest musicians Owain Coleman (Bare Knuckle Parade) & Emily Barker (Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo), it captured the mood of a Blues/Rock band recorded live.. We promoted the album with a series of gigs around the south of the UK through 2012.
In 2013 I started working on my second solo album After All The Wishing…. I wanted to spend more time on the production on this one and go for a different feel and bring in some of the New Wave influences which I used to hear a lot of on the radio as a kid, combined with the blues & rock sound of the previous album. The line-up changed slightly and I was fortunate enough to have James Eller (The The, Julian Cope) guest on the bass. I had randomly met James in a Bristol street twenty years previous and we were going to work on a project together but it hadn't come to fruition. Chris Thomas returned on drums/percussion and this time I mixed the album with the help of Swindon-based Producer Stu Rowe (Future Sound Of London, Andy Partridge, XTC).
The album featured an amazing array of guest musicians, including Craig Crofton (Monk & Canatella), Annie Gardiner (The Hysterical Injury), Mark Stewart (The Pop Group), Dom Flook (Saturnines), and the dark narration of writer & storyteller Damien Moran. It was released in March 2015 on Rattlewatch Records.
On the 25th May 2018 I self-released my third solo album Three-Dimensional Living, it was recorded between 2015 and 2018.. I had set myself the arduous challenge of doing everything on the album myself, right down to the mixing, mastering and artwork.
The album was accompanied by three music videos for the tracks Gamblers, Anaesthetic Apathetic and Andrew’s Suicide which were directed by Alan Cartwright once again. I performed a handful of gigs to promote the album.
I'm currently playing guitar with Dominions of Glue, Brutal Wounds and the improv duo Searle & Johnston.
Jim x