Tunesmiths

'A Ladies Lyric' as John Shuttleworth would say - a tale of Whitley Bay in the 60s

Farewell. by Tunesmiths

Whitley Bay in the 50s - Kevin James by Tunesmiths

composed by John Edwards. The glamourous pre-war Blue Train linked Paris and the French Riviera. Played by Roland "Smokey" Bacon, Mitzi Tumbledova, Atahualpa Robinet, Nicholson Dimes, Mariana Trench.

Trains of thought... - Chris Crick+Suno by Tunesmiths

Memories of a trip around the world including a rail trip up to Darjeeling - only the train times didn't suit our itinerary so we took a Range Rover full of about 20 people up a road that was falling away in sections. But the main events of the day in the town were the arrivals of the steam train, pictured at the station, here.

Steam Train Memories - Kevin James by Tunesmiths

My big moment was moving up to Newcastle 50 years ago, moving from being a primary school teacher in Scunthorpe to being an Advisory Teacher of Drama working in over thirty Newcastle primary schools - Very different, very exciting, very scary! The song tries to capture that mix of fear and excitement. Kevin

Of the Island - 04:09:25, 14.23 by Tunesmiths

In response to the composing task: 'Write about a memorable occasion'. I was in Havana in 2009 and found it entrancing. we stayed at Mulata Mary's Casa particulares with a roof terrace than looks out on to the main roundabout and the river fortifications: I recommend it and Mary's welcome.

We'll Be Back - Ed Wood by Tunesmiths

A reflection upon NE England's past and present values and self image.

The focus of this song is the Durham mining community with my grandad and grandma as the main inspiration. The tune is borrowed from a version of "The Water is Wide". The image is by Bill Brandt. He rose like stone / into the rain. His breath a ghost / his boots a chain. He broke his loaf without a word
 And passed it on—no fuss, no lord. She kept the fire / in ashes low,
 A kettle ticking,/ and slow to glow.
 She cleaned the wounds / no one could see,
 Then left the room / more quietly. The house is ash. / The pit is still.
 But something walks / against the chill—
 Not law, not pride, / not polished right,
 But hand to hand / in gutter light. So if you ask / what doesn’t die, 
It’s not the crown / or flag or lie.
 The world still turns / on what we give—
 On how we help / the hurt to live.

Celebrating shipbuilding on the River Tyne

In the soft heart of Mangshi, as the light of day melts into the warm breath of spring evening, the square comes alive. Here, in the centre of town, time seems to loosen its grip. Children, elders, teenagers, lovers — all drawn into the same gentle current — move as one, their steps a quiet language older than words. Music hums from unseen speakers, weaving through the air like incense, rising and falling with the beat of a shared memory. Laughter drifts like petals on the breeze. A little girl spins beside an old man whose hands have known decades of sun and soil; their movements mirror each other — imperfect, radiant, real. Around them, the dance unfolds in waves, not choreographed but instinctual, a collective heartbeat pulsing through the square. There is no spectacle here, only presence. No audience, because everyone is part of the story. The pavement holds their footsteps, the air holds their joy, and above it all, the first stars blink open — quiet witnesses to a town dancing itself whole.

A sad remembrance of my time in an orphans home 60 years ago

In the 1st Stockton Riverside Festival in August 1988, I was playing trombone with Pineapple Agogo Streetband. We boarded a fishing trawler decorated with a giant lantern Sun, and headed up the Tees river with the tide astern. The boat turned through 180 degrees and sailed on the spot against the tide. We waited on the spot with bated breath for the tide to turn. Around 10pm the moment came and we drifted past the audience on the quayside playing my tune 'Blaydon Spaces'. It was orgasmic. We played our hearts out for the few short minutes it took to drift along the length of the crowd. I remember it to this day.

Composer: John Edwards

Childhood Memories

A response to the Sycamore Gap Tree's fate.

A sketch using Logic Loopery

Bother on the Bergen Ferry - Chris Crick by Tunesmiths

Imagime a private detective series called 'Valiant P.I." This is the theme tune.

In the '90's I put together a project with fellow Tunesmith Chris Crick and Folkworks in Breckenbeds School, Gateshead. We told the tale of a valley of bracken and green invaded by the Victorian railway mainline from London to Edinburgh. The Brecken Man we made was a symbol of unspoilt landscape. Around teh same time I played at teh Hastings Jack in the green Festival and hear of their myth of Jack who was to be slain on May Day to 'release the summer'. This is a fusion of those memories.

A minor blues improv (attempting to play) in the style of Peter Green.

The song is about not getting complacent.'Nothing is Forever'.

Dark Matter - Chris Crick by Tunesmiths

Composer: John Edwards. Musicians: Al Dente, Sally Pimento, Atahualpa Robinet, Mariana Trench, Mitzi Tumbledova.

In the west of Ireland, Achill Island faces out to the thunderous Atlantic. The island diverts just enough of the waves to create a short stretch of relative calm between itself and mainland: Achill Sound.

Get Up! - Chris Crick by Tunesmiths

Composed by John Edwards. Mandolin: Nicholson Dimes. Guitar: Marianna Trench. Ukulele: Annette Curtin. Percussion: Carrie Oakey. Bass: Atahualpa Robinet. Mbira: Esau M Cumming.

Composed by John Edwards, performed on National Reso-Phonic Estralita Deluxe guitar.

Composed by John Edwards. Played by Nicholson Dimes, guitar; Aristide Trebuchet, guitar; Atahualpa Robinet, bass; Carrie Oakey, drums

Composer: John Edwards

5/4 time jazz piece, composed, arranged and directed by John Edwards. Musicians: Sally Pimenta, mandolin; Jude Despree, tenor ukulele; Nicholson Dimes, guitar; Al Dente, bass; Esau M Cumming, percussion.

Parson's Farewell was published in John Playford's The English Dancing Master, 1651, and previously as a Bourrée by the German composer, Michael Praetorius in his dance collection, Terpsichore, 1612. I have updated it to the swing era for mandolin and guitar.

Sandstorm - John Edwards by Tunesmiths

1 - Skaters, 2 – Flurry of Snow, 3 – Bells, 4 - Fandango. Composer, John Edwards. Arranged for acoustic guitar and tenor ukulele. During the "Little Ice Age" of the 17th-18th centuries, rivers such as the Thames could freeze over for long periods, creating space for new commercial and recreational activities.

Theme: machines. Composer and arranger: John Edwards. Musicians: Mbira - Esau M Cumming, Marianna Trench, Annette Curtin. Tenor ukulele - Stradella Schweingarten, Midas Welby Spring. Guitar - Nicholson Dimes.

Tarantella of the Waves.

Composer: John Edwards. Performed by Nicholson Dimes, mandolin, and Calixto Trebuchet, National Reso-Phonic guitar.

I composed this guitar rag in the tradition laid down by the piedmont ragtimey style country blues pickers, like Blind Blake, in the 1920s.

Composer: unknown, 17th century; variations composed by John Edwards. Performed by Dagmar Wasserhahn - tenor ukulele; Chauncey Talmadge Fawcet - mandolin: Lafcadio Torneira - guitar; Atahualpa Robinet - pandeiro (Brazilian hand drum); Consuela Grifo - castanets.

Starlight in the Canyon - John Edwards by Tunesmiths

Repetitive and soothing rhythmic composition, influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich. It features three tenor ukuleles and two palm-muted acoustic guitars. The title is borrowed from a song by Eartha Kitt.

Theme and improvisations on the Khamaj scale, which is identical to the European mixolydian. Kajri invokes the appearance of dark clouds of the monsoon giving relief from stifling heat. Played on a National Reso-Phonic RM-1 mandolin.

A new jig in an old tradition http://edwardsounds.com/

Composer: John Edwards. A tone poem in diminished scales for tenor ukulele, guitars and cats.

Caliban: Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices from The Tempest, William Shakespeare. Appalachian dulcimer, octave mandolin, National Reso-Phonic guitar, autoharp, finger cymbals.

The Cogneatos are: Nicholson Dimes - banjo; Gene Poole - guitar, Sally Pimento - mandolin, Al Dente - bass.