I wrote "Home" about 15 years ago. It was one of those songs I wrote over time, coming back to it again and again, refining lyrics, changing the structure. Unfortunately not one of those songs that just writes itself in 20mins at 3am (I love it when that happens!) I also wrote the guitar first, which is not my usual writing process - lyrics, then melody, then guitar, about 97% of the time. I was, however, writing with a pretty specific purpose.

I lived in London for a while in my 20s and during that time I had a Canadian housemate named Jordan. I also had 8-10 other housemates (mostly Aussies) at any given time, an introverts nightmare let me tell you but there were fun times and I survived! Some time after we all left London, Jordan decided he wanted to make a documentary. In short, it was to be based on travel from London to Sydney in one of those old school double decker buses and reflect the obsession Aussies seemed to have with living in London. When he conceived the idea, I played him "London Still" by The Waifs and told him he should use it in the film, if he makes it. He loved it (how can one not?!) but said it didn't quite capture the vibe of our London "family". There were some comments about the Aussie flag my mates had hanging in the window, and the time I stuck a note on the fridge to remind everyone that even though we drove each other crazy at times, we should appreciate each other and this experience, cause these would be the good old days we'd look back on in years to come. So, with all that in mind, I decided I would write Jordan a song for his future documentary, and born was "Home".

Living on different continents I'd only occasionally talk to Jordan, swapping essential "what's happening in your life?" stories, and each time I'd ask how the documentary was coming along. Over time there were delays with the film and life got busy and we talked less and less. I stopped asking about the film, though always hoped it would one day come to fruition. 

Fast forward to July 23rd and I get a message from Jordan with a "too long between catch ups" check in AND a quick note to let me know the film is close to completion. Yay! With limited time but a serious need to reignite my own creativity, I decided to organise to record a fully produced version of Home (many of you will have heard the live-in-studio acoustic version from 2013). And, so, here we are! Given how far towards completion the film was, I wasn't sure it would feature, but decided that either way, it was nice to be reminded how much I enjoy the process of recording and collaboration (see notes of thanks below) and to finally have something new to share with you all. I hope you'll enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it. 

WITH GRATITUDE

Thanks to Jordan for lighting a creative fire under my proverbial and inspiring the action to get this song recorded and ready for the world!

Thanks to producer-extraordinaire, talented multi-instrumentalist, friend, and all-round legend Tim Wild, for working with me (on a deadline!) to help make this track what it is. Listeners, you'll hear some pretty amazing backing vocals and awesome additional instruments, that's all Tim - except the drums...

Thanks to Carolyn Oates for creating just the right drums and helping bring the song to life. 

Thanks to David Carr at Rangemaster, for tracking the drums and mixing and mastering the track. 

Thanks to YOU if you've cared enough to read all this waffle! There are many other things you could have done with the last 5mins, and I truly appreciate your time. Can't wait to share the track with you :)