Chris Cox

Ever since hearing the distant strain of the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry, Baby" from a tinny transistor radio somewhere floating over a sultry summer evening while on holiday in France as a kid I have been captivated by the emotional power of the perfect 3 minute song. I guess I've been trying to recreate that sensation, on and off ever since.In my musical life (also have other lives) I am a songwriter, guitarist and double bass player living in Oxford, UK. I write and record at home using Mac / Pro-tools - experimenting with arrangements and vocals and what instrumentation is within my scope (including Mandolin and very elementary keyboards), but have also written songs for other singers in various bands I have played with. What most inspires are good songs with melody, structure and decent lyrics in whatever genre - so long as it presses that button, I really don't care. Along the way I learned to play double bass - turns out to have been a useful meal ticket to get to play with loads of different musicians and different styles. Currently I play Jazz Double Bass with local (to Oxford) trios and quartets, and at the moment I'm recording and gigging with The Burglars (an acoustic swing / blues band from Cambridge - check out their MySpace site).Although mostly doing both words and music, collaborating with other lyricists is also great as they can often stimulate musical ideas that I wouldn't have normally gone into. John Dyer's lyrics for Liberation Day is a good example. I like to work with other acoustic musicians especially to swop Protools recording tips / techniques - that whole home recording thing - wish that had been available when I started! The tracks on this site have all been recorded at the kitchen table that way- the eagle eared will probably hear occasional passing traffic and the washing machine in the background - but who cares. By the way, thanks to Robb for adding the harp, all done with mp3 files sent by e-mail and stitched in later. Worked a treat!I have a couple of solo collections of songs - one, 'Jiving in Confined Spaces' was finished in 2003, another, titled 'Even the Willows are Weeping' was completed in Dec 2007 and has been released on the web (I-tunes, Amazon) by Digimix Records). But both available in hard copy on request subject to usual fiscal negotiations! 'Willows' is sounding great though I say so myself!