>continued

After a few weeks of just listening in awe to this incredible array of material I had a few days in the September where I brainstormed a load of lyrical impressions into a notebook and began to try to find ways to fit vocal melodies in. It soon became clear that there were more than 'a couple' of possible full on songs here, Alessandro had done tracks that were more like a backing for vocals. We agreed that 'Unfolk 2' had the potential to be a full on concept album with several more songs and Alessandro asked me to actually sing on them too.

In all this we were all holding down full time jobs and dealing with all kinds of external events and health problems - you might just make one healthy middle-aged male out of Alessandro and I.

At my end after my burst of creativity in September 2008 my progress was slow, several of the lyrics just weren't happening and nor was my head or my body. Christmas 2008 was a real low point for me, a lot of heartbreak, missing loved ones and feeling totally overwhelmed by events I had little or no control over  - and by Boxing Day I was doubled up in physical pain and was also full of a truly nasty cold virus.

It'd be kind of cool to say I had a serious life threatening illness but it was in fact a rather mundane case of kidney stones.

Odd as it may seem I am kind of grateful I took ill then. Much of January 2009 I was laid out on the sofa feeling dire but in those long contemplative hours I listened to lots of Alessandro's tracks - and Jethro Tull - and had a second massive burst of lyric writing for 'Unfolk 2'.