Yourgardenday
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| Yourgardenday photo by Jon Southcoasting
Yourgardenday is the work of Brighton musician Robin Coward. The name comes from a time when Robin lived above an antique shop in Meeting House Lane. There was a tarmac roof with a few broken tiles and plant pots and Robin decided to have a “garden day” sorting it out. He liked the way “your garden day” sounded; it seemed an apt way to describe life. Everyone has their own garden day.
Yourgardenday is the words and music of Robin Coward, a modern day wondering minstrel (that is wondering although he also wanders!). Robin has played session piano for Martin Rossiter, Bo Bruce and Passenger in the past!
On 23rd August 2013, yourgardenday
launched their third EP, flat stream, with a live,
largely unamplified show at St Andrews Church on the border of Brighton and Hove. This was followed by a tour of
the South of England, playing in unique and interesting venues off the standard
gig circuit – including a skittle alley, billiard hall and private family
homes. The venues were chosen for their individuality and their natural
acoustics, which meant that all shows were played with minimal amplification –
fitting nicely with the ethos of flat stream.
The idea of the EP and subsequent concerts was to reconnect with
simpler times and the heart of music – which, Robin says, much commercial pop
has lost – the heart of music being energy, frequency and vibration. Performing
the five-track EP required the audience to really listen, which at every show
they did.
“True, physical connection with music can be lost through the filters of sound systems and speakers,” explains Robin. “So many gig venues are similar boxes, the experience
heightened by lights and visuals – smoke and mirrors. I grew up with my family
playing acoustic music at home and in church, around the piano. I wanted this
project to reflect that musical honesty.”
With flat stream Robin has simulated a full band without using other people, other than drummer Peter
Rowley, whom Robin met at one of his open mic nights. The piano you can hear on the recording is his own trusted upright where the tunes were originally hammered out during the composition period.
flat stream is a journey through the different aspects of many kinds of love. The music is all about life's little quirks – an optimistic outpouring from a head that
was fuller of questions than answers. Acrobatic anthems with an orchestral aesthetic form the heart of this work; a confident collection of playful piano prog-pop.
The EP was
mixed by Fleet, whom Robin met while doing session piano work for The Voice
runner-up Bo Bruce. Mastering was by Adam Nunn of Abbey Road Studios, where
Robin visited with his dad to oversee the process. Art work was commissioned
from Brighton artist and friend Grace May Ballantyne, while the CDs were
designed and hand-stamped by Robin and his small team of gnomes.
flat
stream and the tour
that followed were crowd funded through Pledge Music and the campaign reached
its target in September 2013. Further tour dates are planned in the near future.
The band also embarked on an in-house marketing campaign, successfully
attracting attention from BBC 6Music DJs and considerably increasing its fan
base. The lead
track, Something in the Music, received its first radio play on BBC
Introducing in the South with Phil Jackson.
Ten questions with Yourgardenday
1 – How did this all start for you?
I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember – I sang
and played piano from a very young age. Yourgardenday is the name I gave my
music a good few years ago. I don’t want to just be known as Robin Coward as
there are always going to be other people playing their parts. As I grew up, I made lots of music with my
family, and also in community and church groups – music is the finest,
elevating shared experience I’ve found.
Yourgardenday is the way I describe life, and maybe life itself comes
from music. But that’s a whole other
mysterious topic . . .
2 – You’ve had a tendency to play unique / interesting
venues, what made you choose these over more mainstream venues?
I’ve done a lot of gigs over the years, from those
initial community type settings, to bigger gig venues, pubs and clubs. And I think I get more out of the former, and
therefore the audience gets more out of me. The harkening back to times when musical
entertainment was a gathering around the old Joanna. In gig venues it can be us
and them, but in someone’s lounge or an old billiard room, on the same level
ground with minimal amplification . . . it’s a special experience and each gig
is very different and personal. The room also becomes another character in the
stories.
3 – Your 3rd EP ‘Flat Stream’ was crowdfunded through pledge music, what made you choose this route for its creation and how surprised were you with the response?
I thought it was ideal as at this stage, I’m happy being
independent - I haven’t yet tried to get record company support . . . I’m a
little shy . . . So I was already
investing some of my own money in recording and with the help of the friends
and fans I’ve met at my music nights and gigs, the CD was able to become a wonderful,
hand-made, home-grown reality . . . and
I think the uniqueness of the supporting shows made people feel they were
really part of it, making it happen – you can’t have music without the
listener, and the crowdfunding route makes that very tangible.
4 – There are many acts who use the big stage production
for their live shows where you opt for less hype and make it more natural and
focused on the music, have you found this a help or a hindrance at times?
It has been a real help.
I sometimes feel a disconnection with music that’s (to my funny ears) over
amplified. When you’re gigging and your voice gets lost – sometimes you can’t
even feel that you’re singing. So the
more natural and quieter settings where you can hear your voice in the room are
wonderful. Music events have been built
up into this spectacular assault on the senses. I like to have
mini-spectaculars with yourgardenday.
5 – You’ve had many previous experiences of playing
session piano for acts such as Martin Rossiter, Bo Bruce and Passenger, how
exciting have these opportunities been and have you found it helpful in
creating your own music?
I’ve had some brilliant times because of the session
work. I went to America a few times with
Passenger and it’s good to see Mike doing so well now. He’s worked really hard. Touring with Martin has been great, and quite
challenging as often I was the only one playing an instrument. Any wrong notes
would be me, and I’d have to put my hand up to them, and then I’d miss more
notes . . . lovely locations too. And playing for Bo Bruce was fun yet short
lived, though I met some good people, including Fleet who produced the Yourgardenday
EP. But directly, I don’t feel it’s
helped or hindered my own music – though it’s probably made me a better and
more varied musician, so maybe I just lied . . .
6 – Having played Glastonbury three times, can you sum up
your experiences of such a massively historical music festival in words?
It’s wonderful. Even though it’s always been small
venues, being part of that history, and staying to experience the festival as
well as playing is amazing. It’s not
just the music though – it feels like a temporary town . . . wondering, getting lost, getting muddy in the
wet or dusty in the sun is all part of it.
It’s also a magical part of Albion . . .
7 – You have such a real sound and lovely observational
lyrical content to your songs, are the majority of your songs drawn from real
experience, very good storytelling, or a blend of both?
I think it’s all real experience, but saying that as a
songwriter makes you quite vulnerable – you allow people to attempt to work you
out. Any heartfelt artistic endeavour
will contain parts of its creator; there’s a self-help element in the need to
create and express something beautiful in a broken world. But if they appear to
be nicely told stories, then I’m flattered and blessed that people connect with
both the music and lyrics – I find words a lot harder than tunes . . . and I
guess I use the real acoustic-ish sound to convey what are very real feelings
to me. There are songs about/for others
too, but they’re all from my world.
8 – If you could perform with any other act, living or
dead, who would it be and why?
I think it would have to be Annie Lennox. I think through all her characters her voice
is always really real. My vocal
arrangements are hugely inspired by her, and my love of singing like a girl
probably grew alongside my love of her. Maybe she’d drape herself over me like
she did with David Bowie at the Freddie Mercury tribute. Oh, and now I’m
thinking I should have chosen David . . . or Freddie . . . too many! Oooh, Elliott Smith . . . can I have a hybrid
act?
9 – What would be a necessity for you on your dream tour
bus?
A driver. I’m so used to driving when doing gigs. The
simple things satisfy. Maybe I should be
more ambitious . . . that said, looking out the window of a tour bus is
probably nicer than playing on a PlayStation or being distracted in other
ways. Nature passing you by . . . so a
driver would be handy so I can observe without any crashes.
10 – With your latest EP ‘Flat stream’ available now,
what’s next for Your Garden Day?
I think when you’re making music independently it feels
like the release of a CD keeps on going – each time you get someone to hear it,
it’s a new release to them. A lot of
time and effort went into making it; I’m very proud of it though it does
contain my blood, sweat, tears and spittle.
We were told by a blog that they wouldn’t review it as it had come out
last year. Unfortunately we don’t have
the facilities for a full globally-synchronised release; it rolls on like a
flat . . . stream. And so we’re going to
tour some more, in the same house-concert fashion for now; and there are lots
of new songs popping up in the set, some of which are also being recorded with Fleet. Not that we’d turn down any opportunities to
play – we’re hoping some festivals will respond to our begging letters. We did
a big noisy gig the other week and seemed to get away with it, so hopefully
some more and more varied musical fun . . . and if you want us to play in your
home town, or even your home, you’d better get in touch with us.
I can’t think of many better ways to pass time happily, than listening to
the music of Yourgardenday who’s mix of observational lyrics and at times both
orchestral and playful melodies are reminiscent of other musicians such as Ben
Folds or Elliot Smith. I look forward to hearing more from them in the future
and hope one day I can enjoy seeing them live near me!
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Links for Yourgardenday
Facebook - www.facebook.com/yourgardenday
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/yourgardenday
YouTube – www.youtube.com/yourgardenday
Website - http://www.yourgardenday.co.uk
Press enquiries: Please contact Kaye - letters@ygdmedia.co.uk/077730 22246
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/yourgardenday
YouTube – www.youtube.com/yourgardenday
Website - http://www.yourgardenday.co.uk
Press enquiries: Please contact Kaye - letters@ygdmedia.co.uk/077730 22246
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