Watch the Skies (feat. Reverie )

Ian Darby is a singer-songwriter/ producer from the West Midlands (an industrial part known as the 'Black Country' - the name stemming from it's heavily industrialised past during the industrial revolution when the sky reportedly turned 'black' with pollution. His music is written from the heart, inspired by the 'gritty' but warm, humourous and entertaining environment where he grew up. Music is inspited after spending a lifetime loving music of all forms from Steve Reich through Benjamin Britten, Ravel, Debussy to Charles Mingus, and John Martyn, Nick Drake, the Verve, Beck, Sigur Ros and a lot more! Ian began playing the organ at aged 7 and from there moved to guitar (mainly acoustic/ finger picking style) and later piano before beginning to sing in his early twenties in bands. Ian now works with an integral string trio comprising Violin (Hannah Pritchard), Viola (Helen Beecroft) and Double Bass (Flora) and sometimes adds extra instruments as on "Love is Home" and "Where Wild Flowers Grow". Ian and Reverie's (sometimes known as Reveriestrings) first recording was "Watch the Skies" which was essentially a live album with some additions made in Ian's home studio in Birmingham. Watch the Skies was recorded at the studio of Katrina and the Waves in Ely, Cambridgeshire for Tim Lee of Tummy Touch as a demo. Ian later took the demo and moulded it into the album we hear today using his equipment at home. This approach hopefully captures the energy of a typical Reveriestrings live performance - Reveriestrings being the name Ian uses when playing with his lovely string string formed from the Isis String Quarter (available for weddings etc..!). "Love is Home" a short ,three song demo/ EP was recorded at a studio in Birmingham and saw Ian become more adventurous by additing a brass section, drums and bass. "Where Wild Flowers Grow", (third recording) saw Ian and the Reverie 'family' continue to expand to include drums and additional electronics. Ian's latest album 'Down to the River' (2013) is a completely home-recorded album inspired by Ian's love of Indian music. Ian plays all instruments here mostly due to the logisitical reasons. The West Midlands has a large Asian community so Ian has enjoyed Asian music and food for many years. Ian met John Mayer (Indian composer not blues guy) as a teenager whilst studying music and the meeting has remained an inspiration throughout but it's not until now Ian has begun experimenting with Indian instrument sounds. The subject matter is inspired by Ian's growing family (two young children), the Sea's magnetism, the flow of life (the river is symbolic here) and of course a splashing of the usual daydreams and storytelling found on previous albums. Ian's main inspiration and support remains his wife Annabel who is also Ian's chief lyricist consultant! The lyrics on Down to the River were particularly influenced by the poetry of Bauderlaire. The album hopefully captures the elegance and industry of Ian's music which is underpinned with a soulful depth earned from living a little. email the-reverie@hotmail.co.uk