11-01-2026
Happy new year!
Apparently it's too late to say that, but I've done it now.
The end of 2025 was busy for us.
We especially loved playing in support of Philanthropunks at Freaks and Geeks in East London. They're a charity which works through the punk scene to support people struggling with homelessness. You can find them here: www.philanthropunks.co.uk.
As well as other gigs, we released Interlude, which fills in the gap between Forward Through Forests and the next album. It was fun to build a soundworld out of prepared piano, trombone and slide guitar; and it feels like a creative evolution from the album.
I feel really hopeful about this year - I just sense that it'll be a good one.
I sometimes feel overwhelmed though, especially with creative ventures.
It's really exciting to be working on new music, and there are so many good things to come.
But there are challenges as well.
Music is a full time thing for at least two of us in Branches Arc, but we don't really earn anything from this project right now.
Sometimes it's hard to figure out what this is: is it a hobby, a job, or something else?
For a lot of musicians, projects like this feel like one part of a wider vocation.
And vocations aren't always practical.
Creating music takes time, energy and money; and it's often unclear if there'll be a reward beyond the simple and strange sense that it feels right to do it.
It probably doesn't help that the world still feels unstable, and the grocery prices are still rising.
And I reckon it's best not to even utter those two looming letters ‘A’ and ‘I’, which bring more big questions to the horizon.
I'm an optimist, but it can be tempting to batten down the hatches and focus on playing it safe. To put the little and big dreams to one side, because they don't seem as though they'll solve any immediate problems.
And sometimes that's wise and good.
At the same time, we're still human: having fun, experimenting, expressing, trying, and failing; being rubbish at it and trying something else. Eventually becoming good at something, and making our corner of the world better because of it.
It's what we do when we're flourishing, isn't it?
So - for this year - I want to take the pressure off, and to have fun with the things that are in front of me. I think the bigger questions will answer themselves in due course, and it'll probably happen with one small step of trust at a time.
Probably you have your own creative ventures and passion projects going on.
Feel free to say hi - it'd be good to connect over them.
In the mean time, keep an eye out for gig updates coming soon, and studio updates later in the year!
Chris
27-10-2025
And so this blog is a little sporadic.
But probably no one has something to say all the time.
That doesn't mean it hasn't been exciting here though.
We've started playing live again.
At first it was about dusting off the muscle memory, and seeing how everything runs in the cold light of the real world.
Now we're trying to sculpt the set in a way which works as a show.
Mostly it's a presentation thing, I think - and it'll probably develop over time.
There's been other things happening too.
We've finished a new track (out soon), and we're about to start recording an acoustic EP featuring songs from Forward Through Forests.
Finally, we've started writing a new album.
It feels super exciting, and I'll be writing more about that soon.
Autumn feels like the perfect season for creating something.
Summer draws most of us outside into the liveliness of everything, and it's hard to sit and focus.
Autumn carries a different light.
It's golden, and runs through water; highlighting parts of the world that go missing when everything is bleached dry by the sun.
As the shadows lengthen, it's easier to believe that there are mysteries to unfold and secrets to uncover.
I bet most of us feel more focused when everyone's back to work anyway.
Even so, it's not always easy to protect the time.
All of ‘the other things’ have a strong pull.
Busyness will always find a way to fill the gaps in the day.
The most important things often lay quiet in the midst of it all.
They don't demand attention or cry out to be noticed.
They just sit in the still corners of the soul; waiting to be dusted off, nurtured and used for something.
At least, I think that's how it is.
Maybe I'm just disorganised…!
Either way, that's it for now.
Always feel free to get in touch and say hi - we love connecting.
In the mean time, keep an eye out for at least two shows in November, and new music in Novemeber/December.
Speak soon!
Chris
11-08-2025
Forward Through Forests came out on Spotify and other outlets today,
so it seems like a good time to start the blog that I’ve been considering for a while.
The album cost as much as a small car, and took a few years to finish.
We weren’t working on it for the whole time - just chipping away sporadically until it was finally done.
It felt exciting and satisfying to finish something which took so much work.
It features musicians from Switzerland, Ireland and the USA - and England, of course.
It even includes a singer who I listened to as a teenager (and still do sometimes): Jason Wisdom of Becoming The Archetype.
Now it’s finished, I’d like to follow the road for just a bit longer.
I have a few more ideas that I’d like to explore, and it’d be nice to try doing that.
I don't think it will pay for my house.
It may not even pay for a chocolate bar.
It may not be that good either.
But I guess some things are worth saying all the same.
Or at least trying to say -
even if the execution falters and it comes off corny or badly done.
Anyway, it's fun - and fun is its own reward.
So I'll be trying to document the journey here for the time that I'm on it.
I may be doing something else this time next year (life doesn’t pay for itself after all, and the real world is always turning).
But for now I'll share what I'm learning along the way.
I'm not saying it'll be profound, but maybe it'll be a bit interesting if nothing else.
Feel free to get in touch and say hi if you want to - I love connecting with people, and it'd be good to hear your story too.
Until then, everyone!
Branches Arc