LATEST NEWS

I'm very happy to announce the forthcoming release of my new CD of 14 original songs called
THE FURTHER I TRAVEL.

Rouseabout Records have signed me to their label and I feel very honoured to be included in their roster of artists alongside two of my favourite Australian songwriters, Gary Shearston and Eric Bogle. The CD will be released via Undercover Music in March. Meanwhile you can buy an advanced copy and read more about the CD here.

“…too little is remembered now
And deeds have gone unsung.”

These lines are from When Angledool Was Young, a song on my new CD The Further I Travel. Based on an unpublished poem by Jim Harper, the lines appropriately and simply express for me the motivation behind many of the songs I write.

As the years pass, we do forget. People and places change, they can even disappear and so too their stories. With the passing of time, things lose their significance and lessons learnt can be forgotten.

The past also includes things that some people would best forget, claiming that they do not wish to ‘open old wounds’. Memories possess the power to ignite the full gamut of emotions.

For many years my desire to document in song, as effectively as possible, all these ‘unsung things’ has developed passionately. If life is seen as a journey, then the further I travel along life’s pathway, the more I find there is about which to sing.

The songs on this CD acknowledge some of the people I have met in person or in word. They capture some of the places I have visited and they document events and stories I have heard of, read about or experienced. They reflect upon childhood memories, as well as share thoughts and ideas developed on my journey. In my songs I have always tried to respond to the past honestly, at the same time being sensitive to the emotions it can awaken.

I live in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia and have done so for thirty years. From childhood I have maintained a deep interest in, and love of, Australian history. I have written books and articles, and developed school learning materials on Australian themes.

My interest in Australia has also been expressed in many of the songs I have written. My song writing has been combined with many and varied performing opportunities.

I have performed at restaurants, concerts and festivals and my music has been played on ABC radio. Each year I continue to enjoy the opportunities of travelling to Australian places and listening to, and documenting, the stories of the people who live there.

This website contains a growing collection of articles, songs, reviews etc that I have written over the years. You can access them via the links above. Please feel free to email me as I value your comments.

regards.
Jim

Jim singing Fields of Eldorado
[recorded at Mount Riverview, June 2011]

OPEN YOUR EYES TO AUSTRALIA Click here to find out more about the PODCAST

ABOVE THE CREEK BED Click here to find out more about the first CD