I decided to try and learn guitar some years ago, and after getting to know the basics, embarked on the unchartered idea of composing, which had always been the ultimate goal.
Since then, and mostly during those earlier days, a catalogue of songs has been created. Most were then put into a basic recordable form, the recordings being assembled with the versatile accompaniment of my guitar teacher Dave Webster.
The material may in part be influenced by people such as Ezio, Chris Rea, Ian Dury, possibly even Bob Dylan, but there is no intention to emulate, or consistently follow, any particular genre or style. It’s always been my aim to come up with a crafted, hopefully reasonably interesting lyric – which where not tackling a more serious issue, is likely to be whimsical rather than passionate.
Album Art for Imperfect World
The songs became, as they were recorded put into CD collections. From firstly, “FROM THE CRADLE TO THE GRAVE”, featuring the locally inspired “Heart of the Fen” and its foil “Dead Man’s Drove”, centering on the witchcraft historically present in these parts, to secondly “IMPERFECT WORLD “ a collection of more political and socially topical songs, including the song-cycle ( and separate EP ) “PROMISE TO A PROVINCE”, a chronological reflection of events in Northern Ireland, charting in the course of a few songs the recent history of that troubled region.
Album Art, Promise to a province
Album Art, Management of Love
This particular collection expanded on my previous recordings, in having both vocal and instrumental contributions from talented people, including Little Thetford’s own Claire McGinley, who were good enough to lend their time. The standout track for many being “Me and Marcello” featuring the wonderful voice of Rebecca Heyne and outstanding sax work of Stephen Newbury.
Michael Judkins & Claire McGinley at CB2
FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY
A song collection charting the life and associated times of the late and legendary Muhammad Ali. All tracks were recorded at Kite, a professional studio in Cambridge, and mastered afterwards by Skye Mastering. For what has been my most significant recording project to date, I have been very fortunate to discover and assemble a strong and talented team of vocalists and instrumentalists, the majority of whom have not been involved in my previous work. All have contributed in their individual styles in a way which has ensured high levels of quality across the various songs ( plus three instrumental tracks ) and it’s my hope this collection will be seen as a fitting tribute to a unique man. There is also some great artwork undertaken by Alex Hutchinson of Free Barabbas.
My intention, rather than to see “Float like Butterfly” as a product for commercial sale, is to arrange to distribute copies to all who might wish to hear it, without obligation whilst giving, if so wished, the opportunity to make a modest donation via my Just Giving account being http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Judkins2 . This account I have set up to enable any such donations to benefit Cure Parkinson’s Trust, a highly deserving charity at the forefront of important and in some cases groundbreaking research to seek to reverse the effect of the debilitating condition which is Parkinson’s disease, the symptoms of which Ali himself suffered during most of his adult life.
Further details, updating, and more can be found on the dedicated website www.float-like-a-butterfly.com
Finally, please see and listen to song selection below, which will include two tracks from the “Float like a Butterfly” collection.
Michael Judkins
MICHAEL JUDKINS
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