It’s with enormous sadness that I am announcing an indefinite hiatus from live shows with immediate effect. Playing gigs has slowly pushed me to a place of facing significant health issues, both physical and mental. I’m sorry to say that means the cancellation of all shows this year. Scheduled talks and conference appearances will go ahead as planned; for reasons that will make more sense later, “proper” gigs are not possible any time soon. It’s obviously one of the toughest calls I’ve ever made.
I will soon share in more detail what is happening because it may help others; a good friend very wisely advised me to wait a beat before I disclose more. There’s some stigma attached to the issues I’m dealing with, and I need to think about that. I also want to be open and honest as so many in my audience face disabling barriers and mental health challenges. I just need to wrap my head around a few things first, and have some time to heal physically and mentally.
Love to everyone who has been with me through this journey, you know who you are x
See you down the front one day, I’ll be fitter, healthier and happier when the day comes x
Last week I played my last show of what has been a strange run of gigs for me, post COVID. It was in Birmingham, my home town of sorts, and a place I’ve hardly played. It’s been a running joke in the Dyskinetic camp that I’ve performed for more audiences in Tokyo than in my home town. What even is that?
As I wrap up this Two Metres Close tour for 2021/22, I’m reflecting on all that I’ve done with the gloves since 2015. It’s A LOT. 10 countries and counting. Tens of thousands of people in audience attendance by now. Loads of bucket list stuff ticked off. It’s been an adventure.
In terms of the work, it’s been a varied mix of what I call TED Talk style gigs, and straight up playing a set of songs type gigs. One of these fills my cup with joy, as my fiancée would say. The other, less so.
A shot of me onstage at the Brudenell Social Club, where the Two Metres Close tour began in 2021.
Playing gig-type-gigs in venues, with a songs in a setlist, that’s always been tough. Where the gloves are roughly analogous to an acoustic guitar, with me singing my songs and playing the gloves as accompaniment to my voice, is a space I’m less sure of. I started playing gig-type-gigs in 2016, as part of my IVW tour, produced in partnership with Attitude Is Everything. It was a brave, complex thing to do in 2016. It doesn’t feel that way to 2022 me.
For lots of small reasons, it feels like a chapter closing on my relationship with the gloves. I wanted a challenge, and I got one. Wow. I’m proud of where I’ve taken my musicianship with the gloves. It’s a short list, but I know I’m one of the best Glovers in the world. I’ve taken it to virtuosic heights. And I’ll keep doing that.
It’s as a songwriter that I’m no longer happy with playing the gloves. In a hourish long set, the gloves start to get in the way. Trying to justify their presence in every song sometimes feels forced, and the physicality of playing them while singing does very literally get in the way. The instrument is overshadowing the songs, and that should never be the case. Writing music, instrumental music, for the gloves is a great joy, and pieces like Koi No Yokan will always be a joy to play. But when it’s time to sing a song, the gloves are in the way.
This was all a grand experiment. And it worked. I tested it. I tested it so thoroughly. And I’ve come to the conclusion that as a singer-songwriter, the gloves are not where 2022 me is at.
At the time of writing, I don’t know what gigs will look like moving forward. That’s really exciting. It’s not that I won’t play the gloves at all, but they wont be the sole focus, the only instrument. Of course, I still face disabling barriers, so there’s lot’s to explore in terms of how the show will actually work. I have plenty of ideas. We’ll see.
Important clarification: this isn’t the end of gloves + me, full stop. If I’m due to speak and perform at your event, I’ll be there! The wider impact of those Music Mark type keynote speeches is massive, and I have no plans to stop doing those. The gloves might be the greatest advert for justifying tackling disabling barriers in music making, and that sermon is far from over. But playing a 1 hour+ set of all Glove songs, that’s coming to an end for now. I have tour plans in 2023, and those shows will of course go ahead, but they will look and sound very different. They won’t hinge on the gloves. I’ll be getting back to where it all started, with songs. I just have to figure out what that looks like for me now.
It’s time to do something different. I’m ready. The Gloves are off.
I’m always working on something I can’t talk about, and I think it’s yawnfest when musicians post about stuff like “can’t say too much yet” so I don’t usually acknowledge anything – but here is one of those things, which I can now talk about! Phew.
So, this was complicated. While I was preparing for the huge SAGE Gateshead event, I was also in the studio recording for the new version of Drake Music’s Planted Symphony. It’s the busiest I’ve ever been, recording this and rehearsing the new show was… intense.
For me it was a really bittersweet opportunity: Lucy Hale, the composer behind this work, had apparently long wanted to work with me and the gloves. Tragically, she passed away from COVID in 2020. It was decided that a team would be assembled to finish the work, which is when I found out about Lucy’s ambitions to work with me. It was humbling, and obviously very sad.
This marks, I believe, the first time the MiMu Gloves have been used an ensemble instrument to play a score. Turning dots on a page into gestures and into music was not something I imagined would be possible; on piano middle C is where it always is, with gloves that’s meaningless. I had to design a whole method of playing. I’ve also never recorded remotely like this before, but it all felt very natural by the time I pressed the big red button. Recording the gloves, and pushing for the perfect take, was really fun. And really hard work.
I was small part of the puzzle, though. It was an amazing team, and Cassandra Gurling did an especially incredible job finishing the work and making the music happen. It sounds incredible, and I can’t wait for people to experience it.
Planted Symphony will tour as an interactive experience later this year; first run is in Milton Keynes, and more dates will be announced soon. I and many others from the team will be at as many dates as possible, so it would be lovely to meet some new faces on the road x
So it’s finally happening. I’ve resisted for a little while, but tonight I will be performing live online with the gloves. I’ve taken my time on this for lots of reasons, mostly just technical ones, but it’s time to try. I’ll be doing a very short appearance, just 1 song, for the Disability Rights Action Committee in Utah, who are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the American Disability Act today. It’s not the first time I have works with an organisation in the US for an ADA celebration event; I, as many of you will remember performed at the ADI celebrations in partnership with the VSA at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC in 2017. That’s still my biggest gig to date.
Sadly, for obvious reasons, I won’t be there. I’ll be at home, live-linked in via Zoom. I’ll be performing at 20:15 UK Time. 13:15 in Utah. Head to the Facebook page Here>>>> THIS IS A LINK <<<< to watch!
I’m weirdly more nervous about this than a regular gig… The future is weird.
Just arrived in beautiful Glasgow for tomorrow night’s performance with Drake Music Scotland at Cryptic Nights. CN is a monthly event for new music at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts.
We’re staying just down the road at CitizenM, which might be the most synthwave hotel ever. I’m watching Rocky bathed in neon. Maybe I’ll shred that Ibanez later.
It was a foyer concert, a small deal, but it was BIRMINGHAM. WITH FRIENDS. AND FAMILY! I was a little more nervous than usual, of course. I make my living performing for strangers…
Lots of new sounding old songs, weirdly enough. I’ve never been able to play Bless This House lire, and finally, with all the toys, I can!
