I have recorded a new album called Wonder Songs which was released on 17th July 2024. Here is a link to the album on Spotify, youtube, bandcamp etc
Thanks for sharing your tunes! 
You have a David Bowie sound to your vocal. Good stuff!! Is this a band you have on here or did you record most all the parts on your own? Just curious 
Itās my solo music project although several friends and members of my family have helped with the recordings. Here is some information about it:-
All songs composed by Ian Churchward except
āGates of Exeter Revisitedā music composed by Ian Churchward & Lord Zarquon and āHomeā lyrics written by Martyn Hillstead
Ian Churchward vocals, guitars and Mellotron sounds
George Bolt keyboards on Fast Forward and the Daughter of Anne Boleyn
Elaine Churchward backing vocals on Home and Berry Pomeroy
Jay Brown tambourine on Berry Pomeroy, electric guitar chords and tambourine on Fast Forward, lead guitar on In a Dollās House, and backing vocals on The Machine Man of Ardathia
Ashley Dyer trumpet on The Daughter of Anne Boleyn
Jules Jones backing vocals on Dissolution, Fast Forward and In a Dollās House
Lord Zarquon keyboards, drums and bass guitar
Hi @Legendaryten , welcome to IRD. We donāt have a lot of participation at this time but there are still a few of us hanging around so weāre glad to have you aboard.
I listened to the first five songs on your album and I think you have done quite well. You have a good recorded sound and the vocals, instruments, lyrics and arrangements are all very well done. You have a distinctive and to my knowledge unique style. Doing all of that is impressive.
My only criticism is that the songs (that I listened to) are all very similar. Iād like to hear more variation in an album format. If the songs in the second half of your album are different I think you should change the song order to help hold our attention.
I was trying to decide on the track order and for a change I put them in alphabetical order which probably wasnāt very sensible. I think that the best track and the one that sounds different is the last one called The Machine Man of Ardathia which is based upon a 1920ās time travel science fiction story.
Your last track offers some nice contrasts that are certainly welcome. The overall quality of your work is very high, especially lyrically where many of us struggle to be effective. You use two bar phrases at the same tempo almost exclusively in the songs I have listened to; you might consider varying that approach as you are writing in the future. I believe it will help to add interest to your material but thatās only my opinion of course, you are doing fine without my help!
Yes I agree with you about the two bar phrases. I wish I could sometimes write strong verses that donāt always rhyme.
One way to vary your approach might be to collaborate on the writing/arranging of your material. Thereās a reason that many successful songs have more than one writer credited. This can be a difficult process for obvious reasons but it could force you into new territory artistically. A producer type person could contribute also.
You could use someone who works for āfreeā but donāt rule out professional help. Perhaps you could check out āFiverrā for instance. Many of these artists are very good and are ostensibly quite affordable. The trick of course is to find someone compatible. Just a suggestion!
I composed my first song back in about 1980 and I have collaborated with various friends and family over the years. I had a look at Fiverr but I donāt think it is for me.
Hi Ian @Legendaryten,
Congratulations on your release! Being an artist myself who has released a couple of albums, I know just how much work is involved to do it mostly on your own.
Itās nice to hear someone writing about something a little bit different to the usual. It definitely makes for a very individual sound, which is something that I think is really lacking in much music today.
I really liked the bass sound on āNot by Divine Interventionā. The āMachine Man of Ardathiaā had some nice instrumental hooks. The low cello(?) sound in āFast Forwardā was a really nice texture.
Apart from the vocal tuning issues Paul mentioned, the thing that stood out to me as next needing the most attention was just the general āpocketingā and tightness of the instrumental parts.
Sometimes itās tricky when youāre overdubbing parts one by one to really get them to groove together like a live band, so itās a good idea to try to get some perspective on that and come back later after the recording with a view to really tightening up the recording by means of editing.
Things like different parts rushing or lagging in comparison to the rhythm section (vocals and lead instrumental parts in particular) can make all the difference between a recording that grooves comfortably and one that just feels a little disconnected. One of the songs that was really noticeable on was the acoustic guitar lead lines on āEastern Promiseā, but it is an issue with the vocals on quite a few of the other songs.
Overall, nice work on the album!
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my recordings which feature the sounds of the Mellotron. I have access to these sounds via my Mini Mac using Logic. The low cello sound is a particular favourite of mine and is a Mellotron Octave Cello sound. I recognise that that there is definitely room for improvement with my recordings.
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Thanks again for sharing these! Iād love to hear what youāre up to most recently too!
I am hoping to release another album of traditional tunes in a similar format to this one https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nLMlvlCnXUPiAATPpmLqGTMm-mTPXYAPM&si=ohn5geXCEs6OcYOl
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nice! let us know when you release it!