This trio of music videos was a pleasure to put together! I can’t wait to see how people react to them. They showcase the incredible work that a friend of mine has been doing, right at the start of his career as a solo artist, having worked as a music producer on several other people’s work.
A friend of mine, Joel Atkins, has been an exceptional music producer for many years. We’ve worked together before; when I worked on Blue Peter I hired him to record and produce my Letters Song featuring the three presenters and a children’s choir from Manchester. Joel is the guy playing drums in the video!
These days, as well as his music producing career, Joel is a solo artist under the name Fourth Man. He was invited by Radio Lincolnshire to record a live set for BBC Introducing, and I was honoured when Joel asked me to come along and capture the session. He also enlisted the services of Daniel Brew on guitar and Michael Power on bass, two exceptional musicians trained at the Royal Northern College Music. They recorded three tracks altogether, all of which I edited into live music videos. The first, Ten, was released at the end of June in line with the BBC Introducing broadcast.
Joel’s music combines real instruments with synths and samples, so there was a fair bit of work on Joel’s part to make the tracks work live. I think you’ll agree, though, that he and his band absolutely nailed it. I’m excited to see where Fourth Man goes from here.