aaamusic | On 20, Oct 2010

November 1st, 2010 sees keenly anticipated release of the Live at the Top of the World EP by the recording artist James Walsh. Live at the Top of the World was recorded earlier this year in the remote town of Tromso, the closest major settlement to the North Pole in the north of Norway.

Soul On Trial, Loaded Gun, Life, Man on the Hill and Silence is Easy were recorded with the incredible Tromso Chamber Orchestra and arranged by world famous composer Bernt Simen Lund. The project was the brainchild of leading Swedish music figure Fredrick Forrsman who wanted to attract global music artists to the small but vibrant picturesque town of Tromso. The event was recorded by Norwegian national TV and will be shown nationwide around across Europe to support the release.

For this unique collaboration James worked with acclaimed songwriter and producer Sacha Skarbek whose recent credits include hits by Duffy, Adele, and James Blunt. One of the standout tracks on the EP is the beautiful Man On The Hill which was written whilst in Tromso, “Its about the country people being jealous of the excitement of the city and the city people being jealous of the beautiful scenery and simple life in the country. A kind of ‘the grass is always greener’ message. In the end there are drawbacks to any kind of ‘lifestyle’,” explains James. This track is available now as a free download via www.jameswalshmusic.com

Soul On Trial was written by James and Sacha about a couple in a relationship who have a few demons inside and are trying to find some form of redemption to escape their chequered past, whilst Loaded Gun deals with the issues of taking responsibility for decisions in life “It is about feeling the pressure and taking the blame for everyone. A kind of a scapegoat thing. You might be the one who pulled the trigger but there were a lot of things lead up to that point. The loaded gun is merely a metaphor for that”.

Life is a simple yet stirringly country tinged song, “its about those moments you have in relationships when your partner or friend does something very simple and touching and you suddenly realise you couldn’t live without them”. The final track on the EP is Silence is Easy, a modern classic in its own right which in this new interpretation, James hopes will be,”a good bridge between the old and the new”.

To support the release of the stunning Live from the Top of the World EP, James Walsh will be performing a UK solo tour:

3rd November – Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
4th November – Oran Mor, Glasgow
5th November – Café Drummond, Aberdeen
6th November – Corn Exchange, Melrose
7th November – Riverside, Newcastle
10th November – Proud, London
11th November – Moho Live, Manchester
12th November – The Venue, Derby
20th November – Kasbah, Coventry
21st November – Joiners, Southampton

James has also been busy writing and performing on the soundtracks to two films with Sacha Skarbek. The first, Powder, is based on the book by Kevin Sampson, recalling the experiences of a band from Liverpool. The second is a film adpation of a novel by cult author Chuck Palahnuik.