Faded Arcades (CD)
Debut album by Simon Raywood
Although Simon’s bands have released several singles and EP’s over the years, this is his first proper album. “This album is a real milestone for me, I think the best way to listen to any artist is on an album. It can take you places you want to go, and hopefully help you forget about the stuff you want to let go of”.
When recording the album, Simon called on the services of some of the finest local musical talent to bring his acoustic demos to life, and the result is a collection of different styles of music. As Simon explains, “Some of the songs on the new album have been kicking around for years, and they probably didn’t fit with the band I was in at the time. So for me recording these songs was a bit like clearing out the loft, it’s stuff that I didn’t need at the time but was too good to throw away!”
Simon often gets asked about the title of the album, ‘Faded Arcades’… “One of my earliest memories is of an old Victorian shopping arcade in Goole where I grew up. At the time, I thought it was very grand and a bit out of place with the rest of the working-class surroundings. It’s still there now but has deteriorated quite a bit since, and to me it’s sad but inevitable that all beauty fades in the end, and this is a bit of a theme that runs through the album”.
As a man of few words, Simon likes to let his music do the talking.
“Set sail for the sun and we will drift along on a calming breeze...”