Essays
Albums That Have Changed My Life
A few years ago, on Facebook, my friend Andy Power gave me a challenge: to choose 10 albums that greatly influenced my taste in music. One album per day for ten consecutive days. This little […]
Essays
Leaving On A Jet Plane
Over the lockdown period, unable to perform with my band, I started recording a series of videos to keep my creative spark alive. I covered songs I’ve always loved by artists I’ve always admired, showcasing […]
Production
Murder In The Rain Video
As a slight intermission to my Hermitage Suite releases, I couldn’t let the 22nd December 2023 go unmarked. The date just happens to be a hundred years since my fictional character of Albert McGuinness was […]
Production
Harmony of Time and Technology: Unveiling the Artistry Behind ‘Ossian’s Hall’ Video
Where do I start with this one? When you watch the video you will be seeing the result of hundreds of hours of work over the last thirty years. I have collected footage from a […]
Essays
A Haunting Glimpse into Nature’s Reclamation
Imagine, if you can, that humans no longer occupied Planet Earth. What would happen to the remaining infrastructure? In a hauntingly beautiful visit to Inishark, situated off the rugged West Irish Coast, my family and […]
Songwriters
Dougie McLean
I discovered Dougie MacLean by accident. In 1997 I was visiting one of my favourite places on earth, Dunkeld, when I spotted a record shop in the village. I thought to myself, “Dunkeld has become […]
Production
Music Production
Dream Studios How many beloved records have you listened to that have benefited from the spaces where they were recorded in? You can almost hear the walls groaning within the record; adding an extra unspeakable […]
David Mackin Music
Tommy The Trencher
My featured song for November 2022 is Tommy The Trencher from my forthcoming album The Hermitage Suite. I wrote this song with Ian Erving around 1994 in our Sunday Night songwriting sessions. It was based […]
David Mackin Music
Broken Musicians
This song was written around 1987/88 by Ian Erving and myself. It was quite an unusual style that sort of grew with performance and development. Great Keyboard playing by Darren O’Brien, drumming by Mike Mackin […]
Songwriters
Vin Garbutt
The first time I had the pleasure of watching the amazing singer/songwriter Vin Garbutt was in a community hall in Marske-By-The-Sea when I was supporting him with The Grangetown Boys Club Brass Band. I was only […]