about
About Pete
Cotswolds-based Pete Hodge is a multi-talented musician, songwriter and artist. His long association with the band Dulcimer, from the early 1970’s until the 1990’s, produced 6 albums. Pete later produced a further album: Shadows in the Dust. After ten years or so away from the music scene, concentrating on his other major talent, art, a chance meeting with singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rob Powell, reignited Pete’s enthusiasm and together with cellist/flautist Lorna Joy Davies, the band Wyrewood was born and currently have 2 albums to their name.
Following the success of the 2nd Wyrewood album, Pete was inspired to continue working on new songs and soon had sufficient to record a new album. The restrictions of the Covid crisis limited Rob and Lorna’s availability but the answer was close at hand. Pete had known Tim Haines for many years and in passing Tim mentioned that he had a recording studio just across town. Having already heard and been impressed by the quality of Tim’s recordings with his band hanna*h*, Pete decided to book a tentative try-out session and ‘see what happens’. The success that followed can now be heard by all, in the form of Pete’s more recent album “Forgot Your Password? - Try Again”, followed by "Pipers Grove" and "Too Many Frankensteins".
albums
Too Many Frankensteins
Some More Words & Thoughts
Well here we are at the final curtain call on another year of strange and interesting events and here’s another album by Pete H to mark its passing, of which he says:
It’s a fairly eclectic mix ranging in style and dynamics, including folk rock with occasional hints of ska and reggae to mid-tempo and gentler mood pieces, featuring the brilliant Holly Bee on violin and viola and great musical contributions from Tim and Hanna Haines. Themes range from: historically inaccurate surrealistic fantasies; love gone wrong songs; meditations on fame, infamy, celebrity non-entities and the struggling state of our wobbling world.
So: more tunes and plenty of words, hence the beautifully designed sleeve & lyrics booklet for which I am again indebted to Keith Boulton who spent many long and fruitful hours juggling images and typefaces.
I still believe in the integrity and aesthetics of the old fashioned complete album package, as opposed to the online cherry-picking which has become the norm. O.K. Rant over! All I hope for is that a few people get to hear this and maybe even listen to all of it and possibly enjoy it – especially through headphones! 🎧
* HEALTH WARNING: May contain elements of words and melodies.
P.S. I’m currently doing an online interview with ‘Psychedelic Baby’ magazine and talking about my earlier work with Dulcimer, as well as my later works.
Pete
New Album Pipers Grove from Pete Hodge
I think this could loosely be described as a 'self-indulgent, unfashionable concept album'. The first three tracks are nostalgesically autobiographical from the cradle with 'Life in a Lullaby', through the title track 'Pipers Grove'; a mini song-cycle about a childhood haven, of innocence, fear and self-learning, to 'Three Winters' which takes me onwards through ancient gates of learning to the joys and anxieties of early adolescence to finally leaving home and the security of a small Cotswolds village before venturing into that bigger world of wide-eyed optimism & opportunity where we are meant to "grow-up"!
The rest of the album continues chronologically through critical junctures of life, but told through the eyes of a strange & disparate group of characters all heading for the magic mirror of all mystery.
Come all you crazy dreamers, dream on. … so basically a lot of words and a few tunes, as usual.
Special thanks to Karen Osborne for her encouragement, support and believing when I didn't. So blame her.
P.S. It sounds best through headphones, so it doesn't annoy anyone else.
Pete
- nostalgesia
- A half-remembered past, filtered through an unreliable and faulty prism rather than rose-tinted bi-focals.
Forgot your password - try again
- The enemy within
- Wave goodbye (my little darling)
- Good morning Mr. Sunshine
- When Paradise is lost
- Ten long years
- Friendly fire
- Not in my name
- Forgot your password - try again
- Master plan (for the working man)
- Slightly optimistic song
- Let's re-invent the wheel
Although this project bears my name it could have been another Wyrewood album, as both Rob and Lorna made some great contributions, particularly early on. Later contributions came from ex ‘The Photos’ bassist Dave Sparrow, Hanna Knight and Jon ‘Obiter’ Nurse adding some fine flourishes. Tim Haines with his endless patience and musical and production skills was the ever-present mainstay of the enterprise. I hope they all enjoyed it as much as I did. I must say that to me it feels like a truly collaborative effort and I feel very lucky to have been able to work with friends and musicians of such high calibre. The songs seemed to write themselves and range from tales of mangled mythological fantasies to ironic meditations on life, love, loss and stuff like that.
