The Asian Busking Tours

The Asian Busking Tour, is an idea i had for longtime while i was travelling back in the years. I was wondering how to combine my 2 favourite passions, travelling and playing music.I had to make music my full time job first, in order to get rid of any boss or scheduled holiday. After the two years i’ve spent in England, i’m finally able to bring Miserable Man music and lifestyle to far away lands.

At first the idea did’nt make me sleep at night: a mixture of excitement, fear, indecision and a constant adrenaline rush to my head everytime i was thinking about it, kept me company in these last months of planning. I usually read books, look at maps, get informations from blogs and travel websites, to find myself eventually getting rid of all these informations and playing things by ear and sometimes taking decisions just by flicking a coin. The first step to start this adventure was to get a flight ticket anyway; a flight from London, will take me to Kuala Lumpur, where i will begin this musical journey in Asia.

 The main pourpose of this busking tour is to basically keep doing what i do in England, wherever i will go: landscapes, languages and foods will change, but i want one thing to stay the same, the music i play, the amp i will be sitting on, the guitar i’ll be strumming.

Through this process i will observe how different people and cultures will react to the music, and the way i will be influenced by the people i will meet and the places i will see.

Another big reason is the fact that i consider music an universal language, far more powerful than words: the melody, the rhythm, the notes one sings, can have a direct effect on the surrounding people. I’m excited at the idea of playing in places i can’t even think about, be it a rubbish damp in Kolkata, or a muslim wedding in the south of Thailand.

Waiting for a bus in bangkok, while drinking street coffee.

Soundcheck done, for my first Cambodian gig.

On the beach, looking for a quiet spot to rehearse new material.

Found that spot…

Won’t leave until it’s dark !

Every sidewalk can be home for a street musician!

Street jamming with local talents in the busy streets of Asia.

And from the streets, we get paid gigs in nice bars with good sound systems and full AC!

Even tuesday night shows in jazz bars…

But never forget the local people and their enthusiasm and humility…

They make a living on the streets, in the same way i started it…

And wherever you go, there’s always someone to jam with and to learn from, no matter how younger they are…

Music is a great way to provide fellow passengers with a soundtrack…

And a lot of people wanted to try my guitar…

Some places are special and they inspired me to write new material, actually a new whole album…

You don’t need a big studio these days, do you..?

Nothing is better than recording music in your own natural environement. This is how you capture the essence and the feeling..

Spending the night with the locals, trying their food and listening to their original songs…

Getting them to record their music for the first time and see how they get committed to it…!

New songs come to me every morning now…

And even during a full moon night, we find something to do: recording the oldest musicians of the island setting up a studio in the middle of their village!

Having a break for a cigarette and listening to old tales of love and sea from the fishermen of Sulawesi.

Enjoying their reactions while listening back to the recordings for the very first time !

Everyone is involved in the process !

Spending days on the beach writing new songs looking at the sea and enjoying the breeze…

And spending the hottest hours doing some overdubs for my new album..

Adding a touch of nature capturing the sound of the sea…

To finally go back to the city where everything started, play few last gigs, before the adventure continues somewhere else…!