Yammer Music was created as a base for my solo and band recording work. I am a semi-retired amateur guitarist, computer musician and producer. Since 1981, I’ve composed, recorded and performed prog, new wave, experimental and electronic music.
Living in the Eighties
In the eighties, I was a member of several North West bands: Cloudburst, Albino Dinnerjacket and Back to the Grind in my home town of Blackburn With Darwen in Lancashire, and Paddys Wigwam and First Night with the Indians in Liverpool.
Although I had fun playing in bands, I most loved the writing and recording process, experimenting with sound, tape recorders and electronic effects. As well as recording albums with Gordon Farquhar and Michael Brandon, I produced experimental music.
In the late eighties, I moved to Yorkshire, and took a long break from making music, focusing on work and family, eventually resigning myself to being a listener, rather than a musician.
Digital
I always wanted a multi-track studio full of musical instruments. In 2001, I realised that he could have a virtual studio with sampled instruments in my computer, and Yammer was born. Over two years, I recorded an album (appropriately named Long Division), only once picking up my guitar. This was a rewarding but painfully slow process.
Frustrated by a lack of willing participants to form a band, I sold much of my gear over the next 3 years. Remembering the instant feedback from playing an instrument, I decided that my next musical foray would involve my guitar—but that would take another 12 years.
Going Back to My Roots
I moved back across the Pennines to Manchester. In 2018, I heard about a group of mature musicians being set up by Jah Wobble in Stockport. The group soon folded, but was revived the following year by Anthony Williams, and I directed Stockport Music in Sheds‘ weekly sessions for over a year, until COVID-19 stopped indoor activities.
After a year of renewed interest in playing guitar, and at a loose end from lockdowns, I started recording music again. I (remotely) collaborated with David Tomlinson as Dead Indians, and with Andy Bell as Lowly Man. In 12 months, I produced 3 EPs and an album.
Sand Dunes and Salty Air
Retirement plans were expedited by the pandemic, and I relocated to Purbeck in Dorset, on England‘s south coast. I joined Crimson Creatures and produced 3 EPs and an album of original Prog, playing 3 gigs in 2023, ending a 38 year live hiatus.
Latterly, I produced and played guitar in a Poole-based band called Ambassadors of Doubt. I also set up another regular jam group, this time for enthusiastic amateurs in Purbeck.
Keith Nuttall