News

Summer Update: This Is The Fire

Pete writes from the eve of Campout in the foothills of the Black Mountains, sharing news of the album — nearly all recording done, mixes underway, on track for an early 2027 release — and singing the praises of co-producer Oskar Vizan. Also coming up: a Sing Out gathering at Trealy Farm in early September, led by community choir icon Helen Yeomans.

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This Is The Fire — May Album Update

It's been quite a journey so far. Pete shares the spring's flurry of guest sessions — drums from Sean Randle, fiddle from Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe, a brass arrangement from George Shrapnell, vocal harmonies from Infinite Vocals — plus an afternoon at Geoffrey Richardson's Richardsonics Studio in Kent, and the road ahead to mixing and a Sing Out retreat at Trealy Farm.

This Is The Fire — February Album Update

Writing from Trealy Farm in the hills near Monmouth, Pete introduces new co-producer Oskar Vizan and recounts ripping through seven vocal tracks in two days at his north London studio, plus a trip to Devon to record Marnie Hunter — all while the crowdfunder keeps the album moving toward an early 2027 release.

Launching the This Is The Fire crowdfunder

With renewed interest in the legacy of protest music — sparked in part by the Bob Dylan biopic — Pete makes the case for a new era of communal singing, and launches the crowdfunding campaign in support of the album: thirteen songs already written, ready for the production that will transform them into something special.

BBC 5 Live interview, and the shape of protest

Pete was interviewed on BBC 5 Live about the inspiration behind This Is The Fire, discussing the events at Glastonbury and the many shapes protest can take — and what it means to build new ways of doing things through song.

Music as a Superpower

In today's divided world, where are the universal anthems? Pete writes on the legacy of 'We Shall Overcome', 'This Land Is Your Land' and 'Blowin' in the Wind' — songs that were tools of resistance as much as soundtracks to activism, carried by Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Odetta, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Joan Baez and others whose anthems are still sung today.

Working on a new album of campfire songs

Gitika ended up leading some stirring community singing sessions at last August's Campout, and it was thrilling to hear the new songs 'This Is The Fire', 'If I Had a Voice' and 'Bubble of Love' in this social context. Pete reflects on finding his own voice as a songwriter and singer, encouraged by Gitika Partington, and traces the project back to spring 2024.