Who are we and what we do…

Naomi Bedford is an English Singer/Songwriter who first came to prominence as vocalist and co-writer of the 2001 Orbital hit ‘Funny Break’ and appearances on Jools Holland’s Later programme. In recent years she has focused on a series of folk and country albums in collaboration with Paul Simmonds, drawing plaudits from the national press. Her albums have featured in Mojo Magazine’s top 10 and The Guardian’s top 5 and have received Arts Council funding. She has appeared at Glastonbury, Sidmouth and Cambridge Folk Festival among others and has been invited to perform at Cecil Sharp House. Home of English Folk. She has been nominated for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award in the Best Original Song Category.

Paul Simmonds has been the main songwriter and mandolin/guitarist with English folk rock institution The Men They Couldn’t Hang since 1984. He has recorded over 15 albums on major labels, toured the world and appeared at most major festivals including supports to David Bowie, Van Morrison and The Pogues. His songs have featured in documentaries, TV shows, adverts, trails and also in academic courses and dissertations. His recent collaborations with Naomi Bedford have drawn wide praise nationally and he is also a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Nominee.

What We Do

In 2016 we began to work on devising Songwriting Workshops for all ages and levels. Our guiding principle was that songwriting was not a mysterious ritual open only to a few, but a craft that could be accessed and learned quickly with some guidance, techniques and tips. Since then we have delivered Workshops in all settings, from Universities, Colleges and Schools to Community Groups, Festivals and Scout Camps.

Our workshops deliver across the age and ability spectrum; from school age to pensioner, from complete starter to professional musician. Whilst we also offer one to one mentoring and song commissions, our particular focus is on two areas:

Unblocking Creativity

We have devised a series of imagination exercises to help unblock creativity, involving observation, scan, research and new, fun ways to come at the writing process. Our main goal is to allow participants to access their creative energy whatever their age or occupation.

Multiple Input Songwriting

We have developed a Workshop model which allows communal songwriting for up to 10 people in a group. Each participant is represented lyrically and we demonstrate that individual input can be brought together to make a whole narrative. We also have a technique of generating melody which allows participants to create music without any prior training.