Hello –

writing to you from Grove Park, our co-house in London and one of the homes to my recording projects this year.

Here from the Plum Village project, with plans to make an album of own songs and continue to nurture the Peace Sounds label.

I’ll be keeping a journal of these two projects here something similar to the Village posts – feeling one a month- with recordings and photographs the same.

We just released Peace Sounds 2 so we’ll let that breathe a while before more albums –  we do have interview and session ideas with the Peace Sounds’ artists and other projects ideas responding to what’s happening in the world right now.

If you are an artist/ know an artist you feel has a song for Peace Sounds, please do get in touch – receiving new peace songs is always such a beautiful thing.

Also If you’ve streamed/downloaded the albums please do also share your stories of having the songs in your lives. We will send two ‘thank you songs’ to all who do –https://peacesounds.org/peace-sounds-stories/

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So to begin – February –

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I’ve taken up a room at All Saints in Peckham where I’ll be doing some recordings this year – between there our co-house nearby and other places as the year becomes…

Those who followed the Plum Village project would have heard an earlier recording of this first song,  ‘Be Still’, written for a friend who decided to do just this, to stop some, watch the garden, and take time –  to feel their heart. The inspiration I found and encouragement I found myself feeling to give in the month or so then is here in the song.

To ‘Be Still and know’ a quote from the Bible, I read around that time in the teachings of  Thich Nhat Hanh (founder Plum Village).

Love to Tom Robinson at BBC6 and David White at BBC Introducing for sharing this on their songwriters programmes earlier this month, songwriters who wish to share with Tom and David you can visit them here – appreciating their wonderful and supportive work

Also a note to Find a Song from Germany appreciating your blog Steffi – another new music Saint x

My friend in the song came from this time to find again a love in writing and community gardening and continues to do so.

The recording includes friend Sophie on the oboe x

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Second song is one played this month at a few Plum Village gatherings (family group and Wake Up London, Plum Village young adults),both pictured above.

Learned in Plum Village (the song was written there and is from the Village song book)-and recorded at All Saints. See description for more – called ‘Joy’

First of our talking project, a sharing with with author, Quaker elder and songwriter Chris Goodchild – including Chris’ song ‘Life Is Beautiful’ from Peace Sounds 1. We met in a bird hide outside of North London 🙂 where we shared about writing, songs and peace as activism, drank tea and watched the birds. peacesounds.org

with love

Joe