“Funk Right Off (Major C)” Coming Soon!

August 26, 2021

Wow, who knew a website could gather dust? Bloody hell! Oh, I’m writing some sort of blog post. Christ. Well, I’d figured I’d write something sooner rather than later – so it might as well be about this. If you are one of the few people who notice what I posted on Facebook, a lurker on my Instagram or one of the many, many people who saw the post about this on TikTok – you’ll know. I am releasing a brand new track!

The journey? Well let me tell you, I didn’t go far because I’m reducing my chances (drastically) of getting that bloody Covid bollocks. BUT! A lot has happened to get to this point. It all began sometime in March when I was doing my usual thing of creating a project in Logic Pro, naming it something very rude and then moving onto something else. Well not this one! I was messing with some Guitar MIDI thing, now this is pretty neat because I could plug my guitar into my Focusrite Clarett and then the software effectively “chats” to Logic and lets me play anything (even Tibetan Singing Bowls – I read that wrong originally but I’ll spare you). Whilst on this crazy, crazy rabbit hole of a musical experiment, I started playing with the Sax MIDI alongside some composition I just conjured up. It was starting to feel pretty good.

So I put it all together, wrote a rough solo, then I realised it could be really, really cool. I sent it first to Cam Lynn, who responded with a photo of himself holding his six-string headless bass and it was then I knew immediately he got what I was trying to do. I then realised that, as good as EZ Drummer is to a simple minded guitarist like myself, I needed some real drums in this thing. It was at this point that a lightbulb “eureka” moment happened and at long last, I could finally get Adam Wolfe to play on something of mine – and so it was. The final part of this musical puzzle was trying to work out whether or not I wanted a Sax player… I’m kidding! Of course I was gonna get a real one in! So that’s when I enlisted the stylings of the epic Nick Willsher – whom I have played with at a few jam sessions and had heard he was doing some stuff remotely at this time.

Now all along that part, I told Nick Bowen at Quay West that I had wanted to work with him again for quite some time. I was pretty convinced he was fed up with me constantly saying that I had something but then it fizzled out. Nope, not anymore! I like to think I always come through, eventually… but anyway. I had seen some angry Canadian on YouTube give excellent advice about recordings and I can’t remember his name but despite what I’ve just said he seemed like a very nice bloke who knew his stuff. I digress, when Nick W’s Sax came through – it was go time. So everything bounced down, numbered, named and in a folder – it was sent to Nick B.

“MY CHRIST. GOOD GOD.” were the thoughts that went through my head when I first heard it back from Nick B (and trying to fight off a full blown heart attack – because of how insane it sounded, I was fine really – very happy). A few more tweaks however and now its set for release in a teensy, tiny bit over a week from now! Cam, Adam and Nick W did an exceptional job to say the least and I am honoured that they played on this track, especially how stellar they did. I am also incredibly grateful for the work Nick B put into Mixing and Mastering the track, I am certain this is my best sounding release (so far…)

Since announcing this on social media, the most surprising thing about the response is the fact that two posts on TikTok about the track are (as of this writing) a little under two thousand views – not much in the grand scheme of the platform but for little ol’ me – I’ll take it! Couldn’t care less normally about the views but taking positives as they come!

Anyway, have fun, stay safe and get ready for Funk Right Off (Major C)

Miles

Pre-orders are now LIVE!

December 12, 2017 — Leave a comment

You are now able to pre-order “Caught in a Storm”.

Pre-order via iTunes and Amazon and get EXCLUSIVE access to the track “The Way It Should Be”!

Caught in a Storm (1)

“Caught in a Storm” is the first album by Miles Grindey, proceeds from the album and other tracks will be donated to the UK mental health charity, Mind. The album will be released January 11th 2018 and available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Tidal and more!

Follow Miles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

REWIRE RADIO TO BROADCAST EXCLUSIVE TRACK

December 9, 2017 — Leave a comment

Tomorrow night (10pm GMT) during Control Records‘ slot – an exclusive track will be played from Caught in a Storm!

You will be able to listen to it by visiting:

https://rewireradio.com/listen

On Monday, Caught in a Storm will be available for pre-orders on iTunes. Stay tuned for more details to follow!

Be sure to follow Concorde Records on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for new music!

Caught in a Storm is the debut album of Miles Grindey, it will be available on all digital platforms on January 11th 2018. Pre-orders will begin on December 11th on iTunes. You can follow more updates by following Miles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and his website.

ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT

July 1, 2017

During the general election, I was contacted by an eye-opening number of people about the stigma surrounding mental health. I was absolutely shocked about the abuse and vitriol people received from attempting to discuss their issues with their mental health. In response to this, I put this at the forefront of my campaign. However, I felt there was more I could do. Following this, I decided to write an album based on the music I wrote during the worst year of my life, in an effort to encourage other people to talk about their mental health and fight the stigma.

This album is a guitar-centric story about my year last year, one of highs and lows, laughter and sorrow. It completely changed who I am as a person and put me through at least two periods of mental health problems, where I’d previously had none at all in my life.

This is for all of you who’ve been told to “get over it”, that “it’s just a phase” or been cut off from friends of family. It is a reminder of the fact that you are not alone.

I’d like to personally thank, from the bottom of my heart, all of those who have stuck by me over the last year. Friends, family, everyone. Thank you.

I’ll be recording and mixing this album over the next few months and I aim to have this out on SoundCloud on January 11th 2018. It will be called “Caught in a Storm”. Any revenue I make from this will be donated to the mental health charity Mind.

My EP “Keeping My Sanity” was released early on in May 2017 – you can listen to it HERE.

You’re gonna get fracked hard by the Conservatives.

May 22, 2017 — Leave a comment

Fracking, it seems to have fallen out of the public eye – for whatever reason. But the fact remains that this is not the answer to our energy needs. I mean, I’m not keen on being able to set fire to my tap water. That’s just the bare minimum of what is wrong with the process. Near Blackpool, fracking was deemed to be the cause of earthquakes that occurred. MEDACT even released a report on it stating that the chemicals involved in the fracking process have the potential to cause cancer, lung diseases and birth defects on newborn children.

Here’s what a senior Conservative politician had to say:

Yes, the leader of Fareham Borough Council really said that. Here’s a link to his tweet.

Suella Fernandes (The Conservative’s candidate for Fareham) had this to say about fracking on her website:

“I therefore believe that these regulations will provide suitable protection against any health risks, so I support them.”

Across the world we’ve put our faith into the regulations set onto the fossil fuel industry, yet they don’t always work… I’ll just leave this here.

Caroline Lucas said that the Conservative’s manifesto was “a car crash for the environment” – I’d personally go one step further and say this is a multiple pile-up on a dual carriageway for the environment.

When it comes to our environment and who best to protect it, when it comes to protecting our green spaces, when it comes to protecting animals from the pollution as a result of fracking – it is always the Green Party that has done so.

The Green Party will make sure that our air is breathable and our water is drinkable. Fracking is too big a risk to take for yours and your family’s health.

The Green Party today also released our Green Guarantee which you can view here.

The Green Party’s record number of candidates

April 8, 2016

I’m very pleased to announce, in this year’s local elections in Fareham, The Green Party has its highest ever amount of candidates standing. We have five candidates and they are as follows:

Fareham North – David Harrison
Locks Heath – John Burdfield
Park Gate – Anthony Stainer
Titchfield Common – Fiona Harvey
Warsash – Miles Grindey (me)

Some of those people who are standing are doing so for the very first time. I am very proud that we were able to get the signatures very easily, I am impressed about how many people in our area were keen to support the Green Party. After a grueling couple of days walking (and lots of steps, I think I worked off all the chocolate from Easter!) There more than enough signatures and then it was a matter or registering our candidates at Fareham Borough Council. I was very happy to help out with the organisation of this and want to thank them all for being part of the democracy in the area.

We are making history in Fareham, especially since we are fielding more candidates than UKIP.

This is going to be a very interesting election.

Thanks for reading,

Miles Grindey

Brighton Life

November 1, 2015 — Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog and there’s a good reason for that! I’ve since moved to Brighton and have been settling in very well within my course and have been keeping links with groups and residents in Fareham. In order to accommodate this move, I’ve had to resign my position as Chair of the Warsash Residents’ Association and have had to reduce my involvement from a physical basis to a virtual one, although if Fareham needs me – I will be there.

My move does not mean that I have stopped caring about the important issues that effect my home. I will still be able to campaign via social media as I have done since 2013 and I will make appearances should residents request it. I will be returning on the 18th to attend the Warsash Residents’ Association’s AGM to see who is my successor.

I will be returning to Fareham and I will stand again, however my campaign will be much more limited till at least I finish my course – so to the Tories I say, don’t get too comfortable! The experience I will gain from the Brighton and Hove Green Party will be beneficial to the people of Fareham. If we pull together, we can see better public transport links, proactive consultation on planning applications. We don’t want another Welborne, what we do want is better democracy in Fareham.

So this won’t be a long post, but just to let you know that I am still around (in a way) and still have the energy to campaign on the issues that affect our lives.

Thanks for reading,

Miles

The Itchen Chapter has finished, let the next one begin…

July 9, 2015 — Leave a comment

On the 18th of June I finished my final exam at Itchen College, I can’t believe it’s been two years already! When I first started at Itchen, I had no idea what to expect. For me, the choice to go to Itchen was just to go to the nearest college in order to finally finish my A level exams to go off to University. I did not expect the intense and life-changing experience that I had received.

I always joined my teachers on the front lines… often bringing them a little something for their hard work! (L-R, Me, Allison Burns, Sadie Garner)

There were many struggles that were overcome. The most prominent one was that of the students union. On my induction day in 2013, I was approached to join it. I thought it would be that, the likes of which are common at university. I was wrong. It was nothing more than a lunchtime club (run by teachers) to sort out charity events, is there anything wrong with that? No. But there were other functions the student union had to do in order to actually be a proper “students union”. After many battles, I finally became Vice-Chair for 2014/15 with Gregory Smith as the Chair. Greg is probably one of the best people to work with in situations like these, so I’d like to thank him for his hard work and his good humour when times were tough. Last year, to ensure the students union was just that – we created the 2014/15 Strategy, multiple committees (and “job” descriptions for potential officers), a whole structure for the election for the next chair (we worked with Fareham Borough Council for ballot boxes, creating a notice of poll, nomination papers, finance sheets for spending) and even a constitution. After the Itchen Student Union (ISU) election, the winning candidate Reet Chen became Chair and the runner-up, George Presdee became Vice-Chair. I wish them both every success for next year’s student union. I’d also like to thank every member of the ISU for their hard work in everything we’ve accomplished. We were the most successful students’ union in recent times and you all deserve congratulations for that.

For a short time I was on the Itchen Governing Body as a Student Governor, a role in which I had enjoyed but had to resign after I soon realised that I couldn’t do everything. In order to be able to do your A Levels, run a general election campaign and be the chair of your local residents’ association there are some sacrifices you must make, and for me it was a hard decision but I had to call it a day. I’d like to thank Trevor Little, the clerk of the Itchen Governing Body, for his help and support while I was on there.

But overall I’d like to thank my teachers David Bown, Sadie Garner, Allison Burns, Mel Lockheart, Caroline Counsell, Lucy Scovell, Bridget Jones, Marcus Whitney, Chris Bluemel, Dawn Hitchcock, Adrian Blakey, Tim Dennis and whoever else I’ve (sorry) forgotten to add! You’ve all been tremendously inspirational to me and thank you all for giving me hope. I certainly enjoyed being on the front line with you every time there was a strike… it seems the battle is far from over there!

To finish, I’d like to finally thank the principal, Barry Hicks. We’ve disagreed pretty vocally about many things, often matters with the ISU, however I can’t say goodbye without saying thank you for keeping the college afloat in these times of austerity to allow me and many people to get an education at Itchen.

Now what next? Well we won’t know for certain until the 13th of August which is results day. Should I get into University, I will resign my post as Chair of the Warsash Residents Association and I am determined to continue on the committee to help promote them on social media. If I don’t get in, then I shall continue on and look for work. Regardless of the outcome I will stand again for Warsash in next year’s local election, I am determined to represent the people who have given me so much growing up in Warsash.

But until then, I’m still taking a bit of a break…

Thanks for reading.

Miles

Fareham’s Green Surge

May 9, 2015 — Leave a comment

I’d like to start by thanking every one of you who voted for me and The Green Party. I’d like to also thank the support I have received over this campaign from family, friends, supporters and people within our community. The Greens are a growing force in Fareham. The Green Party has been building on successive local elections to effectively tripling our votes in the general election. Let me give you some perspective:

In 2010 – we received 790 votes. In the early hours of Friday, 8th May 2015 – we received 2129. This is a clear sign that people, now more than ever, are going Green. This has laid out a huge foundation for our future campaigns and we are determined to build on this.

As I said at the count, Suella – I wish you well, I hope we will hear from you over your next term. However, this election isn’t the end of our efforts. This isn’t the last you have heard from me or The Green Party, we are here to stay. This is a new era of Fareham’s history.

I urge you reading this, if you have considered joining Green in the past. Do it now. If you have ever considered donating to your local Green Party to help with the production of newsletters, leaflets, badges, banners. Do it now. Because the Green Party will be fighting in next year’s local elections and we will be fighting hard. You have the chance to be part of the team that stands up for Fareham and provides our town with a future we can all be proud of.

Keep voting Green, Fareham deserves better, and so do you.

Thanks for reading.

Miles

The Greens take the campaign to Sarisbury

May 2, 2015 — Leave a comment

Today was a first for me, I leafleted Sarisbury Green with a supporter. I’ve never delivered leaflets outside of Warsash/Locks Heath before. It felt good. It felt like we were giving people the chance to look at an alternative to the sheer complacency and arrogance of elected representatives to simply ignore people and just put out a leaflet claiming that they “don’t just stick newsletters out during election time” but in actual fact that’s the only communication between representatives and the people they are meant to represent.

I’ve lived in Sarisbury for 8 years and you are the first candidate for any election to come to my door

(Resident in Sarisbury who spoke to me today)

The fact is that quote above defines what is wrong with Fareham and the way things work here. Our representatives are getting too cosy with their positions that they put each other in. No one has held them to account, until now. It wasn’t until The Green Party campaigned in Fareham that we put the issue of public transport on the table. A resident in Sarisbury was, quite rightfully, appalled that Fareham was named THE MOST CAR DEPENDENT TOWN IN THE UK.

The Green Party and I have had our ears to the ground, listening to what you have to say. We’re not waiting around to get elected to take action for you. We’re already fighting the issues that plague our community. Last year, after many residents in my home village of Warsash raised the issue of yellow lines, I went alongside residents to get rid of them down my street – and WE WON.

As I’ve said many times in this campaign, a vote for the Green Party is a vote for proactive representation.

We can do much better than this.

Thanks for reading,

Miles

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