Ian writes...

"One of my musical ambitions has been to write an album of ambient, New Age, relaxation music...and this is it!!

Several years ago a friend lent me a copy of Brian Eno's 'Apollo Soundtrack'. I was amazed by its power of creating such a relaxing mood, and it has often been an album that I turn to when I need to 'chill out'! As a musician, I was even more intrigued by how Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois created such soundscapes with the technology available in 1982, but I guess that is what gives the album its magical feel.

And so to Night Visions. The latter part of the 20th Century has seen a huge ongoing acceleration in musical and computer technology, which most people can access if they have the ability or inclination. I have built my own studio up over the years, with the most recent purchase being a Roland XV-3080 synth module. It was during my familiarisation with this piece of kit that I was inspired to write the music for the album; the vast majority of the material was written during the early hours of the mornings of Easter 2001. This is what I call 'method composition'....writing at a time that is appropriate in order to create the right feeling (i.e. when you're half asleep and in the middle of one of the most spiritually important times of the year!)

I let the dust settle on the compositions over the summer of 2001, taking them on holiday with me to see if they helped me relax. As I don't remember getting to the end of the disc of tunes before falling asleep, I thought they must be good enough!! The album was mixed and mastered on my birthday, 20 August.

The titles are the least important part of the album - the mood they create is the key. This is NOT a mainstream pop album. Call it relaxation music, call it 'musical wallpaper' it is best enjoyed with the lights down low, a glass of your favourite tipple to hand, even with the headphones on in bed trying to get to sleep. If you go for the latter option, let me know if you get to the end of the CD without falling asleep!

In the pre-release feedback for the album, I was asked where I got the 'sexy American vocal samples' from. The spoken phrases are by my good friend and song-writing collaborator Deena De-Vries Jones. I had her record several words and phrases of a relaxing nature that came into her mind after having heard some of the music.....and the rest, as they say, is history.

The superb artwork for the front sleeve is an original painting done especially for the album by renowned Southport-based artist Dave Grimbleby (Tel 01704 514644). He created the work having heard an early version of the album trying to capture its mood - the title for the album was a piece of cake having seen the painting!

Finally, if you have bought the album and are reading this after having heard it please let me know what you think of it by e-mailing me. If this goes well I will certainly do some more as I really enjoyed writing it."