Kevin : ... I have long been inspired by the ever-changing shapes and moods that clouds create in the sky. There is always something beautiful happening over our heads, which is taken for granted by most people, which is sad! There is a great beauty and majesty in clouds that I wanted to convey in music, specific to each different cloud type. It was a wonderful project to work on, researching the cloud formations and what causes them to form, at what altitudes, and what weather they are likely to bring along.

This album was a great opportunity to use the light, airy, floating textures that have become a trademark of my work. However, a more powerful, majestic side to my music is shown on the track "Cumulonimbus", the storm cloud, sometimes referred to as the "anvil". A storm cloud has an awesome majesty as well as the enormous power usually associated with the cloud. For this track I created a sound collage depicting the strong upward currents of air that extend the cloud up to the outer reaches of the atmosphere. It can be heard on the track, starting as a deep rumble, moving up through the frequency spectrum leading into each crescendo of music.

Serge : Your album "Pure Peace" is an original arrangement of the famous Pachelbel Canon. You worked on this project together with Llewellyn, another musician actively writing for New World Music. You can hear the soft vocals of Llevellyn's wife Juliana on this album too. What led you to collaborate with these talented musicians?

Kevin : As mentioned previously, I have known Llewellyn and Juliana for a number of years, well before we were all signed to New World Music, and in fact we live very close to one another in Hertfordshire! We have always wanted to collaborate on an album, and the opportunity arose to do a New Age/ambient version of Pachelbel's famous Canon in D together for New World.

Serge : Why did you decide to interpret such a famous work? Your version of the Canon is ideally suited for meditation and therapeutic purposes.

Kevin : There have been several previous New Age versions of Pachelbel's Canon - of varying quality. With "Pure Peace", we wanted to create a high quality version of the Canon that was enjoyable and interesting to listen to as music, as well as being suitable for relaxation. Llewellyn and I came up with the vision of a stream starting at its source high up in the mountains, then flowing down through woodland and countryside, gaining strength and size and growing into a river. Finally the river reaches the sea where its journey is complete. We decided that I would produce an interpretation of the Canon depicting the mountain source of the river and its journey through countryside to the sea, and Llewellyn would produce his own interpretation depicting the ocean itself. My "Source to Sea" piece starts off high in the fresh mountain air, with the Canon barely recognisable, gradually building to a grand statement of the theme by string orchestra. I have tried to be respectful to the original piece, by using the sound of string orchestra at various parts of the piece, but breathing new life into the music with my own style in other parts of the piece. In contrast, Llewellyn's interpretation, "By the Shore" is more ambient, with his own style showing through in the use of celtic sounds, Juliana's wonderful soft vocals and recorders and violin parts played by Tori Donovan (who also played on his "Celtic Legend" album). We are both very pleased with the resulting album - it has become one of New World most popular titles!

Serge : Do you practicse meditation or any other spiritual techniques? What are your views on spirituality in general?

Kevin : I am completely open-minded in spiritual matters. I believe that there is a life-force much greater than the human race that has the power of creation and regeneration. Maybe that is what we know as "Nature" itself, maybe something else - I don't know. I am not specifically religious, although I know there must be some kind of life after death - there is too much evidence coming to light to suggest otherwise! I do not practise actual meditation techniques - my great love is music - it is the main force in my life and I derive all I need from it. The joy and emotion I experience on listening back to a brand new piece of newly-composed music is impossible to describe in words, and it is probably a feeling unknown to most people except perhaps other musicians. That feeling of wonder is as close to spirituality as I can imagine! ...