Though perhaps known to most as the ex-Noisettes drummer and the current Stereophonics drummer, Jamie Morrison is responsible for bringing us the beautiful music and stunning story of Drewford Alabama, with todays release of ‘Time Is On Your Side’ featuring Bnann of The Infadels being the second installment since the release of the first EP (EP1) back in January.
The story behind Jamie’s inspiration and passion is wonderful, and one of the best stories you’ll ever hear. Whilst touring with The Noisettes in 2007, Jamie was unfortunately left without his luggage in Williamsburg, New York. A shopping trip left Jamie with a jacket and a suitcase, with him returning to his hotel room to find that the lining of the suitcase had been tampered with, discovering a book of lyrics by Drewford Alabama inside. As any creative person would, Jamie took a look at the lyrics and become obsessed, eventually tracking down a relation of Drewford called Mary-Anne Alabama; Mary-Anne told him tales of how Drewford loved writing songs, though unfortunately lacked the courage to ever sing them to anyone other than his family. Jamie was that touched by Mary-Anne’s stories that he equipped himself with a guitar and tape recorder, taught himself to play, and introduced his friends to the music. Thus, ‘Life & Times Of Drewford Alabama’ was created.
Upon my first listen of ‘Time Is On Your Side’, I knew that it was going to follow the success of EP1 instantly. It’s instrumentally striking and I became fascinated with lyrics such as “got that beautiful chaos in my mind” – Drewford Alabama is one astonishing musical project. As previously mentioned, the single features Bnann of The Infadels, another wonderful collaboration since EP1 featured Fyfe Dangerfield from Guillemots, Emma’s Imagination, & Dawn Landes. EP1 gained airplay from a range of well established radio stations including XFM, 6Music and BBC London, and I have no doubts whatsoever that ‘Time Is On Your Side’ will follow in its footprints.
