Author: Helen Sanderson White

Songwriter, artist, writer and music teacher (singing, piano and music theory) from Buckinghamshire, UK.

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I often get asked about the stories behind the songs I write. Some of the songs are about my personal experience or based on the experience of others. I’m a real “people watcher” and I like to observe people about their everyday lives and that’s why you’ll see me in cafes a lot! This particular blog is a story that concerns my own experiences. Last year was a rough year for my husband and I; he was made redundant for the fourth time in five years and I had a miscarriage at the same time as this. It seemed like everything was going wrong, our finances and home were under threat again and the second baby we had longed for was gone. It all felt out of our control. A few weeks after the miscarriage, I went up to see my producer Andy Baker at Resound Media to discuss and look at new songs for an EP. We looked through the collection I had written and found five that worked really well together but we needed a sixth and nothing else from my collection seemed to fit. Andy suggested that we write something new together and he was aware of the situation that me and my husband we’re in. He asked me if I could describe the way I was feeling in one sentence, to which I replied “if that’s the way that it has to be” and so a song was born. One of things that I’ve learned over the years is that all experiences work for our good if we allow ourselves to learn from them or except that something might not be for us. I was very with angry with God over what had happened but resigned myself to the fact that he might have better plans than mine and although I didn’t know what they might be yet I still had to trust him. And this is reflected in the song lyrics “you see far beyond where I stand, and how it all fits in your plan”. I can’t say it was an easy song to write and poor Andy had to sit with me crying through most of our session! But it has yielded a song of my own experience that may be able to help others. I’m happy to report that I’m now twenty six weeks pregnant with another baby and that my husband has sorted out his job situation. It’s been a long road and has not been easy and there are still days when I worry that it’s going to happen all again, but that’s the challenge of faith, taking things one day at a time. You can hear the song “If That’s The Way” here…

 

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A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of taking my 5 year old daughter to the CD shop to buy her first ever CD; I’d been looking forward this rite of passage ever since she was born. She wanted to buy an Olly Murs album and although my husband was less than enthusiastic about her choice, we decided to make it a family trip.  When I was about the same age, my Dad took me to the record bar in Boots, Margate to buy first ever single. It was “I Just Called to Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder and I still have it. I have lots of happy memories of going record shopping with my Dad; buying Wham and the Greatest Hits of the year cassettes and LPs. However my daughter’s trip was short lived: we walked into HMV and the first thing she asked was “why are some of the shelves empty?” I had to explain to her that HMV was closing down and that there are no more large CD chains in this country. It made me sad that this will be her first and probably last trip to buy a CD; something that she should be able to do all the time.

 

The enormity of the shop closure didn’t seem to faze and her and as soon as she found the CD she wanted she was happy. This got me thinking about how the industry has changed and how new ways of working of developed. I do feel that the current phase of buying everything on the internet has robbed us of some tangible life events, such as buying our first album. The town I live in lost its HMV over a year ago; oh the irony of being a musician and living in a town where there are no CD shops!

 

The electronic market has robbed us of the ability to go and browse in a music shop. One of my friends still goes to London at the weekend to spend some quality time browsing the aisles and finding new artists. I really miss doing the same! I’d spend hours choosing CDs based on the genre and artwork alone. I would have never of heard of some artists without taking a risk on unknown music and buying their albums. I’ve also discovered new artists through having discussions with fellow shoppers. Could we lose some of our community by purchasing everything on line?

 

So how have things changed? Are there advantages? Remember the days of the listening pod at the back of the music shop? The internet has become a giant listening pod for new music; you just need to know where to find it. My friends and I try to recommend new music to each other as often as possible; I always check out iTunes free “Single of the Week”. People no longer buy stacks of CDs in the way that they used to, they tend use sites like Spotify to stream free music or pay the monthly subscription for longer listening hours. There has been a change in the way that people feel about supporting acts; fans often want to make a difference to the artist’s career and be involved in some of the background activities such as promotion, making a video, or helping to put together a tour. Many artists have moved towards asking fans to pledge money towards a particular campaign rather than just asking them to buy a CD. Fans feel they’ve helped and have some ownership in the artist’s work. Crowd-funding sites have sprung up across the internet and a newspaper recently dubbed the phenomenon as “Be Your Own Dragon”, referring to the BBC Dragon’s Den programme. I’ve also recently moved into the area of crowd-funding; I released a campaign to help me promote Christian music through making a music video (you can find it at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helensandersonwhite/helen-sanderson-whites-new-promotional-push ).

 

Some small music chains have survived: Rough Trade has always prided itself on supporting independent artists. They deliberately set out to be different and host new artist evenings where the acts do a short performance; they’re bringing back intimate, live performance. And curiously, Fopp are still going despite being owned by the same group as HMV! There are also independent shops across the country that have fought to stay open, so do pop in and say “hello” they always love to talk about music! People are tired of the bland, corporate store and want something more personal and home-grown. Is it time to “reclaim” our music community and bring back live music and an interest in the arts through independent stores? Although this may be the last time my daughter goes to HMV, she may well get her first trip to a new kind of independent, arts-supporting music store in the future…

 

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Check out my video!

It’s been an incredible musical journey for me over the last ten years. I’ve written, recorded, collaborated and taught – and as we move into 2013, the time is right for something new! Last year I returned to the studio with Sound Consultancy, the team behind artists like the Daughters of Davis and Philippa Hanna. The result is ‘Sirens and other Mysteries’, a brand-new six-track EP released this coming April. The team have really pushed me forwards, and helped me create what I believe is my best collection of songs yet!

BUT THE JOURNEY DOESN’T STOP THERE…

… Now we need to share these songs with the world, and that’s where you come in! I need your help to produce a music and promotional video that will carry an uplifting and inspirational message to a whole new audience: These are songs about life, faith and hope. I believe that God has called me to create music that is honest, open and realistic so that other people know that they are not alone in their struggles and successes. By branching out into visual media, we can help more people engage with music, life’s difficult questions and, of course, the Gospel.

In return for your pledges, I’m offering a whole range of rewards. As well as copies of my previous releases At Second Glance and The Sanctus Project, I am also offering vocal materclasses and your chance to appear in one of the videos. Remember, if we don’t reach our target we don’t get a penny. Any funds are greatly appreciated, so join us and help inspire, challenge and encourage through music!

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Radio airplay is gathering momentum! You can currently hear my music on the following stations:

  • Pew Talk Christian Radio – USA
  • Music World Radio – worldwide
  • Radio Bicester – UK
  • Salford City Radio – UK
  • Reading 4 U – UK

 

 

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A new single with Nikki Noodles…

Yesterday I released my new single called “I Need a Hallelujah” with dance music producer Nikki Noodles. You can hear the single at the attached link

The song is available to download at the usual download website (iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon etc). This is the second collaboration us, we’re still riding high on the success of our first single “Insane” which was a semi-finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest 2012.

Helen says “this new song has been a complete departure from our previous single and we’ve loved creating something new together. We wanted to delve deeper lyrically and create a song with a different vibe to our previous single.”

Nikki added, “Exploring a new genre has been really exciting and challenging for us both, and we think it suits the track perfectly. Hopefully our listeners will agree with us!”

The single is available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby etc and other major digital download websites.