When Orangutan Rings

Photo by Neil Sloman

Julie Wassmer interviews Nigel Hobbins about his new CD album for kids aged 1 to 100

There’s a word that’s used to describe someone who not only engages in several different artistic pursuits but actually excels in them. That word is multipotentiality, and it certainly applies to the skills of Nigel Hobbins.

An accomplished artist and wood sculptor, Nigel’s work in both fields has long been in demand for municipal and private commissions. He also teaches wood carving skills at his studio in the Challock countryside and is known to many of us in Whitstable as a talented musician and song-writer playing across Kent as a solo performer as well as in a duo with fellow Whitstable singer Diane Comley, and with other musicians as the band, “The Dreamlanders” – and preceding that, “The Backroom Boys”.

To date, Nigel has released six folk music CDs, predominantly of his own songs: Where’s The History (2002), Out Of His Tree (2004), In A Hole (2007), It’s only 8 ¼ Miles to Dreamland (2010), Swing Boys Swing (2015) and Levitating In Lockdown (2021) but on December 10th, a totally new musical project lands as a CD of 12 songs from Nigel, ostensibly for children but with fascinating appeal for us all.

I sat down with Nigel to learn more about When Orangutan Rings…

Nigel, you’re best-known for performing traditional English folk ballads as well as contemporary songs which are also steeped in the past and inspired by the local landscape. One of my favourites of these is These Simple Ways (2004), a paean to your rural upbringing in Challock on the North Downs, but also a lament to lives which have become overcomplicated by those who “govern” us. Such songs have given us food for thought over the years but the cleverly crafted numbers on your new CD, When Orangutan Rings have a glorious innocence about them as they’ve been composed for chiIdren. I wondered what inspired you to write them?

Well, there are twelve different animals featured and various ideas came when I was out in the countryside, observing local species or watching more exotic animals on nature TV programmes, but the ideas for some of these songs (The Giraffe, Sammy the Spider and The Flying Fox) were bubbling around in my head when my son, James, was born 35 years ago. Others developed out of our kids’ birthday parties when we were inventing stories to entertain them. The rest were either developed from notes I had made, or were written when I began recording with Richard Kilner in Spring 2022.

The CD is credited jointly to you and Richard Kilner, who has a recording studio in Canterbury. How did you come to collaborate on this?

I first met Richard when I played for Whitstable Labour Club’s cricket team. Richard had got roped into arranging fixtures for a team he played with occasionally (we liked to play for fun and always tried to find teams with a similar attitude because it wasn’t always about winning.) Richard had set up Canterbury Sound Studio and he plays and creates music too, but we didn’t actually do anything together until our paths crossed again over the last couple of years. Richard is a gentle man and creates a really good atmosphere for anyone recording in his studio.

I note that some of When Orangutan Rings must have been written during COVID lockdown periods. Did you have a specific mood in mind for these songs? How did the album come together?

Richard had mastered my previous CD, Levitating in Lockdown, again at Canterbury Sound Studio, and it was after this, early in 2022, that I rang him to see if he fancied collaborating on what I knew would be a fun project; songs, ditties, poems, stories and pieces – all with kids in mind. It was a chance to be playful – something I think I needed at that time. Luckily, it turned out that Richard was in the process of renewing some of the computers in his studio and so this CD became the project he used to make sure they all worked.

And how was the process? Did it take long to write and record the whole collection?

Some of the songs came together quickly, others developed over weeks as we recorded. There were specific mornings or afternoon slots when Richard would be free; a couple of full days at the start of the project, then a couple of weeks’ gap for him to play with what we were recording, and then make suggestions.

The pieces seemed to arrive as family members; brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, and we tried to explore different styles and sounds to give each song its own individual character.

In the course of that, some ideas fell by the wayside but two short stories, “A Tuft of Deer Fur,” and “Alien in the Attic” we’ve actually held on to, maybe for a future project. In total, the recordings, and the mastering, was all completed over a two-year period.

One of my favourite tracks on this CD is The Mouse Ate the Cheese, a fantastically mysterious piece which features children’s voices singing in one section. Can you tell us who they are?

That’s James and Dan, my sons, and James’s friend Jack Duncan. Their voices were actually recorded way back in 2002 because a mix exists from my first CD album Where’s the History? But that was never meant for sale and we recorded it only to commemorate the passing of my dad. This particular track on the new CD harks back to when the kids asked for cheese sandwiches for lunch and we couldn’t oblige because a mouse had got into the pantry and devoured the lot!

Another track, On My Dad’s Shoulders, will reconjure for many of us how we felt as small kids viewing the world as giants from a safe vantage point. Has that feeling never left you or were you reminded of this by a particular instance? I’d add that it’s not always a “safe” vantage point because I once saw a friend’s partner walk their child straight into the metal strut of a shade above a local Whitstable shop, so I guess it depends on your dad?

Yes, On My Dad’s Shoulders came from personal memories of carrying my kids on walks when we’d shout out “HELLO!” and wait for an echo before shouting back, just as happens in the song. A dramatic part used to be when we’d sing “Waterrrrrrrrrrrr!” and I’d drop forward and put a leg out to stop the kids from hitting the ground. They loved it and hated it at the same time, and this was especially effective on the groynes on the beach in Whitstable, (in fact, I’ve still got fingernail marks in my forehead to prove it!)

I had a similar experience as a kid with my own dad when he would be driving the family or a car-load of kids and we’d approach a particular bridge in Willsborough near Ashford that has a sharp drop. .Nearing the bridge, Dad would distract us in conversation …then speed up over the bridge so our stomachs would be in our mouths …and then on the car floor…Whoooohoo!

I also remember seeing one dad lift his daughter on to his shoulders in Canterbury and she banged her head on the metal strut of a window shade. Ouch! She cried but was okay and immediately wanted to get back on her dad’s shoulders …Hooorah for dads!

Indeed! And while these songs are, in turn, catchy, witty, observant, poignant, and even experimental, like the haunting track, Glowworm, this hugely entertaining collection is rather like a musical bequest, a handing down of precious memories stored from parenting your own children and being parented yourself. The past inspiring you once again?

Yes, I suppose so but without my having consciously planned that. The message from the chats I had with Richard at the start of project informed us to be playful, to try anything that came to mind and then edit later! My intention was also to try and keep the pieces visual, and easy to animate because I love the way that good animations created for kids will always draw adults’ attention too. Richard and I were both very familiar with Spike Milligan’s work for children and also Grimms Fairy Tales (keeping the slightly scary bits precious …not diluted). There’s definitely a link to folk songs and tales with which I’m familiar.

There’s a variety of catchy tempos and rhythms for each song, amongst these: African, Latin and reggae/ska. Is there a plan to get the songs animated?

It would be great if an animator wanted to collaborate on that. The songs are very visual and ready for use, but the project would need funding.

I can’t help but wonder whether within the final track, your narrated story, The Man Who Just Stopped and Sat Down Very Still, there’s more than just a trace of Nigel Hobbins – someone who has managed to excuse himself from the rat race and shut out the “busyness” of the mind that accompanies deadlines and tech. You still live in Whitstable but spending much of your time in Challock, with King’s Wood as your back garden, you are “planted” as it were in the natural world – rather like the character in this song, who literally takes root so that he and nature become one. Was there a fair degree of self-identification in that song for you?

Ah, yes. A fair bit of me, but also of anyone who wants to escape the pressures of modern life. It’s true it’s a common theme in several of my songs; returning to something much simpler but it’s usually only the wealthy who can afford to do this. That said, others are finding ways, shifting priorities and taking time to appreciate the simple pleasures of discovering what’s under our nose. I only wish more people could do the same.

And finally, “Never work with children or animals” is an old warning to entertainers about the pitfalls of trying to do either. Your songs are clearly about animals but will there be any live performances for children? I ask because at least one local school has told me they’d be keen for you to perform some of these songs for their pupils?

Well, Johnno at Gatefield Sounds in Whitstable High Street is not only stocking the CD, he’s also offered me the chance to do a half-hour performance from 4 pm on the release date, Tuesday 10th December, which also happens to be International Animal Rights Day.

So….a school performance? Why not? These are, after all, songs for children. I’m sure kids would make the perfect audience!

For what it’s worth, Nigel Hobbins, I agree!

PLEASE NOTE

When Orangutan Rings will be available from 10 December at:

Gatefield Sounds, 70, High Street, Whitstable CT5 1BB.

NB There will be a free 30-minute solo performance here by Nigel at 4 pm on 10 December.

Tales on Moon Lane children’s book shop, 21 Canterbury Road, Whitstable CT5 4HJ.

If you have difficulty getting to those stockists, you can email Nigel at dreamlander11@gmail.com for postal delivery.

For downloads go to the Bandcamp site at: nigelhobbins.bandcamp.com

And the album will be available SOON on the online streaming sites: Spotify, iTunes, YouTube.

Nigel Hobbins

A lifetime living in East Kent has had an enduring influence on Nigel Hobbins. For his music and song-writing Nigel takes inspiration from landscape, people, history, childhood memories and the witty observations of day-to-day life that champion the common man. With a handful of traditional songs he sings accompanied by guitar/mandolin, and a plethora of Kent musicians join him in both recordings and live performances as The Dreamlanders. See: nigel-hobbins.co.uk

Julie Wassmer

Julie Wassmer is a Whitstable-based author, TV writer and environmental campaigner. She has successfully fought a number of environmental issues, including fracking in Kent and tree clearances by Network Rail.

Her Whitstable Pearl crime novels are now a major TV series, starring Kerry Godliman.

Julie is also a patron of Whitstable’s own literary festival, WhitLit.

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