About
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Ken Cox Music, Scotland
Music teachers from hell did all they could to put Ken off music at school... all he wanted to do was play Scott Joplin... and they made him play scales... he gave up the piano... asked to play drums... they made him try trumpet... lasted a few weeks... then at last drums... pipe band... great snare rudiments.... a drum kit...
Ken wrote his first song on guitar aged 21... he was love sick for his girlfriend Patti. Ken was in Birmingham, Patti was in Olympia WA, USA....
Ken played drums in bands in Birmingham... folk, pop, jazz, and hung out with the crowd at Vindaloo records.... and then headed off for South America and fell in love with afro cuban and Brazilian music and dance.
Back in Edinburgh he joined the Edinburgh samba school and soon ended up being one of the leaders/teachers. To learn more he returned to Brazil where he joined Bira Reis band in Salvador and played Maracatu in Olinda. He was invited to bring the Edinburgh samba band to play carnival in Olinda, Brazil in 1977. Followed by a film crew, in kilts, with Braveheart makeup and bagpipes, the Edinburgh band... O Bloco Escoces was a media sensation... on MTV Brazil and much of the Brazil national press.
Studio Work
Ken's studio near Perth is where most of the songs are recorded, with guest musicians such as violin virtuoso Mel Scullion.
Tutored in studio work and mastering FL studios by producer musician Euan Alison (recording as Magnus), Ken produces and arranges songs for others, as well as working on his own material.
In February 2023 Ken Spent a few days at Saltwell studios, near Cambridge with Chris Pepper, recording his songs Praying for the Wind and co write The Leaves Have Still to Fall.
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Song Writing
Ken has written songs for over 30 years. From 2017 onwards Ken has studied songwritng with many top UK songwriters including Boo Hewerdine, Kathryn Williams, Jon Boden, Kenny Anderson (King Creosote), Emily Barker, Emma Pollock, Colin MacIntyre- Mull Historical Society, Peter Wilson-Duke Special, Findlay Napier, and from the USA Gretchen Peters and Darden Smith.
Co-Writing
Ken has co-written songs with many others including Nik Newark, Phil Langram, Lindsay Strachan, Innes Watson (Peat Bog Fairies) inneswatson.co.uk , Edinburgh poet Elspeth Murray, Susy Wall, David McNeish, Mike Molleson, Lynn Wotherspoon, Rosie Bell, Mick Jenkinson, Anne Greig, Boo Hewerdine and the amazing Queen of folk Peggy Seeger.
Ken reckons you can write a song about almost anything.
Some of the subjects of Ken's songs include:
- The Cosmetic Industry (Keratin and Caviar)
- The Eyemouth Fishing disaster 1881
- Gun Violence in the U.S.A.
- Growing Old defiantly
- First World War and Indian Soldiers who served.
- Michael Marra
- Maximon (Guatemala)
- Maiz in Central America
- Nan Shepherd
- Extinction
- Vinegar tears
- Stanley Robertson & Sam Lee
- Stolperstein
- The King of Burma's Betelnut Box
Song Writing Workshops
Ken runs song-writing workshops which can be 2-3 hours, a full day or a whole weekend... we work on lyrics, melody, structure and do individual and co-writing. Ideally it ends with a performance of the new songs written. Ken can work with many song writing styles which include electronica, Americana and folk music, pop and rock and latin music.
