John Morton

0117 929 2765

Sector: Composer / Songwriter

Key Skills

Songwriter, Bassist, Jazz, Funk, Soul

Key Clients

I’ve been writing songs since 1992.
You can hear some of them in demo form at
www.idea-wps.com/sound.html and www.myspace.com/johnmortonsound
What you’ll hear there is straight off the computer, and not intended for release. Think of them as the sheet music (only without the paper)—as the guide for performance rather than the finished recording. I haven’t got the time to make them sound any more polished than this—and no amount of production will improve the actual songwriting—not when I’ve got so many more songs to write (I’ve finished over 250, with around 450 more in various stages of completion). In fact, I hardly ever even get as far as recording the vocals! Most of the time I put a guide melody on, and that’s about it. Then it’s on to the next song…
All my songs are looking for artists to perform and record them.
I don’t like to be too precious about categories, but equally I don’t like to mix up a load of different styles either. I do categorize them very loosely, though, into projects like The Jazz Band, The Blues Band, The Soul Band, The Funk Band, The Dance Band (for the songs I really want to keep to myself)), and even The Misc Band (for the songs which don’t fit into any of those).

I play a 1979 Wal Pro IIE fretless bass for jazz gigs, a 1979 MusicMan Sabre for funk gigs, and a 1989 Fender Precision (set up according to the James Jamerson formula) for soul gigs. I use Eden amplification.

In real life, I’m an illustrator and graphic designer. My clients have included BBC TV & Radio, HTV West & Wales, and Aardman Animations. I’ve designed many CD and LP sleeves for artists as diverse as The Electric Prunes and James Morton’s Porkchop as well as logos and publicity material for musicians, bands, and venues like Metropolis.
You can see examples of my work at
www.idea-wps.com/picture.html

0117 929 2765