I’m in the studio at the moment with my band Barnstormer, recording our new album Restoration Tragedy, which you can check out here. 

We aim to bring not just ancient instruments to life but also a number of characters from that tumultuous period in our history when “the world turned upside down” after the execution of Charles I in January 1649 and, for a time, real fundamental social change looked on the cards until Cromwell’s Grandees, who had taken power for their own ends, suppressed the radical elements in the New Model Army.

Instrument-wise, we have a fine selection — crumhorn, cornamuse, bombarde, shawm, rauschpfeife (a really loud bastard) mandocello and a host of more modern stuff like fiddle, viola, mandola, and, of course, a rock n roll backline.