A new chapter and Verse for Tony

Coleraine musician Tony Wright - aka VerseChorusVerse - has teamed up with MOBO and Urban Music Awards-nominated David Lyttle to produce a stunning new album.

And the dynamic duo have collaborated to amass a seriously impressive percussion-heavy, guitar-driven, soulful set of songs in Say & Do (Lyte Records).

The pair met when Tony, who grew up in Coleraine and Portstewart, visited David’s Nerve Centre Musician-In-Residence studio in Derry earlier this year.

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After finding common ground in iconic singer-songwriters, American hip hop and the blues, their initial collaboration quickly grew into a studio album and a live project.

Feeling the urge to capture the power of the songs whilst relying on only the performance and chemistry of the two musicians, Say & Do was recorded with two microphones over a total of fourteen hours.

VerseChorusVerse was born in 2011 after Tony left And So I Watch You From Afar to bare his soul in a different way.

He has since gigged extensively across the UK and Europe from major festivals to intimate house shows and in 2013 released his debut album VerseChorusVerse, produced by Ivor Novello winner Iain Archer, formerly of Snow Patrol.

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One of the videos,”Nothing Is Easy”, was nominated for best short music film at the well respected Limelight Short Film Awards in London.

A passionate live performer and a prolific songwriter with a knack for telling it like it is, be it factually or fictionally, he has had personal invitations from artists as diverse as Daniel Johnston, Bronagh Gallagher, Jesse Malin, Andy Cairns, Devin Townsend and Tim Wheeler to join them on tour. Tony is very proud of his local roots: My folks used to own the old Astoria chippy on the Bushmills Road.

“My mum taught me a few songs when I was eight after getting turned down for the school orchestra.”

Speaking of the album, Tony says: “I’m very proud of it, it was fun to strip back so much and let the songs do the talking. Playing with a musician as gifted as David certainly helped. We’ve just done three shows - Belfast, Clonakilty and Derry, where the album was born and theres another in Derry.

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“ It’s David’s end of year show with some of the people he has collaborated with as the city’s Musician in Residence.

“I’ll be playing, as will Rosborough, John Deery and Neil Cowley and a host of others, at the Nerve Centre on Saturday, December 5. Then there will be more shows announced for early next year soon.”

David Lyttle is known as much for his eclectic studio projects as his jazz drumming.

On his most recent album Faces he adopts the role of instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and singer. It was described by Rolling Stone as “one of the best, robust listening experiences you’re likely to have this year” and featurescollaborators such as US rap star Talib Kweli, azz icon Joe Lovano and Duke Special.

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