Biography

Occasionally it's good to give oneself up to a particular landscape in your experience, to wonder upon it, to dwell upon it and to listen to the people who made their mark on it. It isn't simply the sublime thrill of moving through magnificent plains, mountain ranges, valleys and cities. It could be the sigh of the wind through juniper trees, or the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset, or the smell of an old wooden church on a quiet street. Distinctive music often defines cultures that have emerged from such a landscape, and so drawing on folk, gospel and jazz influences, these songs are reflections and dreams from my journey.
Mike Howe is a multi-instrumentalist composer, living and working, as an ecologist, in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park on the south-western tip of Wales, a place where big Atlantic swells wash up on some of the most stunning beaches, cliffs and islands in the world. His music has been described as “humble, heartfelt and strikingly beautiful...and he has an incredible talent for composing and playing gentle instrumental guitar music that seems to flow almost effortlessly, carrying the listener away on soothing waves of melodic and catchy tunes”. Mike has been nominated in the Zone Music Reporter Awards for each of his 3 albums, starting with Best New Artist in 2009 for his debut album Time Stands Still, and Best Acoustic Instrumental Album for his follow up albums Round River (2010) and Island Of Anywhere (2011). Mike's influences span many genres of music, and the sound he has developed on the acoustic guitar, backed by keyboards, bass and drums, which he also plays, reflect folk traditions and conjure up emotive images of nature and landscapes.