Two musicians smiling in a van setting off on a road trip to a recording studio in Manchester.
Biff Roxby picked me up in Bristol on Monday and we headed north — three days at WR Audio in Salford recording guitar and mandolin for the new record. More this week... 🎸 #newmusic #folkmusic #indiefolk
Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop, Blender, modelling clay, and pencil and paper ✏️
Rubberhose animation style inspired by Cuphead — with a modern twist.
#illustration #ukartist #bristolartist #artcommission #characterdesign #rubberhose #allthebananas #jofflowsontrio
Inspired by this quote — Nathalie Robin:
"If a monkey hoarded more bananas than it could eat, while most of the other monkeys starved, scientists would study that monkey to figure out what the heck was wrong with it. When humans do it, we put them on the cover of Forbes."
New video! 🍌🐵
Commissioned by Bristol folk musician Joff Lowson to illustrate his song "All The Bananas" — a cartoony but slightly sinister allegory about hoarding and inequality.
Commission reveal — with a few banana-related distractions along the way 🐒
Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop, Blender, modelling clay, and pencil and paper for character design and key elements ✏️
#illustration #ukartist #bristolartist #artcommission #characterdesign #rubberhose #allthebananas #jofflowsontrio
Labeled colour palette poster for illustration assets (monkey, bananas, crates, ocean, sky) on dark wood with a banana signature.
Aerial stylized view of a container ship beside a giant cascading bunch of golden bananas spilling crates and banana bits.
The brief: a tower of shipping containers, crates, and bananas 🏗️ a giant-yet-tiny monkey 🐒 and a rubberhose animation style inspired by Cuphead — with a modern twist to keep it feeling fresh.
Series of sketches and photos showing modelling of a spiralled banana-shaped tower topped with a small monkey sticker.
Sheet of perspective thumbnails showing a tall yellow banana on stacked red platforms, viewed from multiple angles.
Grid sketch of a figure beside a row of red cargo boxes and a pedestal with a yellow, banana-shaped form.
Sketchbook page on wood with a pencil sketch of a cartoon monkey holding a banana, ink pen-size swatches labeled 01–12, and a banana signature.
Inspired by this quote:
"If a monkey hoarded more bananas than it could eat, while most of the other monkeys starved, scientists would study that monkey to figure out what the heck was wrong with it. When humans do it, we put them on the cover of Forbes." — Nathalie Robin
Cartoon monkey leaping with arms raised, mouth open, tossing multiple bananas over a grassy hillside and mountains.
Monkey leaping and throwing bananas as a towering golden banana column rises from stacked shipping containers by the shore.
Pencil sketch on paper showing a giant monkey leaping over a stepped temple, clutching bananas, with scattered peels.
Four numbered elevation sketches of a 'Banana Tower': red stepped base, tan middle stack, and a yellow banana spire atop.
New illustration! 🍌🐵
Commissioned by Bristol folk musician Joff Lowson for his song "All The Bananas" — a cartoony but slightly sinister allegory about hoarding and inequality.
Huge thanks to the full crew:
Kai Carter (clarinet / guitar / banjo),
Joe Mansfield (violin / viola),
Bill Frampton (double bass),
and Matt McNicholas (drums).
Can’t wait to share this new music with you soon!
Four people in a recording studio, with two at a mixing console and others seated. Monitors display audio tracks. Cozy atmosphere.
A music studio with four men; one plays guitar, another works on a computer, and two discuss. Equipment and snacks are scattered around.
On Wednesday the 15th, producer Biff Roxby and I put together an ambitious plan: record all the core band parts in just four days. And I’m very happy to say… we absolutely smashed it
Two musicians in a recording studio: one plays an acoustic guitar and sings into a microphone, while the other adjusts equipment.
A group of four people in a recording studio; one works at a computer, two sit and engage, and one plays an acoustic guitar.
Two musicians in a recording studio, one playing guitar and singing into a microphone, the other adjusting equipment or providing guidance.
Two men sitting at a wooden table, playing a card game with colorful cards. A bottle of wine, glasses, and snacks are on the table.
Some snaps taken by Joe Mansfield during our first four days of recording in Manchester, 16th–19th October. We spent the days at WR Audio and set up camp in Irlam — complete with a few rounds of cards in between sessions
The song I’m playing here is “Benevolent Hypocrite” — the track we chose to kick off these sessions. I wrote it between 2010–2012, so it’s one of the older pieces in this batch. I’ve played for years, sometimes as an alternate opener when rooms are quiet… so it felt like the right one to begin with
Biff Roxby’s plugging everything in, Matt McNicholas is poised at the drum kit, Kai Carter’s ready at his station, and Bill Frampton is somewhere just out of frame!
Little behind-the-scenes moment captured by Joe Mansfield as we were setting up at WR Audio on our first day in the studio — 16th October
T.E. Yates' pre-recording notes
Had a super productive day setting up and making preparations. It feels great to be creating again — and to be back in my native Manchester for a few days too.
Also, a kid on a bike in Irlam told me I look French. 🇫🇷 I’ll take it.
T.E. Yates and Biff Roxby in the control room at WR Audio in Manchester, pulling wide silly smiling faces and looking at the camera
Main live room at WR Audio set up for T.E. Yates and other musicians to record
Main control room at WR Audio
Producer Biff Roxby at work in the main control room at WR Audio
It’s been almost a decade since I last set foot in a recording studio — but I’m delighted to say that I’ve reunited with my long-time producer and very good friend Biff Roxby at WR Audio to finally start making some new music! 🎶
Hope you’re having a peaceful Sunday 🌞
Here’s a mellow moment from the outro of "Apples of the Earth" 🍎🎶
Guitar (in DADDAE tuning) and double bass (Bill Frampton) winding down in harmony, finding a calm flow together. With a fun slide at the end! 🛝
This was the very first time Bill Frampton (double bass) and I played it together.
I’m on acoustic guitar in DADDAE tuning — here’s the instrumental intro as it begins to grow
First rehearsal, first take 🍎🎵
Where new roots begin...
Our first run-through of "Apples of the Earth" — literally ‘potato’ in French (plus Dutch and German)! 🥔
I’m on guitar (in BEBEBE tuning — yes, really!), with Joe Mansfield on strings and Kai Carter on clarinet.
The song’s all about renewal and river restoration — this is where it begins to lift
From verse into chorus — a moment where River Revived finds its flow 🌊🎶
Every note another ripple of life returning to our depleted rivers
From darkness into light ☀️🎶
Rehearsing "Michael O’Brien", the final movement of my "Manchester Martyrs Medley".
Mandolin (me), fiddle (Joe Mansfield), and guitar (Kai Carter) shifting from the darker tones of E minor into the warmth of G major — closing the medley on a more hopeful note 🎻☘️
Rehearsing "Michael Larkin", the middle movement of my three-part "Manchester Martyrs Medley"
Mandolin (me), fiddle (Joe Mansfield) and guitar (Kai Carter) exploring the darker tones of this Irish-inspired piece 🎻🇮🇪🎶
"Eternal Slumber" — the chorus takes flight... 🌙🎻
A short clip from the chorus of my new song "Eternal Slumber" 🎵
Rehearsed with mandolin (me), acoustic guitar (Kai Carter) and strings (Joe Mansfield).
A moment where rest becomes renewal. A glimpse into our recent rehearsal
New song taking shape... 🌙
Rehearsing "Eternal Slumber" 🎵
Mandolin (me), acoustic guitar (Kai Carter), and strings (Joe Mansfield) exploring the textures of the intro and first verse.
Can’t wait to share the finished piece with you soon!
From the sewers to the swing 🚇🎻
Part 2 of "The Jolly Tosher" brings a new feel — same tune, different flavour. Rehearsed here with Kai Carter (guitar), Joe Mansfield (fiddle) and yours truly (mandolin) all weaving together
Victorian sewers meet Irish swing 🚇🍀
Here’s a clip from an instrumental section of Part 1 of "The Jolly Tosher "— a song I wrote, inspired by Victorian sewer hunters in London 🚇💡
This melody carries a touch of Irish flavour, played on mandolin, guitar, & fiddle 🎶 With Kai Carter and Joe Mansfield
Tradition reimagined 🌿🎶
Our version of "Down in the Willow Garden" brings banjo, fiddle, and guitar together — with a lyrical twist on the old ballad’s dark story. Final few verses here.
Featuring banjo (Kai Carter), fiddle (Joe Mansfield), and guitar (me)
Behind the scenes of our rehearsal for "River Revived" 🎶🌊
An acoustic blend of guitar, clarinet, and strings, sharing the story of restoring rivers and the wild corridors they create. With Joe Mansfield and Kai Carter
#RiverRevived
"Dappled light dashes through dense leaves. Hinged trees bow as though in reverence" 🌿✨
Here’s a glimpse of our rehearsal for "River Revived" — a new song I wrote about river restoration, performed with acoustic guitar, clarinet, and strings 🎶 With Joe Mansfield and Kai Carter
#RiverRevived
