Sampling the Organ of St. Mary's Winkfield

If you're mad enough to have read more than one of these descriptions my website builder is prompting me to write for each of these entries, you may notice the Organ of St. Mary's Winkfield mentioned before. (If not, see Vanity 2).
I have a lot of history with this beautiful instrument, and pipe organs in general, having grown up a chorister, singing in cathedrals all around the country, and at points around Europe.
But it was this particular organ that remains the most special to me.
*****Dreamlike transition*****
After I had just graduated from my undergraduate at Cardiff, scraping through with a 60.5 - achieving a perhaps not-so deserved 2:1, I was pondering what to do. Corporate life was a BIG no. Being an academic clearly wasn't for me. But I had always dreamed of writing pop songs and writing music.
So with my dream under my arm, my chorister skills as a bargaining chip, and good amount of determination and persuasion, I got myself a key to the church at all hours.
So I would go and work my customer service job, 9 - 6, rush home, eat dinner, and get to the church for 8pm, every night, for the next year.

Many wondered what I was doing. As did the bats and the mice that would frequent the night shift with me. I did too.
But it was the dream of writing music. The need to do it, knowing that I could make sense of this mad world through the keys, stops and pedals on that big old dusty organ, and the beautiful Yamaha piano, too.

And so, after another degree (I thought I wasn't cut out for those?_) and a few short films later, I had the idea. Sample the organ, and quickly, before it's restored, so I can capture it exactly how I'll always remember it.
And yes, that meant playing every single note, of every single stop, one at a time, waiting for aeroplanes to pass and loud cars to be out of ear shot. The recording took two whole days and many cups of tea. The editing took over two weeks, as I was not as prepared as I thought I was.
Either way, it turns out (again) that weeks of unpaid work do eventually pay off. The samples I made from this organ have been used on every single project and track I have written since. Sometimes more obvious, sometimes completely mangled into something else. But every single one.

And at the time of writing this, 2nd October 2024, I have finally decided to let these samples go. But not for free, and not to everyone. Only those who firstly find them, and secondly pay! There's an introductory offer that might last months and years and it may only generate a few sales, but I think it's about moving onwards.

It turn's out there another St Mary's church nearby that has a wonderful, dusty and small 19th century organ in need of restoration. AND IT's ALL MINE! (for now).

Please do check out the samples for sale on my website. And the demos I have created showing them off.