OK, introductions and such. My name is Tim Walker, though I use “T.A. Walker” as my “stage name”… and answers on a postcard if you can think of a less pretentious term than that 🙂 (It’s partly that I thought the initials sound quite “musicianly”, but mainly because there are a few other “Tim Walker”s in the creative space—a British journalist on the Independent newspaper, a classical guitarist and a singer-songwriter in New Zealand, to name but three—and I didn’t want any confusion.)

I think of myself as a multi-instrumentalist and composer who also writes songs, but if you’d prefer “singer-songwriter”, I won’t get in a Robert-Fripp-when-King-Crimson-is-called-prog-rock-type huff over it. My output tends to oscillate between prog-tinged instrumental pieces (a la Mike Oldfield, Anthony Phillips, etc.) and songs mixing elements of rock, folk, prog and electronica (biiiiig list), sometimes with comic elements and sometimes not. I also produce 60s/psych-tinged guitar pop with whimsical English leanings, under the “band pseudonym” The Pattern Store. Confused yet?

My main instrument is guitar, in its various forms—I especially enjoy playing electric and 12-string acoustic, and MIDI (synth) guitar—but I can also pick up other fretted strings such as ukulele and mountain dulcimer) and play a bit of drums too.

I’m very “into” music technology; I’ve been multitrack-recording since the early-90s (on cassette four-track), and fully digitally since 2000. An offshoot interest of mine is songwriting and recording on mobile devices (e.g. iOS machines like the iPhone and iPad), and seeing how far it is possible to use them to produce release-quality material… an ongoing and evolving experiment!

The rest of the time? I’m doing my day-job, whilst also being a husband and father (and occasional creative consultant) in my great family, and finding the odd moment to indulge other interests, such as computing (especially Linux) and social media.

Anyway, pull up a dustsheet-covered armchair and settle down for a few minutes. You are most welcome…

Tim