About ME

Musician, Songwriter, Entrepreneur, Traveler

Musical Artist

I release my own music under various project/band names depending the the style and purpose and people involved. Each project/band has its own style/approach to music making.

Instruments
My main instrument is the piano and keyboards. I play a to a basic level on bass guitar and bagpipes. I have been taking vocal coaching lessons since 2018.

Collaborations
I love to work with other artists and have collaborated with several including Judie Tzuke, Gary Tallant, Redrama, Mike Read, Peter Donegan and others.

Songwriting session with Gary Tallant and Grace Pettis
Songwriting session with Judie Tzuke and Lasse Mellberg (Redrama)
Songwriting session with Pete Donegan
Songwriting session with Mike Read and David Heaton
Brian Johnstone keyboardist playing digital piano in studio

songwriter

I write ‘songs’ and do co writes and collaborations with other musicians from other genres including rock, ambient/electronic, solo piano, cinematic, jazz/rock fusion, world music and more.

Individual songs and compositions may fit into many of the above styles (or others) so you can browse my catalogue of songs and filter by style, genres, instrumentation or mood – just like browsing on Spotify.

What do I write songs about?

Recurring themes across all my music are moments on fear, greed, injustice, the human condition, religion, fate, love and dreams. As an observer of the world and of human behaviour nothing is out of bounds.

COMPOsER, Arranger, Producer

Arranger/Producer
I arrange and produce music for a few other bands and artists.

Production Music
I compose music for soundtracks, jingles, audio branding and other commissioned work for various purposes and businesses.

Brian Johnstone Musician at the Facility Studio Nashville
At The Facility Studio Nashville
CD Baby DIY Musician Conference, Austin Texas 2019

Entrepreneur

I own and operate several business including my own music business.

I am co founder and Managing Director and one of the longest established online marketing/web design business in Scotland/UK.
I started Toltech Internet Solutions in 1997.

Traveler

I have travelled somewhat:

Visited 31 countries: some of them many times
Completed 39 trips to the USA
Visited most countries in Western Europe.
My favourite city: Vancouver
My favourite place: Yosemite National Park/Mono Lake

I gotta lot of traveling left  to do to see it all….

Zdiar Band Brian and Ralf on mountain in Canadian Rockies
Brian and Ralf in the Canadian Rockies
A rural train station in Germany on my way to the Zdiar mixing sessions
A railway station in rural Europe

CURIOUS Human BeiNG

My natural curiosity, thirst for knowledge and eagerness to learn leads me to…

Rugby Union:  I have played for 3 clubs over many years since I was in high school
Philosophy/Spirituality: North American Indian, Tao, Eckhart Tolle
Science & Technology: Having an Honours  Degree in Engineering I am predisposed to this
Everything: My natural curiosity and drive to learn give me an interest in virtually every subject.

Random Things

Random things you didn’t know you needed to know about me including:

My philosophies of life
My Top 10 of everything
Random Factoids
Things that piss me off
(coming soon)