A little history
I’m predominantly a bassist. Electric bass. I studied at Leeds College of Music from 1999 – 2003, a BMus in Jazz & Contemporary Music. I moved up to Newcastle University going on to complete a MMus with Distinction in Contemporary Music. As chance would happen, I met and improvised with students of the Folk & Traditional course in sessions and kitchens. Ever since, my main involvement has been within Folk and World music.
Gear
Simple. That’s my idea of a good set-up. I have two basses. One’s a fretted 5-string Stuart Spector Design, strung with a high-C. I enjoy playing chordal parts on this one. The other’s a beautiful Italian handmade Manne Acoustibass, a 5-string fretless with the more usual low-B. Great for emulating double bass. I run it all through my Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 head (one mighty beast with lovely clear tone despite it’s size!) connected to a lightweight NEOX212 Genz Benz 600W cab. For smaller gigs I sometimes use a smaller Gallien Kreuger 100W cab instead.
Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo (2010)
Experience
During my 15 years of being a bassist I’ve enjoyed getting into all different styles of music. I am currently working with Sony Award-Winning singer-songwriter Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies and with Monster Ceilidh Band and have been lucky enough to perform all over the world from Denmark, Spain and Switzerland to Canada, USA, Russia and Malaysia.
Past bands have included Shona Mooney Band (folk), Maybe Myrtle Tyrtle (indie), Futuristic Plastic Surgery Disaster (post-rock), Cosmonaut (electronica) and Gallo (funk). I’ve played in a variety of musicals, including Grease, Footloose and Wizard of Oz and, just for the record, performed live on Canadian Morning TV wearing a pair of bright orange flares…
Session and dep work
I’ve depped for many bands both live and in the studio. I consider myself very dedicated to what I do – whether it’s learning pieces by ear, from charts or from notation I’ll always endeavour to ultimately play with the right energy and feel. That’s what the bass is for – to provide the ‘base’. And I’m not one of these people who gets squeamish in the studio – I love being in them! If you want to chat about me coming to play, either in a studio environment or for functions (covers bands/ ceilidhs), you can email me at david@daviddelahaye.co.uk
Check out my discography.
Teaching
I’m available for one-to-one tuition either at my home studio room or in the comfort of your home. If you want to learn about theory, groove and ultimately how to enjoy playing music with others, I could help. It’s important to have a general understanding of music theory. It makes playing with others a lot easier! Having said that, I emphasise creativity and musicianship too – I enjoy players who have their ‘own sound’ and encourage students to find theirs.
Rates
£15 for 30mins
£25 for an hour
Booking
If you’re interested in booking a lesson, just give me a call – 07949 552 077.