Since being forced to put their own projects on hold, members of many notable Manx groups have banded together to create original music remotely.

Guitarist, songwriter and producer James Craig has used his home studio, christened ’Albert Road Studios’ to encourage musicians to take part in singing and playing original music during the lockdown period.

Last week he released a second song, ’Shine On Everyone (It’s a 90s Thing)’, a song which he wrote alongside fellow producer Mark Cleator and recorded with the help of friends, drummer Steve Leach and bass player Paul Kinrade.

Nick Clarke also joined in, writing the lyrics and also singing on the track.

James has been writing the songs and sharing them with various local musicians, who learn and record their individual parts before returning them to James, who mixes the rough recordings and turns them into a final, polished track.

’Shine On Everyone’ follows on from ’On This Ground’, which was recorded with help from a team of well-known musicians, including Ian Astill, Keiran Ball, singer Thomas Cox and Ian Manton.

’Essentially, writing and producing these songs was a way of keeping us sane,’ said James.

’I produce everything in my own studio and I contact musicians who I know have the equipment and the abilities to record themselves and send them to me. They were intended as much of a social thing, to keep myself and friends going, as anything else but they have turned into really good songs.’

James has also produced eye-catching videos to accompany the songs, splicing together self-filmed footage together with in-phone effects.

’I want to carry on with these as much as possible over the next few weeks, and I have already got a few more really good musicians who are interested in taking part in recording more songs.’

James is a founding member of many popular local groups, including the tribute band Pigs On The Wing, Little Bit O’Rosie and In The Blood.

Both songs can be heard on the ’Albert Road Studios’ Facebook page as well as on YouTube.