2013 was definitely a landmark year. With the completion of the Daimon Brunton Quintet’s National Tour in 2012 I felt that change was in the wind.

I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Tower Of Power, Herbie Hancock, Maynard Ferguson, Billy Joel, Janis Joplin and Stevie Wonder (to name a few). In 2004 I spent much of that year transcribing funky Spanish pop songs, an ardous task notating every chord and horn line by hand whilst listening between the multiple synthesized sounds. In 2011 I was asked to transcribe Sharon Jones horn lines. All the while my first four albums, ‘Never Again Such Beauty’, ‘Unlimited Slip-Diff’, ‘My Favourite Things’ and ‘Wah Sa’ contained strong funk and groove influences. Over Christmas 2012 I bought a selection of ‘Bamboos’ albums and became addicted to ‘Gerard Presencer’ and ‘Snarky Puppy’. By January 2013 I had decided to put together I fully fledged 8-piece soul/funk band and alas, ‘Soul Cupcake’ was born. The brief I gave myself was to have half originals and half re-arrangements of classic songs. The re-arrangements had to be recognisable but nonetheless be stamped with my own unique writing style. So for the first time since 1997 I began to write originals with words. 12 months of writing, rehearsing and gigging later and ‘Soul Cupcake’ is two weeks away from going into the studio to record their first ever album.

On a personal note 2013 saw me decide to finally to change my trumpet playing technique. Fed up with continually tearing throat muscles, getting overly nervous before every gig, finding my range too unreliable and having to warm-up excessively before every gig I finally feel as though I now know how to play the most difficult instrument ever conceived of properly.

My sound is now one of the best I’ve ever heard (a big call I know) and reliability, volume and flexibility is like it has never been before. Range is continually strengthening and stamina is coming along also.

So we’ve decided to put ‘The Daimon Brunton Quintet’ on hold for 2014 and send all of our energies into ‘Soul Cupcake’ until that is well established. Here goes 2014 .. should be a cracker!