My Bipolar Life

2011-02-19T12:02:00.001Z

'First fruits' my first release of 2011 online now. listen here or download from a load of sites. www.nickhopkin.com for details

2011-02-15T22:12:00.001Z

My first release of the year, 'First Fruits' is online here and at www.nickhopkin.com It's free to download. I hope you enjoy it :)

2011-02-12T22:17:00.001Z

New music 'First Fruits' has been mixed and mastered. Just getting a new site together and it should all be online this month :)

2011-02-12T13:28:00.001Z

Testing testing 123, ping my post to all my feeds!

I'm still ALIVE !

2010-02-04T15:55:00.002Z

I'm still ALIVE, More than ever!Am working on lots of songs, will be posting some online soon. In the meantime all my songs are on www.legaltorrents.com , which becomes www.clearbits.net in mid February 2010.Thanks.

'Project_ X' online

2009-05-09T12:53:00.001+01:00

9 MAY 2009:'Project_X', my latest album has just gone online as a free download.Split into 4 parts, it runs at just over 30 minutes, taking in all styles of music. Dub, Ambient electronica, Rock, Pop and Ballroom are mixed with instrumental soundscapes; artists from all over the world have contributed spoken word, lead vocals, arrangements, live drums, guitars, you name it. We even managed to

Project_X Update

2009-04-26T13:56:00.002+01:00

Well, all files are back from contributors all over the world; they range from people with commercial studios, to people who've aired their lungs into dictaphones, laptops and mp3 players. And it's all sounding fantastic.I just have to edit a few bits of audio and place them, and then I'm at mixing stage. The website is half done and I've signed up with various networking sites. So come join me

Learning to Live.

2009-03-04T15:09:00.003Z

I feel Alive. For the first time in a long time, I'm feeling peace within. I don't particularly enjoy getting up in the morning, but once up I love the sound of the birds, the warmth of the Spring sun. I'm enjoying where We live, in fact, I love it. I'm expressing myself creatively, and enjoying home life.Project_X is still a labour of love. Contributions are starting to come back, and other

Project_X Update

2009-02-11T12:07:00.002Z

I'm staring to get sections back from contributors and so far everything sounds great!I'm building a choir for one short section, hoping to get as many people as I can singing the chorus. If you fancy joining in, contact me - nick at nickhopkin dot com - and i'll send you a link to some files to download. Look forward to your contribution.That's about it on the news front. Over and out.

PROJECT_X

2009-01-30T09:07:00.002Z

Ok, so I've been a bit slack on the blog front but very busy. Christmas and the flu have passed now, so it's on to decorating all the bedrooms in the house. Exhaustion kicking in now after one room, and surrounded by chaos.Musically, 'Project_x' (working title) is taking shape. It's a big project I started in late November, with the idea of writing a long piece of music incorpoating lots of

November 2008...

2008-12-05T20:45:00.002Z

So what's new?Lots. I got married. We've got another baby on the way. I'm under the care of a new Doctor, Dr. F, who so far not only gives a shit but I also leave his 'mood clinic' feeling positive about the future. This is good. I've taken part in some research into Bipolar Disorder being carried out by Cardiff and Birmingham Universities. They're studying the genetics and possible influence on

Drums, new music and wobbles.

2008-10-24T17:16:00.002+01:00

Waking up most days and feeling like crying for no particular reason suggests that I may be hitting a depression. It's usual for this time of year but still unnerving. I hate feeling like this, on the edge. It's not too serious yet, I'm aware of it, but feel completely exhausted constantly and fairly wobbly in general. I'm still feeling calm within myself and am enjoying our new surroundings as

another day

2008-09-13T20:27:00.003+01:00

A thousand thoughts run through my mind / too many will get left behind / unless I scrawl them down / so as not to lose the spark that could burn to the ground / A new world carved from the trunk of a tree / that's lived a lifetime longer than you or me / I wonder how many ages they've lived through / seen things to churn stomachs make cheeks turn blue / A new song played from harps in the sky /

We made it...

2008-09-12T22:45:00.002+01:00

So We made it to Wales in a fairly stress-free move, thanks to the Boys at 'Bishop's Move'. It took a month of packing, 60 odd boxes, 15 rolls of parcel tape, a few long days and a month of unpacking but now we're settling in and relaxing. Our vision of moving to a quiet country village nearer our families has become a reality. Thanks mainly to some inheritance from my late Great Aunty Olive, who

Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space...

2008-06-30T20:44:00.003+01:00

So last week was a test. It began with a meeting with my latest psychiatrist, although we had to fight to keep that appointment due to the secretary reading the diary wrong. Amazing that you can be feeling really ill, and be communicating that to your 'care team' and still spend a week waiting to see someone. Anyway, we see Dr. T who is more confused than I am about my current mental state,

Mixed up

2008-06-22T21:10:00.002+01:00

"Manic depression is a frustrated miss." (Jimi Hendrix)Mixed states, rapid cycling, moodswinging between mania and depression daily. It's not a nice place to be. But I see a new Doctor tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

They call it Stormy Monday

2008-06-17T10:55:00.002+01:00

What a start to the day! Someone's taken the wing mirror off our car and slashed the front tyre with a blade. That's £70 spent already. So much for my trip to the studio today to create. Milly has drawn up the walls and some delivery driver has just gridlocked the village by parking on the zig-zags at the traffic lights. They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad... Funny, I had that

A funny week

2008-05-28T21:49:00.004+01:00

OK, so i've talked before about how I love reading books by inspirational people; people who have pushed that extra mile, fought against immense hardships and come out the other end, people who have swam against the tide and not drowned. I heard on the radio that Trisha Goddard has an autobiography just out. So her show is tabloid tv, but she has persevered through abuse, depression and other

Pull the Curtains

2008-05-23T21:41:00.002+01:00

"Pull the curtains on the daySometimes it is the only wayPull the curtains on the nightSometimes it isn't worth the fight."(Grandaddy, 'Pull the Curtains')Been feeling light headed today. At a loose end. Tired.Feel creative tonight, but no sparks are flying from my brain and out of my fingers. If I try too hard, it'll drive me mad. So I'll sit and listen to some Grandaddy instead. More gaps

Filling gaps...

2008-05-20T20:38:00.002+01:00

I must be due a rant.Listening to that great lost British band of the late 90's that was 'Cable'. 'Ultra Violet' still rocks 11 years on! Also Deftones, SFA, and Massive Attack have made appearances toinght. Been watching Johnny Cash's 'Walk the line'. Started reading 'Gang leader for a day' by Sudhir Venkatesh. Been looking for places to live in South Wales. Been getting sunburnt. Been filling

It seems so far away

2008-05-05T21:43:00.002+01:00

Well, it's my birthday tomorrow, 36. That makes it 5 years of living in this sleepy village. Been thinking about it this past week or two. I moved here from Brighton, not long out of a stay in a psychiatric hospital, coming out of a severe depression and the end of a destructive relationship. Looking at our bookshelf yesterday, i saw so many inspirational books i've read since then.

Cops, Robbers and Blue Hair..

2008-04-23T00:15:00.003+01:00

Last night, at 2 a.m., the shop we live above got broken into. Someone took out the shop-front window and stole 3 vacuum cleaners. Duh! Personally, I would have gone for the widescreen tv's 3 doors down, but maybe they already have one (everyone seems to these days) and have dirty carpets. We scrambled downstairs, caught no-one, called the old bill, then listened to alarms going on and off all

Some Velvet Morning

2008-04-21T13:48:00.000+01:00

Woke up this morning with 'Some Velvet Morning' by Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra going round and around in my head. After doing some hoovering and cleaning (which was very theraputic) I listened to it; genius. The arrangement, the time changes, the contrast between Lee and Nancy's vocals. If you've never heard it, you really should. Also this weekend, I rediscovered At the Drive In's '

Fly away

2008-04-15T16:51:00.002+01:00

A.M. Flying high in a friendly sky. Marvin Gaye. Went to the park this morning, after aking up feeling like i can't function. My brain is out of gear. My late night anxiety has turned to numbness. Stood in the childrens' play area staring at planes flying overhead every 3 minutes, from Gatwick to some destination. Had a brief daydream about geting on a plane and going somewhere, anywhere, just

Dinosaurs in Vegas...

2008-04-14T21:29:00.003+01:00

Programme on Radio 4 this weekend claimed that the UK was like 'Jurassic Park' 65 million years ago, housing the most species of dinosaur in the universe.... hmmm, didn't see much evidence to support this at the Natural History museum in London last week. Saw some good bones, whales and brains there though...Listening to Boards of Canada. Working on a track with XMZ in Russia, and another with