The ‘Modified’ Beginning
Darren Tuck is a musician and songwriter from Suffolk, besides being a musician and songwriter, he is a docker at the port of Fleixstowe. Interested in music from an early age, taking up the keyboard at 18 and then moving onto bass guitar. Darren has continued to perfect his craft and went onto join a band to continue to develop. He would then go onto be in a few cover bands playing old 70s rock bands covers. However as he developed his sound within the band he struggled to stay motivated by the music he was performing, it wasn’t that it wasn’t good it was just that he wanted to make his own impressions on the music he was performing. He then went onto start adapting his style to his younger days as a mod in the 70’s. Inspired by the music from that era and of such bands as The Kinks, The Who, The Jam, The Yardbirds and many more. He took to paper and stated writing his own music, writing about his life experiences, and growing up. He recorded it onto CD with the intention of not to do anything with it. Amanda his girlfriend for many years listened to the CD and was incredibly supportive and encouraged him to share the masterpiece with others. Darren being a perfectionist felt it didn’t sound how he wanted it to. He asked the opinion of others to get a perspective and then went onto perfecting the sound. Once happy the finished product became his debut album Modified. I picked up a copy and was blown away by the sound but more importantly, what stood out for me and made me feel connected to the music was the real issues being portrayed in the lyrics. This was unpolished, raw emotion captured in every song with the melodies pieced together throughout. I discovered that every instrument heard on the album was recorded by Darren which I am sure was no easy feet to get right, unsurprising he exceeded. This shows the true undiscovered talent that Darren possesses.
Aldora Britain Records
Tom Hilton a good friend of Mods Of Your Generation came across ‘Modified’ and like us he was impressed by Darren’s music. Tom has a keen eye out for new independent music and artists. He has built up a respectable reputation with Aldora Britain Records rapidly becoming the go to place to discover new independent music from across the world. It was only right that Tom discovered Darren and welcomed him onboard the AB community. He began promoting Darren’s work through this weekly e-zine (Highly Recommended) which helped Darren’s music reach a broader audience and establish a following and growing fan base.
Caretaker Studios
Darren now working alongside Tom and AB Records, a growing fan base and a highly regarded debut album (Modified). Darren with a whole new confidence, drive and inspiration started working on his next new venture and began writing new material. Tom was excited to hear this and suggested that he approach Phil Sorrell to help him record, develop, and polish up his sound. Darren describes being in awe of Phil and his incredible talents adding ‘it was a privilege to work alongside him, he has worked with a long list of terrific artists at Caretakers Studio’s.’ Although Darren describes being unworthy of working with Phil, he was thrilled about the prospect and excited to see how he could again develop his sound through the music production experience and genius of Phil Sorrell. Phil gave
Darren some guidelines to work from and describes his kind approach in drawing the best out of him. Darren recorded demos for Phil to work on however covid 19 stopped all plans for him to go to Caretaker studios. Heart broken to think that working with caretaker studios had diminished before it had started. However, as a talented producer Phil thankfully had a plan B. Phil suggested he record the tracks under strict guidelines he had set in place and from there the file sharing began. This continued until Darren and Phil were both happy with the outcome. I would imagine this was not easy to accomplish but with Phil’s expertise and Darren’ talent they managed to successfully make it work. Darren was absolutely blown away by the final cut with his excitement going through the roof. Adding that he couldn’t control his excitement and that It actually brought a tear to his eyes, Feeling that Phil had absolutely nailed it. Phil and Darren have now cemented a great friendship and working partnership. They are both looking forward to working together on more music and projects in the future. Darren is humbled and overwhelmed to be welcomed into the Caretaker Family. It’s absolutely amazing how they managed to produce the EP without Darren actually stepping into the studio.
All The Good Good People
The outcome of Darren’s inspirational and uplifting lyrics combined with his unique sound and the work of Phil Sorrell is a dedication to all the people who have supported him in his journey. This includes the Radio stations, family, friends, bloggers, fans, Aldora Britain records, bands, musicians and many more.
It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to chat to Darren who I would describe as a humble gentleman who has a true passion for his art and this shows in his music. ‘All the Good Good People’ has been my go-to album of choice this month and has pride of place in my collection. I am looking forward to future music from Darren and have know doubt it will be as good as ‘Modified’ and ‘All The Good Good People’ if not even better as he grows from strength to strength in his song writing ability.
‘All The Good Good People’ has been released as a downloadable EP on Aldora Britain Records HERE and a CD version of both can also be purchased direct from Darren Tuck.
words by Johnny Bradley
Copyright © Mods Of Your Generation, 2020, All Rights Reserved. Image Credit Darren Tuck . No part of this review may be reproduced without the permission of the authors.
