A Week in the Studio: What We Built, What We Learned, and Why It Matters

I spent a long time looking for the right studio. Longer than I expected. Because a studio is not just a room with equipment — it’s an environment, and the environment shapes the performance. When we found Captain Tom’s and Paul Emerson, I knew within the first email exchanges. Paul didn’t just press record. He listened. He suggested. He created a space where both singers could settle and perform well. And here’s what I learned about that: the value of a strong engineer and mixer who works with you, not just for you, cannot be overstated. Paul helped me see things in the arrangements I’d missed. He helped the singers find their footing. He made the room feel like the right place to take risks.

Adele delivered strong vocal takes. Rhuaridh delivered strong vocal takes. The files have gone to co-producer Mariano Beyoglonian in Argentina for production. Produced across Aberdeen and Argentina. That sentence still makes me smile. A songwriter in the north-east of Scotland, a two-time Latin Grammy-winning producer in Buenos Aires, singers from Aberchirder and Netherley, and a studio in Aberdeen — all pulling in the same direction. The working production process between Scotland and Argentina is getting stronger with every exchange. And every exchange teaches me something new about letting go of the version in my head and trusting the version that’s emerging.

Here’s what I’ve come to understand about this project. I can write the songs. I can shape the vision. But the people around me are the ones who make it real, and they’re the ones who make me better at what I do. The team around Finn Moray continues to prove that this project can attract thoughtful, talented and proactive people. Eilidh Brown and Thomas Daines bring enthusiasm, youth, drive, and talent. Andie Moonie kept the operational side moving — marketing, finance, coordination — making sure the creative work had the structure it needed to actually happen. Scott Paton brings the fiscal governance and oversight we need. Rory Raitt took additional artist photography that captured the atmosphere of the studio beautifully — the images you see here are his work. Every one of them taught me something about how this project looks from the outside. And behind all of it, Graeme Wood — providing the governance, the strategic oversight and the quiet, steady support that gives this project the foundation it needs to grow properly. Neospace brings the outstanding base, and the whole team there in Aberdeen are serious partners who make life so easy.

And then there’s the support you don’t always see. Ben was there for Adele during the studio sessions — quiet, steady, present. That kind of support matters more than people realise. When a singer feels safe and backed, they perform better. It’s that simple. And it’s something I’ll carry into every future session: the people around the artist are part of the performance.

This week sat alongside the wider team effort from the Shetland filming with Calum, Eilidh, Richard, Jill, Lisa, family, and Andie, Thomas, Scott and Graeme at HQ at Neospace. The project is happening in real places with real people and real momentum. That’s not a slogan. It’s a fact you can see in every photograph, every vocal take, and every mile driven. And it’s a fact that humbles me every time I stop long enough to take it in.

Not for show. For the record. Because when you’re learning on the hoof in a project that has no obvious map, you need to stop occasionally and look at how far you’ve come.

And we proved again that this is happening. In real places. With real people. With real momentum.

If you’ve read this far, you already understand what we’re building. And you understand that I can’t build it alone. AON: THE CALL is where it all started — fifteen original songs about Scottish towns and villages, brought to life through technology, vision and place. It’s a great album and it stands on its own. AON: THE GATHERING takes those same songs and hands them to real voices from real communities. Both albums matter. Both albums are Finn Moray. Every purchase, every stream, every share helps fund the next recording session, the next singer, the next community that gets to see itself reflected in music. You can buy the album and merchandise here, and every penny flows through the Social Compact — fifty per cent of net profits returned to Scottish communities.

I’m also asking for your help in two other ways. First: vote for your town to feature on the next album. DHÀ: THE CALL is the community’s chance to tell us which Scottish villages, towns and cities should be written about next. Your vote shapes the future of this project. Second: nominate an unsung singer — someone hidden in your community whose talent deserves to be heard. AON: THE GATHERING was built on the idea that extraordinary voices exist in ordinary places. Adele and Rhuaridh proved that this week. Help us find the next one.

This project came from grief, yes. But it also came from a realisation that we’ve got a short time on this planet, and the only thing we really leave behind is family, what we did, who benefited from it, and what people ultimately thought about our contribution. That’s what drives every decision I make. And this week, surrounded by people who made me better at making those decisions, I’ve never been more certain of it.

To everyone who has supported us so far — the featured vocalists, the partners, the team, the listeners, the buyers, the sharers — thank you. You’re the ones who teach me. We’re just getting started.