Writing from Shanghai, 2009 was a grind, I totally burned out. 6 months ago I started to look for something new in my career. Inspire is a journey that starts much like my situation, “I am spent, I am down, I am lost, if I’m found, heal me” as I closed the door on my current job, new doors started to open, not just in my career but in other ways like in discovering inspire. This album has given me the Wings to fly.
As a landscape architect/masterplanner chasing work up and down China and the Middle East against the economic slowdown, stronger is a blinding anthem that captures “miles and miles I had to go” to get through some difficult years and emerge where I am now. Choosing to pause and breath, to stop and look at my life has made me realise I have shut out so many other interests by being solely focused on my career. I used to write songs in the 1990’s up to around 2004 and used to record my own tracks. I’ve not been able to do it for some time now. Inspire stirs the music that used to burn inside of me and I want to find that again. Changing career during an economic downturn is a scary prospect but since making the decision to change a huge weight has been lifted. Breakthrough is a great track to face the fear and make the change. I truly believe this song would make a great anthem for the UK Charity ‘Breakthrough’ to raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer.
The 4th track on Inspire called Touch is the music of Public Symphony reaching into the lives of people (like me) and capturing the moment of transition and life changes. It is beautifully reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s 'Great Gig in the Sky', but it does not feel trapped and painful, it reaches out with joy and freedom, with beautiful backing vocals that uplift and soar. Rise and Shine is a new day and how I feel about starting a new life/job which really starts in June. I hope to start spending more quality time with my wife and spending more time exploring Shanghai. White Dove is the future of a stronger love and the hope for a family in 2010. The guitar riff is beautifully stripped down, some will compare it with a ‘Coldplay’ style riff but for me the simple hook is about the determination to succeed and rise above all else. I hope with more time and focus on family ‘I Do’ will be a sweet reminder of the celebration of love and happiness. I’ve now 2 months left in my current position to wrap up some major projects and ensure succession of a business. The everyday choices are less stressful now that I’ve broken free. I feel that anything is possible because new possibilities are emerging as I begin a new voyage of discovery. I first heard Public Symphony on Chill FM and ‘Fill Your Sails’ was a song that reached out further than any other artist on this excellent UK radio station. When I first heard the track I thought it might be Seal, as in his debut album, he had a raw energy in his music and a fresh sound. The message here reassures me that there’s an adventure out there to widen my soul and that’s exactly the journey I have started. The final words of Inspire in Epilogue quietly say ‘this is our public symphony’ and reinforces the whole concept of this album. It is designed to be heard as a holistic journey. I truly believe this year will be a great year for Public Symphony, albums like Inspire don’t come along often and it really is a classic!
Just downloaded inspire. I love the extra feeling. You've added another dimension and layer. Keep it up lads, i want another album. 
Please log-in or register to have your photo appear beside your comment.