Bush Tales -

MUSIC and children's tales may appear to be a strange combination but composer and writer Matthew Jameson has created Bush Tales, a beautiful series of books that that have an accompanying music score to go with each tale.

The result is a collection of stories that look set to be classics for the future.

Matt, 38, has had a chequered history and began his working career in advertising and media communications while nurturing a love of music by studying to become a composer with the Royal School of Music.

 

Matthew says: "I'm delighted with the result. In our digitally driven age there is something special about the touch and feel of a book that has been beautifully produced.

"It was always my wish to have the first series of Bush Tales looking and feeling like something you'd want to keep forever.

So what was the motivation behind writing for children? "I love the charm of storytelling. Since having my kids; Samuel, 11, Annelise, 9 and Kristian, 8 my head has been full of ideas. I tested the water with my family and knew I had something special on my hands.

Each book in the series can be bought and read as a standalone tale. The characters are inspired by animals in Africa and each one has their own musical style with the result being a host of charming and cheeky new friends: Hustler the Meerkat, Pula the short Giraffe and Bont the Baboon to name a few.

Music composition is a passion that coincided with the idea for Bush Tales for Matthew, who lives in Leigh on Mendip in Somerset, he continues: "I was writing for full orchestra and classical as part of my own studies and loved the concept of musical storytelling. Music can draw children into the story and carries them along.

"I created The Purrfect Plan to see if I could make it work, when I played it to a group of children their reaction was incredible and I knew I had a unique concept - by combining stories with an accompanying CD I had a musical in a box.

"The dream is for Bush Tales to become a stage show. The production team and cast I've used for the existing CD is rooted from the West End so it would be a natural progression. We'll see.

 

"I've published the books myself under Zorilla Entertainment. I was tired of being told the venture wouldn't happen so took the bull by the horns.

"It has taken nearly ten years to get to this point and so much work. The illustrations took three years alone, and then there was the production for the musical element and the business side.

"In May this year, Bush Tales came off the production line and we were in Waterstones by July. Zorilla Entertainment is now an official publishing, record and app developer company.

"The initial reaction to the books has been impressive and one parent described them as a modern day Beatrix Potter. You can't get better than that."