Suffolk-born, Colchester-based guitarist and singer-songwriter Ady Johnson returns with his third album, Under Gainsborough Skies, a collection of intimate, analogue recordings inspired by his life on the Essex–Suffolk border. Recorded live in the studio with producer Nathan Wacey using vintage equipment the album captures raw, unfiltered performances with minimal overdubs. “I wanted it to feel honest and immediate—just my guitar, my voice, and the moment,” says Johnson. Rooted in folk revival traditions and shaped by Johnson’s background in classical guitar performance, the record blends intricate fingerpicking with intimate vocal melodies, creating beautifully self-contained arrangements. The album explores themes of memory, time and mortality, shaped by personal reflections on family, loss and the possibility of something beyond.
Opening single “Foolin’ Around (With You)” introduces the album’s Gainsborough-inspired world with pastoral nostalgia, while “The Old Child’s Chair” reflects on family, heritage and the passage of time, touching on absence and the quiet realisation of time slipping by. The hypnotic “Wash Away, Blow Away” features ethereal guest vocals from Ivor Novello Award-winner Scott Matthews, forming a rich, atmospheric centrepiece. The album’s second half turns more explicitly toward mortality and what may lie beyond: “The Runner” grapples with confronting—or escaping—our fears, “Swing By” imagines a gentle reunion on the ‘other side’, and the closing “Friends to the End” offers a poignant reflection on enduring connection, hinting that, perhaps, there is no true end.
The album’s striking cover artwork, painted by Johnson’s stepfather, artist David Leeming—who also lives on the Essex–Suffolk border—visually echoes these themes, blending Gainsborough-esque pastoral imagery with vivid, contemporary detail.
At the end of 2025, Johnson’s debut album Tell the Worry Dolls was released on vinyl for the first time, lovingly remastered to mark its 15th anniversary and returning it to record shop racks. His follow-up, London Songs (2018), was produced by Gerry Diver (Graham Coxon, Lisa Knapp, Tom Robinson, Martyn Joseph, Billy Bragg). Alongside touring the UK, USA and France, Johnson has performed notable support slots with artists including Scott Matthews, Willy Mason and Ben Howard.
To celebrate the release of Under Gainsborough Skies, Johnson will perform a special launch show at Colchester Arts Centre on 30th June, alongside a series of in-store appearances at independent record shops across the UK.
Live dates:
30th June 2026: Colchester Arts Centre – Album Launch show
26th June – 2nd July: Independent record store tour
For more information:
Website: www.adyjohnson.co.uk/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/adyjohnson/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AdyJohnsonUK YouTube: www.youtube.com/@AdyJohnsonVideo
