Collaborations
Introduction
As with the vast majority of artists, Ainslie has worked with other musicians - instrumentalists, songwriters and producers - to make his music. We've done some extensive research and are proud to present the Collaborators page, which lists some of the musicians Ainslie has worked with, plus a little about their background.
Aicha Djidjelli
Supported Ainslie on his promotional tour for Keep Me A Secret by playing drums on the likes of Top Of The Pops and Des And Mel. Aicha studied the drums at the prestigious Drumtech drum and percussion school in London, which has seen the likes of Phil Selway (Radiohead), Jason Cooper (The Cure) and Mick Avory (The Kinks) pass through it’s doors.
Fernando Tavares
Rumoured to be drummer on Coming Up For Air/About A Boy, the album recorded during Ainslie's time at Mercury. Tavares drums with a Portuguese band EZ Special, signed to Universal's local Portuguese label. The link to Ainslie is Saul Davies (see below); the former member of Indie group James produced both EZ Special's album In N' Out and worked with Ainslie on his debut album.
Visit EZ Special's official siteSaul Davies and Mark Hunter
Those who saw BBC1's Fame Academy will recognise Saul and Mark as the songwriters who came into the academy to help Ainslie with his songwriting. You may also recognise them as members of the influential indie band, James, whose infectious tunes helped shape pop music in the 1990s.
James the band has kept a low profile in recent years, but Saul has tried his hand at production and songwriting. Ainslie has extended the relationship he built with the pair during Fame Academy by working with them on his debut album. Ainslie has described them as his "heros".
Visit One Of The Three, an unofficial James fansite
Dillon Gallagher
Having learnt his trade at the famous PWL studios, Dillon Gallacher has since gone on to work with acts as diverse as Kylie Minogue and the All Saints to Damage and So Solid Crew. He engineered and mixed Ainslie's debut album, About A Boy.
Lemar Obika
Lemar is perhaps the most successful of Fame Academy contestants, having achieved constantly high single and album sales in addition to longevity and high critical acclaim. Ainslie worked with the soul star during the show and co-wrote the stunning Lullaby.
The song was featured on the platinum-selling Fame Academy Album and later released as a double A-Side with 50:50 and reached the top 5. Ainslie appeared on a live version of the song on the B-side on the single.
Malachi Cush and Sinead Quinn
Malachi and Sinead were also Fame Academy contestents and probably Ainslie's closest friends during the show. As part of their songwriting classes, the threesome wrote Keep Me A Secret, which was to become Ainslie's debut solo single and reached #5 in February 2003.
Malachi has enjoyed considerable success not just in the UK and his native Ireland but in the far east, too. Sinead has reached #2 in the singles chart with I Can't Break Down and now concentrates on live gigs across the country.
Malachi Online (official) :: Sinead Quinn dot info (fansite)
Jason Mraz
See our page on Jason Mraz
Suburbia
See our Suburbia pages
Peter Stuart
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