Sean fifth and ‘best’ album

The album was born and brought up in Kilburn, England, Sean says, but comes to you by way of Austin, Texas where it was recorded during an intensive ten-day period last October, produced by Mark Hallman – the key to the sound Sean achieves.

“I really wanted to capture my guitar sound. Having heard what Mark did, I wanted to work for him. You wouldn’t get anyone anywhere else that good. It’s just the incredible sound that he gets.

“One thing he did when we worked together was to set up all the different instruments so that we could move between them very quickly. I play all the guitars and piano and harmonica and vocals.

“It’s definitely the best album I have done in terms of quality and guitar sound. One thing I was struggling with in recording was getting my live guitar sound. But for the first time I was able to really get the warmth and the energy.”

Sean plays Chichester Festival Theatre on February 7 with June Tabor and The Oysterband (www.cft.org.uk). The London-based singer-songwriter is also back in the area for a gig at The Greys in Brighton on March 12.

“It’s a very political album,” says Sean. “It’s about watching the world unravel. I have been down to the occupied sites in London. In Austin, it was going on as well. Everyone in the world at the moment is feeling the economic crisis – and the fact that the bankers have got off scot free.”

Sean describes himself as an unwilling member of the generation defined by neo liberalism - one of Thatcher’s children who became Blair’s adults.

“This album is a howl against both, a direct challenge to a world where we are judged by what we consume rather than what we contribute.

‘Love Against Death is a direct challenge to a reality dominated by greed, inequality, and injustice. Love Against Death is the choice we make at every moment, in every relationship, and by every action. It’s about choosing sides.”

The first song is Stand Up, the story of the TUC ‘March for an Alternative’ protest on the March 26 2011.

“It was a day of celebration, of collectivism and solidarity, with half a million people on the streets of London. All of us united in opposition to government austerity measures and all in support of creating a fairer society. In true revolutionary style, I marched for a while and then went to the pub. But that’s not the point!”