Sugar Loaf Walker

guitarist. performer. composer

Benign Penny: The Story Behind the Album

Sugar Loaf Walker was born in the spring of 2009. Writing music in Bethnal Green in London's East End, I was looking to create an instrumental guitar sound, captured in melodies inspired by England. The Sugar Loaf Walk alleyway next to my flat gave the sound its name, and the first song I wrote was to become the first track on this album, The Late Summer. Over the coming months, I collaborated remotely with my brother Arjun, in the US, whose imaginative bass guitar lines brought depth to the compositions. Finishing with some rudimentary drum tracks, I selected the songs, and made some CDs. Inspired by my mother-in-law Penny's charming car license plate B9 PNY, I named the demo Benign Penny, and shared the CDs with family and friends. As time moved on, I moved on to other things and left Sugar Loaf Walker behind.

Fast forward to 2020 and the chaos of the pandemic gave way to the inertia of lockdown. Now living in Amman, Jordan, I stumbled upon those old demos buried on a hard disk. The melodies of the songs inspired me to bring back Sugar Loaf Walker and finish the album, properly this time. The issue of the rudimentary drum tracks was solved through collaboration with Vinay, an excellent session drummer based in Chennai, my hometown in India where I grew up. The tracks were then remixed by Kevin, an incredible sound engineer based out of Portland, USA. Now I had a remote team bringing my original demos to life.

The title Benign Penny took on a deeper meaning. We lost my wonderful mother-in-law, Penelope Ruth Corbett, in 2010. Five years later, my daughter was born and named Penny, carrying her grandmother's spirit forward. The album cover features a photograph of her in Bangkok, reaching out toward the Fender Stratocaster you hear throughout the record.

This album is a musical journey that spans continents, generations, and memories. I hope you enjoy it.

Dedicated to Penelope Ruth Corbett and Penelope Lakshmi Ayer

All compositions by Sugar Loaf Walker

SUGAR LOAF WALKER - guitar
ARJUN RAGHURAMAN - bass
JAKE NAUGLE - drums on Strange Land
VINAY RAMAKRISHNAN - drums (all other tracks)

Mixed and Mastered by Kevin Carafa