David Gates is a solo artist living and working in the UK. His lifelong obsession with music began at the age of four when he first listened to The Beatles and became captivated. He is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter.
His initial foray into the music scene occurred in the mid-2000s when Parlophone showed interest in signing the band he was fronting. Unfortunately, the deal fell through due to the volatile nature of the download market at that time. This setback coincided with a period of severe alcoholism and homelessness. His alcoholism nearly cost him his life; at one point, he was unable to sing for years after almost biting off his tongue during an alcohol- induced seizure. However, the birth of his daughter became a turning point, leading him to enter rehab and achieve sobriety. He has now been sober for 11 years.
Recently, he released an album titled Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, which serves as a culmination of his life experiences. The album addresses themes such as fears over AI and its impact on artists, living with psychiatric conditions, navigating the world as an autistic individual, aging, loss, and hope. The music spans various genres, including indie rock, electronica, and folk, and features a wide range of instruments and styles, including orchestral sections composed and recorded by Gates himself.
For several years, he used his musical talents to work with people with learning disabilities, helping them express their emotions through music. Unfortunately, funding cuts in these services forced him to seek other employment. Alongside his day job, he has been writing custom songs for birthdays and special occasions and is actively pursuing opportunities to score for television and film. Last year, he was diagnosed with autism, which gave him insight into his ability to hear music and replicate it note for note. While this ability is a gift, autism has also presented significant challenges, leading to his involvement with psychiatric services since childhood.
In a recent interview with
ASBO magazine, in their meets column, he elaborated on the album:
Is There A Story Behind The New Album?
“Yes, quite a long one so I’m sorry. The record is held together by the thread of AI and the Artist. This is something that has frightened me for some time. Mostly due to the fact that I can foresee if costing so many people their jobs. I decided to write something confronting that, but as well as confronting it also accepting it is an element of life now. This also tied into my diagnosis of Autism a year ago, I had always felt more empathy and comfort around machines and this seemed deeply ironic. I decided that, as I felt at the time, the age of the album was over, that I was going to at least get down my truth as I saw it on a record. As such the style swings from Indie rock, to electronica, to folk as it’s a representation of myself as much as the subject matter I’m looking at. It also took the best part of a year as I had recorded it all myself and it included sections of orchestra’s that I had to play myself. It’s the story of me I suppose, and the thing I fear will surpass the thing I value about me most. I made the record free, although people could pay if they wished, because I felt talking to people, letting them know their thoughts might be shared, shouldn’t be something that is locked away behind a paywall. Art should be for everyone, not just those who can afford it.”
Talking about his process in regards to collaboration he stated:
“I always work on my own, I have strong imposter syndrome when with other musicians. My process is just listening to as much varied music as I can, as soon as something really talks to me I try and emulate it in a way. It never works, but then you get an interesting combination of both worlds.”
As a near final question, which encapsulated his feelings on the record he stated:
“I can guarantee that, you’ll feel seen and heard. We’re all frightened, we’re all confused, we’re also all able to be together...‘’
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