Gregg Houston follows Foy Vance across the recording process of his new album To Memphis in this new mini-documentary, and it is stirring stuff.  

Shot at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, To Memphis is Vance's new 10-track album of classic Americana. Poignant and powerful, the longer running time of the visual allows us to get a real insight into his process, and the magical work Vance and his team do.

GREGG HOUSTON:

"I have filmed in music studios countless times and even documented Foy as he recorded his previous two albums prior to the To Memphis project.

"However this experience was unlike anything I had ever worked in before. Foy was working with musicians he had never met and there was a tight deadline of two days recording to produce five songs. His insistence that the recordings be captured in a live environment meant that it would either click and they would get magic in a bottle, or it would be flat. I had the utmost confidence after seeing him work many times before but the vibe that was created between the band, Foy and producer Matt Ross-Spang was on another level entirely.

"I had my most powerful experience during the last track recorded by the full band. I was on a 150-200mm close up of Foy as he belted out the final chorus. He and the band had become one entity over the course of four minutes and it was clear this was the take. It was a sensational performance.

"Suddenly the bass player decided to change up what he had done on the previous takes and went into a completely different riff. My ears perked up as I thought the take was blown but before I could properly consider that, I realised that I was in tears behind the lens and that the simple change he had implemented, that lasted about 3 seconds, had in fact lifted the entire chorus to somewhere else again. One of those moments where as a documentarian you are totally engrossed and fulfilled.

"It sounds very dramatic but it was such a powerful experience to be in the centre of that room as these people connected on a level that is beyond my comprehension."