How Mellotron and Bouzouki Get Captured on The Legendary Ten Seconds' Cornish and Devonian
Ian Churchward Sets Ten Chapters of West Country History to Folk Rock in South Devon
The sound that marks Cornish and Devonian is a pairing of Mellotron sounds and bouzouki. Ian Churchward plays both over his guitars, and the album was recorded in South Devon. Released on July 4, 2023, Cornish and Devonian is a concept album about Cornwall and Devon. It comes from The Legendary Ten Seconds, the Torquay project Churchward leads. Each of its ten songs tells a piece of regional history.
The Legendary Ten Seconds’ John de Vere sits in the playlist below. The project’s full run of coverage is collected on The Legendary Ten Seconds profile. Cornish and Devonian came to this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news titles. Press play, then read on for how the album was made.
Mellotron Sounds, Bouzouki and Guitar Give Cornish and Devonian Its Recorded Character in South Devon
The instrument choices come first because they explain the record’s colour. Churchward sings and plays guitars, bouzouki and Mellotron sounds. Those are the tape-replay strings and flutes of a 1960s keyboard, and his project has made them a signature. The bouzouki’s paired strings give the folk parts a bright edge. Meanwhile, the Mellotron sounds supply the orchestral layer underneath. Between them sits a plain folk-rock band of guitars, keyboards, bass and drums.
The production stays local. The album was recorded in South Devon, then mixed and mastered in Marldon, Devon. That job went to a collaborator credited as Lord Zarquon, who also plays keyboards and drums. As a result, the making of the record stays in the West Country its songs describe, which suits a concept album.
Who Plays on the Record
The guest list is short and specific, and each name has a defined job. Jay Brown plays bass on three tracks, and a singer credited as Jules sings on two. Bridgit England sings on Rumours of War, where Ashley Dyer adds trumpet. The Siege of Plymouth gets the fullest band arrangement, with Martyn Hillstead on drums and Phil Swann on slide guitar.
That structure is worth noticing. Rather than a fixed band on every song, Churchward brings in a player where the story needs a particular colour. After that, the core of guitar, bouzouki and Mellotron sounds carries the rest. The cover, too, has a named maker, as Graham Moores created the album artwork.
From Sir Walter Raleigh to a Wartime Court Reporter, Ten Short Songs Tell West Country History
The writing is where Cornish and Devonian earns its concept. Churchward composed every song. On Sir Walter Raleigh he shares the lyric credit with Raleigh himself, setting the courtier’s words beside his own. John de Vere goes back further, to the siege of St Michael’s Mount during the reign of Edward IV.
The middle of the record moves through the 17th and 19th centuries. The Siege of Plymouth and The Battle of Torrington both return to the English Civil War in Devon. William Scoresby follows the Arctic explorer and scientist who died in Torquay. Meanwhile, Eighty Four Years of Age tells of an elderly woman who walked from Cornwall to London in Queen Victoria’s reign. Cornwall’s Forgotten Heroine is about Emily Hobhouse, the anti-war campaigner.
The last three songs carry the story into the 20th century. Rumours of War sets the scene in the South West on the eve of the First World War. Captain Richard Scott and From Torquay Joyce Packe then cover a Second World War mutiny case heard at a trial in Paignton. One follows a US Army officer giving evidence, the other a local court reporter. In 2023 the PRSD, a South Devon site, put it simply: the project turns recent and ancient history into tunes.
Who Cornish and Devonian Is For
The structure is economical. Nine of the ten songs run under three and a half minutes. From Torquay Joyce Packe closes the record in 1:38, so each chapter is told quickly and cleanly. Consequently, the album suits listeners who like folk rock with a story attached. It also suits anyone with ties to the places it names.
There is a clear lineage too. Fairport Convention set British ballads to a rock band on Liege & Lief. Steeleye Span, likewise, built a career on electrifying traditional narrative songs. Cornish and Devonian belongs to that English folk-rock tradition. It simply swaps traditional songs for original ones and adds Mellotron sounds to the palette. Churchward has kept working at pace since then. His later albums include Folk Rocktronica, A Ricardian Argosy and, in September 2026, Mellotron and Guitar.
From the AcousticMusic.News curator team: “Few records set a Walter Raleigh text beside a 1940s court reporter’s story. Fewer still keep both under three minutes. The bouzouki and the Mellotron sounds give each chapter its own colour without slowing the telling.”
Where to Hear Cornish and Devonian and Follow The Legendary Ten Seconds From Torquay
Stream Cornish and Devonian on Spotify and Apple Music, or buy it from Bandcamp.
Follow The Legendary Ten Seconds on X, Facebook and the project’s YouTube channel. Churchward also posts live snippets from Torquay there, alongside his history videos.
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