The foundation for Held By Trees was dug when David Joseph collaborated with Tim Renwick and Grant Howard on a single called 'Dawn Returning'. Released in 2020 under David's other moniker, Dave Griffiths, the track is included on this disc as the direct precursor for what became Held By Trees and 'Solace'. It was Tim Renwick that introduced David to Phill Brown, who took considerable interest in the demos: which are also included on this disc in the order in which they were created in April 2020. Phill encouraged David to talk to Martin Ditcham, and it was from there that David decided to intentionally ask musicians who had worked with Talk Talk and Mark Hollis. It was an astounding prospect, to bring together some of those who had worked on the revered albums 'Spirit Of Eden', 'Laughing Stock' and Mark Hollis' 1998 solo album. After asking other musicians David felt could add to the textures, the resulting album, 'Solace', was mixed by Phill and David and released in April 2022. The record is a deliberate homage to Mark Hollis, wearing his influence literally on its sleeve. However, music journalists and critics around the world unanimously agreed that Held By Trees had its own sonic identity. A few ambient mixes were created at the request of some in the music industry, all are included on this disc, and also an alternative mix of 'The Tree Of Life' that Phill and David created at the mix stage. This version is the one found on vinyl copies of 'Solace'. A fourth demo was created in April 2020 and not developed further. 'Vexed' was deemed out of the direction of travel for the album but it is included here as a curio within the complete collection of all music connected to the making of, and promotion of Solace.
