RISING star Nick Stephenson will be holding a launch party for his long-awaited debut album next weekend.

In his 10 years of performing and writing songs he has played at various festivals and countless local gigs – but after two years of work he is about to release his first record, called Dream Logic, which features collaborations with a number of other St Albans artists.

Sound engineer Justin French, who has worked with the likes of Enter Shikari and Polly Poison, and producer and multi-intrumentalist Bill Johnson worked with Nick on the project, which he describes as “a striking album of versatility and melodic depth.”

Nick said the album has been particularly enhanced by his collaboration with cellist and close friend Michael Wigram, a highly sought-after classical musician. They have proved themselves to be a great writing team and are excited about performing together in the future.

Nick continued: “It really has been a wonderful experience working with Michael as he constantly comes up with so many unusual and daring ideas for my songs, it’s a real buzz collaborating with such a great player!”

The much-anticipated album launch party will take place at The Horn in St Albans on Sunday, December 12, when nearly all the musicians from the album will be playing the tracks in a live hour-long performance.

There will also be support from songwriters Jack Hobbs and Richard Hignett, as well as backing from drummer Simon Hadwin and guitarist Joe Brooks who were members of Ground Dust – Nick’s former band which disbanded in February.

Original artwork for the album will be displayed, courtesy of artist and designer Samantha Davey.

Admission will be free and doors open at 8.00pm, but for a taste of the album visit www.myspace.com/nickstephensonmusic or email Nick at nickjukebox@yahoo.co.uk to play his open mic night.