Veteran underground musician Gregg McKella is set to release his long-awaited debut solo album, Songs From the Underground. A deeply personal collection shaped by his busking years in the 1990s and decades of immersion in the UK’s alternative and psychedelic music scenes.
Best known as a founding member of Paradise 9, the Brighton-based psyche/proto-punk/space-rock band, McKella has been writing songs since the early 1980s. On Songs From the Underground, those years of lived experience crystallize into a body of work he describes as “space-folk”, a sound that moves freely between folk-driven songwriting, alternative indie rock, psychedelic blues, and atmospheric experimentation.
The album was recorded and produced by Martin (Litmus), who also performs bass, keyboards, synths, guitars, and drums/percussion. McKella takes on vocals, guitars, glissando guitar, clarinet, synths, and space FX, creating a richly layered sonic landscape that feels both intimate and expansive.
Guest musicians on the album include Nick Pynn (violins), Jeanette Murphy (backing vocals), Tyrone Thomas of Paradise 9 (lead and slide guitars), and Eugene McClouskey (violins), adding further texture and depth to the recordings.
Originally from Aylesbury, McKella’s musical journey began with the band The Presence, who shared stages with Marillion and Ozric Tentacles in the early 1980s. After relocating to London in 1987, he co-founded Image Wot Image with Jeanette Murphy, performing extensively across London, the South-East, and multiple festivals.
In 1997, following a series of singer-songwriter nights in London, McKella formed Paradise 9, releasing their self-produced debut Showtime in 1999. He later co-founded Dreamfield with songwriter and producer Poppy Gonzalez (Mojave 3, Sing Sing, Hush Collector), whose singles received significant radio airplay, including a Single of the Month feature on GLR’s Saturday Breakfast Show. Dreamfield went on to perform and record in the UK, the United States, and Estonia, underlining McKella’s international reach.
Since relocating to Brighton in 2005, McKella has remained a vital figure in the local and international underground scene, working with Nik Turner, Judge Trev Thoms, Mick Farren, Steve Swindells, members of Pink Floyd, Faithless, Amy Winehouse’s band, and participating in projects such as Daevid Allen’s Glissando Guitar Orchestra. His collaborations span ambient dub, space rock, psychedelic collective projects, and experimental live performances.
Songs From the Underground stands apart as a reflective, song-driven statement, less about cosmic spectacle, more about memory, survival, and creative persistence. It captures the voice of an artist shaped by decades outside the mainstream, finally bringing those underground stories to the surface.
Songs From the Underground is released as digital album in December 2025 and is available across major music platforms.
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