FROM the hustle and bustle of San Francisco to the solitude of a remote mountain-top in Wales, Christopher Rees's musical journey has taken him far and wide.

The Welsh-born singer made his solo debut in the city of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz at the age of 21, playing a low-key venue in the hippy suburb of Haight-Ashbury.

He went to America on a year-out while studying at Cardiff University and was so encouraged by the response in San Francisco he went on to play across southern California.

"It was great because I was playing to audiences that were completely new and nobody knew me, he said.

"It gave me a certain push to do whatever I wanted and without any inhibitions."

Ten years down the line and following debut album The Sweetest Ache, he has returned to his roots for his latest album, Alone On A Mountain Top - due to be released on Monday, June 13.

The singer retreated to a cottage in the mountains of mid-Wales taking inspiration from his surroundings - including an experience one morning when he woke to find two slugs mating on the floor just outside his door.

Compared with his debut album The Sweetest Ache - painstakingly recorded over three years - the new release is a more stripped-down bluesy affair, taking him six days to record.

"I took a car-full of guitars up there and had a week of complete isolation," he said.

"It was quite a liberating experience a great way to get away from all of the distractions such as television and the telephone.

"After the first record took a ridiculous amount of time to get done so I wanted to do something in a short space of time that captured more of an immediate feel."

Christopher worked tirelessly into the early hours on the tracks, trying his hand at everything from kazoos to harmonicas and banjos and even using walls as percussion for the songs.

"It was just fun for me to experiment - I'm not a drummer or a bass player but I know enough to experiment," he said.

Now with Christopher scooping an award for best male soloist at the Welsh Music Awards earlier this year and a headline slot on music magazine Mojo's tour, 2005 is looking bright for the singer.

The next stop on his journey will be Worcester, when he plays the Marr's Bar on Sunday, a venue he has played twice before.

And the prolific songwriter - who already has a further two albums' worth of songs in the bag - is looking forward to a busy touring schedule this summer, with gigs across the nation and in Holland, Belgium and Canada.

"The music industry is always going to be competitive but I'm more concerned about staying true to myself as opposed to trying to jump on any band wagon," said Christopher. "Sometimes it feels like you're banging your head against a brick wall but, at the moment, at least I feel like I'm chipping away at a few more bricks to hopefully break through."

Tickets for Sunday's gig are £5 on the door.