 He invested the advance money in a home recording setup, converting a spare room of his four-bedroom flat into Lovely Studios.Moved by Ken Burns Jazz docu-series, he decided to focus on a more traditional sonic approach, opting to use acoustic instrumentation rather than computer-based technology.Hicken's debut album under the name Cantinero, a nickname bestowed on him by a Spanish bartender co-worker, was released by Artemis Records in 2004.