Multi-talented Bradford University graduate Moses Ekebuisa is literally carving out a career in music.

The musician and composer, pictured, has just released his first CD, One Voice, which features a range of African instruments created with his own hands.

Born in Nigeria, the 41-year-old picked up the skills necessary to carve everything from a flute to a log drum before moving to Britain as a child in 1981.

A published academic and science graduate, Moses has been focusing on his music, writing and poetry for the last five years.

Delighted to have his first record in the shops, he said: "The CD has lots of different readings, including African poems and words from local poets which I've set to music - it's a real mixture of voices speaking to voices.

"There's funky calypso, reggae, and electric guitar, as well as the more traditional African sounds.

"Music is part of my life, I grew up with it and learned all these things, guitar, drums, woodwind instruments without having to think about it."

After years of carrying out scientific research for Bradford and Leeds Universities, Moses finally got the funding he needed to open his own studio from a Millennium Commission fellowship, in 1999.

As part of the award he visited many of the district's schools to teach pupils about traditional instruments from other cultures - an experience he recalls fondly. He said: "The children were very, very good at learning and really enthusiastic".

Based in Tetley Street, Westgate, his recording base is packed with all manner of modern and ancient devices, including a self-made Nigerian drum.

"It is a big operation to make a log drum," he explained, "and I received a lot of help from Bradford Council, who transported the wood for me, gave me a workspace and supplied me with the necessary chisels and other tools.

"You basically start off with a big tree trunk and then begin hollowing it out, until you end up with a very effective sounding drum.

"Making an African-type flute is a more intricate affair, but playing the flute is great for relieving stress, because it's so like using your voice. In Africa it is used in 'ecstasy rituals' and other important ceremonies because of its power."

As well as his burgeoning musical career, Moses is now seeking a publisher for his first novel, Man At Nature's Pinnacle - a five-year labour of love.

Set in the Bronze Age, the book draws on Moses' scientific background and tells the prophetic tale of a prosperous farmer who starts using chemicals on the land - to his eventual cost.

For Moses, who regularly collaborates with budding bards from Bradford and Leeds, creative words and musical notes are part of the same artistic discipline.

With One Voice now on sale through his own label, Moses' Music, the multi-instrumentalist is already looking ahead to his next project.

He said: "Making music in my own studio is a means of making a living, but not a lucrative one yet!

"I'm still at a starting point but I'm moving forward and more and more people are hearing about me. I'm working towards this being a good living, as well as something that I have to do."