The Big Sky

So here we are again after a longish break. Shipping Forecast as finished as its going to get, and as planned Protect and Survive was started, but as before completely scrapped and rebuilt whilst out in Florida. I have these grand ideas which sometimes work but often don’t. I could see pretty early on things were not right, so I dumped it, extruded an old clip I was working with, created a whole new mid section with virtual synths and strapped an ethereal fade to its back end (again a whole separate piece of music).

I dumped half the samples I collected for it, and recorded whole new sections. Basically its not what I started out to do, but has ended up what it needs to be.

I’m not sure if this is how you should go about an album, after all this time I forget. But I seem to of thrown away more than I am using, there is a whole other album in there somewhere, but at 12 tracks I have had to stop.

So that’s it, no more composing, now just mixing and tweaking, which shouldn’t take too long.

So much for the big eighties sound I was after, talking of which it doesn’t get much bigger than today’s track… the Big Sky by Kate Bush.

Such a wet snare, such a squeaky voice, over the top drums, far too iconic, far too Irish… tiddly die tiddlly die tiddly die ahhhhhh, far too busy… and then we pause for a jet, oh yes, that jet, that’s what makes it for me.

It shouldn’t work, not with all those layers, yet it does, and its big and beautiful and unashamedly 80’s. Love it !

Oh and it has a Fairlight on it… nuff said.

Give Me Back My Heart

Well this is the first blog of the new year and the big gap is mainly because of the track I talked about in the last blog entry. Taking a rather poor stereo copy of a track and trying to make it 'fit' in with what I am doing with the new album was no small task. I have learned an awful lot about what does and doesn't work when doing such a thing, mainly about how awesome EQ can be when you use it correctly. It's been a pretty steep learning curve but I think I got there in the end. Just have to walk away from it now for a month or so and come back fresh to it (then probably bin it altogether).

So only one track left to do now (Gulp), then it's a mammoth mix down and a bit of cover design, then the truly awkward bit of getting people to have a listen.

I am hoping to actually do some of the next track in the States later this year while the family are busy swimming in the afternoons . It's the one track I have been putting off for the longest. I only have an idea about how it should feel, and of course the vocal content. Having listened to a lot of early Trevor Horn production work, I want to try and capture than early 80's big sound feel. I have a bit of a tune, but not much to work with yet. Gonna have to fire up all three sythns to achieve that 'wall of keyboards sound', but at the same time, I want it fairly stripped down... I know, can't have both really. The one thing it will do is use everything I have learned over the past year recording, lots of different way of making sound, all mixed into one.

With this in mind, today's track is by Dollar : Give Me Back My Heart

So this is total cheese this record, but its so catchy, and of course saved by the production and writing skills of Trevor Horn. Starting up like 'I'm not in Love' by 10CC then you get this all familiar bass rumbling along under the airy fairy vocals. This song is pure Buggles 'LITE' but you have to love it (just don't tell anyone cool).

Oh and that play out.... simply divine !