LOST FRIENDS & B SIDES
Lost friends and B-Sides is a collection of songs that didn't really fit anywhere else. Does it mean they've been rushed or half finished? Not a bit of it, each has its own story and reason as to why it could only exist here.
1. How was your day?
2. Countdown
3. By the numbers
4. The White Witch of Burton Joyce
5. The end of Andromeda
6. Diplomacy spectrum
7. Tell me
8. More holidays
9. Bigger than the universe
10. Spiders
Countdown - Written for a band I was in back 2006. The original was not sung by me and was way too long. I always felt it was short changed and needed a bit of a re-think. I'm much happier with this version. Lyrically written about a girl I was seeing at the time. She's now my wife.
The White Witch of Burton Joyce - So there I was waiting in a little cafe to order some breakfast when I heard the waitress talking to someone about what they did that weekend. She was practicing her spells in readiness for the summer solstice. That sounds like a good idea for a song.
Diplomacy Spectrum - Another off cut from Lives of the Ignorant. This was due to be the opener for Part 2, but I decided on a different approach. From a music point of view I've being trying to do a Peter Hook for years, quite pleased with the results.
More holidays - Another song from lockdown. Holidays was what I was given, I did contemplate just throwing a song I'd already done about Holidays. That one was a bit miserable, so I thought I'd re-dress the balance and write a song about going on holiday with my kids, friends and family. I like this one a lot.
Spiders - An appropriate place to finish. The theme that week was spiders, I said I'm not doing spiders for goodness sake, what a load of old toss, not happening, ever!! Here's a song about sipders.
How was your day? - My wife was having rather a miserable time, life, in general, was being a bit of an arsehole, so I thought I'd try and cheer her up by writing a song for her. It worked, she cried her eyes out and struggles to keep it together whenever she listens to it. I call that a result.
By the numbers - During lockdown a group of my friends decided that the best way to keep ourselves occupied was to try and write and record a piece of music in a given time limit. This particular week I couldn't be bothered, until the day we were due to Zoom meet. With that in mind, this took 5 hours to write and record. I'm quite pleased with the reults. I've gone back to it to polish it up a bit, but the song hasn't changed much at all.
The end of Andromeda - This piece of music I've had knocking around for ages. Origionally due for Live of the Ignorant (Part 1), I couldn't quite make it fit. Tried again for Part 2, still no joy. One more go for Part 3, doesn't fit. But I really liked the tune, so I thought I'd give the attention it deserves and finish it properly. Struggled with the name for a while, landed on that, with a little help from the wonderful Andy Cooke.
Tell me - A track that didn't quite fit on Lives Part 2. I wanted to do a song in 5/4 time and try and make it accessible. A partial success I think. I think it's a good song, but not quite the right fit for project it was designed for, perfect for this though.
Bigger than the Universe - Due to be the last song on Lives Part 2 or the opener for Part 3. Didn't quite work out that way. This is the best version of this song and I'm not sure how I could make it any better. I made a point of finishing it so that I could move on, otherwise it would drive me mad.
Technical Info.
Some people (like me) are a bit nerdy and like to know how you made it all and what you used, so this is for them.
PRS, Charvel electric guitars.
Epiphone acoustics guitars.
Ibanez bass guitars.
Fractal audio and Gamechanger audio guitar FX
Rode and Audio Technica microphones.
Oberhiem, Make noise, Behringer, ASM, Modal, Vector, Tasty Chips Electronics, Elektron, Access, EMU, Waldorf, Bastl synthesizers.
Cubase and Wavelab for recording arranging, mixing and mastering.
An assortment of plug ins, but mainly BFD for the drums and Plugin Alliance for the processing.
Everything was recorded and processed using an RME Fireface UC.