Today my third EP "Muppets and Marionettes" is coming out. To say I'm excited is an understatement, the energy on this release is different to what I've put out in the past, it's much fuller sounding than the last two and I'm really proud of the songs themselves. While something about slaving alone in your room is enjoyable to listen to, it's a draining way to work. You sometimes get caught to much in the content of the songs, driving the mood of the work into an often downbeat tone. You can hear that the guitar may be on its fifteenth take of the hour, the shaking in my voice as I slip through a take that at the end I'll deem as acceptable simply because I'm tired of singing and not because I thought it was "the take". For this release I had originally planned to work in this way, with the songs written in under a month it felt like an unexpected photo taken from an angle that was somewhat unflattering but that friends would say was fine. A representation of who I see rather than who I force upon people. The lonely head bashing technique had worked in the past so it seemed like the best way to go.
When it was written I had a meeting with my producer Rod Jones to discuss another project and I told him I had written this release to which he responded by asking me to send him demos. At home that day I recorded the four songs with my phone sat on my knee, sent them to him and he said "Get a band together and we'll record this in a day". Naturally I was nervous but a band was thrown together consisting of Gary Hollingsworth on drums, Erin Carroll on bass, Kirsty Potter on Violin and Ruari Woodsend on Cello. I threw together some rough arrangements for the strings (not really knowing what I was doing) and we took to the rehearsal room. I'd never thought of my music as very dynamic or exciting but putting these fantastic musicians into the mix they sounded full of life but with enough ebb and flow to let the songs shine through as they were written, a possibly unflattering portrait of someone fumbling through their head, bloodying their knuckles on a brick wall they know there's something behind.
The recording atmosphere was not what I had expected, I was very worried about an uncomfortable environment where not getting something in the first take would be a crime but Rod sat behind the desk providing encouragement and comfort. Everything was set up at a comfortable pace and before we knew it the day was over and the full release was recorded.
I look forward to everyone hearing this next step in my musical journey and I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it.
BSx
