the flat is really quiet now that i've decided to stop recording for the night. the birds outside the front window (and the back for that matter) are making a hell of a racket mind you. it reminds me of late nights / early morning in summer. very odd that they're so noisy. maybe they're getting their own back after i've been up late recording and they're sick of it. actually, a neighbour complained last week. i honestly couldn't believe it. i'm a very considerate neighbour; in fact i hate neighbour noise. so the fact that i was the culprit was a bit of a shock. i was working on songs till 5/6am but it wasn't loud. however, i want to practise what i preach, so i've turned the volume right down and use headphones more. i really don't think it was louder than maybe someone watching tv, but i can help ease the neighbour's suffering so i'm quite happy to do so. it doesn't affect what i'm doing either which is a bonus.
so, i've been working on a few songs lately, all of them demos. i've completed and mixed one, need to re-do vocals on another and i was just adding parts to one tonight. i'm really happy with these ones so far. hopefully i'll be able to go to the studio later in the year, but i'm really enjoying the process of working on them in the comfort of my flat, with the jolly birds outside for company.
right, i've made a promise to myself to go to bed now, so i will. i could easily sit up till 5 or 6am, but i've a lot i want to do (non-recording wise) tomorrow and i'm terribly bad at getting out my bed/scratcher/kipper.
so, i'll bid you good night.
ps. i'll go to bed and these songs will be going round and round in my head. this is always the problem with late night recording for me. oh well, at least it was a productive night and i've managed to avoid sparking open cans of beer as is usually the case. a few nights off beer is definitely in order..
is it too late to say happy new year? i think probably after lunch on the 16th of january it's socially unacceptable to wish someone good wishes for the rest of the year. so, i won't wish you a happy new year now, but i was secretly wishing every one good wishes on the 15th of january, just after i'd eaten a rather large spoonful of cold baked beans. i love cold baked beans. is that odd? well, not cold, but rather lukewarm, in their just-taken-out-the-cupboard state. did i ever tell you that i once had an arguement with a particularly annoying/patronising/overbearing scottish old dear (kind of 56-60 years old) who was insisting that a cheesy beano was melted cheese on toast with beans on top. i maintained it was beans on toast with melted cheese on top! it all got rather heated, my passion for the subject representing the fact that she had irritated me for a least an hour up until that point with her theatrics and attention-seeking manner towards us youngsters. anyway, you'll be relieved to know that it all ended quite calmly and we split a can of diet sprite, had an arm wrestle and chuckled. oh, i just invented one part of that make-up scenario up, but i won't tell you which.
i've been keeping my head down recently, concentrating on making some things blossom in the spring time. i've been scattering seeds in a musical sense. i'm off to barcelona at the end of this month to play at minifestival and it's just had a great write-up in spain's premier music magazine rock delux. for that gig i'm going to be joined by the very talented team of miguel (the felt tips) and sebastian (aka cineplexx). after that i've a couple of solo treks, one of which is to the big smoke (aka london) and to madrid for a couple of shows in may. i'm looking forward to the trips.
i've also been keeping my head down and concentrating on new material. quite recently i've been getting into home recording to make demos so i'm just quietly working my way through some of the songs i've collected in the last couple of years, trying to see what sounds decent, what sucks, what needs to be fleshed-out lyrically. it's no good to polish a turd. i hope i won't be doing that - i've not got the constitution - so i want to take some time to really consider the next album, the tracks, the production etc.
mercury rev's 'endlessly' has come on. great song. next up is 'se telefonando' which is by an italian singer called mina in the 60s. it's a morricone composition and it's amazing. i opened itunes and i guess it's playing some of the tracks i was dj'ing the other sunday. that was a great night. i really enjoy dj'ing and i miss it from doing the viva melodia (club) that i used to run (and which i suspect will return). a friend from japan who i spoke to at the tokyo aftershow party got in touch about something yesterday and the communication reminded me a lot of that crazy time in coins bar, shibuya. you know how sometimes one song can bring an experience crashing back? well at this particular time it was 'breaking the ice' by mojave 3. what a song. my friend was telling me what i was recommending that she buy at that party but it's all a blur to me. a combination of touring, exhaustion, booze and adrenalin rendered me a blurry, grinning mess. but not as bad as one individual who was enthusiastically screaming as i was dj'ing. i last saw him sprawled out on the ground just outside the door at about 4am. he was fine though, don't worry :) good memories for me, though i suspect a damn sore head for him. wow what a ramble. sorry 'bout that! bye for now :) oh, here's the mag article i mentioned earlier.
(click to make bigger i think)
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