29 Feb 2008
by madeleinein gigography Tags: gig, looper, rehearsal, unplugged
Today has been strictly rehearsing. I thought about bringing full gear to the little gig tomorrow, but decided against it. There’s a piano there and I’ll bring my looper. Pretty low-key. All four songs in kind of unplugged versions.
Other than that I went shopping, clothes and grocery… had some fun on the swings after the children were already home. It’s still is as much fun and inspired me… more about that if something evolves out of it.
The gig I already wrote about (here), is finally confirmed for April, 4. Quite curious how it’s gonna be. I’ll keep you posted about any news. Oh, it’s gonna be at ‘Die Villa’ (Landsberger Allee 54, Berlin) if anyone’s interested in coming (I’d like that!).
x
29 Feb 2008
by madeleinein In the Studio Tags: field recording, guitar, lyrics, music, recording studio, vocals
In the last two days I’ve continued working on ‘Webs’ although it might end up with a different title. I thought I had a refrain already, but it turned out to be much better suited as a bridge. So today I wrote lyrics and music for the chorus and recorded it. I also laid down some vocals. The rough structure of the song is all there and in the next days I will work on the refinements.
Yesterday I rummaged through my sound library of all the field recordings I made and was amazed to actually find a folder labelled ‘clocks’. So now I not only have a great sounding grandfather clock ticking away underneath but also a frantic little alarm clock that ticks twice as fast for bridge and refrain. I had to readjust the grandfather clock rhythm a bit. It was creating an odd limping rhythm that didn’t work. Did some EQing to get rid of some backgroud noise that I found distracting in the more quiet parts. The clock ticking is just perfect for this song. I absolutely love it. In the sound library I found sounds of toast popping and coffee brewing to be included as sounds for beats, too. It’s so good to actually realise that I didn’t spend a whole month for nothing when I recorded everything onto my computer, edited and filed it. Because quite often I end up recording sounds specifically for the song at hand.
Two nights ago I had the idea that some flageolet tones and other guitar bits could be fitting which were originally intended for ‘Chaos & Order’ but simply didn’t sound right and were therefore discarded. And they are. Gonna record some more though on my old battered classical guitar (the one I started with at the age of six, so we’ve got quite a history).
I really can’t complain at the moment. Things are going so well, I’m just sailing through the writing and recording of ‘Webs’. So much so that I haven’t started rehearsing for the little gig on Saturday. Definitely tomorrow however!
x
27 Feb 2008
by madeleinein bread crumbs, In the Studio Tags: bass, beats, field recording, mic, mp3, recording studio, rhodes, vocals
Took me a while to get going today. I felt like I was coming down with a cold, but no, it’s just my body thinking it’s being attacked by vicious tree pollen. So I’ve been coughing and wheezing. It’s no excuse though. I can’t just do nothing for weeks only because I drag myself around sneezing in the morning. I sure hope my voice gets used to it.
More work on ‘Webs’ today. I’ve sorted out the general arrangement. I had the feeling that something was off when I listened to it for the first time today. As it turns out it was pretty easy to solve. The bass line needed some adjustments and I’ve fiddled around with some effects for the rhodes. Together they already create a beat of some sorts now – sounds like a CD skipping. That’s what happens if you don’t cut a sound at zero. Usually this clicking sound is considered to be bad, but I like it.
My condensator mic got a bit tortured to get a sound for the bass drum. I tried to think of anything one does in the morning that provides a sound for that, but at least I prefer it rather relaxed just after getting up without any banging around. Hence the hitting the mic. Recorded the first attempts to the vocals to see if everything works the way I want it. Also recorded more little bits that will hopefully find their perfect place in time.
I need to find some clocks to record the ticking. I don’t have one that tick-tocks anymore. The grandfather clock at my parents’ would be perfect. Maybe next time I get there. I might ask around who’s got one or go to a shop…
This is the tiny snippet that inspired this song (sounds completely different already though):
[audio http://boxstr.com/files/1167684_wvdwi/websidea.mp3]
26 Feb 2008
by madeleinein In the Studio Tags: bass, beats, field recording, music, recording studio, rhodes
So I began the new song called ‘Webs’ today. Like a breath of fresh air. Back in the flow of things. No sign of writer’s block. Ha!
The lyrics are taken from a short story written by my best friend that he probably doesn’t even remember writing. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind anyway. Just nicked some very poetic sounding phrases, translated them and reworked everything. It’s about the time when you wake up and are kind of still caught up in a dream, but have to get into the hustle and bustle of everyday life again. Funny, now I’ve got a morning song and a good night song (‘Scaredy Cat’s Lullaby’). I wonder if it’ll affect the naming of the whole album and the order of the songs… we’ll see.
Some Rhodes playing and recording today, nice and simple sine wave bass line. I also had fun recording lots of stuff one does in the morning just after getting up… yawning, brushing of teeth, getting dressed (zipper sounded best), sipping coffee and so on. For beats. And some basic beat programming. Me likey! Some ah and uh vocals to use as fills, too. It’s a good song to play around with loads of sounds and just enjoy the whole recording process again. Really looking forward to more of this tomorrow.
Bed now. G’night!
25 Feb 2008
by madeleinein gigography, In the Studio, ramblings Tags: gig, music, recording studio
Yesterday there was no music making at all. This dreaded song was doing my head in so much so that even when I tried my mind just went blank. And just to avoid having to work on it I ended up cleaning my whole flat. It’s squeaky clean now that much I can say. As goes for most people I’m not a big fan of cleaning. So when I realised what was happening I didn’t stop myself – a clean place doesn’t hurt either – but I’m not gonna continue with this song for now. It’s giving me a bad case of writer’s block and it’s not like I’m writing a novel. I can just skip to the next chapter, meaning another song. I found this little piece of music when I was sieving through my ideas and already found lyrics for it. It’s gonna be called ‘Webs’ and might become quite dreamy.
Last night I also went out to see some friends play live. Lately I’d heard about this fortnightly party in a friends’ flat where bands play. I haven’t been yet. Been a bit out of touch with everything what with spending most of the time in the studio only talking to my computer and going hermit-style. Anyway met the guy throwing the parties last night and asked if I could play there sometime. So I’m gonna play a couple of songs on saturday. The great thing is he’s got a really nice electric piano. Oh, gotta start rehearsing purty soon. Only six days to go.
Over and out for now!
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