Been a while

Sorry it's been ages. I've been working hard!

I now have about eight tracks that are either finished, or very close to being finished.

Here are the lyrics to a more recent one. The music sounds like a funky 80s gameshow theme, slowed down to quarter-time. Working title is 'microabrasion piano' but that's obviously going to change.


full to the fall
in the open air
opine err
fleeting wisdom of flitting flukes
the masses have spoken
anchor sea easy is all we need
open water

microabrasion
and cheap credit
enough ink to write out our wills
and enough food in the basement
in case of emergency


CHORUS

it's all over
it's all over
no more talking up
no more ignorance
another saviour
another saviour
that's all we need right now


==

in the solitude
brutally honest
a quiet affect
I spoke the loudest
in redacted sentiments
piled on top of one another
without caution
i am
i am in your shadow
we are
we are in your shadow

diversion from original plans

My PC is rubbish for music. I haven't done a single thing since getting it that I'm happy with.

I have finally deduced that the problem is one of software: PCs don't have Logic!

So I've bought a mac. It's awesome. Haven't stopped writing since I got it. Mostly just four bar loops and little bits of shit, but prolific! For the first time in months.

Anyway, had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday. Worked through the day on a new idea. (Almost) finished it off tonight.

It's the first thing I've done since the old Mac died that I've been happy with.

Here it is...

http://soundcloud.com/outbounded/arpeggio-almost-finished

Lyrics below if you feel brave and want to try to sing along to my melodies. They make sense to me! But probably me alone.

hind legs and steely stare
i will protect you
drawing breath in the haze
it's madness to do it this way
comfort was something to gladden us
but it's clear it's gone forever
hark back to the opening Act
fuzzy in both of our minds

angels never struck me as being sad
so why do you cry?
the hardest part is over
when you were a million miles away

upon the heartening glow of love
i rest my decisions
it opens up a world for us
flight and fancy in the little spaces within us

random lyric

on this ferrous old frame of the bus deck on which we sit
watching benches and see saws through gaps in trees and passers by

my speech architecturally wise and lost in meaningfulness
makes you feel a bit stupid though the stupidity is all in your head

and this dusty old jacket all blemished and chipped
makes my words feel like woodchip wallpaper to your cryptolect

the stripes of your dress are your rum doxy to my cad
spontaneous flower girl keeps reflowering and reflowering

Progress

From an email to a friend on progress with the album

"No tangible progress, lots of intangible stuff going on! I started this with the idea that it would be 'beautiful acoustic guitar'. But there are some things which I need to fix up (microphones etc) before I can start recording it, and I am finding the pause to be quite instructive: my vision for the album is breaking free from my initial constraints. I am now building a drum kit in my cellar (!), and the proposition of whacking the traps again has got my juices flowing a bit. I am coming round to the idea that perhaps I can balance the 'poise' of beautiful flowing guitar patterns with a whole load of other things: soul, funk, afrobeat, krautrock, surreal/classical; I can feel a creative swell of energy, which I intend to channel into something ambitious!"

Only thing to add to that would be that I am going to do all of my arrangements on paper. No clicking!

a less geeky post

as you tumble to cocoon of sleep i speak
faintly earbound for your counsel to keep
on balance we are in this deep
a thousand smiles we made the leap

i was myopic, battened down and drawn
potentially too forlorn
a chancer only with odds whose sum
would stack and topple down, deaf and dumb

an angel-winged and migrant one
you waited for the spring to come
your bareskin back to shining sun
a chancer too, collide as one

song of songs, take wing and alight
your elliptical touches of delight
with powdered hands it took some might
but now we're here let's stay up all night

microphones and drums

these three are on the shopping list

http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_s502.htm

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/se-electronics-titan-condenser-microphone-and-project-studio-reflexion-filter--76953

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/se-electronics-ribbon-large-ribbon-microphone--30188

I want warmth and good imaging from my acoustic guitar, much more than responsiveness.

I am buying a drum kit too - or rather, I am assembling one from various bits I have found on eBay.

So we know the record will have live drums on it :)

Oh yeah and I decided earlier that I want everything to be done in one take, no comping, and no copy+paste looping.

things to avoid

Builds
Homophony
Granular programming (??)
Looped chords

sketch pad for thoughts/ideas (so far)

Reaktor for synth noises - processed vocals as synths

Big percussive stuff, layered improvs, FUNK; SWING; raw, not technical/classical. No loops. Off grid.

Short attack muted drums and 'real' ambience.

Playing stuff through shit speakers and miking it

Chanting

Filtered angry bass and drums. Suppressed volcano agression!

Distortion vs beautiful acoustics

Could something be too beautiful --> ugly?

Riffs vs ostinatos. High pitched riffs?

Ground bass, percussive bass, jazz bass, sustained bass, sub bass, picked midrange bass, no bass

Equalised resonance on percussive patterns played - not programmed. Real stuff for instruments, cupboard doors etc

Fragmentation over layering. Reduce down. Brittle. Nonsense thresholds.

Beatbox

Monophony? Brutally insincere EQ curves.

Study of keys used

Pitch. Explore natural and unnatural pitches of instruments.

Tonism / modalism / diatonalism / multitonalism / chromaticism / blues / unusual modes / microtonality / playing out of tune

Musique concrete in songs. Deconstruction. Un-music.

Comfort zone vs. challenge to listener

Tempo changes? Slow persistent ritenutos, fermatas, rubato, wonkiness

Time signature changes, pulse arrythmia for aesthetic effect

Key changes

Drastic instrumentation changes

Attitudes and emotions - what has never been said and so is unrefined? what is the emotional motivation?

Simple lyrics. Explore the themes more. Write lyrics before writing songs

String trio (me, will, kate)

first thoughts

1. I want to make an album.

2. I have some ideas about it at the moment. These may change.

3. It will be me (Ben Johnson)

4. It will inevitably involve others.

5. I don't want to stare at a screen much.

6. I have got quite good at the acoustic guitar.

7. I want to be able to play it live, on my own.

8. I want it to be phenomenal!