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!