This is just me soloing over a riff. If I had the time I think I could develop this further into something more worthy, but at the moment it is fairly static, working on one level and so won’t be put forward for anything else.
Blimey, two entries in one day…there must be a full moon or something…
Took delivery today of a new audio toy for my arsenal of boxes and gizmos that I plug my guitar into in an attempt to make it sound like less of a guitar. This time I have purchased a Boss SL-20 Slicer pedal. I’m not really sure what a Slicer pedal does, but I think I can explain it now I have used one for ten minutes. It seems to be part delay pedal, part tremelo pedal, a touch of auto-wah and some weird melodic filter thing. So it bounces whatever you put into the little green box all around the shop and creates a subtle rhythm to what you are playing. The harmonic slice feature adds extra harmonic tones to the proceedings. It is a total gimmick, but I see some potential here for an extra dollop of “wuh?” to my sound. For example, you can record a short loop and have it play back, but it only records the FX, so you end up with a rather strange sound to solo over.
The next track demonstrates the SL-20. I’ve gone for subtle rather than “over the top” and it’s only till the end that you hear the SL-20 doing its thing. Not sure how often I’ll use it, but it certainly adds something to the mix…not sure if it is good or bad though…the jury is out! The track is called “Seville” and it is a two-pass improv. The first pass was me and the drum machine laying down some synth loop using the RC-50 and the GR-33, then I started to improv over the of that with the Godin xtSA and the VG-99, put through the Boss SL-20. Then a second pass was made with some sloppy bass via my Fender Precision Deluxe Special (within internal GK-2A kit that I installed myself) through the V-Bass pedal. If you are wondering why I am listing my kit, it is so the GoogleBot brings interested musos this way. 😉
One way of creating a compositional inroad is to “jam”. The problem with that if you are on your own is that you can’t pay all the instruments at once. So what I do is set the drum machine running and record some rhythm guitar and hit record. I just play what I feel sounds right with the drum loop. Then I rewind, change instruments and record again in one pass. Down goes the bass in one attempt, then perhaps some solo guitar. This has to be done quickly and without much thought in order to capture any energy or new ideas that might be thrown up by the general randomness of the task. The result of one such “jam” is the following track, presented in all of its ugly glory. This really is the meat and gristle of my recording method. Often I buff things up and refine them before presentation but this is the raw meat, people…
Track Listing
1. Here Comes the Future
2. The Chorus
Harmonic
3. Out of the
Shadows
4. Singularity
5.
The Gates of
Hysteria
6.
The Complex
7.
The Falls
at Niagara
8. Dry Season
9. Dark Nacre
10. Polar Bear (walking on freshly
laid snow)
11. The Sun Even Shines
12. Ballad for Laika
13.
Stand Up
14. 1-2-3-4
With a change of personal
circumstances, this album reflects a change in my life. With a young daughter
to raise and now a business to run, time for recording
is a premium and so a more direct route to composition was taken for this
project – and that sense of urgency pervades this collection. The twelve
instrumentals are typical of my output but they have more space in terms of
production and are more direct. The two vocal tracks that act as bookends are more
than worthy.
You can download the album by
right-clicking each song title. Alternatively, you can download a zip file of
the entire album by clicking this link. If you have BitTorrent installed and like to use P2P file
transfer, the torrent is available from here.
Here’s a bit of throw away audio fluff for you that’s going to be on my new album. It’s called “1234” and is one of those tracks that was recorded in a very brief period of time. The guitar/bass/drums were recorded in 10 minutes at the beginning of the week and the vocals were put down in 15 minutes last night. The hardest part was coming up with the words.
1234
Why do you think?
It’s called philosophy
Believe in god
What’s your theology?
Or are you green
Like your ecology?
1,2,3,4
Make them wait outside the door
If it’s got three sides
That’s trigonometry
Say it twice
Don’t like tautology
It’s the way I’m made
My biology
5.6.7.8
Always pays to make them wait
Chorus:
Still working on my biography
All my records are my discography
And the words, my bibliography
1.2.3.4
1.2.3.4
Take my picture, capture photography
Can’t read my writing, that’s cacography
Want to dance, check my choreography
1.2.3.4
1.2.3.4
Look where you stand
Check your topography
Dig that rock
It’s all geology
Don’t like my face
My physiognomy
1.2.3.4
It don’t matter any more
Predict your future
With astrology
Read the leaves
Practice tasseography
Read between the lines
My steganography
5.6.7.8.
Look who’s standing by the gate
Chorus:
Still working on my biography
All my records are my discography
And the words, my bibliography
1.2.3.4
1.2.3.4
Take my picture, capture photography
Can’t read my writing, that’s cacography
Want to dance, check my choreography
1.2.3.4
1.2.3.4
Managed to knock out the basis of a possible new track before breakfast this morning (no, really – such is the knock ’em out fashion I have to record to now). It’s not great, it’s not wonderful, it is Heavy Splash:
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