Weird for Sound


Okay, here's me talking about writing for singing.

A few apologies are in order, for:

  • Being so slow in doing this
  • Recording it with a crappy microphone
  • Hitting a slight technical hitch halfway through


So, consider this part one, with part two to follow, um, soon - when I've recreated a few files I've somehow managed to delete.

And if it makes no sense at all, at least you can watch the clouds go by.



9 comments:

  1. You have a very Radio 4 speaking voice, you know? (That's a compliment, btw - means you're clear and precise and easy to understand.) Also, you have a nice line in deadpan irony. :o)

    Very interesting to hear about your creative process - i'd picked up from some of your blog posts that setting yourself a challenge was a fairly important part of the process for you, but it's interesting to know a bit more about what those challenges are. "Trying to sound like that song on the radio" was basically the founding principle of The Beatles, and has gone on from that to be the basis for most pop/rock/whatever, so you're certainly in very good company with that one. :o)

    Would i sound like a terrible little crawler if i said that i prefered 'Atlas Unplugged' to 'Lawnchairs'? I do, though, it's true. :o) I also found it interesting, given that you were trying to emulate it, that it itself sounds (to my ears, anyway) as though it's "borrowed" the start of the riff to 'Enola Gay' in a fairly big way.

    I was especially interested to hear about (and hear) your early experiments with a 4-track Portastudio, since that piece of kit featured heavily in the musical dabbling i used to do.

    Very much looking forward to Part Two! :o)

    Aethelread-the-not-at-all-well-read...

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  2. Ha! This is great! Although, I have to admit the voice and accent immediately made me think of KITT from Knight Rider! It's fascinating and unique!

    It is interesting how you describe how you come up with writing and recording songs. And you do have a radio voice. And it's hard to find people with great radio voices that are clear and interesting. You certainly have that!

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  3. :) nay :D

    Most enjoyable - bar the flanging on your voice. The clouds were pleasantly hypnotic too!

    Avidly waiting for part two.

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  4. @Aethelreadtheunread:
    You have a very Radio 4 speaking voice, you know?

    Heh, well I'm working on it. Need to slow down a bit and enunciate more consistently.

    And more than that, get less nervous simply because there's a microphone in front of me.

    Would i sound like a terrible little crawler if i said that i prefered 'Atlas Unplugged' to 'Lawnchairs'?

    I'm sure you're the opposite. A wonderful, big...whatever the opposite of crawler is. The opposite of crawling is probably pronking, but I'm not calling you a pronker ;-).

    "Lawnchairs" is one of my musical reference points - together with "Little Fluffy Clouds", "Close to the Edit", "Fade to Grey" and others. Fixed points on a map that let me place other songs in relation to them. I'm sure we all have such points, formed more by our circumstances when we hears the songs than their actual content.

    I'm rather flattered that you like "Atlas Unplugged" more than its main inspiration. Now that there's some distance between it and me, I can see most of the flaws in it's production aren't as bad as I thought. I did overdo the "dominant snare" thing though.

    it itself sounds (to my ears, anyway) as though it's "borrowed" the start of the riff to 'Enola Gay' in a fairly big way.

    Hmm. I can't see any great resemblance, and I wasn't thinking of anything by OMD at the time, but "Enola Gay" is another one of my reference points, so it's possible.

    I was especially interested to hear about (and hear) your early experiments with a 4-track Portastudio

    Ah, then I'll have to find some more detail about that. I developed a rather...ideosyncratic way of working.

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  5. @Eroswings:

    the voice and accent immediately made me think of KITT from Knight Rider!

    Well...KITT was the only reason I watched Knight Rider as a kid. No, I didn't even fancy David Hasselhoff. I don't remember KITT having a british accent or a tendency to go gravelly at the end of sentences though!

    it's hard to find people with great radio voices that are clear and interesting. You certainly have that!

    Careful, or I'll start doing podcasts! And before you know it I'll be broadcasting three hours a day with a divorce and an oxycontin habit.

    Unless someone's already done that :-).

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  6. @Camy:

    Most enjoyable - bar the flanging on your voice.

    Thank you. I'm not sure why my normally reliable noise reduction plugin suddenly decided to flange me. The clouds are a timelapse film I did from my bedroom window over a year ago - thinking it'd come in useful for...something, someday.

    Part two will be delayed a little because...someone sent me a of their new album CD and I'm putting together a review.

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  7. Fascinating post. It’s not easy to articulate one’s personal creative process, but you did a very good job. Looking forward to Part Two.

    BTW great voice.

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  8. Re: pronking - thank you for introducing me to a new word. Although i was slightly disappointed when it turned out not to be something weirdly sexual... ;o)

    I meant that 'Lawnchairs' borrowed the opening section of the 'Enola Gay' riff, not 'Atlas Unplugged'.

    I'll have to find some more detail about that.

    Only if it fits your plan. It's your audio post after all. :o)

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  9. # Part two will be delayed a little because...someone sent me a of their new album CD and I'm putting together a review. #

    Oh! :)

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