Howdy Folks!
There are few things quite so nice as feeling proud of the place where you grew up. I was back in Hobart for the weekend so my wee Eugenie can hang out with her grandparents a little bit back there. I hadn’t quite made the connection that all the advertising for Dark Mofo meant that we’d be there as it opened.
It was really great to wander around a curious and interesting space and marvel at how varied people’s creative ideas can be. I loved it. And not a hint of what in Melbourne would be ubiquitous “safety” precautions. The lack of restriction made me feel quite adult and childlike at the same time.
Go Hobart!!! I’m coming soon again I hope…
In other news we have projects that have been on the go.
We have only one more set of backing vocals to record for this album before edits and then shipping off to ma good pal Mattie Foulds at Caribou Recording in Scotland for a mix/master.
There’s a lot of good material here along with bits of music that have sentimental resonance with me. One of my first ever arranged folk songs was Mad Tom of Bedlam - tune written by ultra hero Nic Jones and Dave Moran that I first heard by Tom Gilfellon with the High Level Ranters. Classic stuff.
Lots to enjoy in making this, lovely harmonies, big arrangements and something I always admire - the band’s desire to exceed their own benchmark.
My mate Pete Daffy has been talking about these girls for a while, having mentored them at the Lake School a few years back. Great songwriting, beautiful singing and really polished playing. We’ve tracked guitars so far and a few more days of band recording before vocals later in the month. I can tell this will be a special album.
Since recording the MAE Trio I have been blown away by how inventive young musicians are at the moment, there’s a lot of genre mixing, a lack of pigeon-holing and serious striving for excellence. Very encouraging!
I’ll keep updating the progress on that as I’m sure it’s gonna be a great project.
Solo Album Number 2!
Wow. It’s been about 6 weeks since Calum left after a whirlwind set of tracking and I’ve been slowly coming to terms with how much work is left to do!
So….
Trumpet parts are starting recording this week and I’ll be covering secondary mandolin parts over the next couple of weeks.
We are lined up for Backing Vocals towards the end of the month and then while I send the bulk of it off to Calum for preliminary tweaking I’ll finish off the sessions and get some polish laid down.
Sounds too easy…
Ten Songs. Two Instrumentals.
Rock and Roll. ish. heheheh
I do have the serious burner on however, because with hushed tones in case it doesn’t happen, and a mild case of panic/terror/exhilaration I can say that August is going to be a huge month for me as I am recording another duo album….
Duo Album Number 2:
Big excitement on this front. Will update as things firm up but August = working like a demon to make sure this duo album with my all time hero and musical raison d'etre is exceptional.
That’s all folks. Check out the albums as they come out - BUY them!