As part of the RPM Challenge 2009 project, I wrote occasional blogs on their site. These are reproduced below, with occasional editorial comments to explain things where I felt the urge :-)
Feb 7 - Finally Getting Somewhere!
Hi all. After a week of "what the *&%$ am I going to record???" I have now got 6 ideas on the go in various states. Planning to work on this a lot today so hopefully will flesh those ideas out a bit. The current songs are...
RPM 1 - an Indian sounding rock tune
RPM 2 - a dirty 70s jazz funk groove
For Frank Pt1 - a tribute to Frank Zappa's complex instrumentals - lots of xylophone :-)
For Frank Pt2 - a spacey Lydian solo over percussion and synths
Resonance - an ambient solo bass tune
Jimi - another solo bass tune ( might end up with drums too), dedicated to Hendrix's ballads
Not a lot of continuity in styles so far!!
Oh well, back to it.......
Comments
It's funny looking back on this and looking at what I actually ended up with. To clarify what happened to these pieces..
RPM 1 - ended up being "Sunrise"
RPM 2 - ended up being "Urban Skunk"
For Frank Pt1 - never really got a melody I was happy with so still not recorded
For Frank Pt2 - ended up as "Frank". Originally it was intended to have a lot more synths on it but I preferred the stripped down version
Resonance - I had the idea of leaving the strings resonate at this point, but not much else so it was slightly entusiastic listing this one as "current" at the time!!
Jimi - Wrote the basic tune but never recorded it. May revisit it at some point.
Feb 8 - Rise Of the Upright Bass
Hello RPMers. Another new song idea this morning, a Rhodes and upright bass tune currently called "Shoulda Stayed In Bed". I have the basic head together and a lovely drum groove. Need to flesh out the arrangement now!
It'll open with a bit of free noodling on my NS Wav electric upright bass and then the groove will kick in. Need to think about a bridge and a solo section....hmm.
RPM 1 is pretty much sequenced, just needs live instruments and a name!
The first Zappa tribute has stalled though :-? Will try again later.
Feb 8 - Quick Update
OK, two tracks completely sequenced, just need some live instruments and tweaks :-) The upright bass tune mentioned earlier is ready for the solo section. Time to re-tackle the Zappa tribute :-)
Feb 15 update
Hello. Hope you all had a good Valentine's Day? Back from my weekend away and back to writing.
Two ideas on the go at the moment which seem to form part of a suite with one of the tunes already written. We'll see what happens!
Comments
The two ideas mentioned were planned to join "Urban Skunk" in the Film Suite. One turned into "Theme From Final Days", the other was a heavy guitar track provisionally called "The Escape" which was never completed.
Feb 21 -Finally starting live tracks
Yes, with one week to go I am finally strapping on basses and guitars to get some live instruments recorded. The schedule is:
Film Suite 1: bass gtr ( probably my Jazz)
Frank: bass and guitar
Film Suite 3 ( or maybe 4): bass and 2 or 3 guitars
Shoulda Stayed In Bed - upright bass and bass guitar
Sunrise : at least 2 bass guitars :-)
We'll see how I get on :-)
Comments
The piece mentioned as "Film Suite 3 or maybe 4" ended up being "Final Days(Closing Credits)" although the version I was trying to record on that day was very different and a lot less moody.
Feb 22 -8 songs down
Getting there but this week's schedule means I need to finish it by tomorrow night :-?
I have 8 pieces recorded now and probably won't get much more "live" playing down so we'll see what happens :-)
Comments
At this point I hasn't recorded the final version of "Final Days(Closing Credits)"( which was programmed and recorded in its entirety on Feb 23) and I don't think I'd even written "The Snow Queen". I knew I had gigs all week coming up and would be struggling for time, in fact I was starting to doubt that I would finish the project!
There was also one piece which is 95% done but didn't make the cut - a 12/8 drum piece called "...And Now In 12" which was meant to follow "Sunrise".
Feb 26 -99.9999% done!
Hello. Recording is finished ( or as finished as it's going to get!)... just a little bit of mastering this afternoon and then it'll be in the post tomorrow.
The CD will be called "What I Did On My Holiday" ( after those essays we had to write in school after having a few weeks holiday :-))
The tracklisting will be.....
1.Sunrise
2.Resonance
3.Frank
4.Don't look Down
Film Suite
5. Pt 1 Urban Skunk
6. Pt 2 Theme from Final Days
7. Pt 3 The Snow Queen
8. Pt 4 Final Days ( Closing Credits)
9. Shoulda Stayed In Bed
10. Sunset
All tracks are instrumental and were recorded AND written in the last 26 days. I ended up programming a lot plus playing 6- and 4-string bass guitars, guitar, electric upright bass and a laptop synth.
Cheers
Alun
Comments
Reading this back made me smile as I can feel the sense of relief in this post!
Feb 28 -....And Rest
Yes, it's all done!
The CD went in the post yesterday and is now available for free download on Last.FM . In the next couple of hours, it'll also be available from my website.
I've had some great feedback already, including a Twitter message from Vernon Reid ( Living Colour ) saying how much he loved "Sunrise"!!!
So, what are my thoughts on my RPM adventure now that it is done?
I'll be honest I loved it! February was a fairly manic month, personally and in terms of workloads, plus I was out of action for several days after pinching a nerve in my neck :-(, and there were numerous occasions where I wasn't sure if I would/could complete the recordings.
Yes, given more time there are things I would do differently...certain parts which are a little rough round the edges, or mixes I would change slightly...but as a whole I'm pretty proud of this recording.
I've learnt loads in terms of recording and how to use my gear. I've discovered how to get a pretty realistic acoustic tone from my NS Wav, how to actually get the Sampletank synth to work in Tracktion, and plenty more useful things :-) The recording also saw several debuts for me...this is the first released recording that I've played guitar or upright bass on, and contains the first string quartet and orchestral compositions I've ever recorded.
Thank you RPM for the opportunity to push myself to do this :-)
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