For this project, I wanted to write some new material to go with the songs that I had written over the past few years. The previous 2 studio sessions have been dedicated to recording two of these new additions, entitled: ‘For My Next Trick…’ and ‘Sip a Fizzy Pop’. As seen on the tick list update from last week, they have replaced two of the other songs for inclusion on the EP which is itself called ‘Humdinger’.
First up was ‘For My Next Trick…’ which had a relatively slow tempo at 88bpm. This caused some timing issues in places which was rectified by joining takes together and dropping me in where needed. The problem was partly caused by the fact that one section ends on the same chord that another starts with (E major) which meant that it was held for a long time and was hard to keep track of where it started/ended. The inspiration for this song and reference point came from Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys) who recorded a solo project EP, called ‘Submarine’. The nature of this record is a lot more low-key than his bands usual output, so seemed applicable to this project as the songs don’t utilise too many distorted guitars etc. (LO3)
The rhythm guitar part was recorded on a clean setting, with a little bit of hall reverb added to achieve the sound heard on ‘Submarine’. To get an even fuller sound, we placed boundary microphones on both sounds of the room. The signal picked up from these two microphones gave off a reverberated sound heard in the 2 seperate channels, showing the success of the technique (LO1). Another method we used was to prop the amplifier on its stand which we had picked up through our research that stated that ‘ lifting and/or tilting the amp [will] minimise the effects of phase cancellation’. This had been a bit of a hindrance in some of previous recordings so using this technique was a great revelation. (LO1). The use of the Shure SM57 had also come about from our research as ‘the sub-200Hz response roll-off reduces low-end cabinet ‘thumps’, which might otherwise conflict with the kick drum and bass in the mix’ http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug07/articles/guitaramprecording.htm This will be of great benefit to us as some of the kick drum parts performed by Adam had been washed out in the mix by both bass and guitar.
Our second guitarist, Pat, also added a arpeggio part to the verses of the song and a lead guitar riff in the second second section. For these parts he used a pedal board set-up which included an echo-machine simulator and an Electro-Harmonix chorus pedal. I was keen for him to utilise this pedal as it had been used by Kurt Cobain on ‘Come as You Are’, a personal favourite of mine (LO3) http://www.kurtsequipment.com/effectspage.htm. He also performed the bass guitar part on the song which was recorded with an AKG-D112 and two AKG-414s, placed further away to pick up the room sound. This was done as a result of research into the best methods of tracking bass. http://www.musictech.net/2015/09/how-to-record-bass-guitar/
Lyrics:
You picked apart a puzzle, you ought not to pick apart
And clicked your fingers in a rhythm I was unfamiliar with
You picked a part to play, that you played perfectly
And flicked a flickering candle, well of course you did
But now the eyes are gaping, waiting for your next trick
Better saw yourself in half again, best make it quick
If you are such a cliché, why then can you not reflect?
Bitter to the bitter end, but what else did you expect?
Deception is the game you play, I think it best you keep away
You danced a bossa nova, with your new parakeet
And played the fool in waiting, staring at your feet
You kept us all a-guessing, what is black & white?
You said you didn’t know yourself, and gave us quite a fright
And now the eyes are gazing, for the second act
Your silhouette is looming and your shadow abstract
Is she just an enigma, or am I all out of clues?
Bewildered to the very end, and equally bemused
Deception is the game you play, I think it best you keep away
You gave a good performance, pretending until the end
Hatred for the mirror, it’s now you’re only friend
The fragments of your life, in pieces on the floor
The rain always bites at you, chills you to the core
But now the eyes have faded, there’s no big return
Adopt a different guise this time, I guess you’ll never learn
Personnel:
Oliver Cobbin – Rhythm & Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals, Production, Mixing
Adam Thraves – Drums, Production, Mixing
Patrick Delamere – Rhythm & Lead Guitar, Bass
Jack Kenny – Piano