Week 10: A long walk off a short pier

Feeling extra positive about the album this week. Songs are definitely coming together. We have the majority of the (ridiculously titled) Elongated Walk in the bag. During drum recording, torrential rain suddenly decided to descend on our little green hut. All of the mics picked it up and seen as it sounded rather nice, we decided to keep it in. A nice addition to the second verse. We also spent the guts of four of five hours on a new song which we’ve since abandoned. That wasn’t so productive.

Planning a bit of a four day recording break, so I reckon that should bring us up to the half way mark with the album.

Thought it might be useful to summarise some useful lessons learnt over the past three months, in the hopes that we can impart our new found recording wisdom to all you musician folk.

1. When in doubt about a song, a sound, or your entire album simply purchase a new synth.
2. Just add some reverb.
3. When one of your monitors is broken, just listen to everything in mono.
4. When your bass amp is broken, simply replace all bass lines with synth bass.
5. Always use hand gestures when describing desired sounds.
6. Nougat can be a useful stimulant for the teeth and for the mind.
7. Don’t change the tubes, it’ll ruin the vibe.
8. Jazz-funk middle eights should be used with caution.
9. If your drumming isn’t up to scratch, play louder.
10. Recorded adverse weather sounds can be desirable as a textural addition to second verses.


In between takes we’ve been listening to:
Peter Gabriel – So (my ladyfriend found this second hand a few weeks ago in town. Forgot how amazing it is)
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (see above)
TV on The Radio – Nine Types of Light (hmm)

RAIN from Subplots on Vimeo.