Flying by! part II
What has happened since Castledown FM?
Well, I was blessed with attending one of Gary Numan's rehearsals for the second leg of his Savage Tour. You can read more about this in my previous blog.
Meanwhile, back in The Pod (my studio), there have been a few fundamental changes. Firstly, I have upgraded some of my hardware and software. Not only has this taken time but also means that I have quite a few things to learn afresh. That said, I’m finding it all very exciting and I really think that it will result in a step change for my next release.
I’ve also decided that I want to learn the Bass Guitar as I want to use some of those lovely warm organic sounds on future releases. In truth, I don’t know what to learn first, the bass or the new software. One thing that I am sure of is that my Gen X-1 Stylophone will definitely be making an appearance on the next release. A proper little analogue synth that you can pretty much fit into your pocket – how cool! A couple of tweaks and I’m instantly back to Doctor Who of the 70’s. Very retro.
I’d already written and recorded several other tracks that didn’t make it onto Disconnected. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to shelve them, at least for now. The next release will be new from the ground up and I’m garnering inspiration all the time. I’m not going to put a timescale on it, but the writing process has begun.
In among all of this (and my day job), I managed to get out to The Talking Heads in Southampton to catch Curxes a few days ago. I first met Roberta Fidora of Curxes back in 2012 and have been a massive fan of her work ever since. Curxes has been described by MOJO Magazine as ‘ideal synth pop for melancholics’ - Roberta is a prolific writer and exceptionally creative. If you’ve never heard Curxes before, then head on over to www.curxes.com
Catching up with her and exchanging offers of advice and help has reminded me of the importance of supporting each other. In these days of DIY production and in the absence of the record company chequebook, we are all largely reliant on the kindness, input and support of others. Perhaps its photography, website design and maintenance, artwork, video, mixing, mastering, promotion etc – a recording artist will undoubtedly need help with some or all of these things.
On this note, I would like to express my extreme gratitude to the people who have and continue to support me. Mike Groves for believing in me and for all of the media / artwork (and for continually pushing me), Kev Lawrence for championing Disconnected and making it EP of the month, The Flash on Air for championing Blind and to everyone who has downloaded or streamed it.
Nearly 3 months later and I’m still receiving the most amazing and supportive messages.
Thank you.
