We're getting to the final strait of re-recording The Chefs songs, or doing cover versions of them if that's a better way to describe it. I was surprised at how good they were sounding after having a few weeks off from listening. Tomorrow, I'll go to James's and we'll do a bit more finishing off.
It's the same problems as always: during the process of recording, you get better at playing the parts and start chasing your own skills. It becomes a case of knowing when to stop, and in fact for one of the songs I've taken it back to zero to effectively roughen it up. There's not need to make ultra processed food out of things that sound better with a bit of spontaneity.
I am also working on some of Gina's songs, which is (pardon me for the Beatnik terminology) a gas! They are so different from my own songs, or indeed any of the other collaborations I've been involved with. With these ones I load the track into Logic with the microphone on and ready to go, and just start singing. I'm going to listen to what I did yesterday and see if I need to weed anything out: it's tempting to go overboard.
And then... soon it will be time to start recording my next album. I did a version of one of the songs to pass on to a potential collaborator, and then realised that its tempo was too slow. Also, one of the things I focused on while I was away was detail. Every time I write a song I like there to be something new in it, and that's what I mean. Then another thing happens; as the songs become finished, new ideas for songs pop into my head and ask to be developed properly.
Alongside this, I know I need to sort out more gigs for this year. I do miss Jane-in-Sheffield, who used to do PR (and much more). Starting from zero experience, she ended up as a really good supporter and strategist, and I so appreciate what she used to do. It was she who bagged a page in Bass Player magazine for Shanne, Gina, Emily and me; she has a great imagination and ability to think laterally. This is a time in people's lives when illness swoops in and clips people's wings quite suddenly and viciously, and we all conduct our lives around these things. Massive gratitude to you: you're a genius!
It's astonishing that the retirement age is going to be raised yet again. It's like working people to death, isn't it? How incredibly cruel! I think I would have worked in my job for a few more years if the atmosphere created by senior management had not been so toxic, but so far I have been relatively lucky with my health. This is not the case with everyone, and people with a lifetime of work and often parenthood behind them deserve a little peace in their later lives.
Anyway, before darkness descends on my mood, I'd better stop writing and get on with a bit of musical creativity. The worse things look out there, the more I need to be creative so I can put fairy lights on the trees in the scary forest; It's not so frightening if you do that.
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