DAD’S BIRTHDAY

Recording Day 4 (25th November) was set aside for doing as much as possible to the title track for MOORSCAPE™, with just tabla to add next week when Jad travels north. Armed with the now obligatory flask of ginger and lemon tea with a dash of honey (amazing for waking up my voice), I drove to The Fuse feeling pretty positive and listening en route to bits of Genesis’ “Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” album. And so into the darkened studio I strode, with Ali and Jabzz already in the mood listening to a really vibrant pop creation of theirs. Smiles are always a good way to start a session. Ali and I were left to it, and after playing a few ideas on my cittern we decided to record a full run through of MOORSCAPE and add vocals, other instruments (my new mini maracas feature!) and effects. Asonishingly it took only one take, with everything being in near perfect time, and when Ali smiled (again!) and gave me the thumbs up it felt like we were onto something really special. It was during a short break that I realised it was my Dad’s birthday and without wishing to sound cheesy, that thought made me even more determined to produce a title track that would be worthy of the name. My Dad was a wonderful, kind man who passed away nearly twenty years ago. So I am hoping that today will have done justice to his memory. In the end Ali and I were on a roll, and ended up also recording THE DIM BLUE LIGHT, which immediately follows MOORSCAPE. Over the previous weekend I had worked out how to link the two tracks anyway, but with the second of the two being very wordy (an interpretation of a sad folk story from the Staffordshire Moorlands) I didn’t see any way that my voice would hold up – ginger tea! Ali seems to understand exactly what I want to achieve with the album, and with both tracks added subtlety to the mood that has been in my head for some time now. There is still some work to do on both tracks as Kieran and Jad add their contributions, but essentially the hard work has been done. I think my Dad was probably looking down on me, as I often feel he is. Happy birthday Dad!