OVERCOMING THE NIGHT TERRORS
Well Thursday 18th August saw the start of the recording of the Dry The Life EP. This wasn’t even in the thinking until about six weeks ago, when I thought my next work would be The Breeding Ground Of Vile album. After reviewing the album songs I realised there were a number of songs that wouldn’t fit its theme of protest, so the EP came about by way of doing something with those songs.
Having already produced and mixed the Dry The Life single, and created a second version for the cittern (aired for the first time on the Dave Roberts Show ‘Music For Grown Ups’ on 107FM Meridian Radio 14th July), I felt that a version of Dry The Life based around more traditional folk instruments would be an interesting addition to the EP. So you get two for the price of one…and then some. But the ‘some’ is going to remain under wraps until the release date.
My personal favourite from Moorscape has always been NIGHT, in an album that carried with it so many special emotions, moments and memories. I think it is because it marks the moment where I realised I had the confidence musically to stand on my own two feet. It was just me and Ali in the studio, and we created a very simple, as yet unreleased version of the song. It was my original intention to release that original version, but it didn’t quite fit with the mood of this EP.
I admit to having a few misgivings about creating a third version for the EP. It is such a special song to me that I was concerned we might in some way ruin the mood, and possibly do an injustice to a song that I find calming, comforting, but also slightly eerie. We live in an incredibly busy and demanding world, and I know I find it difficult to settle completely, probably never sleeping enough and too often allowing my mind to be overactive.
NIGHT is a reflection of the few hours of peace a livestock drover might have found as he bedded down for the night after taking his charge along another stage of a very long and frequently arduous journey. Drovers, while probably rogues themselves, were always susceptible to attack and so could never really find the depth of sleep that is needed to achieve a true rest. So the song is also a nod to the restless part of my own spirit.
So I did worry for a while that we might not be able to pull off a third version that retained the true spirit of the song. But we did. While the Dry The Life single set the bar for this new work, NIGHT just raised it. It has also confirmed the style and theme behind the EP, and we now can’t wait to get working on the next song – one of the new ones.
Look out for the DRY THE LIFE EP later in the year. We are not putting a time deadline on it, but we will keep you posted as the work progresses – and who knows you might be able to send it to someone as a Christmas present…oh no…that ‘C’ word…