ALBUM 1 PROJECT
FINISHED SONGS:
NO MATTER WHAT - RELEASED 24TH SEPTEMBER
EVERYDAY - OUT 22ND OCTOBER
SONGS TO FINISH:
(I think my guitar and lead vocal are done on these unless stated)
LIGHT OF MY DAY - 26TH NOVEMBER
Re-record: Stripped back acoustic or live guitar/vocal - next one because it’s quick and easy!
These I believe are my next 2 strongest:
WALK INTO SILENCE* - Full band but very light. Donovan Woods reference.
HEAD ABOVE THE WATER - I think NO BAND but similar instrumentation to Everyday (Bass, Keys, Guitar)? Make feature of BV’s, particularly in bridge.
The rest:
LONG WAY ROUND - Energy. Make it fun with ‘woo hoo’ bv’s?
NOWHERE HEART* - Re-record my vocals. Do with band.
TIME FOR LIFE* - Do with band. Joshua Hyslop - Let It Rain reference.
ARM IN ARM - Might not need much. No band. Just a few extra bits to make it sound nice?
ONE BY ONE* - Record my guitar and vocals and work arrangement with band. Make it sound fun / hopeful?
* = band?
NO MATTER WHAT
Production Ideas:
‘Afterglow’ - Ed Sheeran (not vocal modulation but synth pad underneath and high synth parts)
It's got a subtle build and some urgency
Bass, acoustic guitar strum, synth wash (in back filling it out), high electric guitar, and maybe piano chords filling out space that Ed's takes up or electric guitar whole notes
Not sure if I need drums - guitar is quite rhythmic
synth wash in background filling it out
It'll Work Itself Out sidestick too bright and light for this song
ROBIN’S FEEDBACK ON MY VOCALS
NOWHERE HEART
Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18AsjiObkL6PpoDIe4_GXK1PppLLRJK_2/view?usp=sharing
Production Ideas:
Between Cities - Donovan Woods (same guitar feel) - really like the close, intimate vocal. Guitar Reverby.
Verse - lap steel or some moody/vibey guitar - atmospheric
Pre - pick up a just a little bit with something else (electric gtr?)
But Chorus needs to bring in more than Between Cities. Bring in bass, electric guitar whole notes, high piano in reverb.
Could put in distant drums
Piano - single notes in between lines
Big, dark pad in the background
Verses - spooky and ghostly. Dark images
Honest, vulnerable, acoustic
Vocal out front - hear every word
High end fingerpicking keeps the momentum going of the song
Synth with background washes
Hypnotic and repetitive for film and TV
LIGHT OF MY DAY
Production Ideas:
Ruston Kelly - ‘Brave’
Maybe just guitar / vocal
Intimate - guitar vocal would work. ''I'm talking to you now.'' Like I'm talking to you in bed.
Just add stuff maybe to sweeten it up a little...
Little pad in back for a landscape?
Add delicate little high piano notes?
EVERYDAY
WALK INTO SILENCE
WALK INTO SILENCE: SONG DESCRIPTION / KEY WORDS
The core idea of the song is based around the fear of loss or separation. The realisation of having to move forward in life without that someone you loved. It’s about the emotions you feel in that moment; the desperation, the helplessness and the pain...it’s a happy one! 😂
It could relate to separation in terms of death, losing someone or maybe just the end of a relationship - it’s a universal subject and I hope this song can bring some comfort and reassurance to those who have had to deal with it.
HEAD ABOVE THE WATER
HEAD ABOVE THE WATER: SONG DESCRIPTION / KEY WORDS
CORE IDEA: “I Get Caught Up In Life”
Sometimes we’re all guilty of this but it is something that I truly battle with...
The pace and relentlessness of modern life is too much. I’ve always got my head down doing something or going somewhere and I miss the things that are important, the things I can’t get back.
This song is about keeping up with this crazy, relentless journey that is life and how we need to keep swimming just to stay afloat.
I’ve gone missing at times and not been there for friends when they were at times of anguish. I’ve missed chances to talk / spend time with loved ones who I cherish because I’ve been so caught up in ‘what I’ve got to do’ in life. It leaves me with a huge sense of guilt and also one of frustration that that’s how my life is, and that I can’t get out of it.
LONG WAY ROUND
LONG WAY ROUND: SONG DESCRIPTION / KEY WORDS
This song is about moving forward in life. It’s about letting bygones be bygones and not dwelling in the past.
ARM IN ARM
ARM IN ARM: SONG DESCRIPTION AND KEY WORDS
This song is based around the idea that ‘love will see us through’. The reassurance that when we’re facing a tough battle, we’ve got someone with us to help us get us to the other side.
I got the inspiration for this at the start of January 2021. We’d just gone into another national lockdown and unlike the ones before, this one was in the depths of winter; no warm sunny days to spend outside. It was a dark time for most of us.
After the initial feeling of shock and uneasiness I was met with a realisation of how lucky I am to be surrounded by a loving wife, son and family. And to me, that is really all that matters. No money in the world, no place I could be, no one else, nothing could get me through better than who I was with right then.
If you’ve ever faced an uphill climb, if you’ve ever felt like the sands are shifting quickly under your feet, this one’s for you...
TIME FOR LIFE
Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kqiulUhNg4Gb1n4qgnlxR7xuAm9AdN4V/view?usp=sharing
(Time for Life starts at 19:56) 👇
TIME FOR LIFE: SONG DESCRIPTION AND KEY WORDS
‘’The pace of modern life is relentless and I need to make time for the things and the people that matter’’
ONE BY ONE
THIS IS THE KEYS / GOSPEL ONE
Let me know what you think. I personally don’t think it’s my strongest and might not be worth getting someone in to do the keys specifically.
ONE BY ONE: DESCRIPTION AND KEY WORDS
‘I can rebuild my life’
I had the idea of ‘rebuilding’ and that all of us have had to do some sort of rebuilding since the COVID outbreak.
This song is about the realisation and belief that you can get back to normal slowly but surely and that there is hope, step by step, bit by bit. It’s for anyone who’s had to start again. It’s called ‘One by One’...