OK so I’m sorry I have not posted in a VERY long time.
Since I’ve been off the road I have been playing very little and otherwise have been fully focussed on making new music.
Riad Abji (Double Bass) and myself - Working on new material. - Photo taken by Vicky Flint
Over the last few months I have been travelling to the houses of some of the most wonderful musicians I know in order to work with them on the structure and details of many new compositions.
Riad Abji (Double Bass) and Vicky Flint (Trumpet-Flugelhorn) have worked tirelessly with me over this time to help the songs gain a sense of structure and direction.
Note Taking During the Recording Process Became Essential as Recordings have Become More Complex.
Also for many months now I have been working closely with Dave Smale.
Dave Smale - Keys and Synth
Dave has worked with me on all 3 previous records and it has been a pleasure to once again collaborate with him on material.
Especially as his awesome cat ‘Alfie’ seems determined to get in on the action.
Alfie Distracting the Recording Process
So as the months have moved by I have slowly been working to bring this material to a logical point. It’s sort of driven me mental at times but I think it’s all starting to make sense now.
More news will follow. I promise it won’t be long now 🙂
Well what with today being the 4/4. I think it seems fitting that I give you a first speak peek of where I'm at with my 4th album.
This song is very much a work in progress and features Leon Camfield and Dave Smale.
I hope you enjoy.
So since my last studio diary I’ve had many days meeting up with Chris Hollis.
Studio Shot 1 - Resonator and Acoustic Guitar Taken by Chris Hollis
We’ve taken on the mammoth task of trying to sift through material for the 4th record. At my last count the number of potential songs sits at over 50. I seemed to find plenty of time to write whilst on the road and off. This is the polar opposite to my experience going into the 3rd album where I simply had 12 songs in mind and that was what ended up on the record.
Many say the 4th record is the one where things tend to go wrong for many bands and artists. I remember once sitting with a good mate during a long night of jovial conversation. We put the theory to the test and found many bands maybe did seem to falter. But in the end it’s all subjective mumbo jumbo and why I’d feel the need to put pressure on myself with superstition I don’t know.
Studio Shot 2 - Musical Mess taken by Chris Hollis
The material is a real mixed bag. Some songs come directly from the road. Often out of live improv and loops. Some have been in the set for over 6 years. Never feeling right or ready to make the cut for previous releases. Some songs are fresh and loose. No specific route to send them; This can be a good and bad thing. Some songs are sparse and delicate whilst others have ambitions of grander and multilayered arrangement. Some feel very throwaway whilst others have such specific and personal intend that it feels like my deepest priority not to fuck them up.
Studio Shot 3 - Playing my Dad's old nylon string guitar. Taken by Chris Hollis
Being back off the road has given me many opportunities to play with other instruments and even other guitars. Like one left to me by my Father. This is also the first guitar I ever picked up and the guitar I’m holding for my first album cover.
The subject matter as a writer has felt strangely urgent yet as a person I feel a little less starry eyed and naive. Â A little more wisdom coupled with the sense of awareness that time is more limited than ever juxtaposes itself personally (as pretentious as that sounds to say it).
I’m aware that I may sound like a broken record if I keep singing about the same things. But the truth is my life hasn’t changed too much over the last couple of years. I was on the road most of the time and most of the time for the 4 years prior to that. New places have of course brought together many new experiences but in a way it all becomes one big mess of random. So the songs themselves I guess are reflecting that.
Studio shot 4 - Getting Folky with Mandolin and Banjo
I hope the material will be a little more stark and honest and a little less cryptic than it has been previously.
In the end having the time to come off the road to make this record has worked ok thus far.
Although how I’ll feel when it’s done and what the end result will be is still a mess I’m hoping will unravel over the next month or so.
So finally after what felt like the tour that would never end I have had the chance to enter the studio and begin work on my 4th album.
Prior to this I had 2 days of rehearsals with drumming legend and long time friend Leon Camfield.
Leon Camfield
I still feel very unsure of the direction of the next record and so decided to just throw pretty much all of the new material I have his way. He digested it with ease and when we took to the studio with Producer Chris Hollis on the 4th January. It soon became clear that prioritising the tunes may not be needed as it looked like we may have time to record them all.
Chris Hollis
Chris Hollis has been the producer for my last 2 records and coming into the studio together after 2 years apart seemed to have us both wondering if we had grown in different directions. However when it came to the crunch we were both able to focus on the music with a professional and enthusiastic attitude.
The mood remained high for the day as Leon ended up notching the drum parts down for 18 tracks. We even had spare time at the end to record a bunch of ideas down and experiment with one song.
All in all a great way to start not just the new record but the new year.
I am grateful to Leon and Chris for their professional attitude and workhorse manor during what could have been a very stressful and disappointing day. But turned out to be nothing other than a joy.
It’s always a pleasure to be the featured guest at the Acoustic Night which has been running in Bristol for many years now.
I was the featured Musician and the featured Poet was a lovely writer called Aki Schilz. She was half Japanese and half German. Also strangely enough this was the second Japanese performer to be there the same time as me.
So being a big believer in the synergy of the world I chose to play 3 songs with a Japanese connection.
One about a Japanese girl;Â One written in Japan and one about my personal feelings from having visited the country.
My Japanese themed setlist - This blog Co-insides nicely with the announcement of my 5th tour there next month.
A busy day with two shows in 5 hours separated by an hours drive.
The first was a part of a 3 day festival hosted with the aim of Raising awareness for the illness Lupus among other illnesses. What I had learnt through involvement with the festival is that Lupus is an illness that can often be mistaken as other things because it has so many wide and varied symptoms that match other illnesses.
Whilst watching the other groups before I played I got chatting to a girl called Gwen who was suffering from an extreme form of arthritis which has often been mistaken for Lupus and vice verser. She was great conversation and very friendly so it was a sad moment when the pain got to much for her and she said she’d have to return home as her body needed to rest. At this time it was only 3pm.
Lupus Fest line up - Big well done to Stewart and Carol Osbourne for organising such a full weekend of free music for a good cause.
After the drive between venues I was happy to be back in Chaplins which is another venue that feels like a home. I’ve been playing the venue when I pass through for the last 3 years and so I have really come to love the place. I was joined by a very talented rapper called Joseph Selby for the final couple of songs. A true joy to finish the night.
9pm Setlist
After the show A couple of CD’s were bought by 3 nice Colombian travelers. They were from Bogata and although I never visited there on my travels I did get to spend some time back in Medellin in 2003. I even played a show out there and talking to these guys brought back happy memories with my friends Marci, Barry and Annie. If any of you read this. I miss you guys 🙂
One of those shows where the locals are so drunk it can’t fail to be a good night.
Many CD s sold and many hangovers ready to kick in the next morning.
B & B Setlist - I busted out an old song from my other band 'My Pet Junkie' called 'Peace Comes Easily'. It's great to hark back to old school from time to time 🙂
Boho is one of those venues as I regard as my home away from home. The staff are always lovely and the owners have given me a place to stay many times. Last time I played there it was Duo show with Double Bassist – Riad Abji.
This time it is just solo and I found the atmosphere this time to be quite refreshingly strange. Apart from the usual passing drinkers there was a friendly local contingent some of which were hammered. One of which (known in Weymouth as ‘G-Love’) kept saying out loud how he was pleased to be able to see me play as he always misses me due to me always playing a Wed and him always working a Wed. When I quizzed him as to why he wasn’t at work this Wed the penny suddenly dropped and he realised he was supposed to start work 4 hours prior to this moment.
This impromptu dropping of the ball resulted in many drinks flowing and a Drunken G-Love was soon bouncing of the walls and screaming about how he was “Gay For Johnny Depp”. This little phrase soon became apart of pretty much every other line in every song I sung. It’s worth noting at this time that I had uncharacteristically decided to have a whisky or 3 throughout the night.
I even had the guts to chuck out new tune ‘World is Plenty’ very unrehearsed 🙂
Boho Setlist - Note the end of the first Set was finished by 'Complete Improv Song'. This was literally a making it up as I go moment that somehow came together in the moment. A real one off 🙂 Someone even asked what album it was off when I finished.
Big Love to Tom Caulfield and all at Boho for the constant support.
Finns started off pretty downbeat but towards the end things got kinda crazy as more late drinkers filled the bar that was one of the last watering holes open.
So out came a couple of big guns. 2 encores later and I was knackered.
This was also my final show in Cornwall for this tour.
Finn McCoulls Setlist
Many unreleased tunes got played this night:
A Watchful Eye, Default: Escape, You Know What You Are, Resonate, As Stubborn As A Sandfly, When You Go Home, Varit & Modern Life.
Stuart O'Connor 