bass

borrowing a bass guitar today, started using the bass to determine some rhythms
like a puzzle, for the percussion to work it has to be closely linked to the bass and vis versa

each time i add an instrument i am muting everything but vocals
this gives me a chance to experiment, instead of being locked to the guitar part i composed it to
this way all the instrumentation will support the melody

in folk music it is often the melody and lyrics that are important, hence why there are so many different versions.
the originals sometimes only contained a very loose vocal line

beats

today i removed noise from the percussion samples
then, entered them into a sampler
now, i'm making beats

also
re-working my IP proposal

preperation

i'm currently forming a foundation for all the tracks I have ready to be taken into the studio
the first part of my process is getting all the tempos and tempo changes right
as i am doing this i am adding markers to tell the performer where they are up to and in some cases, what chord it is

i've recorded ghost guitar and vocals for some tracks and started working out new melodies and parts for other instruments

hopefully making a strong foundation, early on will give me more room to be creative later on

a sailors life

yesterday I started to learn a version of
fairport convention, a sailors life
today I started looking into some other versions and scores of the traditional english folk song
hopefully this will give me some ideas compositionally

the resistant concept album

the song sequence [of an album] is no longer an indifferent organisational aspect, but a prime location of meaning and significance, unfolding the actions or adventures of a protagonist.

How to Disappear Completely
voice decries existence "i'm not here, this isn't happening" - devolve into ahhs - voice disappears completely

cord progressions do not project a tonal centre within functional western harmony
expectations of resolution are continually frustrated

the triumph of electronic sounds over organic ones

Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Dettmar

drift wash

Last night I gigged two tracks that I expect to be on the EP.  This gave me a clearer idea of how I wanted them to sound.  The tracks I played (with a friend I am working on them with, Dave Jordan) were Drift and Wash.

Today Dave and I went into the recording studio and recorded a simplified version of Wash.  We wanted to do this anyway but it will also be useful to start creating counter melodies, getting a clearer idea of the structure and thinking more about instrumentation.  It sounds awesome.

radiohead

I found an analytical book about radiohead online and bought it.
It came today, could be of some use.