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Recording

‘In the Green Wood’

Back in October 2021, Richard sent me an overwhelming number of songs in various stages of development by Greenwood (the temporary name given to his and Matt’s new band). We’d agreed that I should tackle two or three songs, by finalising their arrangements and adding guitar parts, and then we’d meet in person to try them out. I started with God Plays Dice, which grabbed my attention first, and then I tackled And the Creatures Laughs, and Shaken in the following weeks.

In the Green Wood
In the Green Wood, Crimson Creatures (2022)

We met in November. The meeting went well. We managed to rehearse two of the songs as a trio, despite a lot of chat before during and after. We’d pretty much clicked after 2 or 3 tries at each song. Later that evening, I was invited to join the band. I must have done good.

Five months later, we had arranged, recorded, and re-recorded a total of twelve songs. I had started to wake up in the mornings with Matt’s vocals already in my head. We agreed to release three of them as an EP first, and the other nine as an album later, when the dust had settled.

I’m pretty pleased with the album. Even though I made minimal contribution to the songwriting, I had a large part in arranging and producing the songs, as well as coming up with most of the guitar parts — which probably make a bigger difference than I can remember. I mixed and mastered it too. I must go back and play the demos some time.

The album was released on the 1st of July, on Bandcamp and all the main streamers and music libraries. I hope you like. If you do, please let us know!

Categories
Recording

‘Crimson Creatures’ [EP]

May 2022 saw the release of Crimson Creatures‘ debut EP, imaginatively titled Crimson Creatures. It was almost 6 months after I was invited to join the band. It is available on the Crimson Creatures Bandcamp page, as well as all the usual audio streaming services.

Crimson Creatures EP
The Crimson Creatures EP.

No, it hadn’t taken 6 months to write 3 songs! We had finished 12 songs, most of which had been started before I joined the band. Once I’d helped arrange, record and mix the tracks, we had an hour of material to draw from. So we chose 3 songs which spanned the repertoire:

  • Alone, a downtempo Prog ballad about lonely artists.
  • Shaken, an angry angst-ridden story of rejection.
  • Triptych, a confused psychedelic journey into oblivion, in 3 parts.

The idea was to provide a hint of things to come, as the other 9 songs are lined up and ready to go in the summer, as the Crimson Creatures debut album, which will be called In the Green Wood. Out in July!

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Recording

The ‘Lowly Man’ Album

Andy and I are pleased to announce the release of our debut album, called simply, Lowly Man. We have really enjoyed making it, and we have appreciated all the comments we have received over the last year.

Lowly Man album general release cover
The Lowly Man album, available on Bandcamp from October

We are very proud of our efforts, and feel that it stands up well as an original album spanning Alternative/Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock, and Electronica. Hopefully, we have managed to bridge the gap between catchy tunes, solid songwriting, and a little sonic experimentation.

Most of the 11 songs on the album were recorded over a 6 month period, previously appearing on our 2 EPs, Lowly Man EP and Alpha Dogs EP. Three more songs were recorded sporadically over the summer, and the mastering was done in August.

The Lowly Man album, 2021
The Lowly Man CD, a private release in Sept 2021

In September, 48 limited handmade CDs, with a different cover and an 8-page lyrics booklet, were given to friends who supported us through the process. The album was released on Bandcamp in October, and on streaming services in December.

Buy the album at Bandcamp (name your price)

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Recording

‘Alpha Dogs EP’

After completing the debut Lowly Man EP in February, we received a lot of positive feedback. So we were spurned on to launch straight into a follow-up. Andy had a couple of ideas lined up, and I had a couple of riffs looking for a home too.

Alpha Dogs EP

Andy read an article on male personality types, categorised by Greek letters. It inspired him to write lyrics about past experiences with these personalities. I was ready to dive back into recording, after learning lots of tricks on the first EP. And I had a few ideas of my own about giving each track its own character.

So, only 11 weeks after the first EP was finished, we had a second EP ready for release. This was also made available on Bandcamp, using a old photograph of Andy, illustrating the subject of the song Alpha Dogs.

Listen to Alpha Dogs EP on bandcamp