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Daniel Ward-Murphy <danielwardmurphy>

	The Last Recording, The Mixing and The Magic	444 giorni fa
	Things seem to be moving pretty fast now. When I last wrote we had nearly completed all the recording. The next task caused a few days delay as were trying to book a different studio for one extra recording day (as we couldn’t get back into the studio we used for all the other recording days), but fortunately another great studio was available and we had a really productive and enjoyable day. THE LAST RECORDING There were quite a few guitar parts still left to record, a couple of backing vocals and the lead vocal for Act of Defiance. I laid down the remaining acoustic guitar parts first and then I got to play an amazing Fender Telecaster through a good-sounding Vox AC30 amp, which was a real treat for me. I live in a flat with thin walls and I have never had the money or space to own and play these amazing things - so to be in a soundproof room and told to turn it up loud and play was great. I laid down a bit of electric guitar on Act of Defiance that in truth I had never previously envisaged being on the song, but I tried to make the guitar confidently call out the same way the vocals do and we will see how it sounds in the mix! From a vocal perspective I felt good throughout recording this album, as I finally felt like I knew how bits would turn out if I did them in certain ways. The last bit of the day, and indeed the final thing I had to record on the album was singing Act of Defiance. It was quite fitting really as this is often the final song in my live sets and I really have to, well, kind of trash my voice at the end of the song. Singing in a recording studio is a bit different to singing live – there is no sizeable audience, the microphone technique is a bit different and of course you know you can do most bits again if need be. When you combine all this with the fact you are surrounded by great equipment and a talented producer, it can sometimes make you feel too safe and lead to less-emotional delivery. I forced myself to be aware of that throughout the sessions and get myself up for every take – not like Rocky pacing up and down in the corner but just by remembering why each lyric was written and delivering the right emotion. You can sometimes forget that in the cold light of day, when someone plays it on their car stereo or a kitchen radio, it is only as good as the performance you give. In the last song, as my torn vocal chords delivered the last chorus, I remember thinking that I had given it all I had. I had only ever done 3 day recording sessions before and I was determined that I was going to enjoy the whole experience. Many people would wish to record an album of their own material and to work with Tony Platt and the musicians I had around me. When I write my songs, I have always thought about what would be suitable for second and third albums but the honest truth is that you never know if this is the last time I would get to do this, or if it would be the first album of many. It will all be tied to how this album does and who shows faith in me. The next day, Allan Burls, who some of you may know as the bass guitarist from Francis Rodino's band, came to the studio in Old Street. Happily for me, he had agreed to guest on three tracks where we wanted bass guitar to accompany the cello. He experty laid down the basslines and the final note on 'Until The Morning Light' had been struck. THE ALBUM TITLE The album will be called ‘Until The Morning Light’. It’s a lyric from Act of Defiance – which as the name suggests is a pretty defiant song born out of listening to a lot of opinions and also enjoying being a bit reckless and breaking the routine from time to time. I thought the name was fitting as I have kept on going through the night when I thought I would either get there or give up by nightfall. There is no rock ‘n roll story here, but I feel like I have lived, I have written, I have persevered and I have created. People have helped me to get it all put down on an album and I hope you can be the last part and enjoy the listening. THE MIXING As I write this, I am listening to some clanging guitars on Flame. The mixing is going well. It is a process for the patient and part of the danger is that you just have so many choices you can make. There has probably never been a mixing session where every decision made were the right ones but you have just got to get as many right as you can, and make sure you get all the big ones right! I have had many users of Sellaband asking me about (and fascinated by) the process of recording the music. Many don’t understand what happens and many don’t understand what takes the time. All I can say is that even if you are trying, like we are, to capture performances rather than meticulously de-construct and re-construct songs, there is still a lot of stuff that happens between the recording and getting it on your mp3 player. Even altering the levels on one song can take a fair while... Anyway, I don’t want to take away any of the magic – as I don’t think we have. Paintings can be quite quick to paint at the beginning but the final detail can take a while. I don’t think we have replaced or detracted from what has been important from the start – the songs, the musicians and the performances. It is not too long now until you can judge for yourself! DWM SONGPOINT Empty – Ray LaMontagne Barfly – Ray LaMontagne Scenes From An Italian Restaurant – Billy Joel Elliot’s Song – Alex Joe Marczak Go listen! So anyway folks, that’s me for the day! I’ll be honest, I am shattered. It is 21.41 now, I am on a tube on the way home and I have to post this, listen to today’s mix and do 45 mins of rehearsing (Jen is singing some of my songs at a private members club on Thursday – may be a weird gig) before sleep! I am not complaining by the way but you do get tough, tiring days! Take Care DWM
	inserito da Daniel Ward-Murphy