I'm inspired and have a few ideas for new songs in an art-rock/new wave/experimental style. I feel I'm still learning in the production and vocal recording side of things and have more to want to keep pushing and experimenting, also, I find these songs interesting and different. I want to play with time signatures and pacing.
I'm very inspired by Kimono My House, but partly in comparison to the other Sparks albums I have. The relatively recent Exotic Creatures Of The Deep is a remarkably similar album to Kimono in songwriting terms, many of the tracks are as inventive and witty and lyrical, yet it lacks energy and emotion and punch by comparison due to the production, perhaps due to digital production, and this is what I want to battle. The certainly 70s sound of Kimono, heavy on guitars (if Queen performed that album in the 70s, I'd accept it as a Queen album without question, it's so reminiscent of A Night At The Opera or Queen II), and especially the drums; these are the star instrument on the album, at the front of the mix. Digital drums are generally awful and yet these are the absolute key instrument for emotion in a song, second only to melody (which can be any instrument). Drums and the bass are the foundation, the heart.
Have spent today sequencing a song called Except For The Hatred, inspired a little by my painting of the name (and perhaps recent events, the curious politics of anger). I've also revisited an older song called Norman Bates with the aim of re-recording it. I've changed it quite a lot in balancing. I've certainly learned a lot about the music engineering side of things in the past year or so.
I don't want to spend a huge amount of time on music, I've no plans to perform any of it. I make music like I paint, as independent art, not as a commercial venture. I know that one day, like the books of Blake, like the paintings of anyone, the music will find a home and shine. This is true art. It is important that it is good, artistically valid, the best I can do and carefully crafted. It still must be a showcase, but touring or performing holds no appeal at all.
