More work on 'Style Guru Fashion Queen' today, such a nice little pop song, there's so much in it with little repeating melodies and hooks all over the place, easily pop-hit material. It reminds me a bit of Jellyfish or some of my electronic tunes from Bites of Greatness in that regard, but there's more disco 'oomph' and posing here, the image is of marching and posing on the catwalk. I worked more on the main melody today and added some vocode parts, which I may or may not use. It's a day of vocal rest so no singing.
I also worked on the old green frame (So...). This has screw holes in the side which need filling. I don't have any wood filler (it's on my to-buy list) so I used a mix of sawdust and wood glue (Titebond II), then filled the top layer with liquid Titebond. I first tried a mix of wood dye and Paraloid B72 resin (my beloved resin) which was fine but very glassy, too glassy, because it really needs to blend in well with the surrounding wood.
I also worked again on the I, Sisyphus verses, the melody, adjusting it now I know how the vocals sound in the song. I have the luxury of rewriting the music to better fit the production. At the heart of good production is good composition, the two are part of the same process.
I've also started work on The Dream of Wasps, the opening song on the E.P. which will include Style Guru. I've written the words but no music at all, which is always tricky (yet from this struggle I often produce my best work, I find the best process is to write both completely independently yet with the same mood and/or image)... I at least knew that the mood needed to shift between parts and then identify the main 'hook', the key point of dramatic impact. Poetry taught me this, this is the key to a good poem, but also in a song. Every song has one key moment, the 'good bit' we anticipate and grow to love. This psychological domino topple is designed by the composer, often a moment when a chaotic part or drone part switches into a tuneful part, a comforting resolution, but it should, at least, be a contrast, a subversion of expectation which creates surprise.
I have four parts in these lyrics, so it is probably destined to be ABAB structure, but I want to add more structure to the melody. There is no melody at all yet and the words are somewhat meandering and drone-like, like my Shadows music, or Scott Walker's avant-garde works. I'll try to develop a melody and reflect it in other voices. I struggle most with rhythm because it often pins down and defines the mood of a song so very strongly. This one sounds a little dreamy and drifty and a little menacing, a bit like the start of Tom Jones' Delilah (but in 4/4).
It's also start of a Steam sale today, so I've advertised that a bit, and went for a late night freezing walk. It's minus two tonight, a 25-year record but I felt too warm in my mask and many layers.
