THE SONG THAT NEVER WAS…

‘What the Papers Say’ never made it onto ‘Isolated Impression’. It just didn’t sit right with the collection of songs that I wrote for the record…

The song gives reference to the effects of mass media controversy, whilst the tracks on the finished release are introverted introspections of inner realisations.

Looking back on this album now is very different than listening to it when it was first conceived. It’s not often that I will just literally sit and listen to my own songs, so listening to the entire album all the way through is a big achievement for me.

What can I say about it?

Music means different things to different people. To me, these songs speak volumes of the emotional journey I was taking at the time I wrote them. I didn’t set out to write in a specific style or shape the songs to be a certain way. They are what they are and as they are and they just happened.

I believe – in the pursuit of one’s self and staying true to your vision – that it is important not to endeavour to try to impress people and that it is more preferable to seek to make an impression. As the songs were written by one person with no external input they are ‘isolated’; hence the name.

There is a beautiful Victorian walk-through in Hull – Hepworth’s Arcade – and what began as one penny in a tin one day turned into a set of recordings six months later after much busking there one Summer.

‘Isolated Impression’ was recorded in Winter and as snow fell outside, the final processes of mixing and mastering were taking place. All of the tracks on the album were recorded in analog on reel-to-reel tape. They are sparse in terms of instrumentation, mostly just vocals and my guitar – a Taylor 414-CE. I loved recording the album so much that mostly every ounce of time outside of the studio went into ensuring the songs were as finished as possible. I don’t like the idea of just turning up at a session and seeing what happens. I know how it’s going to sound and what I want to create before I commit time to the recording process. Some of the songs have detailed tablature because there was so much fingerstyle guitar that I wanted to make sure it was accurate – note-for-note.

There is a ‘do it yourself’ attitude to the release. The recording, artwork, release and promotion were handled by me with little to no outside involvement (except where practically necessary). Much like various elements of this website, the cover is hand-drawn; a set of four line sketches that reflect my love of music. It can be coloured in by the owner of each album if desired or left as it was originally intended.

I came to find that it could sometimes be difficult contacting labels as an artist without representation or someone acting on your behalf so I released the album on my own label – Indreams Records. I then created a network for the label that helped other bands to connect with each other. Some time later I found myself meeting some of the bands I had met through my website halfway around the world in their local music venues.

The album sparked major label interest and received positive reviews. Looking back I believe it is a collection of songs that are a fitting representation of where I was at, at the time. ‘What the Papers Say’ could have taken ‘Isolated Impression’ in a very different direction to the one I found myself travelling in, both lyrically and musically. Somehow, I sense that it is perhaps more relevant now than when it was written. [ View Lyrics ]

Some of the songs explore dark subject matter presented on a deceivingly light musical backdrop, they are stark in their presentation and they are written from a very personal perspective. In terms of what the collection of songs on the album are about, I don’t want to tell you too much, because I’d rather you develop your own impression of what they could mean to you.

Some songs come to mean different things than the things they meant when they were originally recorded.

Time changes things – or perhaps our perception of them…

 

 

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