DAY THREE IN THE STUDIO

Here begins the day of vocals!

Which to be honest I was initially quite nervous about this morning.

When I sing my fingers always accompany me on the piano and my voice and the keys weave together in their own way… However today lends me the opportunity to focus more on vocals and engage in the songs in a different light… 

So back into the little room I go, all-rugged up like an Eskimo with a giant coat and snow boots my headphones were like earmuffs and I try to not be so nervous.

The first song on the album is titled First Fleet. Working by song title you can guess its context. Kind of a vigorous intense sea ballad with an ethereal chorus and a classical piano/heavy drum coda, which is intended to portray the battles on the then barren harbor shores on that fateful day in 1788.

The music kicks in and we unfortunately work through about 100 takes and it’s just not right. Raymond comes in and out, and coaches me and I take off my igloo jacket and roll my sleeves up, and do star jumps and eat honey and pace around the garden thinking of a different melody, and try it all barefoot and then try it with my Viking shoes on again. But alas nothing works and we decide come back to it and work on another song. The next track is Mr. Pleaseman which is an older song and proves to be a lot easier to produce, and from then on in the ship sailed in a much more fluid motion.  

Over the course of this time my hands and arms began to do crazy things.

They are usually quite occupied by the piano so I’ve never really known what they would do had they been left to their own devices. They were swinging everywhere and my feet were stamping and I stood on one leg a hell of a lot for some strange reason. So I guess I kind of felt like a flamingo impersonating Diana Ross in an abstract Mighty Boosh zoo setting. With carpet. 

All this out of control hand/limb activity reminded me of being on tour with Angus & Julia Stone and Julia would make these crazy formations with her fingers. Male and female admirers throughout the crowd labeled these finger actions as ‘spider fingers’, it made the boys go wild. 

So the sun set and we journeyed on the music ship throughout the night until our eyes were weary and decided to close our books for the night.  

Half the vocals are now complete. Hurrah hurrah! 

Farewell dear fellows,  

Dibbsy