Album number 3 - Progress blog - Episode 1

Recording is finally in full swing!

For those of you who have followed my work will know that I have been writing for the third album. I started writing the tracks way back before the COVID times of Olde!

There are many lyrical themes throughout this collection of songs. Everything ranging from dealing with mental health struggles, fatherhood, love, loss, and everything in between.

Writing new songs is extremely cathartic for me, and I hope that some of you can connect with these songs in a positive way.

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I plan to dive into some tutorial based blog pieces that detail my approach to the entire writing process, but for now I will keep it short.

The compositions are inherently different to my previous work and I think this is due to a change in influences, maybe partially driven by our guests on 'Pick N Licks - The Dream Band Podcast'.

I have been immersed in the works of Joey Landreth and Ariel Posen for the last several years. I adore the organic production, soulful guitar work and melodic structure of each album.

With this in mind, I have opted for lower gain guitar tones , sophisated "chords with numbers in", and melodic lead lines. I have focused alot more on the guitars being vocal inspired, rather than riffs. This is a very different approach for me. There is nowhere to hide!

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I am experimenting with different time signatures too, a lot more 6/8 throughout the new songs. More swing and groove, more dynamics and space. This is something that we guitar players can have problems with at the best of times....shutting up! I have been focusing on chord progressions and how I can reinforce the vocal melodies, with lots of chordal modulation and leading notes to emphasize tension and release.

I have had plenty of time to refine parts over the last few years, but my main focus was shifted onto 'Folie à Trois' by The Parallax Method. An album we were all very proud of. Incredibly structured and precise, complex and technical. My new solo material is a step away from that.

Since Dave Wright stepped down as the drummer for the DB Trio, it encouraged me to invest in an electronic drum kit, and teach myself enough drumming to record all the drums for my new album.

I always throw myself in the deep end, and have the ability to hyperfocus when I need to. I've had many a frustrating evening in the studio trying to develop limb independance, but the progress has been both rewarding and developmental. At this point, 11 tracks of drums are complete. I can dive into more detail at another time, but the drums are groove focused and organic. My recording approach was to focus on a verse or a chorus at a time and loop until the recorded take was the final take without severe edits.

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So far so good! I am having fun, and the picture I am painting is slowly becoming clearer, with lots of happy accidents too. Thanks for reading, and if you have any comments or question/suggestions for future blog entries, be sure to share below.