· By Tom Rodwell
Tracking
"So long ago, was it in a dream?" - Lennon
"You need good timing, it takes good timing" - Wilson
"Time goes slowly, time goes silently, drags its feet no it never flies" - Sexsmith
TRACKING AT ROUNDHEAD 2022 pt1
I returned to the recording studio recently, just to see if the kettle was still warm. Big plans, big talk, big shoes to piss in. A bunch of chunky demos, a new bag of tricks, the requisite fistful of dollars; the time - apparently - was now.
Proceedings started with a predictable wobble - kicking things off with a long, slow number sometimes works in a live context, but in the studio it became a bit of a rabbit hole. Multitracked clarinets & Echoplexes. Soon enough though, things got rolling, got methodical, got bubbling and so with the help of Chris and Jeff (and Jordan and Matt and Ben and Colleen) I churned out a healthy set of songs. The mixing week inched closer. Technical teething troubles mounted, but fingers-in-ears, I tried to ignore them. Then bang, I picked up the plague and time just froze.
The engineers carried on as best they could, we "collaborated remotely", the sleepless nights continued, loose ends got tied up and I kept telling myself things looked positive, they totally looked positive. But on my return the ghosts in the gear would not be pacified, and progress ground to a dusty halt.
So for now, the new record lurks mysteriously, unmixed, unmastered, half-finished. You'll get a steady drip-feed as time goes by, Mr and Mrs Listener. Let's aim for a late '23 release, what do you say? Here's a couple of varispeed snippets (the tape machine running fast or slow while we overdub, a technique that let us add a part with a faintly alien voicing) from my Instagram.
Enjoy. Cross your fingers (and legs).
TR