Hi there, it’s Remco here, writing to you from the home studio in the Netherlands where we recorded our demos. So Maaike and I came back from the USA, full of energy and inspiration. At the same time, we needed a break, to let it all sink in. As you may have read in our previous blogs, the recording sessions with Francis were pretty intense; full of humor and insight, with lots of music and some psychology and astrology on the side. Our songs improved tremendously while working with Francis and we touched on a new, much higher level of singing.
Soon after our return home, Maaike and I agreed to book another vocals recording session with Francis. Singing is something special and quite a different experience from playing the instruments on our album. And since the vocals are the centre of our album, we really want to get the most out of Maaike’s singing. Luckily, Francis was up for another session with us. This time, we will gather next week somewhere south of Liverpool in a studio that he kindly arranged for us.
Meanwhile, I am adding a few middle eights and tweaking the arrangements a little here and there. With Maaike living in the UK, we work by Sype. It is a great way of working together apart; we discuss the selected pictures from the photoshoot in Manhattan, we prepare house concerts (yes, you can have us perform in your living room!) and the next steps toward our debut album. So, let me hand you over with a big jump over the North Sea, to miss Cleopatra in the UK:
Hi! Now it’s Maaike, writing to you from Liverpool, hardly being able to imagine being in the studio again next week!
Recording an album always takes more time than you think, want and plan. Even though we knew this would never be the case, a lot of people thought we would have a full album recorded when we got back from America, and that we would have a release party in August. If only it were that simple!
For those of you who have never recorded an album before: on most albums, the vocals are pretty much the last thing to be recorded. Which usually leads to a lot less time to record them. It is a relief for me to work the other way round this time and be able to spend so much effort in getting them right. Once we have them (which should be eight days from now!), we can start planning recording the rest of the instruments. Which we will have to do in various studios in different countries. And then there’s a million other things to sort out too; hard work ahead of us!
For now, we need to take it one step at a time; I need to focus on getting the vocals right. I have spoken to Francis several times over the last couple of weeks, discussing ‘the tone’ and the delivery of the lyrics. I look forward to and dread next week at the same time. It will be fun, and it will be intense, as Francis’ way of getting the vocals right goes hand in hand with stripping me down psychologically. The voice and the phyche are indissolubly connected. I have known this for many years, but I have always been the teacher in such processes. It is something else and far more complicated being the one having to face the depths of your soul, being stripped down to the bone. But this is what you do for your art. The only way to improve is to stay critical, to want to grow and to get out of your comfort zone.
To be continued… (from somewhere in Wales)
