Hard Graft

Time has flown by the past month since my time in Berlin.  I had a great time in Germany, and are supporting the German football team in the World Cup.  They are doing very very well.  That’s all I’ll say about the footie.

Things have gotten really busy and the gigs have come and gone, as well as some charity work, and the official album launch.  I have been really blessed and encouraged by the support from all my mates. friends, and people who enjoy my music and ministry.

As well as all the concerts in the last few weeks I have been traveling down to sunny Newcastle to record songs with my manager Mick and his good mate, and top sound engineer, Dave.  We began with recording a few new tracks, Wait to fly, Fighting talk, and rerecorded some of my old material.

My manager Mick has had some past success in the music industry and has been giving me a few pointers.  We both agree that the majority of my music is longer than the average song on the radio.  There are also other aspects of radio friendly songs that I have been learning; song structure, melody, hooks, chorus, middle 8 etc.  It’s all been a fascinating learning curve.  While I know and understand how much of the mainstream song structure is tailored to a specific criteria, I didn’t want to restrict myself and not give it a bash.  While I’ll never write (I hope) cheesy crappy catchy pop songs, I’d like to think that I had a good go at writing radio friendly songs.  I still want the lyrics to be good, I still want the music to be good, and I still want to enjoy writing and singing my songs.

We rerecorded Man in the cold, Rattle, Alone in the dark, 2112, Alcoholic Synonymous, and two versions of Grace.  We have also recorded a version of Mary Mary‘s Shackles.  Things are really starting to sound great.  It’s taken a wee while but the recording is really coming together.  I was a bit unsure how the cover of Shackles would turn out.  It’s a cracking song and the original version is brilliant.  I had to sing it in B minor which is a long way off the original’s G minor as I had a touch of difficulty with the range.  It turned out not too bad with an acoustic guitar part and vocals.  I added 3 backing vocal parts so the chorus sounds like a gospel barbershop quartet.  I also slowed down the tempo so it’s really old school Gospel.

So as our first stint of recording will be coming to a close this Thursday we have LOADS of new projects lined up.  I am writing music for a worship album.  It is NOT easy!  In fact its really difficult.  Not only is it hard to write about something that has been done so many times already, writing for a congregation is very different to anything I’ve done previously.

While I love to worship God in song my songs are not as cheerful as your average Christian track.  I have been heavily influenced by Blues, folk, jazz, americana, trip hop, Jimi Hendrix, and a whole load of Led Zepplin.   If I’m honest I find being a disciplined Christian very difficult and times can be tough.  I’m trying to get this across in my music whilst looking at very real things.  An example would be the song I am writing about the crucifixion.  While I know that Christ died for me, for my SIN, and everyone elses too, he was beaten, severely tortured, and executed.  Forgive me if I’m wrong but none of these things sound very ‘Happy Clappy’ to me.  The resurrection on the other hand is a time for limitless celebration!  I have only written a verse and chorus to the crucifixion song.  It took me 2 days.  It took me another 2 days of hard work to realise that I had to leave the song for the time being.  Nothing else I wrote worked or had the same power.  I did play what I had written for a friend, who isn’t a Christian, and it moved him to tears.  When I explained my frustrations he said, “You have to be patient.  Yo have to earn a song like that.”  It was exactly what I needed to hear.  So I’m still waiting to take it up again, and while I wait I am writing other songs and really searching within myself and asking God to lead me.

As well as the album of worship music I have decided to record an album of my favorite worship songs/hymns like Power in the blood.  I have led songs like this in my church and elsewhere.  They have so much depth and power in their lyrics, grammar, and language; something I find modern worship music (not all) can lack.  I’m looking through some old old hymn books, which is so much fun and really nourishing, finding inspiration, and other songs to record.

So times have been busy.  I think we’re just about to get busier.