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I began the sessions for what was to become "Everyone You
Hold" late on last year, just before the alarums and
excursions of the Union Chapel. When I went into the
recordings I had the normal clutch of songs - that is to
say, not quite enough for an album - and even more of an
open mind than usual.
A couple of pieces had been around for some time: the given
recording dates of April '95 - June '97 are, in fact,
correct, although the work done in '95 was sketchy in the
extreme. Initially, work on the project was divided more or
less equally between "traditional" song arrangement and days
spent in pure improvisation and sonic experiment. If I was
clear about anything, it was that I was not making a "band"
type CD, as in "X my heart".
I don't mean to give the impression that I was wallying
around. Sometimes it's important to go at things laterally
rather than head-on and I was concerned that I should allow
the project to make its nature clear itself, rather than
have an external form imposed, however long this might
take.
In part, I suppose, this was because of the nature of the
initial songs. They were - as were the majority of those
which followed - "normal", in the sense of being
more-or-less piano based, more-or-less of traditional
verse/chorus structure. It would have been easy, if,
perhaps, something of a cop-out, to treat them with
conventional instrumentation and arrangement and I'm very
glad I didn't do so. Glad, also, that I took several
opportunities to get out of the studio and onto the boards;
the perspective of live performance, distanced from the
recording process, was most beneficial. None of the external
diversions made the recordings any easier, exactly; if
anything, I had to apply myself with all the more rigour...I
suppose one could say that I had the luxury of treating
myself to a bed of nails....
As always, the proof of the thing is in the hearing and
there's no way that I can really give a proper description
of the CD, but in the most general of terms I've ended up
with apparently simple songs; the voice right in front of
things, while as a backdrop are elements of strangeness,
undercurrents of contradiction and washes of at times alien
sound. The whole thing runs almost continuously for over
fifty minutes and the songs themselves pop up like islands
through waves of extended introductions and codas.
It is, I think, very much a solo CD. Perhaps it's closest
resemblances are to "And Close as This" and "Fireships",
although, as ever, it's not the same as either. Performances
by others are comparatively minimal. Manny plays drums and
percussion on four tracks and Stuart violin on two; one in
orchestral mode (drifting in and out of accord with a rather
more Eastern orchestra of E-bow guitars!) and one in his
inimitable solo style. Hugh Banton contributes major
structural organ on two songs. We certainly had a "well-met"
playing reacquaintance at the Union Chapel and here he was
undoubtedly the right person at the right time. David Lord's
keyboards are on one piece. And my daughters Holly and
Beatrice finally make it onto one of my CDs on one song's
backing vocals; not that I envisage a Johnny Cash-style
family entertainment troupe, nor that undue nepotism was
involved...I simply needed voices that went
stratospherically higher than I can! (And, incidentally,
they're by now comparatively seasoned choral session
singers, having appeared on several CDs by others and
various TV soundtracks....)
The rest is me. Lots of Vox, usually with one central
protagonist and many shifting layers behind Him.. Pianos, as
I've said; murky keyboards; loads of guitar, this time all
electric. Fuzzed, wah-ed, E-bowed, stretched backwards,
forwards and sideways...but more of sensitivity than
aggression.
You may notice Jaxon's absence in the above list; for better
or worse, he was simply unavailable at the time I needed to
put the icing on the cake which is often his role, so I was
forced to do so myself with even more guitar parts - even
some neo-solos!
The songs themselves are direct and intimate. They are of
loss and compassion, tenderness, and
self-appraisal...ultimately, of healing. Certainly no bed of
roses, no bundle of laughs; where there are jokes, they are
muted; nonetheless, for me at least, the overall tone is
positive. It's in the tradition of looking hard at reality
in order to deal with it rather than turning away.... In any
case, I hope that they will speak for themselves much more
eloquently than I can for them, of course.
That the CD has ended up being something of a cohesive whole
is, as I intimated earlier, more to do with my following my
instincts and letting shape emerge of itself than with any
imposition of will. Leaving myself open to accident in the
first place meant that I was repaid with many fortuitous
happenstances. For instance, I discovered that some
completely free E-bow playing had coincided on tape with the
remnants of my original vocal parts on "Phosphorescence" (of
which more below) and I was therefore impelled to construct
my own version. At the very final stages of mixing the title
track David Lord - to whom I had passed the song for
potential arrangement work some years before - had some
orchestral parts on tape which, when combined with the
multitracking I'd done, produced the version now present on
disc, which has elements of, but is not the same as, both
"his" and "my" versions. There are more instances than I can
recount of accident playing its part in these recordings and
although the full time period they occupied lasted months
there were many moments of split-second intensity.
There are even fortuitous elements about the cover: having
already decided that this time photography would be
apposite, Paul Ridout and I came upon Leo Vaca and his work
while passing through Buenos Aires and managed to fit in the
shoot with him there while en route back to London from
Cordoba.
As I write this, with the CD before me, I realise that many
lines have come together in its making, conscious and
unconscious. I feel a real completeness about the work; for
the songs, the playing, for all the above things, for the
fact that (oh, heresy!) I completely changed my studio
around in the middle of the project. So, in short and in all
good grace, I commend "Everyone You Hold" to you
wholeheartedly. I think you'll recognise the voice....
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Several vocal contributions of mine to others' work are,
as it happens, now on release or the very verge of being
so.
Ayuo Takahashi's CD "Songs from a Eurasian Journey" is out
in Japan on Victor (VICG-60011). I sing on and wrote the
lyrics for six of the the songs. This project of Ayuo's
combines his own music with really early stuff, from as far
back as the 7th Century. I'm particularly happy with the
(closing) song "Air" which is itself a celebration of the
enduring power of song - and of the humanity that binds us
together - expressed over a Japanese melody from at least
1300 years ago. Other contributors to this disc include Dave
Mattacks and Danny Thompson and it was mixed at Terra by
David Lord. Maybe Victor will release it outside
Japan....
"Alien Diary" is a CD by Wolfram Huschke, the German
classical 'Cellist, produced by Hector Zazou and Jean-Michel
Reusser, which BMG Classical are, I believe, about to put
out, although I have no catalogue number details at present.
I sing "Black Rose", a Gothic piece for which I wrote the
English lyrics, solo, as well as a (non-real-time) duet.
Saro Cosentino's (self-titled, I believe) CD is due for
release soon, most likely in January. His - more sparse -
"Phosphorescence" (still with my singing) is on this as well
as another co-composed song, "From Far Away". David Rhodes,
Trey Gunn and John Giblin are among others on this CD which
will be on Phonogram in Italy and Resurgence elsewhere, as
far as I know and as things stand at present.
Finally, the Hammill tonsils are also bared on a forthcoming
CD on Red Hot by the David Cross band. A whole clutch of
people contributed to this, including Robert Fripp, John
Whetton and, I believe, Pete Sinfield.
You'd find it difficult to find four more different CDs than
these!
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A couple of historical notes. "Aerosol" (I hope you got
the postcard): the Fie! version is, of course, a proper
representation of the whole of the "Aerosol" sessions;
"Firebrand" and "People You were Going To", included on the
Repertoire version, were done neither at the same time nor
by the same personnel. Anyway, there it goes; the Repertoire
CD is now deleted in any case, so I suppose it's back to
bootleg world if you're chasing these particular - faintly
embarrassing - bits of (pre-)history.
I've had a few complaints about the fact that the "VdGG
reunion" element of the Union Chapel concert was not
advertised in advance, to the effect that this was somehow
"unfair on the fans". I feel I must publicly rebut this
idea. It was precisely the fact that we were able to do it
secretly which allowed us to do it at all...otherwise
expectation, complication and Bizness would simply have been
too great. Perhaps most importantly - attention would have
been skewed away from the thrust of the rest of the evening,
the very nature of which allowed us to regroup for
"Lemmings". No regrets. By the by, to scotch the odd rumour,
there is definitely no prospective VdGG tour either,
although I dare say that we'll continue to work together
from time to time....
Last words: it was great to play in Australia at last and to
have such a heartfelt reception. The book of (90-odd) lyrics
in a Greek edition and translation is indeed underway and
should be out early next year. A full English version, as
ever, remains on the agenda for some time in the future....
For the cyberspace people, it's likely that I'll be doing a
live IRC encounter late in October/early November. You'll
find info at http//www.artist-shop.com if it's going to
transpire. But will it really be me...? Soon Come: Judge
Smith's massive "Curly's Airships" project is likely to be
finished around January. For this (as some of you in the HTV
region may have spotted some months ago) I sing a couple of
songs in the role of Lord Thompson, the undoubted bastard of
the piece (thanks, Judge!). John Ellis and Hugh Banton are
supplying guitar and organ. Fuller news, I suppose, when
it's done....
Finally, finally, I just don't know where I'm going to be
playing next...there's a (slight?) possibility of Italy at
the end of October. Plans are (somewhat limpingly) afoot for
Elsewhere after that...I know no more than that at this
stage!
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