For the Giving
Building an Experimental Song
For this last song, I want to expand on the process of how I wrote it by sharing an early (self-recorded) iteration with you. I started with a melody without any rhythm but always had the violin accompanyment that you can hear from the first verse. I had a lot of fun outlining the harmony with just the three notes (voice and double stops violin) which gave it a naturally open quality. In order to add direction, I then built a soundscape with my producer Will Owen Bennett. We got to really explore in the studio and try things without having any idea what was going to happen. One of my favourite moments in the soundscape is that high E that you may have noticed. It sounds a little like a strange synthetic "ooh" voice but we actually got that sound by routing my vocal mic through my violin octave pedal the Pog2 while I was whistled. Recording the high whistle that is heard as an octave lower creates the eery sound I was looking for.
about the solo versions
With this series of videos, I wanted to push myself to develop my passion for fiddle, voice and looping to its full potential. Some songs were easy to rearrange, but for this song I really had no idea how I was going to do it because of its multilayered sound. Since I had already commited to the recording session, so pushed myself through what proved to be a very rewarding experience. To create this solo version, I got to used everything that I had learned throughout the creation process--from its solo-instrument origin to its full-band sound--in order to re-imagine it to perform all the integral parts by myself. For instance, to capture the layered soundcsapes of the recording, I used a freeze pedal and a delay pedal with a heavy shimmer effect. Overcoming these challenges is precisely what I loved about the process of recording these solo videos and I can't thank you enough for taking the time to listen to them!
Thank you so much for following along
If you like the music and want to show additional support, kindly consider buying some of my new merch. This is the only place that I will be selling it until the LAUNCH, which I am postponing to April 2023 as I will be doing an artist residency in Paris for the next few months (more on that exciting news in the next email). I am really proud of this album and the designs we have created around it and ship all over the world. Thanks again for joining me on this journey!