Saturday, January 30, 2010

Necessary Evil Part 2

  
Download now or listen on posterous
necessary_evil_3-4.mp3 (4235 KB)

Necessary Evil, the second version. I changed it to 3/4 (as prog rock as I get) and it worked, it also suggested more harmonics and backing and came out (at least to mymind, better than the first version. Download for free and enjoy. 

Posted via email from 88 Kilos of Sunshine

Friday, January 15, 2010

Necessary Evil

Necessary Evil 1  
Download now or listen on posterous
necessary_evil_1.mp3 (5822 KB)

I fell in love with her when I walked into the Std 6 classroom, and I carried that crush for years. I couldn't help the feeling and I couldn't change it, and even when I fell for others she remained somewhere in my heart. I was there when she married and I wish her well.

Well I guess it's kinda late
I'm getting tired of tempting fate

but while loving you is a necessary evil
that's what I'll do

I wait on the seashore
the wind in my hair
pulling me towards you
like a beast to its lair

I dove into the water
I feel it surround me
I strive for the surface
temptation finds me

free from my longing
I stand before peace
round me a storm is raging
I wait for release

Posted via email from 88 Kilos of Sunshine

Monday, January 11, 2010

Habe die Platte noch im Keller!


A friend, Justin, posted the following on FB:

"Check out:
Ziza - a couple of tracks i helped write. Real musos, talented singers, a real
studio and mastering by a master! Keep an eye out for the music videos
coming soon.."

and it's well worth checking out. Justin does amazing work and it's always good to follow his activities.

One of my all time favourite albums is Working Nights by Working Week (if you want to sneak a listen here's a track with a fanvid on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwGcAAagTt8 ) and Ziza reminds me of them so MUCH that I'm an instant fan. The Working Week track will sound dated, but that's the 80's for you, it could infect anything. I still have the vinyl and must remember to ask Tim to source a cd version.

But Justin's post also had me thinking (as you do when driving the lawnmower between the pack of dogs). Real musos? and when are you a real muso? Truth is it led to at least a day or two of introspection while I second-guessed myself to the Nth degree.

In the end I realised that I had never thought of myself as a musician, simply because I have some very big limits. For one thing I'm not all that good on guitar and secondly, while I can sing, my voice has some pretty big commercial limits. The other major constraint is that I do not really speak music and so I always find myself a little confused when dealing with real musos, for goodness sake, I can't even read the language!

So the point is moot personally, but it makes me wonder what I'm busy with here. For one thing, while I am not a musician, I am a songwriter (limited to some genre, but still), and a good one at that (well, you HAVE to believe in yourself), and it has always ended there. I liked taking the songs to a conclusion with others, but life caught up and now I get to do it all myself.

So having solved this for myself (by avoidance) I have to wonder what it means for others. What is a real muso? Answers, anyone?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The first few days.


Resolutions was the second recording in this release cycle. The first had been a recording of Khun Sa surrenders. Khun Sa surrenders is an instrumental track and will be released later.

Both these songs were part of a learning curve. I had, with the help of Jeff Fletcher (and a thousand thank you's would not suffice) of One Mighty Atom, got my recording gear together and was finally in a position to get started.

And for a change I read the manual. Possibly not as well as I should have, but I gave it more of a go than I might usually have. I started with Reaper as DAW and have so far resisted Jeff's persuasion to join the Ableton religion, although the only barrier is money.

Reaper has some limitations in the MIDI department and I also needed something that I could use to produce loops quickly. For this purpose I selected Fruity Loops, mainly cause Thato Mabotja's inspired work showed off its potential.

I'm enjoying the songs, which probably means that I have reached my goal and with the blog and posterous (thanks to Darren), it makes it possible to release on the fly.

It also allows the music to breathe a bit and grow. It's a wonderful mix of "live" and "recorded". I can release a song onto the web, re-record it and re-release, all in a matter of minutes and without paperwork, lawyers or greed becoming part of the process.

An upcoming example will be "Necessary Evil". There will be three releases, one in 4/4, and two in 3/4. At least they do not necessitate a double album.

The struggle continues, hey Taz?

Friday, January 1, 2010

Fiat Lux!

Of course it's a dark song! It was written at a very bad time. I was just out of basic training and I'd been transferred to a place the Natal Mercury referred to as Hell Camp. When I watched Jacob's Ladder the first time it reminded me of this place so much that the horror came back.

I survived and eventually prospered, thanks mainly to Ian Culpin, who saved my life (literally) and Craig Gillings, who saved my soul. The debt I owe them can never be repaid but I remember them every day.

Straight and Narrow (recorded as Resolutions) did not come to me overnight and in truth was not some cathartic self psycho-analysis. It was, in the main, the pethidene. No, seriously. Like most of my lyrics the words appeared effortlessly. The tune is as simple as could be.

Craig had a guitar and we spent many hours playing together. He knew all the songs I should have known and I hope one day we will record some of them together. In particular I remember his rendition of Cry me a River which remains my favoutire to this day. So many sunsets, so little time.