Things In My Mind

iceland etc

2011-09-29T06:30:00.001-07:00

On Monday morning I left from Paris for Frankfurt to help out with an exhibition of my friend Garbriela at a place called Schirn Kunsthalle. Good brezel in that town.

I had to leave a day early to come to Iceland and deliver a film.

Then I went and bought chicken soup with nuts in it.

Today I found a place that sells a hotdog and a coke for 400 krona. I took a hotdog with everything on it and on the way home stopped to buy milk and a big cake with chocolate and cinnamon.

I also stopped to buy tooth brushes.

studio

2011-09-06T05:35:00.001-07:00

The studio in Paris is all set. Here is a video I recorded today:

paris paris paris

2011-08-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

I have moved back to Paris. The studio is set up in my apartment.

I am here for a few days before I go to the south to record my album. I've worked a lot on the arrangements - mostly it will be banjo, trombone, clarinet, violin, bugle, glockenspiel, pump organ, chain percussion and a few modified Casios.

Every morning I go and sit by the Canal St. Martin and work on the songs. I found an old notebook in the barn where I will record and I used it to write all the lyrics.

barn

2011-07-11T06:19:00.001-07:00

I have been doing a lot of recording tests in the barn for the new album. here is a short video with banjo and chains:

kangaroo

2011-07-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

I arrived in France yesterday and I was taken out for dinner so I decided to try kangaroo. It came with a cheesy sauce and it was tasty:

Then we drove to the barn and today I started doing recording tests. The musicians are arriving on the 10th of August, so I want to be ready for them. I found a lot of things that make great percussion sounds - best of all a big rusty metal fence. I think maybe anything sounds good if you hit it hard enough:

Whale

2011-06-27T19:15:00.001-07:00

Today I ate whale. It was kind of like beef but softer. It was prepared with roasted dates, aubergines, sweet potatoes and onions. Whale is the only thing I have ever eaten that came from the sea and didn't make me vomit. As I ate it I couldn't stop making whale noises to replace the usual "mmmmmm" noises associated with good food.

Vitabar

2011-06-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

I might have already talked about this place, but Vitabar is a small burger bar in Iceland. They spice the meat and it comes with bacon and cheese and a cocktail sauce. The grill is open until 11.30pm. I eat there every 2 or 3 days.

The show for future shorts one was fun. The theme this time was a garden party. I started with the accordion and I think in the theme I was supposed to be like the drunk failed musician uncle.

Iceland, again

2011-06-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

I'm back in Iceland to play some shows. Tonight I'm doing a show for Future Shorts One in a place called Faktory.

I want to tell people how good Iceland Air is. Lots of leg room, good food and drink which is moderately priced, good entertainment (each chair has a TV in the back where you can choose what you want to watch or listen to). I really like when travel companies get everything right.

That is all.

home

2011-06-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

I had to cancel the rest of the tour. I had an operation a little over a week ago, and despite hindering my healing from travelling and sleeping badly, I had a fun few days in the west. However, upon driving for two hours and arriving at The Crown Inn in Glastonbury to find the venue owner hadn't so much as written my name on the notice board, I felt disheartened. An hour before I was due to play he put an event on facebook, but alas no one saw it. He told me there was no point in playing to an empty bar, and cancelled the show. After a little bit of begging I managed to get half of my fee, and went to hospital to get checked out.

This is something I am faced with far too often: playing for free, or not being paid the agreed amount. I don't imagine painters and decorators have this problem?

Day 2: Portland

2011-06-05T06:33:00.001-07:00

We woke up in a hot tent. Everything was wet. We went to a supermarket to buy water and supplies. I realised the satnav has an Irish accent.
We drove to Weymouth where we ate a pie and chips:

There were a troop of dancers with faces painted black:

Then we had an icecream:

I had the photos from the oktomat developed and they came out in quite an odd way:

We looked around and Laurence tried to win a cuddly toy:

Then we drove to the venue and I slept for a half hour. I listened to Scott 4 by Scott walker. I'd never heard that album before.
After the show we ate French cheese and bread.
A woman got punched in the head by another woman.
I slept on a bed made of horse hair.

west country tour

2011-06-03T16:08:00.001-07:00

I have embarked on a 5 day tour of the west country.

Day 1: Bridport:

Left laurence's place at 4.40pm and hit traffic. Stopped in a petrol station and there was a man selling sea bass from his van. We filled the tank and it cost £62.
Almost finished the role of film on the oktomat camera. It takes 8 photos in series on one picture.
Arrived at the venue and it had no one in it except a couple finishing dinner. We called the contact to arrange rhe place to stay and he directed us to a field. we drove to the middle of nothing.

We pitched a tent with a view of hills

We stopped at a supermarket to eat:

Then back to the venue to set up:

I was watched by 4 "loose women" and photographed by a drunk man from the local radio.
Before playing I felt nervous. The man told me to keep it chill.
Am thinking of doing a live show broadcast tomorrow if it's possible.

toy piano

2011-05-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago I was given a toy piano by my friend Elodie Despres. She is the lady that owns the 1bis venue in Paris, which was one of the first places I played in France. I used it on one song for that first show at 1bis. Since then, I have played that song on toy piano at pretty much every concert. I did everything but beg for that little piano, and a month ago when I visited, her kids had pretty much destroyed it - several keys were missing and it was broken, so she gave it to me. I've managed to put it back together again, and my brother is going to make the new keys.

Here is a video of the first time I used it at 1bis.

optigan keyboard sound

2011-05-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

this is an optigan disc very slowed down, kind of sounds like a voice.

these chords are ripped from a peter lyons song.

cat heart

2011-05-13T18:17:00.001-07:00

My cat's heart and breath:
JASPER HEART by mwsounds

You And The Stars

2011-05-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

This was filmed about a year ago at my apartment in Paris.

Toy Piano

2011-05-10T03:26:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this one more time, as I still think it's pretty impressive:

music

2011-05-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

I made the music for the new Mulberry book advert. They make nice bags. My friend Rob Francis made the animation and asked me to put music. Here are the two videos:

This was made using reversed samples from the main piece I wrote, and an omnichord:

And this was made using Matthew Prior's ukulele, with my Optigan, toy piano, glockenspiel and various other nice things.

circuit

2011-05-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Some circuit bending, first:

Last night I played a concert in Iceland. It was at a bar called Boston. I borrowed a guitar from a guy who plays with the Icelandic band mum. It was a half sized guitar, which made me feel like a giant.

Today I have a bruised leg and a swollen tongue.

finished demos

2011-04-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

I recorded 13 demos in the slaughter house. Here is a short video.

recording in a slaughter house

2011-04-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

I am in France staying in an old farmhouse in the mountains and I've made a studio in the disused slaughterhouse. It has great reverb - high ceilings and lots of wood. I'm making demos for the orchestra and then we'll all come back here together in August and record the new album. I'm very excited to record in such a great space. At night it is so silent and it scares me. This whole village was burned by the nazis, and a lot of people who lived here were shot. Two people from this house were burned alive.

2011-04-02T06:56:00.001-07:00

a song with my niece

2011-03-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

The other day my four-year-old niece said "If you die i won't see you. if I die you won't see me." I told her she'd go to heaven and she said "I'll flap."

Paris and Rotterdam

2011-03-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Rotterdam. I played a show there and a show in Paris. I'd never been to Holland before. Lots of bicycles.

In Paris I played a show for Xuly Bett in his shop. It was a fashion week thing, which is interesting, as I have no style.

I have a terrible lung infection and have been coughing for over a month, so when I was in Paris I saw the doctor and he gave me some medicine to make me better. It makes me feel sick but I guess it's working.

secret cinema and things

2011-03-03T11:00:00.001-08:00

I just got finished doing another Secret Cinema. it was The Red Shoes and I played a 40's suave singer piano player. Good fun. I got to work with dancers, which I've never done before. It was more of the same in terms of cold coffee, hard (or no) rolls and no place to lay down.

Now I am doing music for a film about heaven called Saturday.

I recorded a new song and used a logdrum and kalimba - 2 things I've never used before.

moving so moving

2011-01-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

I am moving house tomorrow. Since being in london I have slept on a lot of couches, in a lot of hospital beds and by a lot of people's sides, so it's good to have somewhere to call home. I've packed the studio and it's coming with me.

The instruments and recording equipment have been resting in my old childhood bedroom, and yesterday I arrived there to pack my things. The family next door have a little girl who is learning the drums - perhaps as revenge for years of late night music from me. Today I heard her practicing and had a microphone set up so I decided to press record. The result has been a loop that has a jerkyness to it that I really like, and it fits really well in to a song I am working on.

Here it is in it's current form.

happy new year

2010-12-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

Happy new year one and all.

This is an old picture of my parent's wedding cake.

And as if that wasn't enough:

I'm not here to make friends.

Secret Cinema

2010-11-22T16:25:00.000-08:00

For the past 2 weeks I have been performing daily for secret cinema. The film this time was One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. I played a patient and had to break in to the nurses station and sing over the tannoy. I did Devil In Disguise and some of my own songs - kind of a singing along to scratchy records kinda thing. It was set in an abandoned hospital - freezing cold, but quite amazing.

For the last 3 days I slept there. It was interesting - I didn't know I could keep going for so long with no sleep - about 5 hours in 3 days. Everyone who stayed there was living on sugar, nicotine and caffeine. I've developed a terrible cough, but it was totally worth it.

a good show

2010-11-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

Last night I went with Catherine to see a tapeclub show in North London. It was great. 3 people - each played 20 minutes as the front man while the others backed them up. Peter Lyons did 4 songs, and it was great. Cathy had never seen him play before except with me, so it was a special treat for her. At one point in the show, during a song called Regret, the band was rocking loudly and then it went quiet - upon which everyone heard a girl in the audience say "really sexy" and Pete wasn't able to sing the next verse because he was laughing. After the show I got Pete and Kerry to sign my copy of their new EP.
On the way home I was telling Cathy about a man who keeps trying to meet me for "coffee." I only want to drink coffee, and nothing else, but he wants the full coffee and pie experience. While I was telling her this, I noticed a man opposite me was shocked by me, and started laughing and telling his friend "that guy is gay." Then he was staring, and without actually saying any words to me, he managed to have a threatening presence. In retrospect, I should have feigned a similar reaction to his skin colour. An equally non-thing to be shocked by. Anyway, we reacted by talking about how we will go home and watch Pricilla Queen Of The Desert and swap clothes.
On the way home, Cathy told me how she finds Jim Carey attractive, and a man who was walking near us, possibly Italian, said that he thought she was crazy.
Then we got home and took lots of photos of us eating in bed.

Paris Paris Paris

2010-11-04T11:54:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was the album launch in Paris. We arrived early, but they weren't expecting us so we went to a restaurant and ate lamb kebabs until the rain stopped. I saw all my friends again, which was strange as it's been so long.

During the show I cut my fingers open on my banjo because I dropped my pick. It was covered in blood by the end.

After the show the band decided to go in to town. I stayed behind to chat to people and sign albums. They came back after a short time, and Matt Prior, the bass player, had been pick pocketed and lost 250 pounds. That wasn't very nice. For the rest of the night he stayed in his bed while the rest of us got drunk on the free beer and requested songs from Peter Lyons, the other member of the band who plays everything.

The next day we headed home. It took almost twice as long to get back because I got lost. The road signs in France seem like they are there to annoy you - never telling which direction you are heading in.

Now my hand is healed.

New Album, New Site

2010-10-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Watching Japanese people eat, I notice they hold the plate and bring it under their mouths when they take a bite of food. Why do I balance food on a fork and risk dropping it/dripping it on to my shiny trousers?

The Optigan and Dulcitone are safely locked in a shed, gathering dust, sitting and waiting silently for me to come back while I sit on a bed 23 hours a day in a hospital ward.

I played a show with Thomas Truax in Soho the other day. It's the first time we've seen each other since he was leaving Paris and I got caught by the police at the metro station for not paying. I ran, and he carried on in the other direction because he had to get a flight. One of the more embarrassing moments I've experienced. It was good to see him play again because his show has really changed and he has a new instrument called The Scary Ariel. I took my pump organ.

germany

2010-06-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in Cologne for some concerts. I did 9 concerts in one day, and I got all burned up by the sun. I stayed with Eric Schneider, who owns the instruments listed on miniorgan.com - so I got to see it all and play with it.

We went to a flea market and I bought a tamborine.

I tried German food - some kind of meatball soup, which just turned out to be a big ball in water. But it was tasty.

Germany in general seems to be very organised... far more so than any other country I've visited... very efficient...

Tomorrow I will go to the west of France to play in Saintes. I've never been there, so it will be interesting.

My new website is coming soon, along with my album and some new videos.

pff

2010-04-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

I'm really not good at updating this blog, which is weird considering how much time I spend online and how much I talk about myself.

Alice is nearly over. It's been really fun overall - constantly changing in subtle ways. The last time we did it I actually went up on stage and did a little dance at one point, but I don't think I'll be doing it again.

My album is definitely going to be released in September. I really thought it was finished, but since then I've rerecorded an entire song and added lots of little details - the things only I notice that make me feel clever.

I am making 3 videos for the album - All Around Town, Songs About Snow and You And The Stars. I'm very excited about having nice looking videos.

The other day I went to a restaurant and on the menu was duck with mushroom ice cream. I had the steak.

goodness

2010-02-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

I am so terrible for updating things like this...

Alice is going very very well. We've had good numbers and the CD is selling well. We put a book outside of the theatre for people to write comments and so far everything has been very kind. Normally I use those books to make the actors feel paranoid by writing things like "i didn't like the little guy."

We are playing every day this week.

alice 4

2010-02-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

I forgot the sea again... and we had less people at this one... poopy.

toy piano

2010-02-09T15:27:00.001-08:00

Tonight was the final practice for the 30 piece toy piano orchestra. Still I haven't heard it with all the musicians (tonight we had 15 or 16) but it sounded much tighter than usual and so I'm more confident than I was last night.

It seems the mor I sweat, the better it is...

we'll see on Friday.

Alice the 3rd, La Bellevilloise

2010-02-08T04:14:00.000-08:00

Goodness gracious me. Last night we did the third show of Alice. We played to a full house, so that was nice. It was a little different to the first 2 shows. This time I didn't miss any cues except for the fucking sea sound effect, which continued in to the trial. Wednesday it will be better.

I had a shave before the show, because after we did photos.

After Alice I had my show at La Bellevilloise. My friend Diego played before me, and I really enjoyed his guitar playing. He's such a lovely man. I got quite annoyed again during my set and finished early, and I asked the audience why they never listen to me, and do they find me boring or what? It's such a hard place to play, and really I have never had a good show there. I'd go so far as to say I hate it.

2010-02-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

Today was another busy day. First we had a toy piano practice with 20 of the players. I think it is going very well now and has really taken form. I'm quite confident about it. All the pieces are ready except for the piece with 5 pianos, which we will organise soon.

Then after that we had the second show of Alice. Today was less good than the first I think. A little slow, and the audience was less reactive. Perhaps the timing was off. Anyway, I only really missed one small cue which wasn't a problem. After the show a few of us went to a gay bar in Chatelet and drank red wine and ate small slices of pizza. It was very chic and very cheap...

I went home and fell asleep in my clothes.

ALICE AND TOY PIANOS

2010-02-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

Well, today was the premier of Alice.

I've had a tooth ache for a few days, so getting there was hard. I haven't slept well because of the tooth, so everything has been difficult. But anyway, after an annoyingly crowded metro journey, I arrived at the theatre and waited for about 2 hours to set up and play.

The show went well. I missed a couple of cues. I'm using my clockwork metronome to make the noise of a lock, but today it was fully wound, so those sounds were totally missing.

The kids made me laugh because they said a few times "coupe la tete" which means "cut the head." This is a line from the play, but one kid kept saying it.

My sampler was broken today. I had no left channel. But after opening it and dabbing some solder inside, it works again.

The last few nights have been spent desperately trying to finish the Alice CD. It was a rush, but it was finished in time, and I'm really happy with it. The guy who made the posters also made the packaging for the CD, and it looks so great.

Apart from Alice, I have been composing for a concert with 30 toy pianos. It is my job to compose and to be the "chef d'orchestre." We will play this on the 12th February. We're doing 3 pieces that I've composed and one cover that I've arranged especially. It's quite amazing to hear lots of toy pianos at the same time, even though so far we have only practiced with about 10 or so. I'm not sure how 30 will sound... amazing I hope.

We're playing before Margaret Lang Tan. She was a student of John Cage, who wrote a famous suite for toy piano. So it's going to be quite strange. It's the orchestra, then me solo, then her. I hope I will get to meet her and talk about her experiences. Perhaps I will invite her to have a drink with me.

cafe de la danse

2009-12-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

Fun concert last night at the cafe de la danse in Paris. It's one of the bigger concerts I've played, and it worked, though I had all of 5 minutes for sound check. The toy piano sounded nice.

I've made a new song. My friend Ellinor came to stay from Sweden and she sang with me and my girlfriend on the chorus of the song. I used some Optigan, Orchestron and Chamberlin Rhythm Mate (thanks to Pea Hicks). It felt good to write and record something so fast. It's something I haven't done in a long time, and I think doing things like this is often the best way. it's when you're aware of what you're doing that it can be bad. The best is to just do it without thinking too much.

Also with Ellinor we began recording 2 songs. I'm going to sing on one with her.

alice in wonderland

2009-11-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

It's been a long day, but I've recorded the voices for the 3 songs I wrote for Alice In Wonderland and I've recorded most of the speaking - so tomorrow just the narration and a few retakes. It's hard when you don't understand everything (this is a French production) but I spoke French all day and that felt good.

I have recorded a new song and it's a real slice of pop.

I spent the weekend recording a friend, and it went well. It's been a very long few days, but it's nice to be busy.

I'm going to sleep now.

2009-11-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

Last night I played in a small bar with Nitneroc. That guy can really press buttons, faster than me...

I played pump organ and sampler, and a lot of shaker. I've bruised my right thigh because I was hitting it with the shaker to get an accent, and in the excitement of the show I didn't realise it was too hard. But it's fine.

I'm going to try to use more pump organ for shows, because I really like playing it. The only problem is that it's 100 years old, fragile and heavy.

I'm playing at Scopitone on Tuesday. I think it will be a good concert.

compilations

2009-10-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Today I finished preparing my special Halloween show for Saturday. I feel quite well prepared. My only fear is that the pump organ will fall apart on the metro.

Alice In Wonderland

2009-10-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

The music for Alice In Wonderland is going really well. I'm trying to treat it like film music by making themes and then making variations on those. So far I've used a lot of orchestral sounds for the instrumentation, and old samples of orchestral sounds for the really dreamy parts. I'm buying a theremin to use too. I can't wait to start the 10 week run.

Here's a list of things to avoid in life:

Tesco
Fashion designers

If you can think of anything else, don't hesitate to tell me.

Union Chapel

2009-09-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

I got back to Paris last night, having been to England and played 2 shows.

The Union Chapel is really a great place. The reverb there is just amazing - it seems to come mostly from the right. I've never played in a room with such nice reverb.

In 5 days I will be performing on a catwalk at the new Junko Shimada fashion show. It's a very new experience for me - i know nothing about fashion, but they like my music and they've designed a special catwalk with a little stage in the middle. I hope I don't fall off or something.

Today a chimney sweep came to my house to do the chimney. Now we can fires. After, he was sitting at my table and I realised he had a large hole in his trousers and his penis was clear to see.

METRO

2009-09-14T15:39:00.001-07:00

The Paris metro is something I both love and hate. It's dirty and it smells of oil, but these are traits often found in places I record too.

In the metro a few days ago I saw a Parrot, perching on a light fitting. I called it and it looked at me but didn't come. I left it there, and I'm sure it will die there.

Once in the metro I saw a huge spider - like tropical huge. It was eating from a paper bag someone had thrown on the tracks.

There are often great buskers in the metro too. My favorites are both men:

George Brassens man: he is blind, has a dog and a hifi which plays nothing but Brassens.

One Eye Man: he appears to be blind in one eye, plays a casio standing up (I think some kind of 90's casio, with missing keys) and he sings. I love his music so much.

There is a woman in the metro that I do not like. She is blind in both eyes, and they are both white, and she holds a cup with a coin in it and jangles it constantly - it's like something from an art film.

Anyway, enough for now.

GUN GALA

2009-09-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

Today I finished my album. That involved tying a few loose ends with vocals and one solo, and also recording a song with the pump organ. It's taken a lot longer than expected, as usual, but it's now ready finished and I am very happy.

I don't have an order for the songs yet, but here are the songs:

SONGS ABOUT SNOW
SMILE LIKE YOU REMEMBER ME
FROG IN A SNAKE'S BELLY
BIG AND STRONG
I CAN'T GET OUT OF BED BUT I STAND BY WHAT I SAID
ALL HANDS BURY THE DAED
CAN I KEEP YOU
THE SEA
I WEAR THESE RINGS
PRESIDENT
JUST TO FIND YOU
HUMAN NOT A BEAST

Some of the songs have guests:

Minouche: clarinet, voice
Laura Jeanne Sauthier: voice
Thomas Wykes: voice
Shirley Phelps-Roper: voice
Sister Spinster: beats
Kevin M. Kirker: harp
Pierre Chandez: saw
Dona Davos: voice, glockenspiel

It will be available to buy just as soon as the artwork and things are finished, in around 2 months.

hi

2009-09-04T04:21:00.000-07:00

last night i played a gig at the alimentation generale in paris. it's a big stone room.

they made dinner for me before i played but i couldn't eat it because it was almost raw. i like my steak crispy.

holidays

2009-08-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm in a Mcdonald's in the west of france, having not checked my internet things for 4 whole days. It's been a killer - I've become addicted to checking my mobile phone, which never bares any communicative fruit...

We're staying in a house near the sea. I'm very sunburned but apart from that it's nice to be here.

More later, in another Mcdonald's, in another part of France...

XX

2009-08-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week in England, visiting family and recording a girl called Rosie. I played a show in Hertfordshire last night. Laura-Jeanne and I stayed in a room above the venue, which had just a large bed. For dinner we shared a steak and ale pie, which was delicious. I felt bad that they were being so nice to us so I washed up my own plate.

The bad news is that Cooper was hit by a car in Britanny last Saturday. He was our 2 month old puppy. He ran in to the road and was killed very quickly, so I think he didn't suffer. On Saturday I am going to Britanny with Laura-Jeanne and we will visit the place where he was burried. We've been very very sad for a couple of days but things are getting easier for everyone. We're not going to replace him. I'm trying not to think about Cooper, but it's quite hard - I really think he was going to grow up to be an amazing doggy. One comforting thing is that while he was alive he didn't do anything bad - he was too young to get in to any real mischief, so he just made everyone happy for 2 months and then left. That's the nicest way I can think to put it.

Moving on from sad items, here is my musical news:

1. I've secured a residency at a venue in Paris called La Bellevilloise. It will be one Sunday a month and sometimes I will have guests. The best thing about this venue is that they have a nice piano.

2. I'm playing a show at The Union Chapel in London in September. It's an excellent venue that I've dreamed of playing for a long time, so I will try hard to make an extra special show. In short, I'll use the pump organ.

That's it for now.

radio

2009-07-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

I was played on the radio in england on Sunday night. A panel of "industry experts" listened to one of my songs and reviewed it on air. I was listening to it and it made me really nervous. They played I Can Show You Things but they cut it right in the middle of the middle 8, which I think is the nicest bit - that's where Matt overdubbed a load of what I can only assume is mellotron.

Anyway, they all agreed that it sounded like the beach boys, and one of them said elbow. I don't really know anything about Elbow, but I do love the Beach Boys, so it's a nice thing to here.

recordings

2009-07-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Currently I'm recording with 3 artists - one is chanson francais with mostly acoustic guitar and some electronica, one is retro synth pop and one is piano pop. They're all very different, so I'm really learning stuff, especially from the synth pop. The first backing track is finished and it kind of sounds like Erasure I think. It's strange because it sounds so regimented, but the chanson francais stuff is so free - it's like a polar opposite thing.

My album is still one song away from being finished. I still can't find a concise way of saying what I want to. Other than that one song, it's almost complete, so I guess it will be finished in September when I'm back from my holidays.

Having a dog has been a blessing in some ways. He's really learning how to melt my heart. Earlier today I packed my suitcase and he crawled in to it and fell asleep. As I write this he's laying on a pillow and looking at me.

Anyway, until next time.

finally

2009-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

I've been motivated enough to update the website. We got a dog a few days ago and he is the cutest thing I have ever seen, so it's really hard to stay away from him long enough to do anything else.

The new album is one song away from being finished. It's a song which was originally going to be played on Wurlitzer theatre organ, but I've opted instead for the little field organ I have. It's another song about death and my dad. These are 2 subjects that fascinate me, but it's hard to know exactly what to say about 2 things that are such boring parts of life.

I am very happy with the remix of songs about snow. It was very fun to sing over someone else's arrangement of my song. It was hard at first because the tone of the music is not something that I am used to singing along to, but I worked on it and found in the end that my megaphone collection made the voice sound right.

When I've not been recording my album, I've been recording other people's music and writing for other people. I started recording a pop song for my friend Mr Fabulous, started recording the album of my friend Kevin and I've started writing a song for an English girl named Rosie. I really like recording other people sometimes. it's a good way to learn new things.

My first entry.

2009-05-11T11:34:00.001-07:00

I've never had a blog before, but I think this is a way to be able to update my diary very easily, and also I would like to be more like Alan MX, my friend, my mentor and my guru.

I have been working on the new album since before the last one was finished, and it's all starting to fall in to place. I have a few slow headphone songs and some faster ones. I found a friend in Kevin M. Kirker - a harpist extraordinaire from Angel Island, California, and he has played harp on one of my songs. Another guest on the album is Sister Spinster - the mechanical drum machine invented and built by Thomas Truax. I wrote a song, and the beat that she gave just worked perfectly for it - kind of sounds like an old Wurlitzer merry-go-round organ style percussion section, which I like a lot.

It's weird that this is the first album where I don't have Peter Lyons and Stephanie Dade singing and playing. I miss their inputs, and I hope they will be available again in the future. It's hard when you live in a different country.

Yesterday in Paris I sat and watched a man play a ships piano by a fountain. I had never seen one before, but have often dreamed of owning one. He was really a great player - playing French standards in a kind of saloon style. I wish I could play piano like that. It looked like a big version of my old Schoenhut toy piano, and had a sustain lever which he used with his knee.

A man from Brighton has made a new version o one of my songs using old Gameboys. I will record the vocal and put it as a B side on the next EP, or perhaps give it away free with the first copies of the album sold. Not sure yet.

That's it for now.