I realise that the blog has been quiet recently. This is due to the fact that we’ve been working 18 hour days in order to get the album finished, which we have now done.

We are now back in the comfort of our own homes, catching up on a bit of sleep and spending some time with our loved ones before contemplating the horror of returning to real life with jobs and bills and no more bedtime stories from Kingsley.

It’s been an amazing experience – such a joy to work on music and only music. Dave Eringa has been a complete legend – he’s taught us huge amounts and set us an incredible example through his work ethic, which is second to none.

We’re really pleased with what we have recorded. This album promises to be something special. Hopefully the general public will agree.

Adam
x

I think yesterday was the longest day so far. 11am – 4am. We got through a lot of stuff, though, recording lots of parts for two songs. Stephen seems to have had the rough end of the stick; he was recording guitars late into the night and consequently appears to have been playing them throughout his dreams, mixed in with nightmares about being a chef. I think the dreams will only get more bizarre as the week continues.

Aside from the important business of playing music, we have also made a crucial discovery in the rec room above the coach house. Ping pong! Steve proving to be the master, I am proving to possess the most ridiculous spinning serve that actually spins so much it doesn’t appear to spin. Does that make sense? Of course it doesn’t. Stephen is displaying classic tennis education and grace with his wide array of topspin shot selection. I haven’t seen Dave play yet, but I can only imagine that he’s a tactical player; a bit devious, a possible hustler in our midst, just waiting for the right time to take our money and our dignity.

It is a truly beautiful day here in Rockfields today – blue skies, crystal clear air, autumnal browns and yellows. I feel inspired. Rockfield does that to you.

Yesterday was the turn of the string quartet. They played for about 11 hours, tracking up multiple layers of strings and making a beautiful sound.

Andy, the arranger has done an amazing job on the five songs he prepared arrangements for. We changed very few of his ideas, and he quickly adapted to our amendments. He and the other players, Jo, Nathan and Bernard were all fantastic. They can happily join us on the Grammy awards

It was a new experience to see people sight-reading and immediately getting on with our songs. They had a couple of tricky ones to deal with as well in terms of key and time signature, but they knuckled down and produced the goods. Great players, lovely people, top strings to make our songs really special.

Good day all round.

No – not the fireworks that you get in high quality dramas like Hollyoakes and Prisoner Cell Block H – real sparkley, shimmering fireworks with pretty colours.

We had the honour of being invited to Kingsley’s family and friends fireworks display the other night – it was a real treat and pretty damned heart-warming. As we approach our last week here at Rockfields, I am concerned that I am going to miss this place a lot – not only for musical reasons, but because of the way we’ve been treated here – Kingsley, his wife Anne, and his daughters Lisa and Amanda have made us feel incredibly welcome and at home. They are complete diamonds and I can’t imagine another studio like this in the land.

We were lucky enough to pack a lot into a short time at the fireworks display – a huge bonfire with a lemon-headed Guy (a bit random, but cool), about 30 mins of fireworks (ranging from wet farts to sensational pop tarts – all great fun), a bit of socialising with the Rockfield family and a mini tour of the farm house (or should I say chateaux) with Kingsley. Just like the quadrangle and the coach house studios, the farm house exudes history at every turn and is endlessly interesting and charming. Brilliant.

Sorry it’s been a bit quiet on the blog front recently. We’ve been locked away in our recording cave, and have had a couple of really productive and exciting days. At the time of writing, we are recording some Velvet Underground style floor toms (Mo would be proud) for a very atmospheric track. Everyone seems to have an idea as to how the drums should go. I am currently sitting back and waiting patiently for the fireworks to fly. I have my laptop ready to record the inevitable Troggs-esque arguments that will follow. If the album fails to sell, at least I will have something else to market.

David has been working very hard indeed and has produced some amazing drum takes for the rest of us to work with. Following the imminent nuclear fallout of infighting over the aforementioned drumming debate has subsided, we only have one more full song to get drums on which involves us moving rooms for the twelthieth time, “Once more unto the breach…” and all that guff.

Actually, that‘s not strictly true. We have to move studios and accommodation tomorrow (we are moving from the quadrangle to the coach house) to make way for Spiritualised. I am quite looking forward to moving studios – a change is as good as a rest and all that. The coach house is only 100 metres away, so it’s not really that much of an upheaval – and we’ll get a bit of well-needed exercise. I think we’ll have to employ Kingsley’s tractor and trailer to move the Hammond and the Fender Rhodes, though – I certainly don’t fancy lugging them for that distance.

With the above move in mind, and the arrival of a film crew tomorrow, it’s unlikely that we’ll have a great deal of time to update the blog. However, I hope to be able to let you know the outcome of “drumgate” and to report on a successful move in a day or two.