It's what you put in that counts. Just a matter of time before they find me.

I attended a very interesting conference last week, hosted by some very well-known and talented producers, including Jerry Boys (REM, Buena Vista Social Club, Ry Cooder & Steeleye Span), Mick Glossop (Van Morrison, Frank Zappa, The Waterboys, The Wonder Stuff, Public Image & The Ruts) and Robin Millar (Sade, Everything But The Girl, Black & Fine Young Cannibals).

I was particually interested in Jerry Boys work as he is also responsible for Stealeye Span's work, whom I've grown up listening to for as long as I can remember. It was the soundtrack to long family journeys and my parents record player. That and the Buena Vista Social Club rock.

They discussed many techniques they used for these popular recordings and the fundamental message throughout the evening was "it's not so much the production or what you use that matters, it's the talent and the quality of what you put into it".

This is where I think to myself "Oh fuck, I'm in trouble!!"

Actually, this kinda goes back to my previous thought on MIDI. After slagging off GM sounds, I went on to attached the most shitty distortion program I could find for the 'basic sound', in this case Steinberg's free "Overdrive" plugin. MIDI + Awful distortion = awesome!

So this is what I'm putting in to my current song. Aptly called Substitute God because it's about humanities need to have a single figure to point the blame towards whenever they feel like it. Only "God" seems to have been replaced by celebrities, movie directors and presidents these days.

Nevertheless, it sounds a bit, well, similar to "Pull Your Fingers Out" I guess. It sounds even more similar to another song that I refuse to name. I love the sounds, I love the Garbage style vocals I've added to it, but I really need to tear this one apart and build it from the ground up again before I end up too far down a fucking hole and I need to go to the doctors to get it pulled out again. Shame.

Genetically Modified Synthesizer

Writing music in MIDI is never really easy. It requires a lot of imagination and thought because, basically, MIDI instruments sound shit. Their purpose is simply to provide the most basic of emulations to allow composers to have an idea what a piece will sound like when it is realised. Somewhere down the line, a GM synth remained as it was, never improving. You needed a sound module for that... or maybe there's just some comfort in enjoying that absolutely awful guitar part with 4-bit triangle waves being thrown at you. Beautiful!

Well I am one of those composers that attempts to write in MIDI before going the "whole-hog" and realising its full sound. Of course you can imagine getting other people to hear what you have in your head is even harder. Right now I don't even have that option. The most simple of rock track ideas and its being phased out with my housemate playing Girls Aloud out of his laptop in the kitchen. It's sucking my creativity away and I haven't written anything for a couple of weeks now.

Excuses, excuses. Get back to work.

Another song?

I think what I meant to say in the last post, put simply, "My new song is proper electronica and not in the slightest bit rock: but it'll be put together with rock songs. Amazing, huh?"

Anway, I've given Normal. Apathetic. a rest. It's still all drums but it's driven me a little mad. I'll come back to it another time when I can listen with fresh ears. In the meantime, I did yet another song in one evening tonight. I re-started Lovers and Politicians and it's totally new (just the same title). It's all just MIDI right now but has high potentials.

My only major concern is that project #2 (Creative Audio Technology instillation) needs attention and it's going to be a LOT of work and research concurrently with this album. I still have so much to work on with these current demos and I'd like to write another four before June when I got into my full recording phase. But I have got most of my ideas out early, knowing this would happen. I'd rather not stretch myself and create something good than struggle and write something half-arsed.