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Seasons greetings

December 22nd, 2011 by Ally

One highlight of the festive season is being able to dig out my copy of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. To me it’s instantly soothing and relaxing - perfect at this time of year. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for following, reading, responding, listening, buying etc. I’m excited about my new album coming out next year and I hope to play in more places and meet new people. Can’t believe the Euro tour is only about a month away; really looking forward to that. The dates are here. So, have a great Christmas and new year and thanks for your support. It means so much to me.

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Recording

November 17th, 2011 by Ally

Hello there. I thought I’d write a little bit about the recording of the new album. I realise I’ve not written anything about it or tweeted / updated Facebook but I think that was for the best. I even had these plans to film the recording and update about it as things were happening but to be honest that approach isn’t for me. I wanted to keep my head down and needed to focus on the actual making of music; the rest is secondary and becomes pretty pointless if it’s taking something away from the album. Logically it probably wouldn’t, but I felt I didn’t want to curse it!  I’ve also been a bit distracted from blogging as my mind and energy has been elsewhere.

Right now I’ve got eleven songs unmixed sitting in my iTunes that will make up the album. Pretty sure it’ll be eleven songs in total. There’s still a way to go, but the bones and a lot of the skin has been added. That’s quite a horrible metaphor. How about the sponge has risen and we’re in the process of icing the cake? It’s been a great few days in the Diving Bell Lounge studio in Glasgow’s east end, starting with Craig (drums and percussion) and Steph (bass and piano) then me adding in my acoustic guitar and vocals, some backing vocals (with Sarah, Biff and Martin), violin (Caroline), electric guitar (Miguel), trumpet (Gordon), mandolin (Dave), more piano (Jim) and flute (Graeme). The next step will be to record strings with a quartet, and I’m really excited about this.

The studio has this quite special feeling; it’s almost like being in the countryside, the only sound is that of movement in the distance, like waves caressing the shore on the horizon. Except it’s not waves, it’s Ford Fiestas and Honda Civics hustling on the motorway. It’s a former coachhouse, so would have been built to accommodate horse-drawn carriages in them olden days. There was a relaxed atmosphere in the studio but with a realisation that we needed to work swiftly – which we certainly did. We got some great takes with character which for me is more important than something that’s absolutely perfect but lacks some human quality. There was a lot of good humour and countless cups of tea. Morton’s rolls filled with mature cheddar cheese were the order of the days. Ched ‘n roll.

Anyway, rather than me banging on about it all in any more detail, here are some photos that describe what’s been happening. There’s still a good way to go, but I feel it’s all coming together as I’d hoped it would and that is probably because of the quality and talent of these musicians, the vision of Biff the producer extraordinaire and Marcus, a great, patient, thorough engineer. It’s taken a while, but I really feel now that the wait was worth it and it should be a better album for that. I’ll probably post more once the strings have been recorded or when it’s in the next phase. But I don’t want to curse it nor want to speak too soon. Oh, I should point out that these photos are very random, just chucked a whole load up there that Steph and I took, but hopefully the slideshow will convey the feel of the place / vibe without putting you to sleep.

Thanks for reading :)



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For Your Eyes (and ears) Only

July 29th, 2011 by Ally

I’ve had a thought and wondered if you think it’s a good idea. In fact, let’s assume it’s an okay idea and just go with it. As I’ve said before, recording my third album has taken much longer than I’d hoped. There are reasons for this that I won’t bore you with. However, I’m happy to announce that there are now definite plans being made for recording to begin in October. As a thank you for your support so far I’d like to make some personalised little videos of specially recorded acoustic versions of any song I’ve written (you have to pick one of mine I’m afraid!) that you’d like me to play just for you.

The idea is that if anyone is interested in this (and if not then that’s okay too coz I can use that time instead to go out and have a pint and a toastie) then just leave the choice of song you’d like plus where you’re from  -  as a comment on my Facebook page (below the related post would be good), or if you’re not a Facebooker then leave your name, the song you’d like and where you’re from below this blog post on my website.

Let’s see how it goes, and if anyone responds. If there are replies then I’ll pick a few at random, ask you to contact me with your details, film each individual video just for you and send it to you only. After that you can do what you like with it – share it with friends, put it on Youtube, send it to your enemies, delete it. It’s totally up to you.

That’s it! It’s a bit of a trial this, something I thought might be quite fun and personal. Could go horribly wrong. I do like a toastie and a pint though, so not to worry. This is a real beauty I had a couple of years ago in The Doublet pub in Glasgow:

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Silence is golden?

May 19th, 2011 by Ally

I’m a man of few words these days. However, just to prove I’m not being idle and my songs are getting ready to be recorded, here’s some photographic evidence. Biff’s on the keyboard here. I wrote an instrumental fairly recently that will be on the album. Actually, there will be two instrumentals. I think both are quite cinematic..

At Redeye Studios in Clydebank, rehearsing full band songs with a view to going into the recording studio at the end of June. A late song has now made it into the album recordings. It’s provisionally called A Bridge Too Far, though as is always the case with me, that might change and my lyrics are incomplete just now. I’m trying to turn that around now after going weeks or longer with a kind of block on writing lyrics. Hmm. Musically this is upbeat, catchy and bounces along thanks to the brilliant musicians (Biff / Craig and Steph) who have been rehearsing it with me.

I also decided to try my hand at painting. The Rolf Harris painting set was an impulse buy, at £4.99. The beer was planned.

Finally, I’m watching many, many movies in my flat with a projector beaming onto the wall. Absolutely addictive and really engrossing.  Unbeknown to me, my friend Graeme took this shot when he was over after the pub.

I’m rehearsing tonight… then I’ll maybe watch a film later. My recent favourites have been Exit Through The Gift Shop, The Straight Story and Kenny.  More music updates as soon as I have them :)

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Something in the air

February 3rd, 2011 by Ally

It’s wild out there. This old flat is a converted (1900 – 1920s maybe) townhouse with a very high ceiling and big, old rickety wooden windows.  The big paper lamps hanging from the ceiling are swaying from side to side. When the weather changes outside, the weather changes inside this flat. Call me odd but I like that. Makes the little things seems even grander, like turning on the small (but very powerful) gas fire when it’s freezing, or when the sun floods in, the place becomes very beautiful and warm and it feels tropical. If the flat was always at a stable and comfortable 21 degrees then maybe I’d be bored. Maybe I’m kidding myself on; certainly during the depths of winter it can feel desperately cold, but again, the joy of turning on the small gas heater to two bars is a great moment. I’m not sure there’s a point to this (or if it sounds a little sad!), except that ups and downs are important coz of course you appreciate these great little moments of victory all the more.

My musical focus has been on getting the finance together to record the new album and the work of rehearsing. If I can get into the studio then that’s a small victory for me. There’s definitely some  light at the end of the tunnel. Riverside Studios are edging closer, through the winter snow and the stormy rain. I’ve been rehearsing with a great bunch of musicians (and friends) with the aim of going to the studio as soon as we’re ready. Might take time, recording on and off over a few months. I’ve no idea how long it’ll take to record; it depends on schedules, coordination and continued good fortune. It was going to be ten songs, but I just finished one that I’ve had on the go for a good few weeks. I wrote it (but couldn’t really play it through) a few lessons into my piano class. As I’ve got a little better, so I’ve been able to play it all the way through without making any mistakes. I recorded it as a demo and it’s definitely a contender and Biff (who is producing the album with me) reckons it’s a keeper. So there might be two instrumental songs on this album. I’ve had to leave out a few other songs I’d written because I want to keep it to ten or (now) eleven. I really like the others though, so they will make an appearance at some point. They just don’t quite fit in as well as the rest.

For Christmas I got a Kindle e-reader device which has been great for me. I needed to disconnect a little from the online world, take time to sit still and not check emails, websites and so on. Just sit, read and get lost. Keith Richards kept me company over the festive season with his great autobiography. Now it’s time for John Steinbeck and his adventures across American in the 1960s with his dog, Charley. I’ve also been trying to listen to more music, and I am a little addicted to playing Wordfeud against random people across the world on my phone. It’s essentially a version of Scrabble. If you fancy a game look me up but if you use made-up words I will resign! That’s my bugbear at the moment. Oh and my username is marwood. I’m not very good.

Wow, this wind is really strong. It’s getting dark now. Time to clutch a mug of tea (or something stronger, it is after 5pm after all) and stare out the window. I’ll write more album updates as I have them and I will be much more visible online once I get into the studio. Maybe that’ll signal the time for you to do as I did and disconnect from the online world! I hope you’ll stick with me and hear the album though.

Ally :)

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Festive feeling

December 2nd, 2010 by Ally

Are you in a festive mood yet? Maybe where you are Christmas doesn’t mean a thing. I can understand that. Last year my friend Sebastian (aka Cineplexx) and I recorded a Christmas song both here in Glasgow and in Barcelona, and this year we decided to release it. It’s now available in all digital stores so if you like it you can purchase it. There’s a video that Sebastian made that is on the news page, so do have a listen! All details in fact are here.

It’s been a busy old time. My Facebook page is in limbo after a bug locked me out of administrative control. Not a bug like an aggressive spider, more like a flaw in Facebook. I’m not a fan of Facebook at all. I have no private / personal account but could update that page. Anyway, I’ve been pleading with them to give me back control otherwise the page just drifts there, I’m unable to update it and I have to create an entirely new one and try to get those who were following me to re-join a new page.  Slightly annoying to say the least…

I’m hopeful of recording the new album in the first couple of months of the year. Fingers crossed. It’s been a long time coming. Got a new song in the running, so will demo that, see if it’s working and could fit in. I’ve got my ten though and feel pretty happy with the selection. My piano lessons are going well and I want to develop an instrumental I wrote. On Monday I walked to the class and it was really slippery outside because of the ice and snow. As I was walking, a girl beside me slipped and fell. She was left red-faced more than anything and I asked if she was okay to which she sheepishly replied ‘yes’ and she got up without any problem. I put my hood back up and continued cautiously on my merry way. No sooner than I’d walked another few metres and I heard a thump, turned round and there the poor girl was, sprawled out on the pavement, all dignity consumed by the snow. I offered to help her up again, but by this point her cheeks were so red, again not through injury but through embarrassment. I felt really sorry for her, turned and started walking then I fell! Nah, I made that last part up. But really, poor girl.

Tomorrow night Sebastian will be up from London playing at the Glasgow Popfest and I’m going to do a couple of songs with him, including the Christmas song we wrote together. Hopefully it’ll be okay; I’ve never ever played guitar on anyone else’s songs live so I’m terrified of screwing it up.

Going to watch ‘The Apartment’ now, put two bars on the fire and have a can of Holsten Pils. The weather here has been really cold and snowy so I’m just in the mood for one of my favourite festive films. It’s such a classic.

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Technology, eh?

October 21st, 2010 by Ally

It’s been one of these days. To relax a bit I’m listening to the soundtrack to a fantastic Argentinean film called El Secreto De Sus Ojos which I thoroughly enjoyed when I saw it recently at the cinema. The soundtrack is beautiful too. It’s on Spotify if you have that in your country. Tracks 1, 7 and 12 are good starting points. I really get lost in this kind of music…

Right now I want to throw my little Flip Mino camcorder against the wall. I might just do that coz it can’t be fixed it seems and won’t be replaced. Technology eh? Everything is so disposable. The culture of upgrades. We’re never satisfied. We will never again be satisfied coz around the corner there will be something faster, slicker and more desirable that we need to get our hands on. It’s dangerous. I’m guilty of it. 3D films are a worrying trend too. Let’s make it even harder for quality lower budget, unknown films to get distributed in cinemas because there’s been a 3D version of some existing film. I find that worrying too. More and more I’m into foreign films. I’m a sucker for great characters, a script that draws you in and won’t let you go. I’d rather be drawn into that world than some visual spectacle for a couple of hours that – granted – looks great but…..I don’t know. I’m ranting here a bit. I walked out of Avatar and went across to a pub to have a pint of Guiness. Sure, it was impressive. Really impressive. The film I mean. Guiness is always impressive to me. But with the film, well I lost interest in the story, in the characters. Another pint and a bag of scampi fries please.

While I’m ranting (indulge me, please) are the news agendas going to be prioritised by whatever footage someone has managed to film on their phone or Flip camcorder – assuming it’s not conked out? Of course the news is dumbing down, especially since the advent of rolling / 24 hour news where 78% of it is concerned with utterly pointless speculation, but maybe important events will be overshadowed by whoever has captured footage of a Nissan Micra comically ploughing into a vat of condensed soup.

As I say, it’s been one of those days, so excuse me. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s always been like that,  it’s just that there were fewer cameras available to fewer people. On the positive side, I’m very much looking forward to heading to Spain. Along with the two shows, I’ll meet some friends in Madrid and do a live radio session with a great supporter of new music, the legendary Julio Ruiz, so that should be interesting. Meantime I’m chipping away at some demos and re-working early ones. At the risk of repeating myself I am excited about the songs and I do hope to get them recorded before too much longer. It’s the long game just now it seems. Got to belt up, strap in and get the head down. The hard work continues into winter. It’s a time to learn more, keep creative and productive and hopefully come up smiling in spring.

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Tuesday

August 31st, 2010 by Ally

Well, Edinburgh was a lot of fun. I was playing an acoustic set with two guest musicians – Caroline Evens and Biff Smith, both of the wonderful headline act – The Starlets. The day before we’d gone over to raise publicity for the show by busking outside the venue. As well as raising publicity we were also trying to raise money for a curry. I’ve never busked before. I’m not exactly a human jukebox like so many good buskers are. I know absolutely no cover songs from start to finish. There, that’s my secret shame. However, it went well. Some coins were hurled, not at my nose, but into the violin case.  I’m not really cut out for busking though; my voice is much too quiet. At the show itself I played four songs solo then was joined by Biff (guitar / vocals) and Caroline (violin /vocals) for four songs, including three ‘new’ (non-released) ones. It was really satisfying to play those and I really enjoyed the experience. The songs seemed to go down well too which was really good. I can’t wait to get out and play more after this time concentrating on recording, that’s my conclusion. Even better to get them recorded and released, but that will take a little longer. There is some footage, hopefully I can get that sorted out at some point….

In mid-October Amorino will be re-released as a single and will feature a remix by Chris Coco. There should be a show down in London to coincide with that. Few other things are bubbling under, but I’ll only curse them if I speak too soon. Looking forward to the first two albums being released in Korea in October and in China / Taiwan later in the year. More about that as I get it.

Are people too busy documenting their lives to enjoy the moments? I’m not sure, possibly. I got a new phone and it got me thinking. I’ll hopefully use it in the right way. There’s so so much information flying around that quality control must always be remembered. Will be good on tours and it can be used wisely, I think. Connection is everything.

I’m going to have a glass of wine and look at the lyrics I wrote for a new song. It’s tentatively called ‘The Charity Shop Girl’ but might change to ‘The Salvation Army Girl’. Neither is quite right though. Will sing through the song, see what comes. I wrote the melody on the piano and that’s now become the main vocal melody. I’m going to be learning piano from the beginning of October, should be interesting.

Bye for now,

Ally

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Summer

July 21st, 2010 by Ally

No news is good news, right? I hope so. Meantime, films watched this week include Noi Albinoi, a quirky Icelandic drama from the early part of this decade. Beautifully shot (how can Iceland not be I guess) but ultimately a bit disappointing and a little style-over-substance for me. Pleasant enough to pass a late evening though.  This was the synopsis: In a tiny village located in the remote West Fjords of Iceland, Noi lives a strangely quiet life with his grandmother. A 17-year-old afflicted by the typical symptoms of teenage angst, who longs for freedom and independence, Noi makes for an excellent character study. His existence is anything but typical given the challenges..

Saw the 1986 remake of The Fly with Jeff Goldblum the other night. Had never seen it before but really enjoyed. Great fun. Oh, but the strangest and probably most engaging one I saw is called JCVD and stars Jean Claude Van Damme. Definitely check this out if you get the chance.  It’s a real curiosity with Van Damme playing himself. Some funny moments and very unexpected. More here.

I do need to listen to some new music, badly. Recommendations would be most gladly received.

I made it to the island of Skye, just in time before the persistent rain began its tiresome act here in the west of Scotland. Skye, the world cup and the warm summer afternoons seem like a dream now. I went to bed a couple of weeks ago and woke up in another place, it felt very odd. I hope we get another blast of the sun and some of the heat around Europe sneaks its way up here. I’m not ready to leave summer yet. I’ll leave you with some photos of the trip to Skye last month.

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Land ahoy?

June 16th, 2010 by Ally

“The boat seems small, the sea wide and the land in all directions a long way off.  Like a climber on the ledge, I have to suppress the awareness of all that room beneath me.  Concentrate on the boat. Look to the sail.  Check you are on course.  Do not consider the hugeness of the sea.”

My friend Biff relayed this quote to me. Apparently it’s from a book called ‘Sea Room’. It’s my mantra, for now.

Speaking of the sea, when I was really young, my mother used to sing a song to get me to sleep at bedtime. I always remember it. It’s called ‘The Skye Boat Song‘. Skye is a Scottish island.

Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar,
Thunderclouds rend the air;
Baffled, our foes stand by the shore,
Follow they will not dare.


Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep,
Ocean’s a royal bed.
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.


Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

Many’s the lad fought on that day,
Well the claymore could wield,
When the night came, silently lay
Dead in Culloden’s field.


Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

Burned are their homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men;
Yet e’er the sword cool in the sheath
Charlie will come again.


Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

Actually, now I look at it, I only remember the first five lines and I’m sure my mum wouldn’t have been singing to me about burning homes and death! I think she probably repeated the first couple of verses to the parts about ’soft shall ye sleep’ and ‘weary head’. Well, it must have been affective then at soothing me off to the land of nod. I do remember though that my mum had a beautifully soft singing voice. I’ve not heard it in a good while, well apart from occasionally when she’s loading the dishwasher and I’m over for my dinner. Anyway, I’m off to Skye at the weekend. Never been before. Looking forward to it.  Even though I’m going all the way on a bus via the bridge, I’ll do my best to concentrate on the boat and look to the sail.

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