Days 18-27 - New Website & New Song!

We're almost there. Dare has been working his magic on the unmixed tracks - they're now sounding polished and I'm getting excited. The last nine studio days have consisted of much listening and tweaking, and all that's left for me to do now is pop into The VIP Lounge one more time to record a couple of extra vocal lines which I have just written for 'Shoes'. It was missing something, and I hope they will be what it needs.

I then embark upon the daunting task of finalising the all-important track order, before Dare masters the record. Artwork is currently in production, and once that's completed the disc will be replicated and ready for release. (Squee).

For those of you who missed it on the Facebook page, I have posted a brand new track from the album. You can hear 'Carry Me (Part II)' below. I hope you like it!



The new website has also just been launched - feel free to head over for some exploring. It's live now at www.hollierogers.com.

Days 16 & 17 - Backing Vocals and Button Pressing

Actually, Day 16 was back in May, but this blogger was too exhausted to write an entry back then. Nothing very exciting happened, just some backing vocals and several more sausage rolls - you know the drill by now. "I'll do the blog tomorrow," I said. Well, today is the new tomorrow, it seems. And there's no arguing with that.

So, after popping back to the day job for a few months (as one must), work resumed on the album today. "How was the darling Barnaby?" I hear you cry. Well the sad news is that I do not know, for his hard work here is done, and he is not involved in this stage of the process. The good news though, is that from here on in the equally wonderful Dare Mason takes charge of the desk, as we embark upon the slightly tedious (but still exciting) journey down Mixing Avenue towards Finished-Album City.


We are working at Dare's Penzance Studio: The VIP Lounge.  It's nice to have a change of scene, although it's a scene I'm very familiar with - it's where I recorded my very first demo at 15, and I've been a regular visitor ever since. Nostalgia!

From now on, I won't be reporting daily as there isn't much happening at the studio. Most days will consist of the following:

• Dare and Hollie listen to unmixed track
• Hollie struggles to find adjectives which describe the sound she wants
• Dare does his best to decipher what she means and presses buttons accordingly
• Hollie decides she liked it better before or wants it to sound different
• Repeat until mutual satisfaction is achieved. 

Once we've finally got what we want, Dare and I listen to the track on billions of (3) different speaker systems, tweak anything if necessary before moving on to the next song.

At the end of today we have initial mixes of 'Nicotine' and 'Beethoven'. And for now, that's all folks - but expect an exclusive snippet of a brand new track very soon!

Day 15 - Sun & Strings

After a few weeks away, Barnaby and I were back to work yesterday. Naturally, as we were trapped in the confines of the basement studio with no windows, the sun shone beautifully all day long and temperatures soared for the first time in weeks. Hmph.

All was not lost though - it wasn't long before the multi-talented and all-round nice guy Ben Sutcliffe arrived to bring a little sunshine into our lives. Ben is the frontman of the brilliant People's String Foundation, (if you don't know them, get involved, you won't regret it!) and he's always a pleasure to work with. Whilst he can play almost every instrument under the sun, today's focus was violin. We were, as ever, pushed for time - but managed to nail string sections for 'Nicotine', 'Money', and 'Carry Me (Part II)'.

The whole day was a bit of an experiment; I had some rough ideas for string parts, but ultimately was open to suggestions. 'Nicotine' has unexpectedly ended up with a very different feel (if you already know them, you'll definitely recognise the signature PSF sound in the last few bars) and I'm really pleased with it. Working on 'Carry Me Part II', Ben transformed himself into a sort of one-man orchestra, layering up lots of lovely harmonies over some existing cello parts. The track is sounding much more folky now, which was what I was hoping for originally. 'Money' is also sounding cool, and the violin compliments Lukas' double-bass part really nicely. All in all, a productive day! Tomorrow - into a new studio to record some backing vocals...

Over and out!

Day 14 - Done & Done!

I am currently holding a 2cm long USB memory stick. Rather impressively, it's only half full but contains everything we've recorded in the last 14 days - all drums, cello, double bass, regular bass, hammond organ, piano, acoustic guitars, electric guitar, and vocals, all fed into the desk through at least three several different microphones at the same time. Technology is a wonder!

So, I am excited to officially say that the new album will definitely contain the following tracks (in no particular order) -

Money, Nicotine, Shoes, Skin, Carry Me (Part I), Carry Me (Part II), Driving, Soldier, Beethoven, Make It Quiet, & Bones.

It's been a loooooooong two weeks, and despite time pressures, we've managed to finish all but the backing vocals. I want to say a huge thank you to everybody who has been involved so far, not just to the musicians and techies who have contributed, but to all the crowdfunders, and anybody who has been reading the blog. It means a lot and I can't wait for you all to hear the finished record!

This will be the last update for a few weeks, until the next stage of the process. Mixing (and recording the last few bits and bobs) will begin on the 27th May, at The VIP Lounge in Penzance. I'm delighted to be working again with the legendary Dare Mason, who's worked with lots of the greats and who did such a brilliant job on Let Me Be The Shadow Of Your Dog back in 2008.

So, until then everybody - thanks for reading and keep spreading the word! Track order and artwork details coming soon.

Day 13 - Aching Throat & Ringing Ears

I wonder how many takes of 'Wannabe' The Spice Girls had to do before their producers were happy? I ponder this only because I like to think my singing is at least as good as Emma Bunton and friends', and yet my songs are invariably made up of a gazillion vocal takes all spliced together (#tradesecrets).

That said, we rattled through the vocals on four tracks today (see photo of ridiculous facial expression - I meant business.) To Barnaby's relief, I tried my hardest not to be so fussy when we listened back to the various takes, with the exception of a particularly tricky five-word line in 'Nicotine', which is now comprised of 3 different takes joined together. Madness, I know. Bet you won't spot it though, Barnaby is The Splice King!

So, after singing for 6 hours today, my voice is aching somewhat, but I'm hoping it will hold out for our final recording day in the studio tomorrow. If it doesn't, you can look forward to hearing instrumental versions of 'Skin', 'Carry Me (Part I)', and 'Bones' on the album. Speaking of which, I think I have decided on the opening track, but I'm keeping it a secret until I'm absolutely sure. Watch this space, full tracklisting coming soon!

PS - don't get me wrong, I freaking love The Spice Girls. Viva Forever!

Day 12 - Picking & Choosing

Urg. I am frustratingly picky. We started recording vocals today, and if I carry on being as much of a perfectionist as I have been this afternoon, we'll be in the studio until Christmas. 

'Shoes' is now finished, as is the first half of 'Carry Me (Part II)' - but with only two days left, I need to stop being so fussy and just get on with it. Speaking of which, I must also go to bed, or I may die of exhaustion.

Here's a silly clip of me recording the initial guide vocal for shoes. Night all!

Day 11 - Old friends & Hammond fun

I don't know whose idea it was to take sausage meat and encase it in pastry - but they had it right. Lunch today was dreamy.

That aside, this session has been another productive one. Uffy joined us this morning to record the guitar part for 'Driving'. It's a really straightforward track with just one guitar and one vocal - but Uffy's unique playing really brings it to life, and it doesn't need anything else. I've never met anybody who plays quite like he does, and having had the pleasure of working with him on the first album ('Thoughts on a Train', 'Carter') I'm delighted that he's been able to work on the follow up as well.


Rowan and I also experimented with the Hammond organ this afternoon. We didn't get off to a brilliant start - when trying to fill out the instrumental for 'Shoes', the organ made the track sound a bit like a cheesy hymn gone wrong. However, the balance was soon restored as we worked on 'Soldier', where the Hammond complimented the existing piano beautifully. We kept it simple - just a few notes here and there - but it gave the track exactly what it was missing. I think it's now finished.


That's all for now, but here's another little teaser clip. Rowan is working out his guitar part at the end of Nicotine, and you can hear the guide vocal, 1st guitar, drums and bass-line - unmixed of course.

Day 10 - Decisions & Exhaustion

We’ve reached double figures! And, excited as I am about how everything is sounding, I must confess to being absolutely, completely exhausted.

Even though all of my guitar parts are recorded and all I’m doing at the moment is sitting back and listening to other musicians working, I still feel like I need a break. It’s a bit like traveling. Even though very little physical exertion is required, you still arrive at your destination feeling a bit like you have a terrible hangover. Or, conversely, like you need a drink. Somehow I feel both.

The picture on the right accurately represents how I have spent most of today’s session. But having just refuelled with some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (if you don’t already know, find out; you won’t regret it – unless you have a nut allergy in which case you will almost certainly regret it) I now feel a bit more perky.

I think the most tiring part of these sessions has been trying to make the right decisions about how each track should sound. There are just so many options, all the time.

Does it need a drum track?
Double-bass or regular bass?

Shall we throw in a guitar solo?

Are the backing vocals cheesy? 

The list is goes on and on…

The temptation of course is to layer every track with drums, bass, and everything else available – but I’m trying my hardest to shy away from doing that. Otherwise, the danger is that your album becomes a bit like a roast dinner with too many trimmings. It looks great, but all the flavours muddle together into a mush, and you forget how each bit was supposed to taste. Much better to have a modest selection of trimmings and appreciate each one, I reckon. Hooray for carrots! (It occurs to me that I genuinely should apply this logic to a Sunday roast sometime. I might end up less disgustingly full than I did after Mum’s roast lamb last night.)

Back to the point. Making this follow-up album, I realise that having lots of creative people in the studio at all times when I made the first one was a luxury I took for granted. Back then, we weren’t working to a tight deadline and most of the guesting musicians were students who didn’t have anything better to do but hang around in the studio for as long as they were needed. This time, people are working around full time jobs, kids and general grown-up real life. (Boring!)

Regardless, it’s so important to have people to bounce ideas off, and I’ve really valued the input from Lukas, Barnaby, Harry, Matt, Ben and everyone else when they’ve popped in. It’s been great having Rowan with me for the last few days; he knows most of the songs better than I do (I can scarcely remember which key any of them are in) and hearing his thoughts on what we’ve already recorded has been a really useful for the process.

Anyway, today’s been extremely productive despite my relative uselessness. Rowan’s been wearing his one-take-wonder hat. He’s recorded his guitar parts for Make It Quiet, Shoes, Money, and Carry Me (Parts I & II), with little splicing required. This has eased the time pressure a little, and means that tomorrow we can play about with the Hammond organ. Fun!

Until then, here's a little clip of Rowan layering some harmonics over the top of some guitar, cello and guide vocal tracks, for Carry Me (Part II).

 

Day 9 - Seagulls & Splicing

No Hollie tonight! Rowan Fisk here, guest blogger, present and correct.

As we drove back from the studio today, Hollie looked a shadow of herself. I can fully understand why; after a single day in the studio (versus her whole week) – I’ve been reminded that recording is painstakingly hard work. As her lead guitarist and general partner in crime, I decided to take one for the team and offer up my literary skills. My offer was gratefully jumped upon.

So, here I am, back in good old Penzance. For those unfamiliar with the town - those assuming that it is a place filled only with pasties and pirates, with the occasional idiotic stroller taking the last few paces of an unnecessary journey from John-O-Groats – you’re not wrong, but allow me to provide a more relevant piece of information: seagulls. Millions of them. Screeching from 6am until you give up and get out of bed.

So, this morning, after the rude awakening, we scoffed a swift bowl of cereal before jumping in the car and heading to Black and White studios. The understated yet fantastic Barnaby Ray had already been in the studio for a while, working his magic on a few of the tracks we were due to record lead guitar parts for - 'Nicotine', 'Bones' and 'Beethoven'.

For those of you looking forward to the second edition of 'Hollie Rogers Sings About Boys' (I assume I am preaching to the key demographic) let me tell you: we are all in for an absolute treat. This is seriously, seriously good stuff. I am extremely honoured to be playing on this album, and I am enormously proud of my great friend.

Nicotine first. Not too many dramas here. All sounding very tasty.  

Bones. Slow and steady progress made, all to great satisfaction. We've played this song for the last five years. There are three guitar parts. We have two guitars. It's nice to hear them together for the first time!

Beethoven. I hate you, Beethoven. This, of all her songs, best highlights what Hollie would describe as my 'nice fiddly bits'. Unfortunately, nice fiddly bits are much harder to get right in a freezing studio (Hollie nicked the heater for the control room), whilst under time pressure, and with no loud band to cover up your not-so-nice fiddly mistakes. Luckily, Barnaby 'genius engineer' Ray is ever the man for this sort of situation (as you may have read about a few days ago).

Barnaby is the Lord of Splice. King Splice I. The Great Splicetastic Sensation. 'Splicing' is basically chopping out mistakes and pasting in good takes, to build new, better guitar parts, which flatter average musicians greatly. They are an extremely necessary requirement (unless you are a genius, or Mick Hucknall).

As Barnaby proceeded to flatter my very own guitar playing, Hollie and I passed the time by consuming inordinate amounts of tea and discussing whether 'Will it Splice?' would be an effective Saturday Night Terrestrial television quiz for Dale Winton to host. Truly, it would be a great platform for Barnaby to demonstrate his amazing ability, but unfortunately it doesn't quite have the same ring to it as 'Supermarket Sweep'.

I digress. Three tracks are sounding great, roast lamb and many roast potatoes have now been consumed (thanks Hollie’s Mum <3) and - yes - there is much more rehearsing ahead.

It's been a pleasure.
-Rowan.

Day 8 - Flowers & Mr Fisk

No studio today, but that doesn't mean a day off. (Or a lie-in, sadly.) I have been to the airport to collect the mighty Rowan Fisk, guitarist extraordinaire. Criminally, it's been ages since we've played together properly, so today we are rehearsing in Mum's kitchen. Rowan has already had two full meals (he's been here for 3 hours) and bought flowers for Mum, who, as many of you will know, he may be a little too fond of. Moving on...

Here, as promised, is some footage of Lukas and I rehearsing the double-bass line for 'Nicotine', taken a few days ago.

Day 7 - Cello & Role Reversal

Last night (when I'd already written yesterday's blog entry), the lovely Ben Hoadley popped into the studio to play some cello for us. I hadn't worked with Ben previously, but I can't wait for the next time; it really was a pleasure.

After spending a while introducing him to some of the songs, we sat down together and worked out some cello lines. This was a really interesting dynamic; Ben is classically trained and an expert in the field, and I have no theory knowledge whatsoever. Conversation generally took a similar format to the following:

Ben: "How many bars are there in each phrase?"
Me: "Hmmm?"
Ben: "Bars? In each phrase?"
Me: "Ummmm..."
Ben: "Well, which notes make up the chord?"
Me: "...Pasty?"

But in the end it proved to be a lovely partnership and I'm really pleased with the results. Ben's playing was stunning, and he bought some great ideas to 'Make It Quiet' and 'Carry Me (Parts I & II)'.

Today, having recovered from yesterday's ordeal, Barnaby and I were back to being on our lonesome in the studio. But something was a little different...

As Barn took to his drum kit, I was left in charge of the desk, and had fun playing at being sound engineer for the afternoon. I felt very important and clever. (In reality I occasionally pressed the record button, and sometimes even the stop button, and that was about it.) Trying to find the right feel for 'Carry Me (Part II)' took us a long time, but I love the marching snare drum that we finally settled on. Meanwhile, 'Nicotine' has really been given some energy by some signature (mad) Barnaby Ray drumming - exactly what I had in mind.

No studio tomorrow - guitar rehearsals with Rowan Fisk & Uffy, ready to head back in on Sunday. I will post the Nicotine bass rehearsal video tomorrow to fill the gap!

Day 6 - Sadness & Film Shoots

Everyone at the studio is extremely miserable this afternoon; I think I might have outdone myself. We have just recorded, without doubt, the most depressing song I have ever written – which, if you’ve heard my first album, you’ll know is really saying something.

I knew it was a sad one, but as I sit here on the sofa in the control room, I am listening to Lukas playing some beautiful bowed double-bass over the guitar and vocal tracks, and I think we are all on the verge of going home and ending it all. The track in question is ‘Bones’ - you have been warned. Don’t listen to it if you’re having a bad day; it might just tip you over the edge. Lukas has now finished the second take of the bass track and says he no longer has ‘the strength to go on’, Matt claims to have shed a tear, I feel depressed, and Barnaby is just fine - but he’s the toughest of cookies.

On a more cheerful note, as I type Matt’s name, I realise you may not know who he is. Known as

‘Mattwise’ among friends, and ‘Matt Thomas’ professionally, he has joined us in the studio for

the last few days to capture some footage of the sessions. You may have noticed in some of the recent studio photographs some lighting equipment and camera stands – that’s all Matt’s kit. He’s been filming with a view to making a promotional video for the album, to be released in a few months' time. He also filmed Lukas and I during a double bass rehearsal of ‘Nicotine’ on an iPhone, which I will post here soon. Check out Matt's page here: Matt Thomas Film.

Tomorrow we’ll be recording the final drum tracks. Lunch has been a pasty three times in a row now, and the jeans are definitely tightening. Probably time to break out the salad, I reckon. Boring.

Day 5 - Lukas & Harry

Just a quick entry today, as I am exhausted. It's a blissful kind of exhaustion though (a bit like the good hurt I felt in my fingers on Day 2).


My dear old chums Lukas Drinkwater and Harry Harding graced us with their presence today, to record some bass and drum parts. They are both wonderfully talented, and I'm really excited about how the tracks we worked on this afternoon are sounding. Harry's drumming gave 'Beethoven' a completely different feel which I love, and the double bass on 'Money' is sounding smooth and yummy - not unlike the gentleman responsible for playing it.



Listening to all the lovely sounds the boys produced today has drained all my energy, and so in the absence of a decent blog post, I thought I'd share a bit of footage from the studio instead. Lukas and Harry are preparing for a drum take of 'Shoes', while Barnaby makes sure the levels are correct on the computer and in their headphones. (You'll hear the dreaded click track that I discussed in the first post in this clip.) Consider this the very first sneak preview of the album!

Check out Harry's website and blog here: www.harryhardingdrums.com

And Lukas' website here: www.lukasdrinkwater.com

Day 4 - Magic & Technology

When The Beatles went into the studio, they had to get it right. Everything was recorded on analogue tape, and the term 'cut and paste' would have been meaningless to Ringo and his chums. Today, I have been amazed by the power of digital technology - and in fact, I can't seem to find a distinction between that and magic. Or possibly, it's just that Barnaby is a superhero.

This morning, we packed up the studio microphones and some other kit, and headed to a friend's house to record some piano. This was an ambitious venture, since I do not actually know how to play the piano. Seriously. I can string a few chords together, but I can't figure out how to use the pedals and I can't play any chords in which my baby finger has to hold down a black note. I must commend Barnaby on his patience - he sat through mistake after mistake and was able to use his magical powers to make my key-bashing sound a whole lot more natural.

We successfully recorded a full take of 'Soldier', but problems occurred as I tried to add some piano to 'Carry Me (Part 1)'. Having already recorded the guitar track, the plan was simply to play over the top of it. However, I'd played the guitar in the key of A-flat, forgetting that I cannot play in that key on a piano. There are black notes, you see. But never fear! Technology is here! At the touch of a button, Barnaby was able to transpose the guitar track temporarily into the key of G, which is much easier to play in on the piano. Once we had a good take, we simply returned the guitar track to A-flat, and altered the pitch of the piano track to match. Magic!


Of course, the living room we were recording in had no soundproofing, and as we listened back to the piano tracks, we noticed some rather persistent twittering birds in the background, coming from the garden. After the initial fear that we'd need to re-record, I have decided that they actually sound delightful, and we're keeping the takes - so listen out for them on final cut the album!

Day 3 - Sugar & Warmth

Q: Do coco pops and milk REALLY make a bowl full of fun?

A: Not so much.

However, they do make for a delicious and uncomplicated snack in-between recording tedious guitar parts. I say tedious only because, no matter how much you like a song, playing it repeatedly for three hours is enough to make you never want to hear it again. Despite this though, I am quite excited about the tracks we put down today. We have been working on 'Make It Quiet' and 'Carry Me (Part II)', both of which are really new songs compared to the others.


Having not played them live very much, I hadn't really decided yet what I thought of them - but I'm pleased with the arrangements so far and I can't wait to hear them when they're finished.

In other news, the more astute of you may have noticed the portable radiator in the some of the studio pictures, and those who know me will also know that I love nothing more than being warm. Well, let me tell you: the recording room is cold and that radiator is not fit for purpose. My fingers have been feeling ready to drop off - until today, that is...

Now, my 94 year-old Great Grandmother has many uses; she holds a fine conversation, makes a mean pasty, and often functions as a credit card. This morning though, she excelled herself, when she generously lent me her electric heater. It's out of this world. It stole the show, glowing red in all its scorching glory. Nan reckons she bought it in about 1968; it's missing some of the protective casing designed to stop you making contact with the elements, it makes the room smell like it's on fire, and it's certainly never been a PAT tested. All in all, it's probably really unsafe. But hey, me trying to work in cold conditions is unsafe. Makes me grumpy.

The only upside to the chill is that despite the lack of a fridge in the studio kitchen, the milk doesn't go off, because the room itself is like a actual walk-in refrigerator. Perfect for those who enjoy regular bowls of coco pops.