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!