“John Lennon’s spit”
“What kind of mic is this”, I asked, just before the first vocal take. (This was probably a mistake.)
“It’s a vintage Neumann U47. One of a few here that dates back to the 60s”, Neil the sound engineer replied. '“It’s probably still full of John Lennon’s spit”.
So, no pressure then…
But let me go back to the beginning before telling you how things worked out.
I was nervous last Sunday in anticipation of the trip to London. But when I got up at 5.15am on Monday, the nerves seemed to have settled and it was mostly excitement that I felt. I do love a road trip; and this was sure to be the mother of all road trips.
I left the house at 6am and dotted around Glasgow picking up James Mackay (guitar), Jill O’Sullivan (violin), Donna Maciocia (piano and vocals) and Louis Abbott (drums and percussion). We made it onto the motorway by 7am, as planned.
The long drive south passed by in a flash for me. Despite the early start, we were on good form when we arrived at the Pirate (rehearsal) studios at 2.30pm. Plenty of time for a drink and some lunch before the rehearsal at 4pm.
Saskia Griffiths-Moore (Talent is Timeless founder) and Thomas Holder (upright bass) joined us at 4pm and we all loaded into the small studio. Over the next 3 hours we ran the song many times, blending in Tom’s fluent and resonant bass and Saskia’s backing vocals with the arrangements we had developed in Scotland. This was also James’s first rehearsal with the rest of the musicians (other than me), so we also worked on how the guitar part might best complement the rest. We also met Raf, who was working to capture the whole process of the two days in photographs.
By about 7pm, we felt happy enough with how things were sounding to call it quits and head firstly for our guest house and then out for some food and drinks.
All in all, day one was a lot of fun: For me, it was a real delight to hear a whole band (especially one made up of super-talented friends and family) bring one of my songs to life; and while it was taking me some time to learn to play with (and off) other people, I felt I was doing OK. To my ear, the sound was amazing; and pretty much exactly how I had imagined and hoped the sound might evolve. The instrumentation and backing vocals sounded lush and helped the song grow, but its basic simplicity and sentiment was still there.
After a very restless sleep (it was a very warm night in the small and stuffy room that James, Louis and I were sharing), I woke early as usual. Wanting to clear my head, I got showered and dressed quietly and headed out for a walk around West Hampstead. I found myself sitting on a bench in Fortune Green (a precious patch of common land that the community had fought to reclaim and then hold onto for more than a century) thinking about the remarkable good fortune that had carried me and my song to this point.
Fuelled by coffee and pastries, we soon found ourselves driving through the gates at the legendary Abbey Road studios. We unloaded into the Gatehouse Studio (compact for sure, but also very high spec!), introduced ourselves to Will (on-site producer) and Neil (engineer); they were staffing the control room while also trying to maintain communications with Kris (the song’s producer) in Poland.
As usual (or so I’m told), the drums took an age to set up. The plan was for Louis, Tom and I to record the core track together, but for me to re-record the guitar part afterwards. Thankfully, we had practised playing the song without me singing it (which is harder than it sounds), and we managed to get the drum and bass tracks down within 6 or 7 takes. The recording of the guitar came next; that took me another 6 or 7 takes, but I was pleased with how I played, given that I’d been anxious about tempo issues from the outset. I also managed to put down a decent guide vocal to help the other musicians record their parts.
During a break, I took my first wander through the main building. I snuck a a peak into the main studios (the huge [orchestral] studio 1 and the only slightly smaller studio 2 most associated with the Beatles). That was mind-blowing; they looked much as I had imagined; and unchanged from the 60s in many respects (though not, I am sure, in the control rooms). The corridors and cafes were lined with movie posters and black and white photos of all sorts of artists; an entirely unnecesary reminder of the place of Abbey Road in the history of music.
Jill, Donna and James each recorded their parts in turn; much fewer takes for them… We were all beginning to feel the pressure of the clock ticking and Saskia (wisely) was keen to preserve as much time as possible for the lead vocal.
And so we return to my face-off with that Neumann U47. Initially, I just closed my eyes and tried to filter out the environment, all the history and the sense of responsibility and indebtedness to everyone involved. I tried to focus on thinking again about what the song means and who it is about, and to sing it from that (mental) place.
Of course, that only worked OK until my reverie was broken when I heard myself making mistakes… a breath in the wrong place, a word that didn’t come out quite right, a waver in the pitch. With each one, I could sense the body and the voice tighten. The main effect was the make the high notes harder to reach cleanly and clearly… and when I missed them once, and then twice, and then three times, the pressure only got worse.
Thankfully, Donna is a voice coach as well as an ace-musician (and song-writer), so she joined me in the studio and offered some helpful tips; Kris also had a few ideas that helped. Saskia even supplied a dram of malt whisky.
But, to be absolutely honest, I know that I didn't ‘nail’ a vocal take… and I guess that’s one regret I’ll just have to carry from the day. Stress and music-making (especially singing) are not a good mix, and my inexperience was always going to be another problematic ingredient in the mix. But I’m hopeful that — across the many takes — there is enough for Kris to work with…
We finished up at 8pm, packed up and had a drink in the Abbey Road cafe-bar, before heading back to West Hampstead for a late dinner and a few more drinks. The de-briefing, of course, started in earnest and it continued on the road home the next day.
Thankfully, I had scheduled Thursday and Friday as time-off; I really needed those recovery days. The whole process was as exhilarating but also completely exhausting. So much to learn and reflect on.
But most of all, I’m just so glad and so grateful that I got to share the experience with Donna, Jill, Louis and James. It means the world to me that they were willing to give so much of their time and talent; and that we’ll get to relive this day together many times over! Of course, I’m also very grateful to Saskia for devoting so much of her energy and talent to creating the competition and supporting the community it has established.
So, now the long wait has begun; until we can hear the first mix… Here’s hoping that Kris can work his magic…