Masters, Cover Art and Gigs!
Last weekend, the mastered version of ‘Bloodrush’ finally arrived. Nervously, I plugged in my best headphones and pressed play. Kris and Magda (the producer and mastering engineer) have done a brilliant job. To my ears, it sounded cohesive and lush, and I love how how the track evolves and unfolds, with a few sonic surprises along the way. I felt a huge sense of relief — so much has been invested in this one little song, by so many good friends. It’s lovely to have a final product of which I think we can all feel proud. I can’t wait for other people to hear it, though I’m also a bit nervous about that, I’ll admit.
With the masters now sorted, attention shifted to other aspects of the release process. Jay Mistry (who runs the label releasing the track - JAM records) has sorted out thecover art; keeping it in the family, he came up with the concept (referring to the first verse line about ‘a turquoise flash among the winter coats’ and his very talented daughter came up with the graphic design. I love it! And now we’re starting to get press releases out to try to promote the song, the competition, and Saskia’s associated tour (which includes Arts Council for England-funded songwriting workshops).
My main preoccupation is getting ready for the upcoming gigs, as evidenced in my first gig nightmare (this must be some rite of passage for musicians, I guess?). I was in a highland pub, couldn’t remember my setlist or songs, so asked the audience for song suggestions. Someone suggested a song I had never heard of, but weirdly I tried to play it anyway. It didn’t go well!
To avoid such an eventuality, I’ve been rehearsing, and musing over the set-list. I’ve written 3 or 4 new songs in the last few weeks; partly as a result of another competition prize — a free slot on Findlay Napier and Boo Hewerdine’s 6-week ‘Birds on a Wire’ songwriting evening class. It’s been a great experience. I’ve learned a lot and really enjoyed learning from Fin, Boo and my talented classmates. I think 2 of those songs will make the set. More of which another time.
I’ve also decided to livestream a solo rehearsal via Zoom, this coming Thursday 23rd September at 7.30pm. The plan is to play for an hour and then hang around for a chat; given that I’m relatively new to performing live, I need the practice and could use some feedback. So, if you fancy it, email me and I’ll send you the details — fergus.mcneill@me.com
There are details of the livestream and the gigs on 3rd and 6th October (and ticket links) on the ‘Gigs’ page of this site: https://www.fergusmcneill.com/gigs