Once in a while you get your teeth stuck into a really tasty project that has you grinning from ear to ear, and a feeling of excitement right from the very first chord… ‘Songs from The Rockface‘ was one such project.
In mid 2013, Jason Pedder and I started work on a rock project for AudioNetwork. Rock is something I really enjoy… the ‘80s Hair Rock‘ & ‘Modern Rock Anthems‘ albums being two recent projects in this, very wide, genre.
This time though, I felt we needed something a little different. A little edgier & ‘now’… more a Zeitgeist of rock music.
We threw ideas around between us & got the arrangements in pretty good shape, but what we really needed was a standout singer, someone to take it further, someone to ‘make’ the project.
Jason & I approached Gavin Conder to get involved. Gavin is a great singer & what he produces lyrically, musically and sonically, I always find interesting.
On this album, Gavin’s lyrics go from gambling, to Vampires, to the development of Mankind, to insanity. I took Gavin’s lead and included a song about nightmares… Hardly a romantic album is it?
Initial recordings from various studios were assembled together and the project mixed here at StudiOK. Mixing took many weeks, if not months; the result of which has now been released, and can be heard here.
Track by track…
Lady Luck – Hard rock song with male vocal about a high pressure poker game
Run Away – Powerful rock with punctuated riffs & male vocal about nightmares
Immortals – Heavy rock song about the legend of the immortals (vampires). Male vocal
Insanity – Dark, powerful heavy rock song with disturbed yet resolute male vocal
Future Unlimited – Gritty heavy rock song with male vocal about mankind’s progress & future
True Grit – Stomping muscular rock with heavy guitars & off-beat drums & bass