Current mood:
calm Category: Music
Over the coming months I hope to give an insight into my song writing and
recording process by pulling apart Ribbon Device songs. I hope you enjoy it.
Writing 80's Trash
Like all my songs I never write the lyrics first its all about the melody.
Each day I get up and write from 9am - 4pm in search of those elusive melodies.
Only about 10% of everything I write I like and I wont record a thing unless
I have a melody I believe in and in most cases I will write the lyrics after
the song is recorded.
The melody from 80's Trash came at the end of the day after many hours
writing and many months without a melody in sight. I find I can go months
without writing anything I like and then one day out the blue all the notes come
together, its much like finding gold after you have dug endless holes.
The buzz I get from it is amazing and it soon becomes my favourite song
for the next week.
Im not sure if I can shed any light on where the melody came from.
It was probably growing inside my subconscious since my childhood.
While Im writing I generally get a basic idea of what I want to write, like
tempo, groove and the general melodic turns I take but thats about it.
When it finally comes out, its a genuine surprise.
I write using the guitar and sometimes the piano. I always write
to a metronome so I never have timing issue's and it also acts as
a treadmill, prompting me to keep going. I used to write in a new
key signature each week so I didnt get board, but now I just write in the
same key so I dont waste mental energy and pick the right key for my vocals
when I record it. I have approached writing on the guitar many
different ways over the years from just playing chords and singing over the
top to single note playing. Theses days I play a root note harmony and a melody
over the top, so Im always playing two lines at the same time.
This was also how I wrote 80's Trash.
Recording 80's Trash
With such a 80's feel about the tune, when I set out to record it I made
a conscious decision to go in that direction. I usually find while recording,
a song will tell you what it wants and if you go against it you can be left
with something that sounds naff (great body wrong clothes).
I start each recording by first doing a demo or rough copy of the song
so I get the arrangement and instrumentation right. Sometimes a large
portion of this becomes the final recording. The first time around you
capture the magic and then the second time your always just trying to
recapture that sound. Your ears get so familiar with the first recording
that the second time sounds like a cheap copy.
80's Trash has only one part to it that repeats the whole way through,
so to break up the monotony, I recorded many different sections.
The way I go about this is buy recording many different parts for the
same instrument. For example I will write 5 different drum lines, then move
on to writing 5 different bass lines etc... until I have worked my way through
all the instruments I want to use. Once this is complete I will match
up the different instruments lines until I have a verse, a chorus, a bridge,
etc... Then its a matter of placing the sections side by side in basic
song form. eg verse chorus verse chorus bridge double chorus.
In the case of 80's Trash I ended up with basic verse & chorus plus
a couple of other sections so the order ended up like this.
intro,
verse,
chorus,
verse,
backwards part,
chorus,
instrumental part,
Triple Chorus.
there was also an outro but we cut it off .
As for instrumentation the 80's for me was all about bad synth sounds thus for the
reason for the tacky moog synth sound through out the song. The rest is guitar
bass, drums & vocals. We also used sound replacer on the drums to get fatter
kick & snare sounds.
For the vocals I recorded a guide track of nonsense (no lyrics) to get the basic idea
of how the vocals would sound. The backward vocals were from the original guide
track cause they sounded so good.
The lyrics where finally written and recorded
80's Trash
If one said I had,
that major thing
that some folk just dont.
To say that maybe
I found life's end,
is just to say that
life's end is a joke.
Got more Trash than an 80's compilation.
Got to rock it steady or your never gonna get some.
If one thing I said,
made you change
then I hope I choke.
To say that maybe
I found life's end,
is just to say that
life's end is a joke.
Got more Trash than an 80's compilation.
Got to rock it steady or your never gonna get some.
80's Trash written by Mat Creedon copyright 2006
Studio Players
Mat: Vox, Aco. & Elec. guitars, Moog
Mimmo: Bass
Pat: Drums
recording process by pulling apart Ribbon Device songs. I hope you enjoy it.
Writing 80's Trash
Like all my songs I never write the lyrics first its all about the melody.
Each day I get up and write from 9am - 4pm in search of those elusive melodies.
Only about 10% of everything I write I like and I wont record a thing unless
I have a melody I believe in and in most cases I will write the lyrics after
the song is recorded.
The melody from 80's Trash came at the end of the day after many hours
writing and many months without a melody in sight. I find I can go months
without writing anything I like and then one day out the blue all the notes come
together, its much like finding gold after you have dug endless holes.
The buzz I get from it is amazing and it soon becomes my favourite song
for the next week.
Im not sure if I can shed any light on where the melody came from.
It was probably growing inside my subconscious since my childhood.
While Im writing I generally get a basic idea of what I want to write, like
tempo, groove and the general melodic turns I take but thats about it.
When it finally comes out, its a genuine surprise.
I write using the guitar and sometimes the piano. I always write
to a metronome so I never have timing issue's and it also acts as
a treadmill, prompting me to keep going. I used to write in a new
key signature each week so I didnt get board, but now I just write in the
same key so I dont waste mental energy and pick the right key for my vocals
when I record it. I have approached writing on the guitar many
different ways over the years from just playing chords and singing over the
top to single note playing. Theses days I play a root note harmony and a melody
over the top, so Im always playing two lines at the same time.
This was also how I wrote 80's Trash.
Recording 80's Trash
With such a 80's feel about the tune, when I set out to record it I made
a conscious decision to go in that direction. I usually find while recording,
a song will tell you what it wants and if you go against it you can be left
with something that sounds naff (great body wrong clothes).
I start each recording by first doing a demo or rough copy of the song
so I get the arrangement and instrumentation right. Sometimes a large
portion of this becomes the final recording. The first time around you
capture the magic and then the second time your always just trying to
recapture that sound. Your ears get so familiar with the first recording
that the second time sounds like a cheap copy.
80's Trash has only one part to it that repeats the whole way through,
so to break up the monotony, I recorded many different sections.
The way I go about this is buy recording many different parts for the
same instrument. For example I will write 5 different drum lines, then move
on to writing 5 different bass lines etc... until I have worked my way through
all the instruments I want to use. Once this is complete I will match
up the different instruments lines until I have a verse, a chorus, a bridge,
etc... Then its a matter of placing the sections side by side in basic
song form. eg verse chorus verse chorus bridge double chorus.
In the case of 80's Trash I ended up with basic verse & chorus plus
a couple of other sections so the order ended up like this.
intro,
verse,
chorus,
verse,
backwards part,
chorus,
instrumental part,
Triple Chorus.
there was also an outro but we cut it off .
As for instrumentation the 80's for me was all about bad synth sounds thus for the
reason for the tacky moog synth sound through out the song. The rest is guitar
bass, drums & vocals. We also used sound replacer on the drums to get fatter
kick & snare sounds.
For the vocals I recorded a guide track of nonsense (no lyrics) to get the basic idea
of how the vocals would sound. The backward vocals were from the original guide
track cause they sounded so good.
The lyrics where finally written and recorded
80's Trash
If one said I had,
that major thing
that some folk just dont.
To say that maybe
I found life's end,
is just to say that
life's end is a joke.
Got more Trash than an 80's compilation.
Got to rock it steady or your never gonna get some.
If one thing I said,
made you change
then I hope I choke.
To say that maybe
I found life's end,
is just to say that
life's end is a joke.
Got more Trash than an 80's compilation.
Got to rock it steady or your never gonna get some.
80's Trash written by Mat Creedon copyright 2006
Studio Players
Mat: Vox, Aco. & Elec. guitars, Moog
Mimmo: Bass
Pat: Drums
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