Wednesday 17th October 2007

I was tired and dressed in a suit, with clip-clop heels and a photocopied smile. I was sitting in The Head of Steam after nine thinking about how it might be nice to have an early night, to get up early tomorrow and play with my wine glass synth. Yet by the time Mark from Vandaveer had announced from the stage that he and his colleagues from tour partners These United States were without a place to stay this evening, I realised that things were about to take a turn for the random. Gloriously random, as it turned out. The guys played spectacularly well, we pitched our offer of beds, sofas and lifts to them, and within an hour our house was playing host to Washington DC's finest folk troubadours, as they stood in the kitchen talking about how they regularly played softball with Ian MacKaye at weekends. Luke cooked, I poured drinks, and the five of us talked long into the night about the very essence(s) of life: namely running a label, maintaining enthusiasm and momentum, creative freedom, honest and sincere criticism and In Rainbows. A crucial evening in some respects, since it reconnected Luke and me with people who have the same crazy drive and ambition as we do, an ambition that at times seems so ridiculous and futile. At time of writing I feel part of something bigger, something underground and powerful on account of its restlessness, its refusal to play by the rules, its insistence to make things happen. Even if it means d.i.y.-ing a tour of fifteen shows in two weeks, across three countries, using only trains and rucksacks, as Tom, Mark and Jesse managed to arrange in less than two months. Proof then, that this kind of thing can be done, and an example we at Ex Libris fully intend to follow.

Wednesday 10th October 2007

Thought processes after forty two minutes, in vague chronological order:

1. The dream is over.
2. Weak.
3. Lots of production depth, looking forward to swimming through it.
4. Didn't take me on a journey.
5. Almost fell asleep during House of Cards.
6. Track listing is their worst since Pablo Honey.
7. Very few songs with piano.
8. I wish I hadn't been listening to the live versions for so long.
9. It's been 7 years almost to the day since Kid A. A lot has happened since then. What would the 19 year old of 2000 think of his situation circa 2007?
10. I can't process Radiohead albums. I expect too much. What do I expect?
11. They make albums regardless of what me, or anyone, expects.
12. "Is this one of Dylan's decent ones?" Now their eras and landmarks are merely a sleeve-flick away, all on the same shelf. But we lived through those times inbetween.
13. A flowing, smooth album. Self-cleaning. No need to wipe afterwards. All texture, no bite.
14. Their mood is different, but no edge.
15. I know they have to move on. I never wanted a sequel to Kid A. So I'm glad they did Kid A when the had the chance to.
16. We should give away all the Libris stuff for free.
17. The MA LP2/LP3 tracking is now even more of a big deal that it was.
18. Reckoner. What the fuck?
19. Grilly, Ryan and many other Libris cohorts have the potential to easily surpass the artistic merit of this album with their own material. It sounds bolshy and arrogant, but I honestly think it's true.
20. Where were the songs? Analyse? Down Is The New Up? Spooks?
21. Not that bothered about listening to it again.
22. Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Bjork. Throw another record onto the back catalogue.
23. Of the seven years, how many of them have I actually lived?
24. Videotape needed to kick off at the end.
25. Can't stop thinking about the Liars album.
26. The Eraser was miles better than this - though ask me in a month whether I've changed my mind; because that gestation process - if there is to be any - interests me the most about this record.
27. Like the way I felt after seeing Attack of the Clones... only not quite as bad.

Monday 8th October 2007

At some point I'll have to bite the bullet and decide which parts need to be played in properly, or to double track with all the inconsistencies that come with early takes. At this stage I think this very wayward glock part suits Monty as a double tracked collage, rather than hammering out the notes writ large.

Sunday 7th October 2007

A day of cooking. Death of a Salesman reared its ugly head this evening, and below is what happened. The Eye Jab confirmed their slot for the 23rd November gig so it’s all go on that front, finally. We’ve farmed out the poster art duties to Brian Magee, and are really looking forward to what he comes up with. And there are secret talks afoot about a new Libris venture that we’re still discussing. Luke and I have been enthralled by the week’s developments on the Radiohead LP7 front. Fascinating, terrifying, inspiring. But don’t get me started on the tracklisting. House of Cards should never have made the cut. Andy and I were also relieved to hear that Ian MacKye is still not dead. Have organised clarinet and sax sessions for Rebecca’s recordings at the end of next week.

Saturday 6th October 2007

It’s been a frustrating few weeks here at Libris Shires, with very little good news trickling through about any of our pursuits. In addition I now have a job, which although it significantly curtails my day, I hope that it will focus my mind on working harder in my spare time. As Andy Warmington once remarked: “There’s nothing like having 24 hours of the day to yourself to make you do f***ing nothin’.” I’ve been making beats for Build Me An Arm, Mister Yokoi, which is a moody piano piece that I’m yet to bring to the MA LP2 table for fear that it isn’t up to scratch. After a protracted period crafting a beat that was too complicated and clever by half, I took my gear down to the piano and recorded some new sections that I’ve written since the initial segment was tracked last summer, and then set to work on a revised beat. It’s hard to tell at this stage whether any of it is any good. There is some debate in the Libris camp about the lyrics for this particular song, which deal with (among other things) the birth of Nintendo’s coin-op arcade games, manga monsters roaming the streets and male lesbianism.

Friday 5th October 2007

We attended a gig at The Dog And Parrot this evening, and had the pleasure of seeing a definitive performance by local electro-fey poppers Moira Stewart. They are My Attorney's new favourite band. The sound was much better balanced than their gig a few weeks back at the Head of Steam, on account of John Egdell’s clever use of two guitar amps feeding from the one guitar. Irene were a climactic froth of happiness, we cheered until they graced us with an encore, and then danced to their beguiling pop gems like crazy. I was grinning like an idiot; the sight of female backing vocalists clapping enthusiastically always makes me happy. Afterwards, we went to the Caster Sugar Disco which had some brilliant music being played by Debborah, though I spent much of it dancing to it on my own, as everyone else had retired to the free sweets table.

Monday 1st October 2007

A productive day after a weekend of marathon running, eating and visiting parents. Adrian visited and found time to track four bass parts for the My Attorney material. As I’ve said before, it’s a real treat to work with a musician who’s so intuitive and has such a distinctive style. At this early stage of the songs’ gestation, it’s hard for me to give much direction, so I’m content to let him do his thing and then we’ll see how it all fits together further on down the line. Not a recommended production technique, but it’s worked in the past! We were DI-ing a Fender Mexican Jazz. This comes after repeated problems micing up my tiny Advantage bass amp, which gives more hiss and rattle than it should. Ideally it’s always better to use amplifiers and microphones to record instruments, because the ear responds more readily to the movement of air rather than a direct line signal. In this case though, I though it better to keep things as clean as possible. Interestingly, Adrian opted to play some of the takes with a drop D tuning, something which wasn’t necessary but that added a deeper reach to some of the parts.

Wednesday 26th September 2007

This week has seen a lot of work on St. James Infirmary Blues (Revisted). Bec had asked for some choir effects, so I imported the choral sampler I used in Aaron’s Don’t Think I’ll Sleep Tonight. I’m determined to get good mileage out of it, and it’s proved quite versatile since it can be made to sound very different depending how much reverb is assigned to it. Another breakthrough was using the Mellotron plug in during the last part of the song: Luke downloaded it last week along with numerous other harpsichords and organs. I’m sceptical about this kind of practice, since it encourages laziness instead of seeking out your own unique sounds. But the Mellotron in question is from a site that prides itself on proper recordings of each instrument that you can then load up into your sampler. I’m happy with the results so far.