Post–rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and “guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures” not traditionally found in rock.

Using the guitar for textures really opens up the floor to add complementary layers, thus allowing the build-up of a really rich sound. Punching a lead over the top, whether a guitar or vocal becomes like a spotlight because there is a rich ensemble supporting the front instrument/vocal.

To come to my post title, that’s what it felt like when recording the guitar work for this song. The extreme delay and reverb emulate the acoustics found in a cathedral. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun with this one. You can take a listen to the finale of the song (the complete track is a lengthy 6:30!) here on Sound Cloud. As for the album, it’s inching closer and closer! I have enough written content for a full-album release, but like most of the songs, they tend to morph into something beyond my original intentions once the recording process begins and other instruments are thrown into the mix. It becomes a constructive conversation between the different elements of the song; some adding to build the question, and then gifted with a response. Hans Zimmer in his master class suggests that is how music is best created; a constant question/answer cycle. I’ve just started his classes; if you have a passion for music/film scoring, go check it out.

It’s a been a while since a post was made here, thought I’d share what I’m currently working on.

Here’s a sneak peek of an indie track which should make its way onto the album titled “Take Me”. Inspiration was taken from The Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse of Lisieux on the notion of finding an elevator to Heaven. It’s an excellent read if you haven’t read it already.

Not many technical tweaks to report, only that the vocal track has been doubled to give it a wider and dreamy sound. Full song to be released soon!

Reporting in: the YouTube channel is now up! It’s fairly sparse at the moment, but it’s a start. Initial content has been provided by Jean, who recorded my performance the other week. Sound quality is ok, but given the size of the hall, there is a bit of reverb there. Hopefully more content will trickle in as time goes on. Speaking of which, if there is a particular cover you would like to hear, let me know and I’ll do my best to cover it.

Link to channel here : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC0HZggK6lFo0AamraXo5Ig

Reverse wave forms, drum crescendos, and just about any other cool buzz word can be found in a bridge (well in an alt rock one anyway). Having stepped out of a purist acoustic/folk genre, I’ve been experimenting with a new VSTi plugin (Revalver 4) for electric guitar tones. And to be frank, this thing rocks! Some of the tones that can be produced digitally is quite staggering, given a valve-based amp or a carry case full of pedals is no longer needed. Sure, it’s not a replacement for a live setting, but for recording, it sounds pretty good to me. You can take a listen for yourself in the sample I’ve uploaded to this post.

The sample attached is a bridge for a new song called “Escape To The Moon”. The arrangement for the bridge involves an acoustic guitar as rhythm, an electric guitar playing the same progression with a considerate amount of reverb to achieve the distant sound, with focus put onto the vocals and lead electric guitar. I’ve been listening to a bit of Moving Mountains who seem to have achieved a very rich/distant guitar tone in a couple of their songs, which is a similar effect that I’m going for here. Contrast has also been added with fast drums with stops in-between for a bit of fun . I like to think of the bass line as tagging along since I’m not really a bass guitarist. Complimentary might be a better word, although I did manage to squeeze a slide in there. And if your a bass guitarist, I’ll apologise in advance.

Anyway, thought this deserved a post as the genre is quite different to the previous tracks recorded. More cool album stuff to follow!

After a 11 month delay, the website is finally up! The website is mostly informative, and well, primarily based around my music, although this blog will be used from time to time to give you updates on what’s going on. Speaking of which, a track listing has been created for the new album release! It’s not set in stone, but it’ll be a good starting point. My new second-hand Roland keyboard arrived just recently too, so hopefully we’ll see some keys/piano feature in the music, all I have to do is learn the piano in two months… easy :D.

In other digital news, an Instagram account will be on the way and a dedicated Youtube channel to help gain a bigger online audience. Will it work? I have no idea, but should be a lot of fun. Music festivals are also on the card this year, albeit just busking spots but who knows.

If there is something you would like to see on the website, just hit me up with a comment or via the contact form and I’ll take it into consideration. Otherwise, all the best for 2015!

Ciao,

John