"UTAALK".
In the beginning.
Part 1
In 2005 I bought an old 4 track Reel to Reel recorder for $150 and it came with 2 spools of tape, of which one of them contained the recordings of every Beatles albums.
I had an old acoustic guitar and decided to write and record a couple of original songs, something I hadnt done for over 30 years. I copied the songs onto a cassette and gave them to a music friend I was working with at the time. The next day he came back and told me that he liked the songs and that with proper recording equipment they could sound awesome.
With such encouraging words from my friend, I went out and lay buyed a 8 track Tascam digital recorder. I bought a cheap 6 string electric guitar and a digital effects unit and began some serious recordings.
Meanwhile my friend Matt Jones set about recording some of my songs using Protools/direct input, giving the songs a more heavy metal feel to them.
Just as I was getting familiar with my 8 track Tascam recorder, I won $7000 on Powerball and immediately updated my recording unit to a 24track Tascam Portastudio. I also purchased a 6 string Epiphone Casino guitar/ a Epiphone Beatle bass guitar/ bongos/ tamborine/ a quality Joe Meeks Studio microphone and a mid range keyboards unit. I added another 6 string semi-acoustic guitar and a 12 string Cort semi acoustic guitar.
I set the Portastudio up in my spare bedroom, read some of the instruction manual and began recording songs for my debut album; it was a dream came true.
I hadnt played bass guitar for over 30 years and I had never played keyboards before, so the whole process was a real learning curve. I spent every spare moment re-learning and learning to play the instruments and bit by bit I began to build up the recordings layer by layer and then experimenting with various mixes of what I had built up so far. It was slow but totally absorbing and I entered another world when I was recording.
Soon Matt gave me recordings of some of my songs that he had re-worked/ re-recorded and a couple of his own musical pieces he had recorded. From these recordings became the songs that would be included on the debut album by UTAALK.
Song One.
"Kosmic Girl" which was originally recorded as a Country song and then I decided to re-record sections to make it more "spacey""cosmic". The song is about adopting a "Cosmic Consciousness" and that we should treat everyone equall regardless of their gender or sexuality; hence my reference to "Kosmic Boy".
I play all the instruments and sing all the vocals, its a totally original composition. Its the first time I played "piano" and it sounds quite good. Im no Liberace or Elton John but Im a pianist.
Song Two
"The worlds gone Crazy".
I played all the instruments apart from "lead guitar" which was performed by my co-writer Matt Jones. I sing all the vocals and was responsible for mixing and mastering the song. Its a great song about all the "fucking caos and insanity" going on in the world around me and my secret desire to move "off planet". The song took about a week to record, mix and master and turned out a fine 3rd recording.
Song Three
"Love".
Matt provided me with a basic recording of the song featuring piano and guitar only and I added some strings and bass. I listen to his instrumental version and sat down and wrote some lyrics, which took me 10 minutes. I downloaded his recording to my 24 trk Tascam, plugged in a mike and recorded the "lead vocals" in 2-3 takes. I then recorded additional instrumentations and recorded a number of "backing vocals". Again everything fell into place and I was happy with the end result. I wanted to keep the song simple and childlike and pure; just like "Love" is.?
Song Four
"Democracy Part 1".
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I told Matt that I was writing a "Trilogy" on the theme of "Democracy" and that I needed a "heavy metal" piece to use as the "intro" song. I had already began working on " Parts 2 & 3" of the Trilogy and I gave him a rough demo copy of these 2 songs to listen too. A few days later he handed me this "original recording" which became "Democracy Part 1".
I set about writing some lyrics and uploaded his recording and then recorded my vocals onto a number of tracks on my Tascam. In my early days I used to sing a lot of Led Zeppelin songs and I wanted to try and achieve the same kind of power and energy their recordings have. It took me awhile to get the vocals in sync with the music and projected in a manner I was seeking; forcefull and aggressive. The end result is what you hear .
I told Matt that I was writing a "Trilogy" on the theme of "Democracy" and that I needed a "heavy metal" piece to use as the "intro" song. I had already began working on " Parts 2 & 3" of the Trilogy and I gave him a rough demo copy of these 2 songs to listen too. A few days later he handed me this "original recording" which became "Democracy Part 1".
I set about writing some lyrics and uploaded his recording and then recorded my vocals onto a number of tracks on my Tascam. In my early days I used to sing a lot of Led Zeppelin songs and I wanted to try and achieve the same kind of power and energy their recordings have. It took me awhile to get the vocals in sync with the music and projected in a manner I was seeking; forcefull and aggressive. The end result is what you hear .
Song Five
"Democracy Part Two".
This song is another of my completely "Solo Recordings" where I play every instrument and sing all the vocals. It features a Cort 12 string semi -acoustic guitar/ piano / bass/ strings /drums/ tamborine and bongos. The songs about "Freedom of Speech" or the loss of it in the real world. Its a cry for a "War on Greed" instead of a "War on Terrorism". It continiously asks the question "Will Democracy set us all Free?". Its a beautiful musically layered song and was originally inspired by sections of the Led Zeppelin song "The rain song". It has a nice calming flow to it like a breeze on a warm evening. One of my most proudest creations.
Song Six.
"Democracy Part Three".
This is another of my "Solo Recordings" where I play all the instruments and sing all the vocals. After the placid Part 2 , I wanted Part 3 to be more "dark and Gothic" in feeling and texture . Eerie and haunting was the theme of the musical landscape I was chasing and Im quite happy with what I created. It was the ideal song to complete my Trilogy on Democracy.
Song Seven
Rock Bottom
Again this is an almost total "Solo Recording" where i play all the instruments and sing all the vocals. Matt plays "lead guitar on the first 2 verses only and all the rest is mine. Its a happy foot tapper about "hitting rock bottom" and then getting up again to fight another day. It has a 50s rock n roll feel to it and is a great song to end our debut album with.
The entire album was uploaded to my Myspace page and made "free" to download by fans. Within the first year of it being uploaded/posted to Myspace it recieved more than 3 million hits.
UTAALK had arrived and the citizens of Earth listened intentedly to what we had to say and sing about.
