A Musical Inventing Shed

We don’t consider ourselves primarily a performing band. Of course, from time to time we do step out onto the stage – usually for a good cause like Oxjam or a fundraiser for humanitarian relief in Syria we helped to organise in aid of Medecins Sans Frontieres – but typically we like to tinker with songs and production in our small studio.

Our DAW of choice is Reason 12, and we like it because it has a very analogue feel and workflow in a digital domain. Added to that we have piles of vintage keyboards and drum machines and a wall of guitars, basses and similar stringed instruments. Augmenting the Roland v-drums are odd percussion instruments we’ve collected from here and there, including a West African balafon we used to great effect through a digital delay pedal on ‘I Hear Drums’. When all else fails, we’ll rummage through the kitchen or garage for something to hit or shake to make a sound that can be digitally manipulated later.

There are few rewards for independent music makers these days, but the joy of making a track to be proud of remains a compelling reason to keep composing and recording.