|
the early
days : i grew up in the 'vince
clarke school of keyboard players'...
basically one finger! i've never been
taught to read or write music, and must
have inherited some of my grandfather's
ability to play by ear. but as i've worked
with different people though i have picked
up some chord structures
and common progressions but prefer not to
learn all that technical stuff as i don't
want to be tied down to only using
'accepted' techniques. if i write
something & it sounds right then i'll
keep it, whether it fits societies
pigeon-holes or not.
the team : working with
anthony is pushing my boundaries, and it
is really interesting seeing a trained
musician & dedicated non-conformist
writing songs the way he does. its also
very rewarding being able to take
fantastic structures & evolve them
into dynamic & aggressive pieces of
music, and also being able to write pieces
of music then hear anthony's vocals add
the final sheen. he has the education
& imagination to be able to write some
solid guidelines for a particular track,
then it is my job to make the 'dream come
alive'... obviously some dreams are better
than others but we feel that our working
styles compliment each other very
nicely.
many thanks to :
my family on both sides of
the atlantic, and all my friends ; past,
present & future.
all of the musicians &
support crew on this project. no matter
how big or small a part you play, you are
all appreciated.
major albums:
the first 3 albums were
written by the same guy, and anyone who
knows me would have already guessed who
that is!
depeche mode : speak &
spell
erasure :
wonderland
yazoo : upstairs at
erics
there is something about
vince's simple synth-pop style &
catchy hooks that i can't live without.
pure genius. "only you" is my all time
favourite single, with "don't go", "new
life" and "who needs love (like that)" in
my top 10.
john foxx - metamatic
the human
league - travelogue
my brother colin is responsible for
bringing these 2 albums into my life when
he came back from university one summer. i
will be eternally grateful bro... these,
for me, started the revolution.
the the - soul mining
'this is the day' & 'perfect' cannot
be bettered - matt johnson peaked
early!
howard jones - human's lib
i was a huge h.j. fan at college &
have all his records. its pop music on
synths, what more can i say?
nine inch
nails - pretty hate machine
spikey tried many many times to get me
into nin & i'm really glad he
persisted. thanks mate!
orchestral manoeuvres in the
dark - did2
i found this one on my own. an experiment
which succeeded and sparked my enthusiasm
for the bizarre.
kraftwerk - autobahn
probably the first electronic album i can
remember hearing. & i'm pleased to say
that i saw them live with my good mate
tony davis at the brixton academy in
london - a night i will never
forget.
honourable mentions :
talk talk
great early pop songs
the blue nile
amazing what they did with the
technology
black aka colin
verncombe
an amazing songwriter who deserved so much
more attention. you wrote some great songs
colin - thank you, wherever you
are!
influential tracks :
new order - everything's
gone green
i don't know how to describe this one - if
its in your collection then go & play
it now. if you don't have a copy then
you're missing out. first played to me by
an old friend of mine called sean - a
massive japan fan. where are you now
sean?
the cult - she sells
sanctuary
purely awesome drumming
covenant - stalker
(remix)
one of the best remixes i could ever dance
to
seabound - torn
listen to the lyrics - pure poerty
frank!
assemblage 23 - disappoint
i felt compelled to write to tom to
express my thoughts on this track, and he
was gratious enough to write back. one of
the most moving tracks i have ever heard
and the hairs on my neck still stand up
every time i hear it... you should be
proud of this one tom!
so, the major influence
roll-call :
vince clarke - mostly
brilliant, sometimes just
'great'...
gary numan - one of the
pioneers who inspired so many. thanks
gary!
peter gabriel - does what he
wants to, no matter what. respect is
due!
| 
