Tonight I've begun to assemble the track list/running order for 'My Private Cosmos.' I think it's going to present something of a challenge to those listeners who gravitate more towards the 'straight rock' end of my musical spectrum.
Whilst there are plenty of electric guitar parts featured, the structures and surrounding framework of the songs are not exactly orthodox. There's something dark and mysterious about several of the tracks.
How to describe things? Some might think of the tracks as resembling 'ambient, psychedelic avant-garde pop songs.' And that's not a bad description, despite its convoluted connotations, but it's only part of the story. Sonically, there's a deep, cavernous quality to several of the tracks, a 'lost in the void' feeling that requires a simpatico response from the listener.
There are grandiose moments too, set against stripped back, minimalist verses. Electronic distress gets mixed up with smooth, tuneful guitar tones to create a feeling of gleaming chrome blighted by rust and decay.
The album pulls together several threads of my musical interests and weaves them into an obscure, perhaps 'baroque' tapestry. It's sometimes familiar sometimes bizarre. Certainly not an album to be grasped and appreciated in a superficial listen, but, I hope, one that will blossom fully from extended plays. It's a slightly weird work, a little different from my usual, but also perfectly reflecting and extending some aspects that you may have become familiar with over the last few years.
Oh, and at the moment, it's going to be a double album, maybe even a triple masterwork. More info will be posted here as the shape of the album progresses. 😉
Last Tuesday, (17th August,) I took all the tracks for 'My Private Cosmos' over to Fairview Studio, just outside of Hull, to transfer them to Fairview's computer in readiness for mastering by John Spence. I had the opportunity to hear a few of the tracks played back through Fairview's high-end monitor speakers and was relieved to hear that they sounded very good indeed. This was the first time I'd been able to check the sound of my Cubase mixes outside the confines of my own studio, (the previous two albums, due to lockdown restrictions, were sent to Fairview via the internet rather than me being able to take them to the studio in person.)
I've also added a further three tracks to the set, though their inclusion will depend on there being enough space on the discs to take them. John will gradually assemble each disc and will then be able to judge if there is room to add the three extra tracks. If there is room the total track count will be 94 songs.
I'm still awaiting costings for a possible 'ear book' package and am thinking of all six discs being included, rather than five and a stand alone download.
I'm also attempting to put some images together for the package but this is slow work. An ambitious project like this is far more time consuming than a standard single disc product, both from the viewpoint of packaging design plus the hundreds of hours of creative musical work that went into writing recording and producing the finished 94 tracks. It's been a hell of a ride and still has some distance to cover before it can be made available to fans. But at least it's on its way.
Pricing is still uncertain but if all six discs and the ear-book are to be manufactured, plus a modest profit for all the work and time I've put into it, I can't imagine the price being less than £70, perhaps a little more, but we'll take a look at that as costs of production come in. So, that's the state of play at the moment, I'll update you as things progress.