We Aerothoughts - A We Aeronauts Blog

2010-02-18T03:57:00.001Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog

2010-02-02T07:44:00.000Z

2009-12-29T03:30:00.003Z

A little how to on the bass for our 'fake plastic trees'

At a guess I'd say this is for Greg, Ads, or Zoobs, but don't write off Anna, you've seen those France videos, she plays a mean SWSBOF.

We Aerotxx

To the collapse

2009-12-27T17:08:00.005Z

This is a piece most of you will be familiar with in some form or other, it's one of only two things I play every time I'm within earshot of a piano. Thought I'd make a demo whilst I was here with the very piano on which it were wrote.

Have a listen, say what you think, any ideas for bits or pieces, how things should be?

There's a new percussion idea I had for the first section but I've largely forgotten it; something involving bass drum and claps. Jeremy and I worked on the end bit, after the collapse, and managed to make it sound like a proper section rather than a transition or a build up to something. To note about that last section is that the piano chords change on the second beat, that beat pause after the collapse is the first beat of the bar, tricky but essential.

Merry Christmas all, and I'm having a look at flights to get the for the 30th, and who knows, maybe even the big NY.

Txx

I, Absent-naut

2009-10-26T12:27:00.001Z

I miss you all.

Can't wait for the 3rd.

x x x x x

Once more unto the breach

2009-07-06T18:03:00.003+01:00

Dear friends,

Here are some recordings of the gig we played at shunt last Friday. I already left a little excited blog on the myspace about it, so this is just the songs.

The recorder was at the back of the room on the sound desk (which is why you can hear the sound man telling someone the name of the band). Unfortunately there were people talking all around the mic, so background noise is high, but it's still good. This is the first live version of Distance Learning and it sounds ace. For anyone reading this who isn't in the band, these songs are more vanity pieces than legitimate live recordings.

The order of the night, minus the tuning:

Chalon Valley House Band

The House on Ash Tree Lane

Little Magician

We Aerotom x

'Ow Queer

2009-06-29T20:46:00.003+01:00

Queer, the title of this post, is a synonym of strange which is one of the few words in the title of the song Thames and I recorded this afternoon.

It's more or less the same as the other demo but higher quality and a better and more complete sound. The chorus is less out and out happy and more just sweet.

Before it cuts to the last chorus from the middle bit there might be a cut to the 'I guess it's just faces...' line with just drums but all voices then launch into the last section.

The last double chorus is pretty indicative of what it will be like with more people.

Have a think and write something amazing to go with it please, we're going to give it an overhaul. Thanks.

Tom & Thames

Strange Sign of Life

This video is a good point of reference re the middle

2009-06-27T00:54:00.004+01:00

This a minimal readership post, as it's only for yous lot who haven't heard the new distance learning yet.

Greg and I did a rough sketch of it a couple of weeks ago partly to test out the new digital recorder I bought (sadly, not the wind instrument).

High quality demos here we come.

distance learning

We Aeropop?

2009-05-27T16:32:00.006+01:00

That song that Thames and Tom just put up is so lush, I'm a big fan....

...Kids, I wrote us a pop song (I can hear loads of instruments doing fun stuff in this). Actually I didn't really write it, it wrote itself in my head when I was trying to sleep one night which has never happened to me before. Anyway, I've popped it up here for y'll to have a listen. (Obviously it is skype-mic-recorded again...)

toothbrush song

Ps: Ray informs me that this has a 'chromatic scale' in it...which I thought sounded pretty cool.

who is 'the winter'?

2009-05-23T19:50:00.021+01:00

How do all,

Thames just left the new Aerobode in east London, he and Greg DJed at KOKO last night, would have been nice to join them (except for the angry scottish people telling Greg he was 'SHITE!' a lot) but work took precedence. However, before he left we recorded a quick demo of a song that's been knocking around since we were in France in January. It turned out pretty well given the conditions. The front room is good for vocals.

On record, or so the idea goes, it would end there, with not much else added at all. However, played live we throw in a lovely big sing a log [sic] at the end full of great richness and depth*.

Thames is currently writing lyrics for the second verse and end bit, no doubt he will update accord(ion)ingly. HA.

A song about winter recorded in May

*This one's for you Anna and Ads:

http://www.oxfordbands.com/2009/05/23/the-oxford-punt-13052009-various-venues - we played the cellar.

NB. Tom linked to the wrong file, probably because he should've been working. I've just changed it at 12.15pm Sunday Morning. Thamez x

Vally Fruits

2009-05-11T11:28:00.007+01:00

Yo...

As most of you know, Thames came to visit me in little old Valencia (yes!) and whilst he was here we did a bit of work on a song I had in the pipeline.

We had to record it using my skype-mic so as per yooosh it's a dodgy recording BUT! It gives you an idea...

A song without a title

Here are the lyrics too if you're interested:

She built pretences like walls just to keep suspicion out
And then like a flash they're gone
Her words were a fence just to guard the yard of blossoms she knew she should be happy about
Her defences weren't so strong
She built foundations on conversations it was all that she could do
But the rocks of talk are thin
She had a roof made of crevices filled with promises, long since made by you
A roof hides what lies within.

And you caught her off guard
She'd found solice in a house built up of cards
And it only took one whistle and the whole thing fell apart
Now she's sitting in her broken comfort; piles of clubs and hearts.

She fashioned curtains of smiles to pull over her eyes
Blinds only blind you from the facts
The fears that she felt were cement that she created and then hid under kitchen tiles.
Cement shows through the cracks
She made a carpet of her heart and laid it out for all to see
Floors are for treading upon
She painted hopes onto all the walls in colours and bright shades so openly
In time, brightness moves on.

And you caught her off guard
She'd found solice in a house built up of cards
And it only took one whistle and the whole thing fell apart
Now she's sitting in her broken comfort; piles of clubs and hearts.

2009-04-10T16:43:00.006+01:00

Helloooo,

I'm in France looking after myself on the lonesome (being looked after by my family who are here). We really need to come here again this summer. Anyways, I'm here to work, as you have been helpfully reminding me, but I'm only going to work 7 hours a day, leaving plenty of time for things like this.

I am aware it looks like both Belle and Sebastian and Feist but oh. well.

Ultramarine Recording Step 2

2009-03-26T13:58:00.009Z

So we went back.

On Tuesday Jeremy and Tom went back to Transmission studios with dear Ali in the afternoon. Jeremy hit some drums. He hit them surprisingly well so it didn't take as long as his previous inferiority complex told him it would. He enjoyed the standing up crash cymbal track the most. Tom directed and pepp talked suitably. Tom Jeremy and Ali had some ice cream in the sun. James C and James M arrived. We recorded James M's guitar part. It was beautiful. Then we went to Fiddlers and didn't win the pub quiz.

On Wednesday evening we recorded Greg's guitar part and James C's accordian and microkorg parts. They were very nice. Then Ali roughly mixed the track a bit. It is here:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ym3t2ltuevn

We will go back to finish mixing it properly next week. There are a few things we will definitely change, so consider that, dear reader. But the music is finished. I think we're quite happy with it. We spent most of last night touching ourselves about it anyway.*

Here's some pictaz of us doin it like:

*only a bit true

Ultramarine Recording - Step 1

2009-03-19T09:50:00.006Z

Step 1: Record some piano and bass to click track so reprobate half of rhythm section can keep time.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mmmoymgiwzx

(levels and such might be a bit off and such because I VERY roughly mixed it on Audacity, and just because it IS Audacity).

Special prize if you can give the time of the tempo change. You win an evening with Greg Aeronaut (see above). FACT.

Step 2: Next week

Gramps and Didi

2009-03-13T00:54:00.005Z

Come one, come all, well.

This is a relic just found on Anna's computer. Jez, Anna and myself wrote and recorded this pre Anna Log gigs - so at least 2 1/2 years ago. The guitar sounds horrible and is played badly, the drums sound wicked and the chorus was chatchier than Babe Ruth.

It fades out because it really falls apart in quite a bad way, but you get the idea.

Enjoy,

Tom

Die di (those are not actual lyrics)

Supermarine

2009-02-16T16:10:00.008Z

So here I am again. I feel like crap- off work today. Promised Tom, Zoobs and Jez I'd get this up before tonight, so here it is. Anna and Tom did a little bit of playing around with an idea for that Green Emissions thing. I recorded it, and then after Anna had gone, Tom, Zoobs and I played around some more. It's labelled in my computer as "Supermarine". Probably because it sounds like 'Ultra-Green'. Anyway, I'm sure Anna and Tom have a better title.

Anyway, so Tom on Bass, Anna plays main Piano, Zoobs is on Shoegaze Guitar and Melodica, and I do a little bit of tinkling Piano and a little bit of Melodica too.

There are currently slight latency problems with my computer, so that is why it's not 100% in time with itself. I'm working on fixing this.

I have also had to turn down some parts that I didn't want to- the Bass at the beginning was flooding the mix, so it's quieter, and both piano parts are quieter too- due to the aforementioned latency. I left the 'bonus bass' at the end louder because it gives it a nice kick. I also realise that the melodica is a bit loud- but you get the idea, right?

Here it is:

Supermarine

A monologue of Thames watching snow fall in Oxford

2009-02-03T00:49:00.004Z

Hi Everyone.

I done a song. It doesn't really have a name at the moment but is labelled as 'Granite Sky' because I was reading a book which used that as a description of winter (Daphne DuMaurier's 'Jamaica Inn').

It's alright. Again, I'm not very confident about it. Lyrics are as follows:

I slept a little whilst the snow began to fall but peering from my curtains I lost the will to sleep at all. The world was iced in ten minutes as I calmly slept away. The street was buried and I was sure the snow was here to stay. My tired eyes won't sleep tonight thanks to all the daydreams. I've been to places I've never seen through my own projection of me. When morning came it was apparent that the world was at a standstill- but the back garden was still alive with both plants and animals; heavy branches shattered ice onto diamond blades of grass. I spent my time looking for greenery that escaped the night's frost. My tired eyes won't sleep tonight thanks to all the daydreams. I've been to places I've never seen through my own projection of me. My tired eyes won't sleep tonight thanks to all the daydreams; wide open until morning breathes light and snow covers everything.

word.

Granite Sky

Haiku

2009-01-30T18:58:00.004Z

The fruits of an afternoon spent in the living room at castle tallant.

Here it is!

Haiku

Greg played main guitar. Jez played drums. James played additional guitar and additional drums.

Winter in Chingeltei (with bits on)

2008-12-11T15:15:00.004Z

This is not by any means a suggestion of what should finally happen to this track. I just got inspired when i heard it and used my skype-mic to stamp all over James' beautiful riff.

Sorry James.

Winter in Chingeltei (Anna Log's Ballz to tha Wallz mega-hype Mix)

These are the lyrics:

Bring your candles and place them in front of the lake,
Bring your sadness, breath it on the flames that they make.
Watch with gladness as ripples appear in the smoke,
Hold the hands of those next to you, other sad folk

Who have witnessed each year a Christmas with her here,
They are like-minded spirits conquering the fear
Of a world with her missing, and lake in the dark,
This winter is different, take heart and embark.

Lift your candles and shuffle to the water’s edge,
Fear not, to let go is not to forget.
Crouch with them and float your light onto the lake.
To release her with drifting light is not to forsake.

Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!

2008-12-07T20:31:00.005Z

Hello everyone,

I simply cannot contain my excitement about the fact that it is soon to be Christmas! This time last year I couldn't wait for it to be over, but now it seems like a shining beacon just beyond the work-shaped hill in front of me.

It may also have something to do with the fact that I just recently got back into Sufjan Stevens again- and on a whim decided to buy his Christmas songs album. It's brilliant. I haven't felt that christmassy tingle of excitement since I was a fresh faced young lad praying for snow to fall on the fields of South Oxfordshire.

I felt that perhaps you lot could share in my christmassy feeling- and so I have compiled a .zip file of christmas songs from my media library. Some have no relevance to christmas other than the wintry title, but they still add to the mood! Honest!

The Tracklist is as follows:

Maps- Sparks in the Snow

Some of you will have seen Maps at truck this year- performing a MASSIVE version of 'Leave them all behind' by Ride to finish the festival. This track is a suitably pretty song- a B-side from an early EP. I loved it, but unfortunately the album never lived up to it. It makes me thing of an evening when I was about 18- and working at Matthew Arnold- when in the space of about 15 minutes everything in sight was covered in about 5 inches of snow. It was the closest thing I've seen to a blizzard in my short time on this earth!

Sufjan Stevens- Only at Christmas Time

I don't have much to say about this song. I'm listening to the album right now- and this track was the first Stevens-penned track (amongst all the traditional songs) that stuck out like a shiny-nosed reindeer.

Atlas Sound-Winter Vacation

Bradford Cox is a genius. It conjures up a windswept cityscape. A cold winter's night on a fake ice rink. Nothing specifically christmassy but it is a cold song.

A Scholar and a Physician- A Return to Seasonal Disorder

More truck stalwarts here- ASAP are two of the guys from Trademark as far as I know- and this track popped up on the ASAP Xmas album of the early 2000s. My first encounter with it was on the Truck Eight Cd- on which it was one of the highlights. It's a fragile track- and despite lacking any definite christmas references, it still makes me feel christmassy!

Animal Collective- Winter Wonder Land

It's bloody brilliant, dancing on lakes, snowflakes and bobsleighs all feature in the lyrics. It's completely bonkers as usual but still fantastic. It's the fun side of christmas jumbled up with all the leftover shiny wrapping paper and squeezed into 2 and a half minutes.

Ride- Xmas Song

This is, without question, the shittest song on this list. It's crap. It's from a rarities CD- I can only assume that it didn't have a name and they had to give it one to release it- so they chose Xmas song. It's got nothing going for it, other than the title. Seriously, it's that tenuous.

The Flaming Lips- Christmas at the Zoo

I know some of you don't like the 'Lips but you've not heard much of their earlier work. This is a wonderful song about Wayne Coyne strolling around the zoo on Christmas Eve and trying to free the animals. It's brilliant. "It started to snow on Christmas Eve in the middle of the night- walkin through the state park zoo and everything is white..."

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone- Cold White Christmas

This one is a sad one. He's awfully straight- no beating around the bush for ol' casiotone here. His mournful voice says it all. "It's gonna be a cold white christmas in st. paul". Not especially heart-warming, but a Christmas song nonetheless- I used to love this album, but haven't touched it in years. Worth a listen.

Emmy the Great & Lightspeed Champion- Christmas in Prison

This is a cover of a John Prine song- I prefer this version. It makes you think of Christmas more than the original. That said- it's still the lyrics that make this song wonderful. probably the prettiest song on this list.

Mew- She Came Home for Christmas

You must've known this would creep in somehow. This is the Triumph for man version- and finds Jonas Bjerre's voice cracked by the winter frost! HO HO HO. My wintery descriptions are getting worse by the minute. The title is a nice sentiment, but the rest of the words to this song weird me out a bit. Still, very very pretty.

Okkervil River- Listening to Otis Redding at home during Christmas

This was before Will Sheff truly tamed his voice- when it would still randomly shoot off around the octave like a reindeer that's eaten too many mince pies. A nice relaxing track- for a night in front of the fire roasting chestnuts or something equally christmassy.

Napoleon iiird- Snowball Fight at the OK Diner

Completely my least fave Napoleon song. It's still good though. When it breaks into the Happy Christmas bit at the end it's wonderful.

The Go! Team- The Ice Storm

Again reminding me of the aforementioned snowstorm in my late teens- this was a b-side to Bottle Rocket or maybe that other one they released. It's very pretty, and makes me feel very very cold! They actually played it at that ATP when we saw them- which surprised me.

An Aeronauts Christmas!

That's it! I hope you like some of these songs. Some of them are wack. Some of them are brilliant.

Do you lot think we should do a christmas cover for the 23rd December show? We could all learn it across continents and then see what happens? Suggestions below please.

xxx

Winter in Chingeltei

2008-11-30T17:42:00.004Z

Good evening all. Here is 'Winter in Chingeltei', the latest mp3 to come out of my little bedroom-recording-studio. I hope you like it. I've just realised that the title is horribly similar to another demo that is floating around. never mind, names can be changed very easily.

You may notice that this sounds extremely similar to 'childrens park'. there is a very good reason for this. Both were recorded in a very similar manner. Both are basically just messing around on top of a nice little riff. Both have a 'bass' part recorded using my whammy pedal to send my guitar down an octave. Both have the bass part recorded twice and panned in stereo to give the impression you are inside the music. Both have slightly unnecessary e-bow parts that are mostly there because i like using an ebow whenever possible.

Oh and those of you with good memory may recall this was once recorded under the title 'christmas lights'.

See if you can spot the points that my computer gets confused and adds in worried crackles and spits, or the sound of my desk chair creaking at the end.

For your information, Chingeltei is a district of Ulaanbaatar, where my flat was last winter. It is the north-western part of the city, and probably the most smoky part of the centre. There is no particular connection between the notes of the music and my flat, but as the last thing i recorded was named after the ub childrens park (and the play i wrote the music for), it seemed fitting.

Winter In Chingeltei

In other news, i have ordered a pickup for my violin. This time next week i will know what a violin sounds like when played through a fuzz factory. Time to get practicing i think.

Jx

We Passports

2008-11-19T12:34:00.000Z

I got bored...

Accrington left home.

2008-11-19T01:42:00.001Z

Hello bloggees,

I'm in London town doing London things and all is well but expensive and tiring. London is not the place I thought it was, it's much smaller in a way. I came here prejudiced against it, but I'm thinking of it differently now; it's a bit like as if the centre of Oxford were a short tube ride away from the centre of Brighton. You just have to get to know the areas that sound good and then it all becomes a bit more local. I'm getting there slowly but still don't appreciate the black snot.

I think we should release a single.

We've been a-hipping and a-hopping and vaguely flirted with the idea of an EP but never really got anywhere. So why not get a proper single done? 7" would be best for a single.

We've got three great singles as I see it: Ash, Boatswain's, Chalon.

B sides for a first single to contrast Fleet, Alpe, Haste? Two of them?

I think a single could be a good thing for us. It means we don't have to blow our musical load on one release but could still get some attention from a proper product and be able to give something professional to people who are interested without having to make one or, as of late, ask Cunning to make one.

What are the We Aerothoughts?

Lyrics for A Strange Sign of Life

You've been so happy lately
oh can't you be a little sad
We've been apart

For a month and a half...
And the distance is distance and more

I hear you've been having a good time
completely without me
I'm glad that you found
your feet on the ground...
oh I'm just petty and a bad person

The second 'I'm glad you found... ...a bad person' should be different but I haven't written it yet, so if anyone fancies having a go, please do.

Childrens Park (again, and better)

2008-11-15T23:19:00.001Z

This evening i have been doing a little recording.

This song is dedicated to all of us. It is about nothing quite working out that way you plan. How nothing is simple. It's about layers. Layers of understanding, and communication. It's about distance, and closeness. Mostly it's about love.

Red wine. It's probably about red wine too

Childrens Park

Jx

Blexy Time

2008-11-14T01:11:00.000Z

Hello We Aeronauts. How’s it hanging?

Small talk over. Now down to business.

Here is a tune I made. To add to the others. (Do I make that currently 8^th in the queue of songs we are working on?).

I want to hear some more textures provided by you guys eventually. I would especially like to hear some accordion and violin/string instrument (that means you Tallant).

I am also open to the idea of lyrics.

Feel free to overdub your parts.

That gives me an idea that would be both cool and fun. Seriously, hear me out. I think We should start an online ‘music chain’.

Whereby one aeronaut lays down a track, posts it and then another aeronauts listens to it and overdubs something and so on and so on... until the inevitable

Not completely original. The results could be disgraceful however if given the right amount of time and dedication we could create something pretty effective.

.............oh yeah, the song

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=d78ee42b062579ecab1eab3e9fa335cafcd67f2835048cd8

Zuberbuhler will see you soon

Conductor 71

2008-11-13T22:29:00.000Z

So, here's another. It's only about 45 seconds long. As far as I can tell i think this will be a chorus. I need someone to help with where this could go, so Log, learn the chords on your ukelele, Greg, put a relative major somewhere, Zoobs, put down your krautrock manual and help me!

You must tell me if you think this track is too dreary for WA. It might well be, I just thought I'd check. Lyrically, it is important to note the two perspectives. Firstly, of a young radio operator who has been searching the airwaves for any signs of life after a WW2 bombing mission- and secondly, most importantly, a pilot, who is alone in his aircraft after the crew have jettisoned. He has no parachute, can't see anything for the fog surrounding his aircraft, and has no systems working. He is ready to die.

Some of you will have realised that this is essentially the first 10 minutes of the film a Matter of Life and Death. The lyrics concern a small portion of the amazing dialogue between the two main characters in that section. It's an incredible piece of cinema, especially for 1946. He actually does say "you are life and i'm leaving you", with an incredible jollity. It's wonderful.

The next bit is best, and is hopefully where the lyrics will go. In the film, when people die, they are collected by envoys from heaven called 'conductors'. Our pilot's assigned conductor is an incredibly camp French Duke (played by a cornishman) called number 71. In the fog, our pilot was lost, and conductor 71 failed to do his duty. At some point later on, the conductor freezes time(in film terms everyone freezes, but the bushes carry on moving in the background) and tells our pilot of his mistake- but the pilot argues that he has fallen in love (with the radio operator) in the extra time that he was granted, and that was not his fault- so he is taken to heaven to fight for his right to live in a celestial court with a huge cast of wonderfully mismatched characters.

The title comes from the fact that the scenes on the earth are filmed in glorious technicolour, whilst heaven is in monochrome. It offers a wonderful contrast between the green landscapes of the planet with the almost sterilized hospital look of heaven.

Anyway, please do let me know what you think because of all the songs that I've had a part in posting on here, this is the one that I'm least sure about...

If it's going to go somewhere I need help.

Anyway, it's a great film. The lyrics are:

Are you receiving this transmission? Are you falling out into the night into a better place?

Mayday! Mayday! I can't read you, I am bailing out and they'll never find a trace of this plane and it's crew. You are life and I'm leaving you, oh, it's sure been nice to spend some time with a girl like you on the end of the line.

Monochrome for Heaven

Absent Lullaby

2008-11-11T15:26:00.000Z

Buenos Dias, All,

Greg has once again produced a tug-at-the-heart-strings Stuart Classic, I like it a lot...can't wait to see how it progresses.

Just a quick post to add a wee demo of my own. Recorded through my skype microphone and therefore very shoddy but just to give you all an idea. It may have to be a Logster if it doesn't seem conducive to full-bandage but thought I'd pop it up just in case. It's currently called 'Absent Lullaby' and it's really short. (Also I spelt 'lullaby' inncorrectly on its name....just for fun. Honest.)

Byeeeee.

Absent Lullaby

Ivor Novello strikes again...

2008-11-09T21:35:00.000Z

I write this, as per usual, sat in my room in Oxford, on a dingy sunday evening, looking forward to the working week ahead! ha! No doubt the rest of you are sunning yourselves, falling off buses, swearing at Spanish children by mistake or generally being elusive(Ads, I'm looking at you).

This weekend seems like it started ages ago. I met Tom on friday night and went to a gathering (not sure it can be called a party) with Woody and a couple of others in a house in Cowley. I felt horrible the next day. Tom left fairly sharpish in the morning (I knew I shouldn't have spooned him while he slept), and was replaced in my house by Greg, who spent the whole time complaining about the cold- and started talking on the phone about 'style' whilst clutching a pink waterbottle between his shaking legs, wearing only boxers and a sodden shirt. He's a style guru, that Greg.

Anyway, while he was here he layed down the basics of a track that he'd written a couple of days before. I have enjoyed mixing it, especially the bit where he forgets the words and laughs. I have added some keys and some far-off singing. I'm not sure he's going to like it, but he doesn't check this blog so more fool him. It's come off very pretty sounding, which isn't what I expected when he played it down my phone in the early AM last week. He's decided on the name 'distance learning' for reasons that will no doubt become clear to you, dear reader, when you partake in a spot of listening.

*edit* I played the chords wrong in the first one, so here it is amended.

Distance Learning

Breathe Deep, Seek Peace...

2008-10-26T23:19:00.001Z

So Tom came round my house today. He's now gone. We watched Grave of the Fireflies, drank cider and soup, and we put a LOT of music on his swish new external hard drive (though not quite as swish as yours Jimmy T).

Perhaps the best development of this visit was a new song! "Woohoo!", I hear you cry! It was born from something Tom had been playing around with for a while- he had a few lyrics and a melody, and a few riffs. I wrote something for the 'chorus' which is intended to be quite laid back, with Anna and Greg also singing the main vox part, and a glockenspiel following the melody too. It's a banjo/mandolin/accordion/melodica/trumpet friendly song, I think- Tom's probably got some ideas too- so he should bloody hurry up and post a blog! There is another bit at the end of the track which we didn't record- in a slightly differing rhythm- building and building into a sheer precipice of noise which all begins with a bit of humming and scatting (ha!).

So anyway, without further ado, here it is. I don't know what Tom's lyrics are- so I'm sure he'll post them at some point. The part that I sing goes:

Although it's impossible that I could be so blind, you'll just have to try me.

You should take this as a sign; you'll just have to trust me that I can be happy.

A Strange Sign of Life

Haste Me Back.

2008-10-19T01:49:00.000+01:00

Well hello all. I thought it was about darn well time that I yanked my head out of the sandy pretence that I ain't going to Spain (mainly because I'm already here) and wrote summink in this 'ere bloggy spot.

It is rather hard to believe I have been in Madrid for two weeks already, although I am certainly beginning to settle in.

My Ukulele and I have been trotting about on the Madrid metro, gracing Spanish families with our presence and the dulcet tones of Incy Wincy Spider and Row, Row, Row Your Boat as language-learning devices.

My room is, as expected, a box. There is just about space for me to flail my arms around and goodness only knows that is important. That which it lacks in size it does NOT make up for in beauty. My window looks directly out onto a functioning lift-shaft, into which other inhabitants smoke. It is therefore best to keep it well and truly closed. The notions of natural light and fresh air are somewhat lost on this particular window.

However, I must not complain. I am ludicrously central which means almost all interesting things are walkable and my flatmates are lovely. There is so much to do in Madrid that I'll be amazed if 5 months will suffice.
Ah...and here is a picture of my local post office. No jokes.

Whilst my Spanish is still appalling, I am managing to avoid the initial cultural faux pas which monopolised my first few days here. Never again will I give my land lady a full-on hug when she is simply reaching behind me in an attempt to switch on a light. Lawks.

Well, as the time here reaches 3:30 in the morn I feel I have rambled on about very little for long enough and so I shall retreat. News of successful gigs in Inglaterra and samples of potential new songs are like honey to my Spanish ears. Keep 'em coming I say.

I leave you with one assertion: I AM LITERALLY SO EXCITED ABOUT COMING BACK FOR THE WHY GIG.
Haste ME back I say. Haste me back.
That is all for now.
Hasta luego peeps.

down and out in oxford and london

2008-10-12T23:12:00.000+01:00

last night was a night of house parties for two members of we aeronauts. one managed to return home safely, though cautiously, cycling through a thick blanket of fog in the early hours. one encountered people he vaguely knew, and lost his wallet on that most noble of transport networks, the london night bus system before arriving home at half past eight, an hour before his alarm went off. the likelihood of his wallet being in lost property on monday is as close to nil as you can get- but not quite nil. anyway, the first one was me, and the second one was tom. he ended up at a party with keir in a warehouse in london. i woke this morning in a smoke-fuddled haze to this equation based text message:

"james cunning= tom, keir agnes/luke jones. in a warehouse. Yes yes yes."

maths was never my strong point, but from my limited knowledge i'd hazard that tom, keir and agnes divided by luke jones equals me. sounds about right i guess, but it really is only keir that can make that assumption, i trust him. anyway, at the current time keir was unavailable for comment. his press office shrugged me off. i have however been in contact with tom- who can't remember anything. other than that he lost the aformentioned wallet. and then was 4 hours late for a we aeronauts practice. and then his bass literally broke. and then he had to go back to london. he really didn't have the best sunday. we had a good bit of football after practice, but the next time i spoke to tom he was on the bus, and had been rudely awakened by me telling him marble arch was the best stop for him. i'm willing to bet he slept straight through marble arch.

Anyway, here's how tom looked on friday:

And here's how he was last night/today (artists impression):

so tom, wherever you are, god bless, and good luck looking for your wallet. cancel your cards you berk!

Monochrome for Heaven

2008-10-11T16:14:00.000+01:00

Hi Folks.

Last weekend we had our first proper practice with Tim and Ric- and we tried to write something new. It didn't work particularly well- we spent too much time trying to shoe-horn bits together and force things to happen. The most successful new thing from the session was a 20 minute psychedelic wig-out we had when James T and Tom went to get some food, and even that ended up causing problems for Zuber's Memory Man pedal because we quite literally overloaded it. It literally couldn't handle the classic shoegaze riffage it was being subjected to. Apprently it is ok now though, so never fear, Zuberbuhler fans.

Anyway, on the Saturday night Zoobs, Tom and myself took it upon ourselves to go and get drunk. We first went to Far from the madding crowd and had a few beers, then onto Frevd- a converted church in Jericho:

After drinking bottles of wine, we decided that we should look for somewhere else to get even further drunk. Unfortunately we failed to take into account the fact that it was about 3AM, and Oxford isn't London, or even Brighton. Oxford effectively shuts down at 2AM, so after waking Guy up to see if he was out, and having a mind-boggling conversation with Woody (who was at a party in Cornwall), we called it a night and walked back to Botley.

The reason I mentioned this night is because on the way from Jericho back into town, we were discussing new We Aeronauts things and Tom remembered he had a (very crudely recorded) demo of a new track on his phone. It was from an Accordion tune I'd been playing around with for a while. Zuberbuhler was particularly taken with it, and Tom had recorded it when him and Greg had come to my house after the Brainlove Brighton all-dayer. So, as we huddled with drunken tense excitement in an empty doorway to listen properly to the track, we turned our backs to the street so as not to let the sound escape. After a couple of minutes we turned, a new sense of possibility echoing around our ears- a possible new song, that I at least had forgotten about. Our positive mindset was shattered immediately as we turned to see that, unbeknownst to us, a police car had pulled up just behind us as we huddled in the doorway and its occupants were now taking part in a staring match with three members of We Aeronauts. We must have looked pretty dodgy, with our big coats in a doorway at 2AM. Anyway, they sped off fairly sharpish.

The next morning I'd forgotten all about it again, and did until last night, when I got my Accordion out for a play and remembered the tune. In short, I wrote a song. It's not finished- I'm sure Greg will be able to offer some counsel on it. It's sort of a retrospective version of Chalon Valley House Band I guess, a romanticized version of the things we got up to- grouped with memories I have from summers past and cycling around Oxfordshire with Steve, and a foggy realisation of reality.

I recorded it all on Accordion in one take- so the timing is pretty shoddy, but hopefully you'll get a picture. I am perfectly aware that some of the vocals are wack- but I couldn't be arsed to change it again. It took me a fairly long time to mix to a point I was even slightly happy with it- Accordions aren't very easy to record well with a vocal mic. All I can say is that it gets better and more sure of itself as the song goes on- so give it a chance.

I should point out that the results of this are far more Daniel Johnston than Micah P. Hinson, so don't be too harsh. The recording/playing is shit, I assure you- but hopefully the 'song' itself is enjoyable- or will be when you lot have worked your magic.

Winter at the Delifruits Interchange (Demo)-
http://www.mediafire.com/?l5wylgztu2i

It seemed like those days would never end- well, in fact they have come to a close my friends. It’s the four corners of the earth we now populate; a far cry from those days down by the lake. Though the distance is great, you’re not so far from that night we spent singing beneath the stars, and when the road burnt our feet as we soaked in rays, moving only for cars and dodging drops of rain.

…and we would always drink too much
…and our sum was more than enough
…and though sometimes things got tough
I never tired of you at all…

Been going in circles for the past four years, turns out I was never away from memories. The city was always at my back, just like a tightly coiled spring waiting to lay me out flat. Two wheels that remind me of a simpler time, when I could just watch the days float by; And the week we spend climbing on melting roads and descents through rain that soaked our clothes.

…and now we’ll write under winter stars
…warmed by the headlights of passing cars
…while our breath cuts through the air
…we’ll forget the warmth of our beds
…and only after a few bottles of wine
…will we notice how the time flew by..
…only when the dawn it splits the sky…

Will we resign ourselves to sleep…

…and we’ll be driving through the night
…right through the evening's ailing light
…we’ll clamber over the dry river bed
…and we will climb to the valleys edge
…and though the rapeseed fields are gone
…it’s barren earth we’ll walk upon
…and now we look down from so high

We’ll have to catch another flight…

Preston Away (version # 2 IMP )

2008-09-24T19:59:00.000+01:00

It all started with a hangover on Friday morning. The kind of hangover where nobody can touch you without you wanting to take a knife to their throat. The kind of hangover that makes you stare longingly at the front of the incoming bus, willing it to hit just to see what it would feel like. This would never happen, though. Such a burgeoning headache and foul stomach seem to give one an air of invincibility when wandering around and going places. I imagine most people die when they are fully alert and ready for anything.

I went to work grudgingly, as you do with said hangover. I did some work. We left early, happily. I got the bus home and I didn’t have to hang off it. Wonderful mid-afternoon bus. Back at Adarsh Heights I lay on my bed for too long and time galloped past me and I ended up having to rush a shower and trot to buy some rum and snacks for the journey. As I reached Hyderabad Central Station at Nampally everyone was waiting. But it was OK. Forty minutes to go.

Sleeper trains are fast becoming one of my favourite things in India. It sounds inconsequential and perhaps shows a depressing state of affairs in this writer’s mind, but gazing (forwards, always forwards, always on the way somewhere) through a window whilst travelling is possibly one of my most favourite things in the world. Sleeper trains taken before sunset are perfect for this. On the way to Bangalore two (three?) weeks previous I sat cross legged at 1:30AM, staring out from my window seat, sipping at my rum, as a lightning storm went about its business on the horizon and above the stars gleamed brighter than I had ever seen them. It was truly breathtaking.

This trip was slightly different. One, we were going somewhere amazing (I’ve still not forgiven Bangalore for my Sugar Kane Juice experience), and Two I didn’t have a window seat. This was completely of my own doing of course. In a sleeper train there are rows of booths in a rectangle, three beds on two sides and two beds on the end (they fold out very cleverly). The lower beds have windows. Stefan asked me very nicely if it was OK if he had the lower bed, after I had set my heart on it without telling anyone (oh how often does this happen). He said it was completely no problem if not. He even asked me specifically (obviously seeing my heartbroken face). “No, of course not, it’s fine!” Yes I would absolutely love it but don’t want to cause trouble or resentment. “You sure?” “Yeah seriously I’ll take the middle bunk.” Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

To compensate I took my mp3 player and went to stand next to the open door of the train. The doors are always open for some reason. One little slip.

It was gorgeous. The sun was setting, not magnificently, but red enough to eerily light up rural Andhra Pradesh and then Karnataka. As the sky darkened lights appeared and disappeared as the sheer size of emptiness in between the cities was wholly emphasised. At some point some skyscrapers appeared on the horizon with huge orange lights. On the map there were no cities or towns. This confused us somewhat, with the conclusion being that it was clearly an alien colony that no-one could really be bothered to deal with because it’s India, and you know, things often don’t get dealt with.

I went back and talked a little and read some of my book. It’s by William Burroughs and is called Naked Lunch and I love the way he addressed me as Gentle Reader before embarking on the most revolting and disturbing scene I’ve ever had the pleasure to imagine from pure text. Brilliant:

“Who can shit on a fallen adversary who, dying, eats the shit and screams with joy?”

Then we all went to sleep. Me on my middle bunk. As it was, if I turned my head at an acute angle I could see out of the top inch of the window. I laid and watched the stars for a while. I sipped some rum in its black plastic bag to help me sleep a bit. I listened to Steralfur and Hjartao Hamast and Olsen Olsen. Then I went to sleep.

We reached Hospet at 6:20AM. We got the Autorickshaw and reached our destination, Hampi, beautiful Hampi, about half an hour later. I won’t harp on about it, apart from the fact that it is my favourite place in India so far. We travelled around the centuries old city by moped (no I had never driven one before). We saw monkeys and elephant (yes singular). At some point I realised I didn’t have any way of getting the Preston Wolves score. I panic. This was the longest period (two days) of not knowing the Wolves score since I was TWELVE YEARS OLD. We sat on top of the world. I hurt my foot on said moped. (It looks sort of funny now. By funny I mean infected. I hope they don’t have to chop it off). Despite it being a ‘dry’ city our nice guest house friend brought us some ‘special juice’ which was very strong. Anything is possible. We laid next to the river gazing at the stars drinking whiskey. We got quite drunk. We drove mopeds with hangover number two. We flew through the jungle. I bought an amazing T shirt and some Goa Trance. I might not ever wear it. We left Hampi at 9PM Sunday.

We got back into Nampally at about 10AM Monday morning. I said my farewells and walked very quickly home, convinced we’d have lost, the spell was broken, confidence gone. No way could we have another victory, let alone away from home at 3rd place Preston. Get back to Adarsh Heights. Turn on internet. The rest is history.

I love you, Chris Iwelumo.

Turn the page.

2008-09-19T20:30:00.000+01:00

It's been a while.

I've been tangled in the wires of local authority for the last few weeks. Tom and Tallant are also discovering the joys of 'working for the man'. Well, at least Tallant is- Tom seems to be having a whale of a time- drinking with clients, designing door stops etc. Ads is MIA, Anna is in Madrid scouting out the place, and Jeremy is busy trying to arrange We Aeronauts' first trip abroad. Zuberbuhler is currently preparing for a move (slightly) further east, and so things are plodding along.

Booking shows in towns where noone has heard of you is pretty hard- even Mike won't give us a gig (well, maybe he will, we'll see), and despite the bloke from the Albert offering us a show, he wouldn't let us play on our preferred date. Roy fobbed us off again this afternoon. It's all looking rosy. Never fear, for I have knocked up a few demos and am assured by the west-country folk that a Bristol date is certainly a possibility.

That's not the reason I'm here though- it seems that, after a while of listening, the original mix of 'Ash Tree Lane' has become the definitive one. I have told Mike to do a new one, merging the best bits of the latest one and the first one, so we'll see. Also, he should be putting the new mix of Alpe d'Huez up soon.

Talking of which- I have a plan for that song. Seeing as I don't really like singing it anymore, I wondered if Anna should sing lead vox on that (when we're all back together, obviously) from now on. I think she could make it sound much more interesting than I ever could- in my vision of the future for this song I'd just be mucking about on an accordion and occasionally singing backing vocals. I'm also keen to rid the world of the 'climb up mountains' bit. What say you lot? What do you reckon Log?

So at the moment, those of us that are here are playing a show on the 17th October with Maria Illet (of beating us to Cornbury fame) and Tristan & the Troubadours. It is going to be interesting, for sure. We haven't practiced yet. I think about practicing, but I'm not sure that's as productive as actually practicing. We're also supporting Why? and Jonquil at the Regal in Oxford, and playing a new night at the cellar at some point, whilst working on dates in London, Briston, Brighton and Exeter (Greg, any news on this?). If they all come off it will be quite a coup.

Ads, where are you? What are you upto?

Jeremy? any update from India?

Me and Tom are meeting a guy from The Fly magazine on thursday 25th to talk Aeronauts. We're not sure how or why, but it's happening. He's also doing a feature for BBC Oxford about band influences. It should be fun.

Someone else should blog now.

I couldn't do a blog without mentioning Brian Eno; I uploaded Taking Tiger Mountain earlier for John Brainlove, so I might as well post the link here too.

Brian Eno- Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

http://www.mediafire.com/?inhtmn5ryy2

Childrens park

2008-09-08T15:35:00.000+01:00

I've recorded sections 1 and 2 (of a probably total of 3), of the new song i've been working on, described in some detail in the previous post. I'm calling it 'childrens park' after the play i did in ub, which featured the first riff here.

Here is the mp3:

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/604161204/1b2e6fa179b313287f7ebb9552501f5b

let me know if that doesn't work for some reason.

So, section one. I'm not sure what the chords are, but don't they sound nice. Bass notes are A, C# and D. I see this section as instrumental, but have little opinion on it other than that. Perhaps with instruments entering and leaving. Perhaps it should be long and building, perhaps merely a short introductory 'statement'. Drums, no drums, i'm not sure. We could even throw in a few 'field recordings'. Sampled conversations (young team stylee?) or something. I'd be keen for that. I've got a recording of a mongolian traffic policeman directing traffic with a megaphone that might sound cool.

Ends with a 'jazzy' linking passage.

Then section 2. This is just a rhythm geetar part. I want more instruments in here. Drums. Vocals. Other. The chords are detailed in the post below, but basically we're dealing with G, Dm, F7, E, G, Dm, C, B, repeated, ending with A7, B, E5. I have no lyric for this in mind, but the chords are nice and i think we could make something good of it.

That last E5 (which becomes Em as notes are added in the final seconds of the recording) is the start of section 3. I see driving drums, groovey bass, and a general feeling of good funkyness that should define the final section of what has been up to here a fairly laid back, even lethargic track. I've been working on a little guitar part that has quite a lot in common with my picked part half way through dean moriarty. I'll make a little recording of it when i've got it dialled (possibly later today, possibly later this week). I'd be quite keen for the track not to be guitar driven after this part. Perhaps synth driven? Or piano? Guitar still present, but holding back. Funky bass and drums is essential though i think. And a big vocal.

Alright, have a listen and tell me what you think.

James T

So, this blog thing then

2008-08-31T20:11:00.000+01:00

Righty ho, a couple of glasses of champagne and half a bottle of red wine into the evening, i feel that the moment is right to write something insightful on this here blog, for your collective enjoyment.

I think i have a new song in the works, or at least the opening sketches of a new song. No lyrics, i'll leave that up to one of you guys. Starts of off with that rather nice little riff that i played at the scream practice place and you may perhaps dimly recall. That floats along for a bit, with variations, and then stops with a jazzy bit (ie some chords that aren't really chords atall, but sound kinda cool). Then we have some strumming, the chords are pretty good i think, but still a work in progress for sure. G, Dm, DwithanEinit(D2perhaps?), F7(Fmaj with an E at the top), E, then back to G, Dm, D2, C, some sort of E or B thing that i am yet to be sure quite what it is (the notes are (low to high) E B Eb A B E, what is that greg?), then back to G, Dm, D2, Amaj7, B, E5(ie not major or minor, just a power chord basically). The idea that i had was that the first section (floaty bit with lots of picking) would involve a nice warm bass part and perhaps some things sustained and high up, probably not much drums and probably no vocals, then the strummy bit definitely wants some drums, and vocals. The rhythm of it i am yet to work out, but at the minute i'm playing it in a slow 6/8, possibly more like a 3/4. it could easily be a 6/8 with other bits thrown in though to make it more interesting. it finishes on an E, and feels like that wants to become the beginning of something a bit more energetic/poptastic, probably starting on Eminor. I'm not yet sure what this wants to be, but i've been playing around with chords like Em, D and A, with little inspiration so far. I think i'll record some bits, but at the minute have no mic so it may have to wait a little. When that final E5 lands, a funky driving drum beat wants to come in, probably with a groovy bass, and that should take the song all the way to its conclusion. I dont know yet what the path to this conclusion will involve though.

OK. i'll work more on it, do some recording, and you guys can see what you think. I would especially enjoy hearing anything poptastic that you've got starting on Eminor.

In other news, my trip cycling across France was a lot of fun. Three of us (Will, Tom and I) cycled 560 miles in 9 days, from Paris to a little village called Faugers, not far form Montpelier and Bezier. There we spent 8 days relaxing in the sun, reading, eating cheese, drinking wine, playing chess and table tennis, and listening to music. Although pleasant, the time spent in Faugeres is not really worthy of much note. The ride there however was packed with adventure. Each day we got up at 7am, had breakfast, packed up, and set off. After a few days we were well into the swing of it and were away before 9. We would ride about 35 miles before lunch (having purchased the days food at some point in the morning), and at least another 30 in the afternoon. The smallest distance we cycled in one day was 45 miles (day 2, cycling into a strong headwind all day, traumatic), and the most 85 (day 9, race for the prize, including a mountain ascent (over 1000m upwards), and two other serious hills, in melting heat). Generally, campsites appeared when we needed them, although occasionally we had to ask the locals. Arriving at a campsite, we lay on the ground for a bit, put up the tent, had a shower (most french campsites have showers), got changed, drank lots of water, and started to think about dinner. Eat. Sleep. Get up. Ride, Eat, Ride. Eat. Drink. Ride. Eat. Drink Ride. Eat. Drink. Sleep. Get up. Repeat. For 9 days. It was as metally exhausting as it was physically.

The first day was challenging for two reasons. Firstly i was rather hungover, and had no real sleep to speak of. Secondly we had to find our way out of Paris. What we initally thought was the Seine flowing south turned out to merely be a canal, flowing east. Not a good start. Back into Paris to find the real river. We did eventually escape the city however. First few days were mostly flat, and we made good mileage (with the exception of day 2, mentioned above). Slept little at night to begin with however, as my legs were burning. These days were tough. Legs spinning for hours at a time. Roads long. countryside uninspiring. Fueled by bananas and lion bars.

Then we hit the hills. Somewhere north of the Dordogne valley it starts to get hilly. I actually found the hills easier to deal with than the long flat stuff. A shorter period of real work to power up them is rewarded by a long exciting descent. Max speed was 40mph. On a bike this is seriously fast. Sometimes we would be pushing over 30 for 10 mins or more. Lots of fun. Panniers add a new dimension to cycling i haven't experienced before. I discovered at the airport on the way home that my frame is only a little over 8kg. Each pannier however is over 6kg. So a laden bike of over 20kg is quite a thing to ride. Hills that would be serious on an unladen bike become monsters, descents that would be fast on a light bike become rollercoasters, corners that would be exciting anyway become, well, interesting. You just have to prepare for the corner early, and leave it up to the bike. You have only minimal control over where you are heading. We didn't crash once. Amazingly.

When we found ourselves in the hills, i found myself faring better than the two others. This made a nice change. They are both pretty serious riders, and each had about double the amount of kit as me. I had one shirt, one pair of shorts. Washing kit involved leaving them out overnight and hoping that it rained (it did sometimes).

Highlights of the trip. Almost keeping up with the peleton of a local bike race we bumped in to, and being announced and cheered by the spectators as we rode through the finish. The descent into Conque. Buying £23 of pastries and cakes and eating them outside the shop, to the amusement of the shopkeeper and other customers. Escaping the dordogne valley. The two passes we made over 1000m. Keeping up with cars on the descents. The massive hills. Tree lined descents suddenly opening up onto bridges crossing large rivers. Seeing the sea, and so knowing we had almost made it. Lion bars (lots of lion bars). Bananas (lots of bananas). My Richard Veronque water bottle. Lunching on massive baguettes filled with cheese and meat every day. Calf muscles. Doing the majority of the third stage of this years tour de france, seeing the names of riders chalked on the road, and so riding the same hills that they had. Being cheered by french passers by. Overtaking people that did not have panniers. Lion bars.

One day it rained. I discovered two things. My panniers are not water proof. My waterproof jacket is not waterproof. I don't want to talk about that day.

It was an epic adventure that i enjoyed hugely. I would do something similar again, but not just yet. It was very hard work. Arriving at the destination was amazing, and bizzarre. Suddenly a group of 3 in a tent and on bikes became 10, in a house. I'm glad that we elected to fly back and not cycle back. On the plane i sat next to a Korean girl who told me that there is a good Korean restaurant near trafalgar square. Korean food is amazing.

JT

Mysterious Animals...

2008-08-26T20:03:00.002+01:00

So, recently (in the last two years or so) I've become quite interested in cryptids. Cryptids are animals that haven't been proven to exist- such as the Loch Ness Monster- although that is a very extreme example. My personal number one cryptid is the fur-bearing trout, a cryptid that has been proven not to exist. Yet for some reason tales persist about this hairy fish. More boring is the tale of Giglioli's Whale, a beast of a mammal that Mr. Giglioli observed to have not one, but two dorsal fins whilst on an expedition in the 1800s. In a similar way to the 'Rhinoceros Dolphin', it is now generally accepted to be a genetic mutation or just a mislabelling on Giglioli's part, yet the story remains, and now so does a song.

The lyrics of this song have nothing to do with the legendary whale, and are in fact bastardized from some old Rocket Falls lyrics (Tides, for those in the know), and tweaked a little bit for maximum We Aeronauts lyricism. Any thematic relevance to all you lot pissing off to wherever you're going is purely coincidental. Like all of my lyrics back then they were about girls, or a girl, or some really sexy lady. Although they now have little resemblance to this...

The music is from an instrumental Greg did a while back. I only heard it for the first time the other day and asked Greg if I could use it. He very nicely said yes. The instrumental is called 'Run for the hills boys' and is available on the Goddess Pysartis myspace should you desire to hear it sans my wailing.

I hope you like it.

Do tell what you think of it.

We Aeronauts - Giglioli's Whale (Demo)

Promise you'll call when you return

As your feet they hit the sand tell me you're coming back home again

And as you're walking out to sea look up and admire the clearest night sky you'll ever see in this town, and as the tide starts to resign all the stars will flicker and die

scatter my thoughts, scatter my words, and leave me with them amongst the surf. It's here where I apologise, Just leave me floating in the brine

And as you walk away from me leaving a trail I can't be following, the tide raced back from around my feet. Then something happened that I hadn't planned;

my feet were back on dry land

on dry land.

Back where it all began

2008-08-24T10:34:00.000+01:00

It has suprised me how lyrical the two main posts have been thus far. Well, you can whistle dixie on that I'm afraid. But whilst we have this new blog, it seems significant to comment on being back in the house where We Aeronauts began in earnest. I am currently typing this blog from the chair where Tom sat as we 7 o'clock in the morning-y figured out the bassline and guitar parts to some new song (soon to become our blockbuster number 1, "Chalon Valley House Band"). Over there I can just about not see the kitchen table where I played a select audience "The Boatswain's Cry", whilst unbeknownst to me Danielle listened on the stairs, and where we all smacked the table to "Anthems for a 17-year old girl". The white piano there where Anna hammered out "da-da-da-dada" for Ski vs. Balloons and an epic was born. Just by the book case, where Jez practiced getting off an Indian bus whilst playing Ost Rock. Yesterday, Tom and I were deconsecrating the sacred earth where Cunns had written the Happy song lyrics by bunny hopping bikes over logs, also deconsecrating the great amphitheatre of Menace.

I don't know the significance of all this. If we get massive it will be significant for our billions of teenie fans, who will doubtless find it and worship it as a shrine. If not, well, qu'importe, the memory alzheimers permitting will last for all of us, so that it really doesn't matter too much either way. But with the Why? developments and general interest, I'm quietly excited about something happening. Was that lyrical? Probably not. Well, take care Aeronauts, from France, signing out

Love Greg

Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy)

2008-08-22T00:07:00.000+01:00

Seatbelts on, this is going to be a long 'un.

So, I guess it was inevitable that I was going to do a Brian Eno post eventually. Might as well get it out of the way quickly. No matter how much Greg sniggers when I play the Fripp solo in St. Elmo's Fire, or Tom lampoons my (brilliant) story about playing at his birthday party (and yes, I DID pet Brian's pygmy goats with Imogen Heap), it won't stop the pure admiration I have for the guy.

Before I had searched out his work much further, I knew him for what most people do; making 'ambient' music, and previously playing in Roxy Music (a band, like the Talking Heads, that I unfairly maligned for many years due to my father's love for them, and the constant listening I had to endure). Not many people know about his post-Roxy Music and pre-Ambient years- and this post is certainly not going to turn into a history lesson...but more people certainly should know about them. The four 'pop' albums he created after his last outing with RM are complete genius. There's the 'Roxy Music hedging their bets' of Here Come the Warm Jets, the universally acclaimed (amongst Eno fans, anyway) Another Green World, the warped lyricism of Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy), and the wholly unfamiliar (at least to me, it's next on my list) Before and After Science. Now, the music I was familiar with was Music for Airports, which had soundtracked a few too many late night essay sessions for my liking. Brilliant though it is, for a while I wondered why this man was so revered. This was until I heard Apollo, a measured, clinical panorama that is like the instruction manual for advert music...(An Ending(Ascent) having soundtracked thousands). Initially it seemed like sheer audacity, creating music this minimal- yet not veering towards the works of Steve Reich- if you listen to Apollo loudly, you'll find that it's not the minimal beast it seems- for beneath its milky surface is a bubbling liquidity, with bass, synth, and who knows what else. It makes my heart melt. It becomes apparent that the word for Eno's ambient works is not minimal, as such, it's subtle- and it truly was the gateway for so much. Without Apollo, I certainly wouldn't get Stars of the Lid as much - and I'm not sure they'd exist either, but maybe that's just my naivety. I don't claim to be an expert in the field of ambient music- I'm just offering thoughts on the influence Eno has had on the current musical landscape.

And so we reach the 'pop' albums. 'Pop' in inverted commas because it really isn't pop in the bubblegum sense of the word. Here Come the Warm Jets is really riding on Roxy Music's coattails, creating a warped, skewed glam record that, in parts, sits uncomfortably. This was the first of Eno's 'pop' records I heard, and, truth be told, is probably my least favourite so far. I got Another Green World at the same time, and as I shall describe, it flooded my head. It is, it just is. I put this record on when I go to work to wake me up and when I get home to relax. It starts with this Talking Heads-ish bassline, on Sky Saw, and then doesn't let up. I think there are less than five vocal tracks on the album, yet they sit so brilliantly next to the vignettes he also offers us (and sometimes you could be kidded into believing you were listening to Boards of Canada). The album's truest 'song' as such, is the previously mentioned St. Elmo's Fire, a song that could easily have been written by Animal Collective last week. It's a short track, with a searing chorus, and a guitar solo by Robert Fripp that echoes the wonderful natural phenomenon of the title. I laughed the first time I heard it- and in some respects it is a ridiculous song, but for something to provoke a reaction such as that is a very powerful thing- I laughed out loud in the same way when Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record without even trying the other day. I think I was laughing at the sheer futility of the other runners- what on earth could they do to stop this guy short of tripping him up? And in the same way I was shocked by St. Elmo's Fire, that such a ridiculous song could burn its way into my head. Of the other vocal tracks, there's I'll Come Running, a wonderfully positioned mid-album track with the lyrical refrain 'I'll come running to tie your shoes', utterly ridiculous- yet so captivating, and the lyric is sickeningly sweet. Then there's the beautiful, non percussive Everything Merges with the Night, the penultimate track, perfect, resonating, pulsing. There's next to no percussion on the album, showing Eno's direction towards a more ambient future- but the percussion that is on it was played by one Phil Collins, another of my dad's army of boring MOR people. Should I re-evaluate him aswell? No, he's shit. But back to the album- I still haven't mentioned my two favourites, The Big Ship, which could be on a Mogwai/Jonquil/Boards of Canada album, and Becalmed, which is drenched with more emotion than Boards could ever muster. It was only after hearing the album that I discovered Eno had come up with the idea of the album after being hit by a taxi in NYC, leaving him close to death and subsequently bed-ridden for months.

Another Green World is all well and good, but the album that inspired this post is Taking Tiger Mountain. As far as I'm aware, it sits between Warm Jets and Another Green World in the Eno chronology, perhaps the predecessor to Discreet Music (which I haven't heard), Eno's first ambient record- which would explain the change from glam-ish experimentalism to ambient pop between Taking Tiger Mountain and Green World. I only got Taking Tiger Mountain the other day, and it has made quite the impression on me. It is far more accessible than Warm Jets, and sounds much more modern, like Of Montreal really. Even Eno's broad voice (which I would love to hear on a more recent recording) is stretched to the point where it could be Kevin Barnes. The opening track Burning Airlines give you so much more (not particularly PC at the moment) rips the album wide open. It makes you want to dance, scream and shout, and Eno doesn't seem to be singing about a whole lot. The album does not let up at all, until the brilliant finale, the title track. This is where we start to see where Eno is going. A brooding, guitar-led build up to a chant- a fucking incredible chant, which makes perfect sense with the benefit of hindsight, but you can bet your mortgage if I was listening to it in the early seventies I wouldn't have a clue what was going on. Complete genius.

SOOO, you should listen to these tracks I have provided, and no Greg, you don't have to listen to St Elmo's Fire again, but I strongly urge you to hear The True Wheel and Taking Tiger Mountain. Eno hasn't done much recently of worth, so some say, but I can't judge that really. What I can say is that his new album with David Byrne, Everything that Happens will Happen Today, is brilliant. It sounds nothing like their 1980s sampling oddysey My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, but offers a brilliant slice of pop with Byrne's vocals sounding more childlike than ever, and Eno obviously using all that saved up magic that he didn't use on the Coldplay album. Plus, he's a lovely bloke.

and did I mention that he's got an awesome house?

Note: Files are hosted at Mediafire- click and follow instructions.

From Another Green World:

St. Elmo's Fire: http://www.mediafire.com/?5arqswytgj1
The Big Ship: http://www.mediafire.com/?8rkxrf7alpg

From Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy):

The True Wheel: http://www.mediafire.com/?xumzcaqh7q8
Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy): http://www.mediafire.com/?3prvfek0mnl

FUN.

SW at home (imported blog from 19/08/08)

2008-08-21T06:06:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went on a little journey on my own. These are my favourite journeys, where you’re lost in your own subconscious as the world flashes past, with no interruptions from friends or acquaintances, no pre-requisites of conversation or small talk. Free.

I hopped whimsically onto the 65M bus to Charminar from my new ‘hood Mehdipatnam in the late afternoon. We travelled along the treacherously bumpy roads in the heart of the city, potholes often lifting us occupants a foot in the air. As these buses run along their merry way people jump on and off without a care, or stop. The ticket attendant and I had a lovely conversation which pretty much echoes many lovely conversations I have with locals here: “Hallo, May I know your name sir, do you like Hyderabad, May I know your age, You are not married?” et cet era. Then lots of people got on around Abid’s Circle and he had to go ticket people so I floated off into the deep clouds and crammed roads again.

At some point we crossed the River Musi which divides the old city and the new, ish. It’s not much of a river. The palm trees are nice. FANTOOSH greeted me on a huge billboard on the opposite bank. I think it’s a clothes retailer but I know if I still had my little book of potential band names it would shoot to No. 1.

After ten minutes of more tight streets and bazaars and autos and bikes and slightly different architecture and many more mosques my ticket attendant friend taps me on the shoulder and points: “Charminar!” He was pointing through the back window and the great mosque, which I had somehow failed to see, was getting further and further away. “You get off now!” The bus was still moving quite fast but another guy just dropped off nonchalantly to the street below so I decided to be cool and Indian and follow him off the moving bus. Suffice to say I ended up on the concrete grazed up on my rectum like the uncool British person that I am. This seriously jeopardized my theory that if one jumped off an aeroplane just before it crashed into the sea then that someone would safely splash in without a worry. Fuck. (I think too much in planes).

A time to be thankful to be alone, bar the hundreds of onlookers. As I stumbled to my feet it was worth it, for the Charminar lay ahead, illuminated by lighting against the now blackened sky.

We beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 (h). Iwelumo was shit at Brighton. WTF.

Thank You Space Expert

2008-08-18T17:13:00.000+01:00

I've started this blog- not sure whether it's going to work, but the general idea is that it's going to be a place where we can all write stuff over the next year- but it might just end up being me. If it works the way I envisage it, it'll be a place for us to wax lyrical about music, jobs, sport and how much we all miss playing eight-person alt/folk gigs. Also, if it works, it can be a place to post demos or ideas for songs- and recommend other artists- thereby linking into the typical 'blog' mentality. Who knows?