A dynamic and sonically diverse album featuring rock, ballads, blues and improvisation, with a bigger acoustic presence than before.

COVER OF DARKNESS

My fifth album is introduced by a huge stomping riff, achieved with a mixture of imagination and technology. For quite a while I've been trying to write a tune with a cool low octave melody, and it turns out they are a bit of an enigma for me, but hopefully I've achieved that now with the opening track. The verses go in a slightly funkier direction, allowing a bit of time to breathe before smashing into the heavy chorus. In a sense, ‘Cover of Darkness’ is a subtle statement of intent, if there is such a thing; multiple guitar tones, heavily riff based, but also plenty of room to improvise. The drum track is also working hard behind the scenes, shifting and changing without ever causing distraction and even adding a touch of double kick during the solo!

THAT LOST FEELING

Written during a period of uncertainty, I dreamt up the verse melody while staring out a window at my garden. Without a guitar in sight the tune was already taking shape. I usually avoid composing in times of stress, but I could hear potential so I made this one the exception. The eventual guitar tones you hear were made with my new Blackstar HT-1R; the amp I chose for my new sound. No pedals were used, just the speaker emulator on the amp and an Ibanez JS1200. A more hopeful chorus melody followed, which returns after the solo. I decided to take a chance with the drums; although they are acoustic kit loops, in isolation I felt they sounded too much like a drum machine. Thankfully once everything was recorded, they sounded really good, with a great snare and deep thumping kick drum.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

After a couple of years trying to find the right way of recording my live pedal board, it was time to make my most diverse sounding album yet. I noticed another change during the recording of this one; the general style and structure was different. Maybe it's only little things, but the difference was clear to me. A friend of mine summed up the album by saying there was more light and shade, and I think that really started here. I used an electronic harmoniser for the second half of the call and response on the chorus, which was really effective. Talking of the chorus, it sounds big! The Blackstar thrives when double tracking rhythm guitar and the bass part makes it sound bigger still. The harmoniser returns for the solo but it's not used anywhere else during the track. Despite all my new sound options I've been careful to use them in moderation, which is generally the best way when you are trying to prioritise music above all else.

BLUES NIGHT

Having relied heavily on my JS1200 for most of the electric guitar parts, it became clear very quickly that this tune requires something else, so it was time to bring in the Epiphone Nighthawk. I also felt my new Blackstar tone would be inappropriate this time, so I went back to my trusty Vox Tonelab LE which has served me well since my debut album. The combination sounds beautiful, especially with the extra width on the chorus, and that wonderful springy vibrato you can achieve on the Nighthawk works a treat for a blues track. This was probably one of the most difficult to record; you will always find you work better with some tempos than others, and this one was very tough for me to get right. I knew I wanted ‘Blues Night’ on the album, so I made sure I overcame my difficulties. I hope you enjoy the end result.

WAITING

Unlike every other track, the first acoustic tune wasn't recorded in 2014. For some time, I've been trying to get this onto an album, but small niggling issues were holding it back. Having heard it again while going through past demos I decided it was time to do something about it. Luckily, I still had a copy of the original studio files, So I patiently corrected some issues with the drum track and changed the intro. Recording it again was out of the question, as there were lots of special moments in there that weren't going to happen again. It's a quirky, rough-edged performance, but I knew the importance of hanging onto the original feel and atmosphere. I always look forward to hearing the final master of an acoustic recording because they invariably sound fantastic.

SCARLET STAR

My friend Ben was with me during the earliest experiment with a new distortion pedal that I'd hoped would better suit my requirements. It passed with flying colours in every environment I tested it in, which was confirmed by the look on Ben's face, and the look I imagine was on my face too. Clearly having too much fun, I played what would eventually turn out to be the opening chords of ‘Scarlet Star.’ It sounded cool but I didn't think any more about it. However, Ben had other ideas and said it should be part of a song. There's an interesting collection of distortion tones here; the verse is lo-fi with subtle low octave aggression, the chorus is wide and bright with beautiful double tracked electronic harmonies and the solo sound is just idyllic; smooth, aggressive, but devoid of any unwanted fizz. This is another track with a more exciting structure than the norm; it wasn't planned to have the drums drop out for the acoustic bridge section, but it really helps the chorus make a strong impression.

MYTH HUNTER

It's hard to believe listening to it now, but originally, I wanted totally different drum grooves for this song. I spent ages going through my collection of loops, but sometimes you just can't have exactly what you need when working this way... Or at least that's what I thought. When the recording had finished, I realised that this new drum track was actually better after all! Playing acoustic can often feel like a different instrument compared to electric but I was pleasantly surprised by the experience during recording, suddenly it didn't feel like a fight and I could play how I wanted (for the most part) without adapting to the limitations. ‘Myth Hunter’ has a really nice feel to it, and as always, my acoustic sounds stunning.

AND RELAX

I was a bit concerned that my new Blackstar sound would be a bit uncompromising against acoustic rhythm guitar, but there was nothing to worry about; they meshed together very nicely. The verse needed to be approached differently compared to the other tracks; the improvised melody had to pick its moments carefully and respectfully to avoid interrupting important parts of the rhythm guitar, and the chorus is actually merged with the very end part of the verse. The solo is a mix of steady and fast playing, but I wanted to make sure there was a good sense of touch and feel to both those extremes. The bass parts are prominent on this track, and even add some extra value to the chorus.

JUST DRIVING

Sometimes I need to throw away the traditional rules of verse and chorus and just jam using the random button in my brain. Obviously, you still need a solid, consistent rhythm section, but you get total freedom to layer what you want over the top. The drums are a vital part of what makes this giant improvisation work; even the simple build-up of the kick drum groove sets off something prime-evil that makes us want to head-bang, jump up and down, dance or whatever you fancy in that moment. When the drums kicked in at full force, I was inspired to create an equally exciting improvisation; it's a little raw, but hopefully all the better for it. You may notice that my sound is bigger and brighter on ‘Just Driving;’ this is because I decided to keep the variety up by switching back to my Vox Tonelab LE. This was the very machine that allowed me to shape my signature sound many years ago.

SPACE RACER

There's a real angst and energy to this one which is magnified in the bass part. Guitar sounds are kept basic, except for the solo, which makes use of that low octave. The effect is mixed very low this time but hopefully you will notice it in some shape or form. The chorus is interesting because I was convinced it would have to be half the length, but it's funny how some melodies allow you to repeat them without getting irritating; luckily this was one of them. I wanted to keep the drums simple in the verses, but allow them some fun in the chorus and solo. It's a cool sounding kit too, with a lot of natural room reverb in there to make it feel thunderous. I managed to overdub a tiny bit of whammy bar fun and games; the technique has a few different names, including 'Satch Scream' and 'Dime Squeal', but in reality, we all know the whole thing was popularised by Jimi Hendrix. It happened by happy accident; I was waiting to start a take and I often do silly things while the track is running that you never get to hear. I went for it and it was perfectly in tune with the first two notes of the final chorus, so this time my larking about is forever imprinted into the recording.

BATTLE

Back with my old Vox tone for the remainder of the album, this one has quite an attitude and brashness bubbling all the way through. The groove is slow, relentless and powerful, plus there's a couple of crafty stop/start moments designed to catch you out. I wanted freedom to play around with the chorus, so ‘Battle’ features the only chorus melody in five years not to be double tracked. Assuming it would inevitably lack some width and clarity, I was wrong, it's just different. The wah tone in the verse is really cutting, as is the fuzz pedal which helps the chorus have a sound of its own. As for the solo... If I ever needed to give an example of my favourite lead guitar tone in the world, it's been captured right here on this recording. Careful not to ruin it with an inappropriately timed fade out, I actually shaped it myself for the first time rather than using the pre-set approach.

DORIAN'S MYSTERY

The closing track took me by complete surprise in more ways than one. Right from the start it was due to be another improvisation. Whereas ‘Just Driving’ worked surprisingly well with this approach, ‘Dorian's Mystery’ was rather high maintenance by comparison. The nature of the rhythm guitars meant that a straight jam simply wasn't going to work. With the plan now thrown out the window I knew I had dropped myself in it; I needed written melodies for the verse and chorus. As the old cliché goes, 'necessity is the mother of invention;' I tried the slow methodical approach, then the instinctive approach... And somehow ended up with a title track! I've learned by now to let a song take its natural path. Your own composition can actually start leading you and taking control of itself; probably in the way a character of a book would do for its author.