Welcome to Episode 180 of my podcast interview from the crow's nest. It's Monday 21st to December 2020 just a few days before Christmas. So today, I had the day off yesterday. Today, I'm chuffed I'm on a roll. Um, yeah working on home music like almost continuously and it's glorious frankly, and I'm feeling really positive about next year, not just with music but just everything like, you know, it's definitely been a tough year financially but it's been a good year for getting other projects off the ground or re you know revisiting stuff like my album. So today, I finished the song I was working on yesterday, which is a song called never kissed a martyr. And there's a piano solo and in my first piano solo. And I recall i remember i coded it like maybe a couple years ago, whatever. And basically it's like it's almost me randomly in maniacally bashing the piano. And then open it sounds kind of good and I had an idea of what I wanted to achieve but I can't actually play piano so it's very difficult to do that. And so I kind of the great thing is because I played the piano through what's called MIDI which is basically allows you to edit stuff better it turns it turns sounds, or it turns stuff into computer information, basically, so that you can change a note by simply dragging the note up or down for example. And so because it was a MIDI, I was able to edit it and so today I was editing the timing and some of the notes and stuff and so now the solo gave it a little bit more melody, and it's cool, it's it's something different like it's, it's cool. So I'm chuffed with it and it's really, you know, the tracks now come together so that's cool. So, I decided to work on the next track. The next track I'm working on is a track called. Not your sucker, which isn't the original name the original name is badass motherfucker. And that was actually a song I wrote for Amy Winehouse going back, you know, 20 odd years or whatever. Before she, you know blew up and became particularly famous. So I'd written this track for her and I never actually met her I hasten to add. It was through a friend. I don't think you ever heard it, but I've adjusted it a little bit just to the chorus lyrics but other than that it's the same song. And, but the problem is when I've recorded a few years ago I realised i'd recorded it basically too slow. And it just, it's not. It just today is going to be a problem song. So I listened to it today and as our man this is gonna be, it's gonna be a challenge to get this one going. And, but then I managed to basically change the tempo of everything I'd recorded using the tools in Cubase. And, you know, read it a couple of the guitars and stuff. So that meant plugging in my guitar for the first time to record here and just getting a few cables out and getting a few things a bit more setup. So now that setup I can do that anytime I want which is brilliant. So basically, I was really chuffed because I can see how much my, my workspace is improving things you know everything's set up and everything I can leave it set up. I mean I did pack down the guitar and stuff afterwards but that's my own because I like to put things away, but you know the my I've got my area I've got my workspace. It's not exactly a studio but it's as close as I've got right now and it's good. And then moving into the digital realm. I've actually in a noticing that my, my skill my technique my ability to use the tools that I've got Cubase and other such things is really improving as well so I can do stuff so much quicker than I ever used to be able to I still had to Google a few things today to work out to do it, but I just yeah I can see I'm basically I'm just getting better, I guess at producing, at least, using those tools. And then, as a musician and arranger and producer in that sense. You know I've improved my craft there and the songs good So basically, I was really chuffed with myself because I moved it from God, this is going to be tough to ah, I'v
