Tag: Korg M1

July 2021

THIS MONTH’S AUDIO UPLOADS:

Victorious (Anlg) – SKETCH – 1996:

Victorious gets us underway this month. It’s a rough sketch of what I’d imagined to be a celebratory theme to open a Winter Olympics or something along those lines. It’s just an old analogue cassette recording with a couple of glitches in it, and only an incomplete rough sketch of an idea! So, do excuse the lack of polish.

Always Be There (Mason Techno Remix) (Anlg) – 1995:

My old University mate, Jim Mason, was the second person to add their own special colour to my Always Be There track, with this high-energy German-style Techno Remix. Jim was very much the king of the synths and electronica back then and probably still is to this day. It’s sadly just an old analogue cassette recording as the original digital master has yet to be found. Still love this rendition to this day.

Sassy Queen (Alternative Mellow Mix) – 2008:

Another, slightly less in-your-face mix of this exotic theme that the eagle eyed/eared amongst you will already recognise from a couple of different mixes that have been uploaded to this site in previous months.

The Moon The Stars & The Planet Mars (Late Version – 2021 Edit) – FINAL DEMO – 2012:

The full story behind The Moon The Stars & The Planet Mars (MSPM) can be found in the A-Z Section of this site, so I’ll save repeating myself here. South African/Swedish singer Linnea Södahl provided the vocals. This particular demo mix was tweaked a little in 2021. There still is no definitive mix in existence of MSPM. It remains to this day the classic abandoned track with any number of demo takes clogging up Gigabytes worth of hard drive space.

Bluebird – 1991:

I remember as clear as day programming the backing track (on my trusty Yamaha QY10) for this piece, in a common area of a Youth Hostel I was staying in, somewhere on the West Coast of the USA. Probably Seattle, come to think of it. It was only once I got to the studio at Dartington College of Arts in 1992 that it fully came to life thanks to the guitar playing of Jim ‘Pasty’ Thomas. Another cut from that first ‘album’ Just Enough. Absolute frantic bedlam. Enjoy!

Incidental Music For Animation (Karma 4 Beginners) – 2010:

Here’s one I’d almost forgotten about. A project that came up on the now defunct site, Humtoo. It was requesting incidental music to accompany an in-progress animation. This was my submission which, admittedly, clearly borrows heavily from Henry Mancini’s theme and incidental music to the Pink Panther cartoons. I thought that this choice of inspiration might work against me, but lo and behold, the music that was ultimately used for the animation not only miraculously used exactly the same source of inspiration, but was a version that appeared to have been composed by a deaf three year old. It was properly shit. Can’t help but feel that my idea(s) were taken on board and then the animator had badly re-worked them via whatever means, so as not to pay me a commission fee. Perhaps I’m wrong. Not that I’m bitter or anything!

Hardest Part – 1992:

Written for an ex-girlfriend of mine, Hardest Part, is the slow cut from the Just Enough album. It’s a production mess owing to its roots being a busy Yamaha QY10 backing track, which has subsequently then been swamped by Korg M1 overdubs, but I like to think that the emotion and sentiment still shines through.

Flexible Films (Customer Care Theme) – 2010:

Another main theme to accompany one of Sybil and Russ’s excellent mental health initiative films for the NHS.

Unrepenting Heart – SKETCH – 1997:

This early set of ideas gives us an insight into the creative process that ultimately led to the track, Unrelenting Heart. One for the HughCarsonMusic anoraks out there, if anyone, I suspect.

Upbeat Song Backing (Anlg) – SECTIONS – 1994:

I could hum you the melody if you like, but Lord alone knows what the lyrics were or even the name of this song. Fortunately, the backing track, though a little warped in places, stands up fairly well on its own as an instrumental. All composed on my old Yamaha SY85 workstation linked to an old Atari 1040 STE.

June 2021

THIS MONTH’S AUDIO UPLOADS:

Interlude (Anlg) – SKETCH – 1997:

To begin with, a very short instrumental. I discovered this track on a cassette of similar material that I estimate would have been written back in approximately 1997. A thoughtful number to kick off June’s ten uploads.

Always Be There (Anlg) (Nick Rundall Mix) – Sections – 1996:

One of three versions of Always Be There that Nick Rundall was directly involved in. In this instance, it’s his own remix created during the last of our University years. I always liked this version of the song, and it goes without saying that it’s always a privilege to have some of your creative endeavours recognised by way of someone else’s fine interpretation of them.

Sassy Queen (Picante Mix) – 2008:

An unused additional mix of this track, the original of which had been written for use on the landing page of a Turkish friend’s website – “Sassy Queen“. Probably only of any interest to me, but I like to compare and contrast the different versions of my tracks which tends to then tell the story of their evolution, and with a little luck, will ultimately display a little positive progress!

Worthless – 1992:

The closing track of my 1992 album, Just Enough, is yet another display of manic / hyper song writing. Lord alone knows what I was on at the time, but most of my output during those days was just a free-flow of energy. I think much of the crudeness of these tracks was down to having programmed the backing tracks on a small device (Yamaha QY10) which offered neither sustain nor reverb options, and so to cover up this fact, I just threw in as much busy (and unnecessary) instrumentation as possible. The resultant chaos would then often be overdubbed by additional synth parts (Korg M1), and a whole load of guitar. Talking of which, watch out for Jim Thomas as he summons the spirit of both Jay Graydon and Brian May for his soaring chorus descant lines. And it’s a good chorus. What can I tell you!

Family Film Scene Setter – Section – 2010:

Imagine if you will a 1980s/1990s John Hughes film. A moving overhead shot of a suburban scene in the sprawling leafy suburbs of perhaps Chicago? People are going about their daily business. The paperboy cycles along the streets throwing papers onto lawns. School kids trot merrily along pavements. A man waves at his neighbour whilst washing his car. You get the idea. And this is a sketch of the music that accompanies that opening scene.

I Just Know (Anlg) – Sections – 1993:

Following on from the manic nature of my first album of tracks, I had then clearly been on the beta-blockers or something as I slipped into a more reflective, and to be quite honest with you, self-indulgent phase of writing moody, thoughtful songs whose duration was positively prog rock-esque at times. This particular song in fact weighed in at a soul-destroying eight minutes in its original form. Mercifully, I’ve spared you from such a test of endurance on this occasion. I Just Know is another track featuring the guitar of Jim Thomas as well as some backing vocals from the same source.

Always Be There (Late Version) – Sections – 1998:

Whilst all involved were pretty happy with the original version of the song that had been recorded in the studios at University College Salford back in 1995 or so, I had personally always wanted to tighten a few things up, and to make it all a little more grandiose. And this was my attempt at that. Some things worked well, and others not so much.

Wayward Wolf Theme (Rough Cut Version) – 2012:

Another version of the track that had been intended as the main theme for my Wayward Wolf Film Review podcast. This was the podcast, of course, that never actually was. After much mming, aahing and before it even had a chance to actually commence, I abandoned that particular creative venture. Probably for the best.

Never Knew Love (Stripped Version) – 2012:

Essentially, this is just a late version mix of the song with most synths, piano and backing vocals dropped out, but I rather like the way it exposes Rebecca Saxton’s excellent vocals. The various other versions of this track can be found in August 2020’s mid-month uploads should you feel the burning desire to compare and contrast.

Early 90s Dance Backing Track (Anlg) – SKETCH – 1994:

I assume that this brief snippet that I’ve uploaded here was intended to be an upbeat song of some description, but unlike many backing tracks that I wrote and have then unearthed after many years, I am completely at a loss with this one as to what the melody might have been, let alone what it was going to be called. It sort of holds up on its own as an instrumental though – to some extent at least.