Tag: Wayward Wolf Film Review

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.

August 2020:

THIS MONTH’S AUDIO UPLOADS:

 

  • DANCING TO THE TUNE – FULL VERSION – 2012:

©CGNSongs

Dancing To The Tune began life as an obscure demo sent to my CGN Songs partner, Peter Godfrey, by Nat Nollid. Peter extracted what he could from Nat’s fusion of free-style spoken lyrics and steam locomotive whistles (among other things), and brought the backing track firmly into the mainstream turning it into a pop-style dance track. I then fleshed out the lyrics, and set to work on the melodies and harmonies, bringing in Rebecca Saxton to join me on vocals. Tony As added an excellent rap – recorded remotely – and after much wrestling with the mix-down process, we finally got it where we wanted it. Cheesy dance music. A bit of fun.

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  • NOW I KNOW MY ABB – FULL VERSION – 2010:

©HughCarsonMusic

This was a fast turn-around commission whilst I was based out in Sweden, to write a piece to be used in conjunction with an ABB promotional video for a compact indoor substation with disconnecting circuit breakers! The video version was, through necessity, far more sparse in its arrangement than the final stand-alone audio version, below.

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  • HYPNOTIC – SKETCH – 2011:

©HughCarsonMusic

A brief snippet from an idea that I had for a track depicting the fuzzy dream-like state of consciousness of a man, spaced-out on narcotics of some description.

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  • RAIN DANCE – SECTIONS – 1995:

©HughCarsonMusic

Whilst going through a ‘long and epic instrumentals’ phase during the mid-90s, I conjured up Rain Dance, a sort of plea to the Gods above to bring rains to the failing crops of some Native people in some fictional land. Or something. In fairness, I’ve just significantly embellished the track’s back story there for the benefit of this little write-up. Rain Dance is a bit of high-energy fun, and full of unashamed wildly inaccurate sonic Native American cultural appropriation – so stick that up your pipes, Progressives!

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  • WAYWARD WOLF THEME (THIRD VERSION) – FULL VERSION – 2014:

©HughCarsonMusic

A shorter, alternative podcast version of this track was devised for my Wayward Wolf Film Review project, but this is the extended third version which ultimately came to be the principal version. A reggae-infused track intended for use as a stand alone theme, or to be used in parts for library music purposes.

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  • BLIZZARD – SECTION – DEMO – 2010:

©HughCarsonMusic

Written whilst walking in the snow during a Dalarna Swedish winter, this track is intended to conjure up images of great icy hardship as intrepid Arctic explorers battle their way through a Blizzard on the frozen tundra. My own journey was more about walking a poodle through a pine forest in January, so you’ll probably want to allow for a little artistic licence there.

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  • NOW THE SUMMER’S GONE – SECTION – ROUGH DEMO – 2013:

©HughCarsonMusic

2011 and 2012 were pretty rough years for me on a personal level, and partially inspired by the events of those years I wrote this song as a part of the cathartic process of coming to terms with things. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I finally had the chance to record it (albeit only in a rough demo form), at Specific Media‘s swanky studios in central London, where Rebecca Saxton once again joined me on vocals. I plan to flesh this demo out some day into something a bit more polished and complete, if the opportunity ever arises.

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  • FLEXIBLE FILMS PROJECT 4 – SAMPLE – 2010:

©HughCarsonMusic

A slow, atmospheric theme intended primarily for library use.

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  • SY85 THEME (THEN & NOW) – SECTIONS – 1990/2011:

©HughCarsonMusic

A little number from way back “when I were just a lad,” fused together with a more recent take on the same theme. A minute or so of the former and the entirety of the latter. Nothing spectacular but just one of those little tunes that has somehow stayed with me over time.

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  • PAINCOTT – SECTIONS – 2004:

©HughCarsonMusic

One of the first tracks that I wrote using an Apple Mac G4 + Logic Pro Silver combination. It’s incredible to think that you get change out of £200.00 these days for the latest top-of the-range incarnation of Apple’s Logic production software, whereas the crusty bug-ridden lowly ‘Silver’ version that I bought, back in 2004, set me back something eye-watering in the region of £800.00!

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