Gavin Dempsey - Far from a stereotype...

I'm writing today about my nephew, Gavin. He has for a long time had an interest in music and singing and it's only recently I've become aware that he was actually writing song lyrics. Apparently he had been waiting to ask me to assist him in producing a number of tracks but he has never been one to abuse familial privileges. No idea why, it's what family is for!

In all seriousness, I was hugely surprised by the lyrics he produced for me. They were honest, sensitive and vulnerable. Not your typical bravado bullshit that you'd expect from a teen. He had a melody too, so I was tasked with helping him realise the vision he had. Every single thing in the recording was his idea, even my little guitar solo dilly dally towards the end was suggested by him. We goofed around a little for the first day and created a skeleton track which we completely tossed on the second day to create a piece from the ground up.

Gavin is clearly influenced by a little bit of everything. From the classic rock and pop sounds of yester year to the latter day sounds of the rap giants and all that falls in between. Initially we were both scratching our heads as my songwriting production experience is pretty much sandwiched in the rock genre and I was expecting to be inundated with requests for an urban, reverb drenched, compressed shit show that is comprised of current sounds. I was prepared to do this if asked, my only rule from the start has always been no autotune. And I could tell that he was nervous about the vocals as Mother Nature herself has decreed his voice make the shaky transition from boy to man.

I was pleasantly surprised by his production choices, which lent me a certain amount of freedom to have a proper go at the song. Not a single decision was made without his agreement and I think we've created a song he can truly be very proud of. We're already looking towards an e.p. such was the fun we had creating "Stereotypical World". The reception has been great, and the song has even been remixed! Not really to my taste, but I'm sure the kids will lap it up.

Expect to hear more music from the man soon. I'm genuinely honoured he thinks I have the chops to do his work justice. But for now, here's his latest work. Enjoy!

Big year, big plans!

So, first of all, happy new year to anyone reading this. It's been a while since I've been on here. A big 2018, gives way to the promise of 2019 and I assure you that behind the scenes, I've been working feverishly as ever.

Having gotten hold of some quality synths, I've been experimenting no end this January, rediscovering my love for Vangelis and Heavy Metal (eclectic, I know) along the way. The first piece, albeit rehashed, of the year has been thrown out there "A Theme For Ken Colton". A tongue in cheek tribute to a colleague and friend of mine. But this is only the tip of the iceberg and I have my fingers in quite a few pies!

Speaking of fingers, I've been blighted by pain in both hands which is quite severe at times, particularly in the cold. I'm not one to self diagnose but it could be a touch of arthritis. It's affected my guitar playing quite a bit but due to the miracle of programming and copy and paste, it's next to unnoticeable. Just a case of looking after myself more as regards to diet etc (fish oils, ugh).

For now, I'm back and more inspired than ever, thanks for reading and more so - thanks for listening.
Take care and a very happy new year,

Phil.

BACK GARDEN GOTHIC E.P.

So after life threw me several curve balls this year, I have decided that it's high time to release another e.p. It's been 4 years since "Heresy". It's not made me famous but as a piece of personal art, it's something I'm proud of, and the satisfaction in revisiting it gives me a buzz every time.

After several false starts, such as "Faith" and "Hades" - I realised I was trying way too hard to reinvent the wheel and songwriting became a chore which led to me producing all instrumentals.

I have had a lot of time to reflect recently. There have been big changes in my life. Between buying a house, family bereavement and growing a little bit older and (hopefully) wiser, I have realised life is a lot more fleeting than we realise. So if I'm gonna promise myself I'll do something, I should keep that promise to myself.

I have selected six songs which, I believe, are up to standard. Each song has been written over the years, a couple have been recorded before, from the mid noughties up until the present. The theme I noticed running through them, is suggested in the name. Neighbours spying on neighbours, children's imaginations running wild, urban legends etc. I can't promise what it will sound like as I don't know myself to be honest. My biggest influence at this current time are Glam Rock, ethnic Romany folk (see "Gypsy" without intending offence) and Yemenite folk music. This doesn't necessarily suggest what it will sound like but I would suggest listeners expect a surprise or 3!

The real work starts on Thursday, my next day off. But the work has already begun and I'm feeling excited about producing songs (of the lyrical persuasion) for the first time in a long time.

Thanks for reading. Watch this space.

RIDE ON

"Ride On" as performed by Christy Moore, takes on a life of it's on when you hear it. It's iconic, hell - it's an anthem. And it is virtually untouchable and to think it could be is pure sacrilege. So the rest of us mere mortals can only tread around a perfect song with our imperfect versions. I recorded my own version over a year ago and being unhappy with it, consigned it to the "vaults" as it were. Said "vaults" being a dusty old hard-drive.

Recently having moved, a lot of old stuff has popped up out of everywhere and upon reviewing the files on my hard-drive, I rediscovered my recording. There was a certain charm to it, my view had softened through time. My broken down voice surprised me coming out of the speaker. It had been that long since I recorded my vocals, I'd forgotten the sound of my own voice. I've always veered between trying to sing and struggling with a singing voice a good few years of chain smoking can produce, but I kind of liked this version.

So yesterday, I sat down with the rough version and added a few strings and an oboe. That was what I'd been missing in the mix. Amazing the clarity of a year can produce when you've thrown something by the wayside. I love this song and I'd never do it a disservice. I only hope someone else will find a place in their ears or heart for my own humble version. This is "Ride On". Thanks for listening.

I employed my trusty Partsocaster "Selena", and a treble boosted Boss CE-5 into a Liverpool pedal (Vox Sim). The strings and woodwinds were samples from Eastwest Hollywood Strings, Woodwinds respectively.

Tools, Tools And More Tools!

I can't remember ever really explaining the tools behind the music I create but there are no real secrets behind what I do. But knowing how to play music is pretty much standard. You don't need to be a prodigy and the tools certainly help both at work and helping to inspire.

The DAW I use is Reaper. Incredible value with all the modern assets for the modern producer. I can't afford Pro Tools or the like but I have everything I need with Reaper. Pro Tools is a great tool but extortionately overpriced and Reaper has every thing I possibly need.

A great producer only sounds as good as his samples and that's why I have chosen my libraries VERY carefully. High quality samplers and plugins are usually not cheap:

EastWest Quantum Leap Silk (Caters to my love of Indian and Persian sounds)
EastWest Quantum Leap Gypsy (For that ethnic folk sound - think Violin, Accordians, Dulcimer)

These are my go-to samplers. I have a certain "sound" in my head and I always seem to find it in these.
For the big lush Hollywood sound, I employ:

EastWest Hollywood Strings Gold
Eastwest Hollywood Brass Gold
Eastwest Hollywood Orchestral Percussion Gold
Eastwest Hollywood Woodwinds Gold

The realism in these is at all times absolutely breathtaking and can be upgraded over time as a less costly option when purchasing the licences.

For the more interesting "blockbuster" sounds, I use U-he Zebra. A Synth with incredible capabilities and highly adaptable sounds. Hans Zimmer is a big fan and he uses it in virtually all his later scores such as The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar and Dunkirk.

Kontakt Instruments I employ are

SoundIron Apocalypse Ensemble (For a huge drum sound)
SoundIron Mercury (A boys Choir)
SoundIron Olympus (Full Adult Choir)
India (Again a lot of fun ethnic sounds)
Soniccouture Glass Works (Weird and wonderful Glass Instruments)
Waves Factory Mercury (Piano)
Kirnu Cream (A fun arpeggiator)

A pretty modest collection but one that is growing slowly but surely!