The (not quite) Final Product

http://www.reverbnation.com/meowmeowproject

So... here's a link to the song .. and some of my other demos of my other songs.. it's still needs some work i think. I didn't have much time for the guitars.. so I might redo it.. and maybe the whole song before I put it out my first album. But I'm happy with this project.. Thanks Don, Bertrand, Linda, Guillaume, Jeans, and all you other folks who have been a great help and/or inspiration for this project.

Post-Christmas

After Christmas, I got together with Don for the last session where we did the mix-down for the song. There were many instruments, so it was quite a challenge to bring out each instrument clearly and yet attain a cohesive mix. Don was completely absorbed in mixing the song.

Recording, Arranging and Last Minute Considerations

The next few weeks went by in a blur. There was little time and too much to do.. this was my most ambitious project to date.. I spent a lot of time arranging the song ... Don had suggested some changes to the song to make it slightly shorter (previously I was clocking over 6 minutes for the song) and to add more interest to the ending. I adopted these changes. When the final structure of the song was settled, we set about to recording it. I made a rough version of it at home.. and went to the studio to record it. .. this took about two sessions, for the guitar track and then the vocal track. ... but only later, I realized that the timing was off. By that time, we had only about 3 or 4 sessions left. So the next best thing was to record it in my room before going for the next session. So I did that.. it turned out pretty ok, with the help of a condenser mike and quite a few takes.

When I brought my work to Don, we spent time talking about effects, and he showed me how to create an atmospheric effect for the song as we both felt that the song needed to exist in a space. It was very interesting learning these techniques. In addition I learnt abit more about auto-tuning, creating my own sample library, mixing, eq-ing and beat-mapping.

I also got my brother to play the violin part for the song and mix it in with the sampled strings to make it sound more realistic. But before that, Jeanie Beans and I messed around on the violin for larks. (That's Jeans in the photo above)

The James Bond Song

So the song that I finally chose to work on with Don is a more recent song of mine. It's called 'The James Bond Song.' I wrote it after watching Casino Royale and was inspired by the thought that even though James Bond has a lifestyle envied by most guys.. ... maybe, just maybe, his life isn't all that its cut up to be. What if, and this is a big 'if,' one day, he finally decided that he wanted to settle down with someone he really loves? Can he? No.. coz' he's James Bond! He wouldn't be James Bond if he made that decision.. and we most likely wouldn't pay $10 to watch him get domestic with his wife. .. in any case, that story has already been done, ala 'Mr & Mrs Smith.' So James Bond is eternally 'trapped' in his jet-setting, stunt-dealing, card-playing, casanova lifestyle.. . We all eventually grow old, maybe start our own families and kids and if we're lucky.. even have grand-children. But not James Bond... 30 years later, he'll still be taking his Martini's shaken and not stirred and jumping off cliffs and dating beautiful, exotic women... hmm... well, maybe it isn't that bad to be James Bond after all.. .

Our First Session

I didn't manage to make my way through the list of songs I had prepared for the first session. Actually, it was even more difficult to play for just one person than for the 5 people that were at the audition previously. Perhaps it is because when I play for an audience of one, that person is typically my friend or someone that I feel very comfortable with. It was quite nerve-wrecking to share all my songs with Don at our very first meeting.

Nevertheless, I made it through a good number of songs and Don had quite a lot to say! I think he spent about half an hour talking about how important it was to inject emotion into one's performance... because that's the main thing that would communicate with the general audience. He gave an example of how he had attended Damien Rice's concert in Singapore: before the concert, he was not a fan, but after the concert, he was converted. Although Damien Rice was a young man, Don felt like he had heard the voice of a sage, a grand old master, who could teach him about life itself.

When I listen to Damien Rice or some other artists like Adrian Jones, Charlie Lim, Rachael Yamagata and Swell Season for example, I think I know what Don is trying to say ... Damien Rice put all of himself, his heart, mind and soul into his performances... when you saw him play, it was him.. not a facade or a pretty image.. it was him in the raw, in the full glory of his brokenness and humanity. That was an important point for me to remember... oftentimes, I'm more concerned about attaining perfection than with just putting my heart and soul into my performances. When I play my songs, sometimes I'm thinking 'ok.. next chord, Am..' or 'hold that vowel' ... True, a large part of it is making sure that I get more practice in so that I won't even have to think about these things.. but a big part of it is being able to trust, let go and let the emotion come thru'.

It is a difficult thing to do sometimes.

Don's Studio

Don's studio happens to be located in the touristy heart of Chinatown. Weaving through the tourist multitudes and red stall after red stall all pedaling Singapore souvenirs, with my guitar on my back, I finally found No. 6 Trengganu St #04-00 ... as specified in the email from Don. After another 4 flights of stairs up the shop-house and lots of huffing and puffing, I finally found myself at Eastwards Studios - shared by Don and Jason who are working partners. It was really nice to be somewhere dim, quiet and cool after making my way through the hustle and bustle and scorching brightness of Chinatown. There was also lot of paraphernalia and little toys (like the three-headed dog above) scattered about the studio to add interest.

All My Songs

Before my first meeting with Don, I emailed him and shared with him what I hoped to gain from the program. I wanted to learn more about production techniques and also learn how to become a better performer.

Don told me that during the first session he would listen to all my songs.. to get a feel for my style and voice..

So I drew up a list of all my songs and spent two afternoons practicing... all ready to give a mini-performance at Don's studio.