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Fate Line Listening Party
Dark moody shots of a luminous evening! We had an intimate listening party for friends and family at Canterbury Music Company last night. We wanted to say a special thanks for the support the band and project have received. Great food and drink followed by a listen front to back of “Fate Line” interspersed with comments and illuminations into the process and songs. We ended the night with an acoustic version of the song that ends the album, “After A Fall.” Simon was on the gorgeous grand piano used during the recording. Very beautiful night of music and appreciation in a beautiful space – thank you to all who showed up and warmed Canterbury on what was a cold first day of November. Especially grateful to Jeremy and Jonny and Imali and all the Shiners, who contributed to making the evening memorable
Musical Making and Discovery
Last Saturday was the perfect day for music making and discovery!
Stormy outside, but Jeremy’s west end studio was warm and dry, with plenty of well-steeped tea, incredible roti and time to mark down favourite takes or dodgy bits to be edited out. Though Astrid’s performance was essentially flawless (no joke), the rest of us human Shiners listened for the most vibey performances, honing all the summer recordings down to twelve bed tracks. It is a meticulous but joyful process, and we felt we were in good ears with Jeremy, our expert and patient guide/technician. And no doubt, what will emerge from all this will be our own beautiful cicada of an album! But we’ve only just begun – we’ll be going back in this month to finish up the editing. And then the next step – vocals and overdubbing – can begin.
As for musical discoveries, we left the studio that night and managed to get to the Mod Club just in time to catch Laura Mvula‘s set! She’s an amazing new artist out of the UK and South Africa. A most striking and generous performer (think Nina Simone meets Kate Bush meets Miriam Makeba meets Vampire Weekend)! I got to meet her after the show – she was gracious and exhausted – felt like I got to experience the whole wonderful process of music making, performing, producing and promoting! A reminder to be an appreciative music fan, as well as an artist.
Exhausted but Exulted!
It was a marathon of music making this past weekend – we are exhausted and exulted by the experience. Indeed, twelve rhythm tracks were recorded and then some – with great vibes, laughter, and eating of the roti, both Guyanese and Trini. Jeremy Darby, with his stunning studio, gear and impressive creds and ears, made for a great guide through the recording process. And what can I say about the Shiners – Astrid was rock solid on bass, Simon dedicatedly found the perfect snare for “Audience,” Jonathan made his strings sing, be they on violin, mando or viola – and Dr. John produced some wicked guitar licks through the Leslie cabinet. The sounds were so warm coming through that Neve desk – we are going to have one gorgeous sounding record when this is all done!
And there is more to come – we will be returning to the Canterbury studio in the Fall to do some overdubs and vocals – including one crowd-singing session! To that end, and with our big Fall gig in mind, I am going to extend the indiegogo campaign through to November 2nd, when we play at The Dora Keough. So for those still interested or keen to contribute, this financial avenue is still open.
In the meantime, enjoy these last weeks of summer – with all of its musical muses.
xo
Jen