An 8 track album is being released today called Woke up.
Listen now.
Auld lang syne
This is a very early song I released on a 60 minute cassette called Japanese overdrive. It started out as an EP and became way better in production and length in its second edition.
It was a popular tape in fact. In those days no one was selling original tapes so it even got airplay on student stations and got me a spot on Radio With Pictures on account of my “epistles” to Brent Hansen that I snuck into the overnight courier bag from tvnz Dunedin to tvnz wellington..
In the end Brent phoned me and said “enough!” But added “which song do you want to do on RWP?” Which left me speechless. It happened. They flew me up and it was recorded in Avalon main studio. What a blast..that track (Japanese Overdrive) got me orientation gigs too.
Auld Lang Syne was from the same time and it’s a story about a girl from Dunedin who got Hollywoodised and removed from her people group in dear old Dunedin. The best line in the original was the bit about her pink Rolls “I hear they’re using digital clocks in them now. You can’t even hear the ticking anymore but I can”
Anyways this song from that time is a totally updated version recorded on a Takoma baritone at eieio studios. Is it as good? Who knows all i know is its quite different in feel and tone.
Caroline (Blue Sky) is about a Peter Stephen guitar (in this recording its played on a steve Barkman guitar) that took ages to make and we christened it Caroline after a friend of mine. Never got to own the guitar and never really got close to its namesake either.
Woke up – this was a song I first played on TVNZ Dunedin evening News show. Can you believe it? They actually encouraged the arts. That was before the world’s media got taken over by Santa Klaus Shwab. You really could get on local TV. It was marvellous. Hang on you still can its called channel 9 its owned by the ODT they play me often….come to think of it
Miracle cure is a new take on an oldie but its slow and down a few tones and played on a Takoma
Kings Cross – this is a version that needs to see the light of day played on the baritone takoma its caught the mood. Its a key song of mine and again…one day…the epic version will emerge
Greenfields this was title track to an album of the same name that iris productions made with me Nikki Lindsay and Dave Murphy. It’s a God song for sure. The kinda love that never can die has to be the holy spirit. The key lines opening the song were penned by Caroline Armstrong. Greenfield first two lines was inspired by a poem by Caroline Armstrong which she wrote in response to Blue Sky (alternative title for Caroline)
Its intriguing how our perception is based on such subtle circumstances ie the sky we see as blue isn’t in fact blue….nor the green painted fields.
Precious Time this I guess is the only studio version but the live one is on a tape I released called First Civilian
Far Away is the first tune I ever wrote back in the early 70s and it became a song recently. Its going to emerge again and when it does it won’t mean I am at a loss for material – it’s just that some songs regenerate and remorph
These tracks were recorded at eieio studios out in the country in a field with two cows and the engineer (who chooses to remain nameless). Back in 2018.
This project was supposed to be released years ago. There is in fact more material to be released from this elusive studio ….in fact the best is yet to come.
Jan Bille compiled this from a hard drive labeled “Roundhead” but none of the Roundhead tracks got selected so that also is yet to happen. We are a long way from catching up on releasable material.
Eieio is interesting.its a studio in the middle of a paddock that hosts two cows. The owner of the studio is a perfectionist. It was built specifically to record acoustic guitar and vocal PERFECTLY.it includes handmade microphones made by another perfectionist from far away.
He doesn’t want to be named congratulated or esteemed. The most I could get was permission to mention the name of the studio eieio I wasn’t even allowed to post up a photo of the superstar cow grazing in the paddock.
So at last its emerged. it truly is an arts for arts are project for no profit.
On the subject it would be great if you were to Koha to this project. It’s hard to keep up any momentum in light of the fact that cost greatly outweighs returns. Arts for arts sake is good its all the better when it pays. Thats you debt. Ha ha.
