**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 5
Written Thursday 10th February 2022
****
What can I say? Mrs R likes it.
I knew she would.
Scheduling-wise, songs per day, I've now caught up with having missed the first 5 days of…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 3
Written Tuesday 8th February 2022
****
So, here's today's little ditty.
(I don't know whether folks outside the UK would know what a Chelsea Bun is. I love them, they are extremely yum…
Great story line - has a true troubadour feel about it! Love it - kind of dark.
I have had the pleasure of a Chelsea bun here in Canada - yup, extremely yummy.
Very creative song. I'm listening to a great concert of all your songs ...loving it.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 2
Written Monday 7th February 2022
****
I wrote this one a couple of hours ago.
I set up for recording, and busted a string on the Martin... GAH!!!
I tried a big ole dreadnought thing…
holy cow......I hadn't heard this one before! Gorgeous!!! That Fender did it's job well. Absolutely love this. I think this one is perfect as an acoustic version.
As If It Really Matters - A A J Russe
Written 16th January 1999
Recorded 12th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
Crumbs, even this is 23 years old!
We used it as a set-opener in the last band I was in.
I've been trying to make…
Wow!!! This song did not age ....it is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and I love the complexity of the melody and how it moves about. I imagined hearing it live at a concert (I'd be in the front row!).
No-one To Blame - A A J Russe
Written 1st January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
Nearly forgot to post this one! (it's been a busy week at work)
I was 24 when I wrote it. What more can I say…
The Feast - A A J Russe
Written 26th September 1985
Recorded 3rd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one's been sticking out of the shoebox for a long long while. It always shows up in a list of maybes. And it did this time…
Just To Make It What You Want - A A J Russe
Written 1st October 2016
Recorded 4th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
I was going to choose a more uptempo one next, then this one jumped out of the shoebox at us, shouting "me me ME…
Gates Of Heaven - A A J Russe
Written 15th January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This is about as naked as I can get.
This is how I wrote it. It's never had any accompaniment.
I was a bit young to sing…
Isn't This Fun - A A J Russe
Written 1980 (Completed 16th June 1991)
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
I wrote most of this in my first year at university.
But the Shoebox says I completed it 16/06/1991 - and the…
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
Gates Of Heaven - A A J Russe
Written 15th January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This is about as naked as I can get.
This is how I wrote it. It's never had any accompaniment.
I was a bit young to sing…
I Hope I Love Them - A A J Russe
Written sometime in 1989
Recorded 2nd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one has tugged at me for many many years.
I absolutely adored it from the moment I wrote it in 1989... But I thought…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 1
Written Sunday 6th February 2022
****
OK, this is a bit of a departure for me - posting songwriting demos.
This is a one mic recording made this morning in the living room, touch of reverbs…
First time hearing your stuff. After the first song, I love your writing. I'll be listening through what you have posted for the rest of the day!
Completely agree with RPM. I do enjoy it, however this year, my focus was more on songwriting and having fun. Production took a back seat.
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
I Hope I Love Them - A A J Russe
Written sometime in 1989
Recorded 2nd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one has tugged at me for many many years.
I absolutely adored it from the moment I wrote it in 1989... But I thought…
The Feast - A A J Russe
Written 26th September 1985
Recorded 3rd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one's been sticking out of the shoebox for a long long while. It always shows up in a list of maybes. And it did this time…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 13
Written Saturday 19th February 2022
****
UPDATE: 8 Hours after posting I just spotted that I listened to and favourited a song called... um... "We're Done" by oldfolks2 - check it out…
I had your FAWM playlist going and sort of forgot I was supposed to be active listening, but this one pulled me right back into it... then I saw your liner notes. I know the feeling of not being happy with something but needing to get it out, but this is great. I'm curious to see what you do with it, because I think it works far better than you it seems.
You better close the stadium with this one, because all those lighters and voices in unison are going to violate some sort of by-law.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 3
Written Tuesday 8th February 2022
****
So, here's today's little ditty.
(I don't know whether folks outside the UK would know what a Chelsea Bun is. I love them, they are extremely yum…
I'm a little perplexed at the narrative, but oh what a great narrative it is. That second verse paints a pretty vivid picture, although I'm a little unsure that being denied pastries is an apt consequence, but then Ive never had a Chelsea Bun.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 1
Written Sunday 6th February 2022
****
OK, this is a bit of a departure for me - posting songwriting demos.
This is a one mic recording made this morning in the living room, touch of reverbs…
Congratulations on the FAWM "win", especially with only 23 days to do it. A great start as well.
I share the sentiment on production. Part of me wants to do RPM next year because I wonder if I had too, could I move fast on production? It sounds a lot more exhausting than FAWM, that's for sure.
I like this one a lot. Gotta get me a banjo, or a mandolin, or both!!
You realise you're gonna have to get a fiddle as well now? (Or have you got one already!).
Fine track. Love those falling chords.
I kept meaning to listen to this ever since you first posted it. I didn't have 9 minutes at the time!
Then I noticed the attention it was getting - so I reckoned it must be something special...
... found the 9 minutes and..
YES! It is...
Coming from a completely different space than I've been dwelling in for the past few hours - and very refreshing because of that.
Enjoyed it a great deal.
Once upon a life
By OsCKilO
Once
Upon a life
Do we find
A happy ending
More
Are the times
That we try
To race from the line
Slow down Laddy
Wont you go a little bit Slow
So Daddy can
catch up
Hey there Laddy
I could run fast in my day
And…
a new song finally came out of my head .....
Here's the lyrics:
Numbers spinning ‘round my head
like bees around a hive
if I try to divide them
they only multiply
even if I round them up
or try to find their root
colors swirling ‘round my…
And another one! Fantastic.
"Far too high, far too bright.."
Love it...
This is definitely the last one I'm listening to... I'll catch up some more later... I'm off to the broom-cupboard now.
Oh fantastic song and performance. Love the "mandolin" - is it one, or the "capo up the neck" trick?
(I keep meaning to stop and actually go and do some stuff myself - but another one of yours keeps starting and I keep listening instead!)
This one is utterly fabulous.
This was made for an EMUfest a year ago ... played on my really old Rolan D10 and the robot-voice is me through a vocal patch on my boss BR800.
Have fun :D
Here's a song I recorded a couple of months ago when I had the flu ... as the voice reveals :)
Recorded early in the morning,in the bathroom, using the built-in mics on my boss br800.
Yes. Lovely.
Not sure I've heard your voice like this before (away from lots of instruments). You've got a lot more bottom-end to it than usually shows up on bigger arrangements. Think about discovering how to bring it out on those as well - not too much, just a bit :-)
Of course, it might just have been the flu!!! lol
I haven't been listening to your stuff enough recently - kinda catching up here.
This is fab. Luckily I'm too old and creaky to attempt to dance to it, thanks for the warning anyway lol
Bethan wanted to make a lullaby for her new grandson and asked me for to make a music track for her to sing to.
Tess added 2 extra riffs and pitched it down as well. She also did the mixing and the vocal arrangement.
Shadows Come, Day Is All…
Fantastic, gorgeous, yum...
Bethan, so far, this is my ABSOLUTE favourite vocal of yours (not heard them all yet, though! lol).
And I reckon Tess must have the same muse bothering her as the one that watches over and hassles me: I was getting ready to type...
"and that line 'My love sits in the front row' is just fabulous"
... when I read the previous comments!
Superb job everyone. Now, does it actually work as lullaby on the chap in question? :-)
Wooo... Not heard this one before - I assume it was the same punkfest I know about and, as I didn't pay too much attention to the stuff getting posted, I must have missed this.
Love it. What it most reminds me of is Motorhead's first album (and, actually, the originally unreleased first album, On Parole), before they "became" Motorhead. So they were still a mixture of Hawkwind, The Pink Fairies, and goodness knows what else that went into it (speed and vodka lol).
My old live sound engineer from the 80s would have LOVED this, he always trying to get me more into stuff like this. Looks like some of it stuck, I love it too.
Had a bad day when I wrote this.
There is a rule I stick by though.
"Divert and sublimate your anger and potentially virulent emotions to creative energy"
So I did..
Picked up the Kay G101 and pressed record on the iPhone voice memo…
Ah - you've uploaded this one as well, nice one :-)
But I still don't quite understand how you manage to channel stuff so apparently effortlessly, and invariably produce a song worth listening to at the same time. (And do it so often)
Mebbe I'll just press record one day and see what happens! (And then spend 3 hours/weeks/months twiddling with the EQ afterwards lol)
Comments on Andrew Russe's stuff
Absolutely beautiful! Warm and an interesting narrative :). Loving it!
Great story line - has a true troubadour feel about it! Love it - kind of dark. I have had the pleasure of a Chelsea bun here in Canada - yup, extremely yummy. Very creative song. I'm listening to a great concert of all your songs ...loving it.
holy cow......I hadn't heard this one before! Gorgeous!!! That Fender did it's job well. Absolutely love this. I think this one is perfect as an acoustic version.
Wow!!! This song did not age ....it is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and I love the complexity of the melody and how it moves about. I imagined hearing it live at a concert (I'd be in the front row!).
I think I dated this one. I like the guitar lick. The song really moves along well.
I can feel that being a great Rockin' song .....
That's a great song in the making ......
A little bit of magic ...
Very good ..... afraid the 80's are so far away for me ..... old age ;)
Top notch my friend ....
An enjoyable listen, and a little different.
This is beautiful.
Poignant, affecting. Something everyone can relate to. I'm glad you were able to revisit this old song, and I also hope recording it was cathartic.
First time hearing your stuff. After the first song, I love your writing. I'll be listening through what you have posted for the rest of the day! Completely agree with RPM. I do enjoy it, however this year, my focus was more on songwriting and having fun. Production took a back seat.
Funny I don’t get stalker vibes but I can see if one knew the backstory that might be the outcome. Another great piece of writing!!
Sparse and beautiful
This is a good listen.
I had your FAWM playlist going and sort of forgot I was supposed to be active listening, but this one pulled me right back into it... then I saw your liner notes. I know the feeling of not being happy with something but needing to get it out, but this is great. I'm curious to see what you do with it, because I think it works far better than you it seems. You better close the stadium with this one, because all those lighters and voices in unison are going to violate some sort of by-law.
I'm a little perplexed at the narrative, but oh what a great narrative it is. That second verse paints a pretty vivid picture, although I'm a little unsure that being denied pastries is an apt consequence, but then Ive never had a Chelsea Bun.
Congratulations on the FAWM "win", especially with only 23 days to do it. A great start as well. I share the sentiment on production. Part of me wants to do RPM next year because I wonder if I had too, could I move fast on production? It sounds a lot more exhausting than FAWM, that's for sure.
Comments made by Andrew Russe
I like this one a lot. Gotta get me a banjo, or a mandolin, or both!! You realise you're gonna have to get a fiddle as well now? (Or have you got one already!). Fine track. Love those falling chords.
Not come across this tuning, not sure how it gets played, can't imagine it. Might have to give it a go. You seem to know what to do with it, though!
Good work guys. Very effective guitar track and mighty fine vocal from Hooky :-)
Nice. Like the riff, and lovely keyboards.
Rockin' :-) Sooner or later I've got to treat myself to a Sunday afternoon like this. Some well tasty guitaring going on here.
I kept meaning to listen to this ever since you first posted it. I didn't have 9 minutes at the time! Then I noticed the attention it was getting - so I reckoned it must be something special... ... found the 9 minutes and.. YES! It is...
Coming from a completely different space than I've been dwelling in for the past few hours - and very refreshing because of that. Enjoyed it a great deal.
Had to give this another listen before I lock myself away in the room with too many guitars. Thanks for the inspiration.
And another one! Fantastic. "Far too high, far too bright.." Love it... This is definitely the last one I'm listening to... I'll catch up some more later... I'm off to the broom-cupboard now.
Oh fantastic song and performance. Love the "mandolin" - is it one, or the "capo up the neck" trick? (I keep meaning to stop and actually go and do some stuff myself - but another one of yours keeps starting and I keep listening instead!) This one is utterly fabulous.
Lovin these guitar sounds.
Rockin
Always liked this one
Yes. Lovely. Not sure I've heard your voice like this before (away from lots of instruments). You've got a lot more bottom-end to it than usually shows up on bigger arrangements. Think about discovering how to bring it out on those as well - not too much, just a bit :-) Of course, it might just have been the flu!!! lol
Yep, still more of a Geir than a Hen (I can hear reverb on it for a start!) lol. VERY cool, sir
Crazy! :-)
I haven't been listening to your stuff enough recently - kinda catching up here. This is fab. Luckily I'm too old and creaky to attempt to dance to it, thanks for the warning anyway lol
Fantastic, gorgeous, yum... Bethan, so far, this is my ABSOLUTE favourite vocal of yours (not heard them all yet, though! lol). And I reckon Tess must have the same muse bothering her as the one that watches over and hassles me: I was getting ready to type... "and that line 'My love sits in the front row' is just fabulous" ... when I read the previous comments! Superb job everyone. Now, does it actually work as lullaby on the chap in question? :-)
Wooo... Not heard this one before - I assume it was the same punkfest I know about and, as I didn't pay too much attention to the stuff getting posted, I must have missed this. Love it. What it most reminds me of is Motorhead's first album (and, actually, the originally unreleased first album, On Parole), before they "became" Motorhead. So they were still a mixture of Hawkwind, The Pink Fairies, and goodness knows what else that went into it (speed and vodka lol). My old live sound engineer from the 80s would have LOVED this, he always trying to get me more into stuff like this. Looks like some of it stuck, I love it too.
Ah - you've uploaded this one as well, nice one :-) But I still don't quite understand how you manage to channel stuff so apparently effortlessly, and invariably produce a song worth listening to at the same time. (And do it so often) Mebbe I'll just press record one day and see what happens! (And then spend 3 hours/weeks/months twiddling with the EQ afterwards lol)