I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a songwriting residency at Watercolour Studio in Scotland. This was a week spent sharing, writing and recording with other incredibly talented musicians and generally beautiful people. We worked together on each other's music and recorded some songs that could only exist within the space that we created for them. Below are two tracks of mine that were recorded during that week. Incidentally these were recorded in the first couple of days which meant I could dedicate the rest of my time there helping others in whatever way I could. It was amazing to gain an insight into how other people go about this craft of songwriting and learn new ways to interperet and process. I am extremely grateful for this experience and count it among the most important of my time spent studying.
This track, Counting Teeth, had actually been tried once before this session but I hadn't felt like I had done it justice. So on the first day of the Watercolour session, when asked if we had any songs that we could share to kick start our improv session, I suggested this. The group picked it up so quickly and this was the result. This recording is the 3rd or 4th take that we did that day which is only a testament for how quickly we gelled and bonded as a group.
I am so proud of this song right here. It was written with Ailsa Black, in a few hours and managed to incorporate every single person that was there at the time. As the song developed pn the day I could hear some ideas for brass lines so purposefully left space for overdubbing which was done at home with my partner.