DOGGONE - THE EXPAT-RECORDS STORY

Everyone with an interest in writing and performing is aware that the music industry has been hit by a technological tsunami and had to make dramatic changes in this century. 

Like the banks, record labels and artists have plunged into negative equity. There are record company exceptions that have merged or diversified and wealthy groups and solo performers with a significant career history behind them. These winners can still sell enough music to fans and continue to earn substantial income out of licencing for film and TV, through direct download songs, merchandise sales and a stream of concert revenue generated by touring. They are represented by bands of the stature of the Rolling Stones or Coldplay and by solo artists like Neil Young or Ryan Adams. Newcomers to music struggle to be heard in the wake of those hurricanes.

RYAN ADAMS AT BRIDGEWATER HALL

In these times of financial uncertainly and record label mergers, new artists have to run a hurdle race for success.  They either need to sound incredibly different and have combined luck, some talent, staying power and be in the right place at the right time or be fresh-faced pretty boy/s girl/s juvenile models. It is also possible to succeed by being the offspring of media high-profiled person or be an existing star of stage and screen. The truth is that ‘everyone and his dog’ can home-record and the Internet is not only awash with it there is a musical tsunami drowning out the sounds of good souls. There is one other torturous way to get through but surely it is only the deluded or the brave that choose to run the gauntlet of X Factor, The Voice or Britain’s Got Talent.

History records a period when labels hired A&R people to go to gigs and follow ‘the buzz’, but this does not appear to happen any more outside London and possibly not even in the metropolis these days. Then emerging talent might be bank-rolled – even to be Kate Bush-style nurtured - by record companies; well, those with money to burn in a spread-betting sense. But now it had all dramatically changed and the effect is that even some big names are in the doldrums.

13 years ago I was close to a band that eventually had top ten hit singles and albums but for 12 months they had struggled to find gigs and were rehearsing in a lock up garage - going nowhere. That was before a brother of the lead singer, working for an EMI secondary label, arranged for them to perform at a showcase event. Talent + luck + perseverance + who you know - one formula.

I recorded a couple of demo albums in the 200/2001 years but it took almost ten years of playing open mics and gigs at pubs before my alter ego, Dogman, chipped a tiny piece off the iceberg of music fame. This was when Tom Robinson played my track, Home Fire, on his BBC6 Music ‘Unsigned on Net’/Freshnet show in 2010. I subsequently received an email from Paul Shulver, an A&R representative for a new USA based label, Expat Records. Paul asked me to sign up with them and linked me to an Internet interview where the label President, Jeff Libby, had made interesting statements about changing the way labels treated developing artists.

Expat Records, they had just announced, were releasing a new Kool and the Gang ft Misfit R&B single. With that news, I went around bragging that I was going to be on the same label as KATG who coincidentally were touring the UK at the time.

email from Paul Shulver, 7^th October 2010:

Hi Dave,

I've just been looking at your Myspace profile and think you've got some great tracks, I particularly like 'Spitfire'.

I noticed you have released some of your material yourself and I was wondering if you've considered partnering with a label to help you achieve your goals?  If so, Expat Records could be an excellent option for you.

A bit about us: Expat Records is a very unique, innovative, independent music label that offers one of the biggest, broadest and most creative online music promotion and distribution in the industry.  We are currently looking to grow our roster and are seeking artists with completed material.

Expat Records is very focused on success, and our priorities are our high standards of ethics, fair-play, and respect for the musician and their music. I would also like to stress that we are not a for-hire company that charges a fee for our services, we are a proper music publishing and distribution company.

I have attached a document that will give you a better idea as to what you could expect as an artist with Expat Records. Please also find here a recent interview with Jeff Libby, the founder of the label http://musicians.about.com/b/2010/09/01/qa-with-je ff-libby-of-expat-records.htm

Please note that this is not a spam email, you have been carefully selected because we think you are making great music which we believe we can take to a bigger global audience as well as generate revenue for you.

If you think that this is the type of deal that you are looking for then please contact me with your landline number or Skype ID (I’m working outside of the UK at the moment and am unable to call UK mobiles) and a convenient time to call you so that we can discuss further.

Alternatively if you'd like to ask some questions first then you're also welcome to send these over and I'll get back to you asap.

I look forward to hearing from you shortly

Best regards Paul Shulver

A&R, Expat Records

That email included a link to a Heather McDonald ‘interview article’, published online, on About.com in September 1^st 2010

Her bio: http://musicians.about.com/bio/Heather-McDonald-24203.htm

These are extracted Q&A which can be accessed in full online:

Question: Expat Records is a record label, but with a modern twist. Can you tell us a little about what makes Expat unique?

Jeff Libby - Answer: We call what we are doing Music 2.0: a fusion of music and technology to create a new type of record label which brings unprecedented exposure to independent musicians. We've developed a revolutionary software platform we are in the process of patenting that essentially combines multimedia syndication, social media, automated content distribution, mobile, and advanced analytics. It sounds complicated and from a technical standpoint it is, but the concept is quite simple: we get our artists' news, music, and videos in as many places and in front of as many people with similar taste as possible. This enables our artists to be on hundreds of sites around the internet in front of literally millions of potential fans for virtually no cost whereas traditional label tactics like magazine ads and street teams have exponentially higher costs and reach only a tiny fraction of the audience we reach.

Why buck the traditional label model? What made you decide to take things in a different direction?

Jeff Libby - Answer: It's shocking to me how slow the record industry has been to adopt the new technologies and lean business models of today. The modus operandi of the traditional record label is to make big bets on a small number of groups. Regardless of your opinion of this model, it is a fact that over 95% of major label artists never see a penny in royalties because they never recoup the initial investment…..

…Also, in the old days, it was almost impossible to make a proper record without a label. In addition to financing the project, labels took an active role in creating the product by providing songwriters, producers, studio musicians, etc. For this, the companies argued, they should be entitled to own the masters and pay the artist only a tiny fraction of the profits. Although this still goes on, and a times with great success, the fact is that almost anyone today can cheaply record an album at an incredibly high technical standard. As such, our model is that we partner only with artists with completed masters. The artist retains ownership of the masters, we take 100% of the risk, and we split the profit. This works out very well for artists who don't need traditional label backing to make a recording because with us they earn about a 650% higher percentage of the profits than they would with a major label.

How does the "signing" process work for musicians?

Jeff Libby - Answer: Although not just anyone can join our label the way they can sign up for Youtube or Facebook, our model allows us to take a lot more risk than even a small indie label could take, let alone a major label. Today, the major labels have become like big banks: they do not like risk at all! They want a band that already has a big following, is touring, selling a lot of downloads, etc…..

What ingredients do you think it takes to make a release successful these days? What does a musician - or label - need to be doing to be profitable in the current music industry climate?

Jeff Libby - Answer: There are two big things, and once you look at them you can see why both big labels and indies are struggling. The first is marketing and the second is a low break-even. What are you doing to bring your music to the attention of new fans, what is it costing you to do this, and what new models of revenue creation are you opening? Most musicians I speak with are great artists who understandably do not have the ability to market themselves on a large scale. Many then sign with traditional indie or even major labels and wind up even worse off. These labels either think they're so cool they don't need to do marketing or the advertising they do is extremely expensive, inefficient, and ineffective so they cut and cut as they slowly spiral down the drain. Our model is the exact opposite: high level & volume of marketing + low break-even/profitability threshold = high probability of success.

Can you share some upcoming Expat plans you're particularly excited about?

Jeff Libby - Answer: There are two innovative aspects of our program that i have not mentioned that I am very excited about. The first is our ad network. We offer each artist a full web platform (music, video, photo, merchandise, blog, tour schedule, etc), an IPhone app, and a mobile website. Each of these platforms has both fixed and video ads. Like all other revenue, the revenue from these ads is split with the artists. This is something no other record company in the world is doing. To us, it just makes sense and fits with the times. If someone does not want to buy music but just wants to watch videos and listen to streams they can do so for free and the artist still makes money, everyone wins.

What more incentive did I need? 

A dream come true, however, like many 

dreams, the eventual reality is often the 

polarised opposite of fantasy. 

Mine eventually crashed.

Paul Shulver, through this time seemed very honest and genuine to me. He told me that he had not only heard Home Fire on the Tom Robinson show (BBC6 Music) but that he had also listened to a new demo of mine, Spitfire, on MySpace. He even wrote that he was singing it around his garden. Paul explained that he had once worked for Virgin Media in London and with Bombay Bicycle Club after they won through ‘The Road to V’. He wrote that he was a fan of Neil Young and could imagine me playing like him on a back porch somewhere. He called me The English Neil Young and I still top Google with that link.

Dogman aka David Sands had arrived! I thought it somewhat ironic that Home Fire was only played after arranging for Silver Tin – a song written and performed by my singer-songwriter son, Johnny Sands, to be uploaded to BBC Introducing for the Tom Robinson show.  I remember thinking: if I can do it for Johnny why not try uploading one of my songs?

A contract came via email for three albums and another for three albums for The Crossbreed – my joint project with keyboard/Treatments musician Mikans. 

My fellow musicians to play on my original songs were all asked to sign the contact digitally (which is a first for me - but in keeping with a paperless company).  

Expat suggested they could simply re-release my first Dogman demo album (The Whisperer) which I had launched through CD Baby and on  a limited edition CD (for gigs) after advice from a local musician, Teaspoon, who had released digital albums on that site already. I wanted to go back in the studio and polish songs from The Whisperer and add new ones as I was in a rich writing vein at the time. Thinking the studio costs would be supported by the label I asked and was told they didn't have a budget for production.

I met all the recording costs and spent the best of a year, in random evenings of spasmodic sessions, recording to click tracks. The studio owner, Mr Smith added percussion and much more alongside two local musicians, Matt Pawson (guitarist and multi-instrumentalist) and Andy Penney (bass). These two guys were into my songs to the extent that Andy drove around in his car with Galileo on permanent repeat and Matt, who admitted that he had listened to the demo of Spitfire at least 100 times to develop the guitar riff he added in the studio. We eventually produced an album of different original songs that Mr Smith believed would be professional recordings that were radio-friendly for the USA.

Launching my album, The Cat that solved the String Theory, was definitely a ritual – including studio premier 

and live gig at Jims Acoustic Café. To see it eventually on I-Tunes, on May 13^th 2011 (my wife’s birthday) was a pleasure.

It was all looking good for an old man who thought his moment in the music business had long since gone. Tom Robinson's team selected one of my songs from the album, It's a Love Thing (higher being wants us to sing), on a Bank Holiday weekend that year and included in the show Podcast. All was good except nothing much happened with Expat-Records. I produced my own limited edition CD to sell at gigs and which is now sold out.

At the time I was being expertly guided by Paul Shulver to apply to play at small festivals; to write blogs about each song and put all the album tracks on Soundcloud as it would encourage fans. Currently I have well over 6000 followers on SC - gained only by my long-term presence on the site but I doubt 10% are actually fans of my music. In comments on my songs I have been compared to Neil Young, Roy Harper, Mick Jagger and even Towns Van Zandt which does wonders for my ego if not my bank balance.  

A month after my album release in 2011, Jeff Libby released an explanation-denial PDF on why Kool and The Gang had distanced themselves from his label.

I then asked three other artists - who I knew had signed for ExPat - how they thought the relationship was going. They mainly suggested the ‘jury was out’ but that there was little to lose by signing with them.

In March, 2012, Jeff Libby sent out an email with a royalty statement attached and the miserly amount for me and band-members was not enough to even buy a discount CD. I actually earned more from PRS for the plays of It’s a love thing on the BBC6 Music than for sales of my album on ITunes and whatever platform Expat sold it to.

The Expat-Records President:

Dear Expat Records Artist/Manager,

Attached please find your latest Bi-Annual Expat Records Statement. Note that there is an extremely long lag time in our receiving the publishing royalties so there may have been additional royalties generated for this period that we have not yet received. Needless to say, we have been following up regularly with the various PRS societies and as soon as we receive them we will pay them out to you in the next statement period.

I was extremely disheartened not only by our artists’ lack of support for increased legal protection for copyright owners but in many cases their vocal opposition to it. The numbers reflected in these statements, in my personal opinion, clearly demonstrate the need for reform in the law. I say this because we have many artists with literally millions of youtube views, five and six digit numbers of soundcloud plays, but yet no one is buying the music and sites that stream it are not paying royalties.

In my personal opinion, historically, non-tangible and intellectual property (patents, copyrights, deeds, etc.) and individuals’ rights to them, have been the foundation of the creation of wealth in western society.  I think that the loss of respect (and legal authority to enforce) said rights, is a great tragedy and will be looked at in the future as an egregious mistake.

I know you all have invested countless hours and dollars in your projects as we have invested in this company.  Yet as a result of the current climate, until further notice, we will not be putting out any new releases. As such, we will not be exercising our options to renew any of your contracts. Further, if you have opportunities you would like to pursue prior to the end of your contract please feel free to contact me and I would be happy to authorize you to do so.

It goes without saying that even after the expiration of your contracts we will continue to pay you for whatever royalties we receive on your behalf.

Thanks, Jeff

Two significant people who I had dealings with over the years, Charles Lucking and Paul Shulver', were both based in Buenos Aires and they left Expat in 2012 without comment. The last email contact I had with Paul was to sign a release form for my picture to be used on a new Music App Promotion Lyynks which I have just seen online among a series of band/artist poses (April 2013).  

I contacted Jeff Libby in January 2013 to enquire about obtaining the ITunes control and rights for my album back and to know what happened to Paul Shulver – his final response:

David,

Thanks for your message, I did see you asked that. I am more than happy to answer any questions related to sales, your contract, etc. As far as my future plans for the business, what's going on with my staff, my 'ideals', etc. I'm sorry but that's not something I'm open to discussing. Thanks again, Jeff

The whole experience was enjoyable in the main and worth it; I enjoyed composing songs and most of recording process, working with musicians and my interaction with A&R Paul.

To date, I have still not received any further royalties from Expat-Records. I have learned to be more realistic and accept that there is never going to be a time for me to ‘make’ it as a musician in terms of appearing on Jools, Later like Seasick Steve. One hope I do still have is that either Dolly Parton or Taylor Swift covers my song ‘Valentine Light’ or it gets played on BBC Radio 2. The royalties might be nice.  

DOGMAN INTERVIEWED BY OORLAB (DICKV)

OORLAB DICKV AMERSFOORT



OORLAB (NETHERLANDS) ONLINE INTERVIEW (APRIL)

Hi David, I listened to your albums 
both at home and in the car. 

Good music, keeps being interesting. 

Thanks for listening Dick. 
The Whisperer was kind of demo as I had not recorded in the studio for almost 10 years. I was just playing gigs in pubs and small clubs. As my animal behaviour work reduced in the recession I had more time to spend with my music. 
Then, with a handful of songs tor record I looked around for a local studio. I found Mr Smith who proved good on one level (I did have to ask him to reduce the reverb) and difficult on another level (had his own idea of how I should sound) 

Mr. Smith - the producer - maybe did put in reverbs a lot? 

Do you have the loose untreated tracks for remixing?

In some cases I have early demos but mainly me as vocal and guitar. I have stems for my song, ‘We know how it ends’, but only because there was talk of a remix.

Here are some questions for a blog (MySpace, Facebook, Hyves)

When writing, which comes first - lyrics, or music?

You will read in some of these blogs of mine (if you have time)  that sometimes I am playing a chord sequence and adapt it into a song (like Galileo) or words/poems come first like Small acts of Kindness.

SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS

In the case of the latter - what do you come up with first: tempo, chords, melody? 

Chords usually, but in the case of Love Thing I had a melody idea – the lyrics came to me in a flash – and I was playing with unusual reduced string capo positions. In home Fire I liked a chord sequence and had the idea for a road home song. With Spitfire is was the idea of analogy/metaphor – my wife as the Spitfire character (she can be feisty) and me as the slow burning fuse – I was born in Germany because my father was in the British army after the war and my wife in England – so, I had the opposing planes!!! 

IT'S A LOVE THING

Do you write down stuff on paper or computer? 

Or do you record new ideas?

I scribble lyrics down on scraps of paper or note pads – I write the chords down and try and go over it a lot until it is right. Valentine Light was being played and revised over a two year period during live gigs before I recorded it. It went from folk to alt country.

On average, how much time does it take between first inception and actual finalizing the idea for recording? 

Can be weeks or can be years. I have only just mastered home recording.

In the studio, do you use click-tracks? 

All of ‘The Cat that solved the String Theory and other stories’ was recorded to click tracks because my timing can be awful unless I am in a groove. I found it very difficult at first to sing without my guitar but now I understand it is better when other musicians are putting their instruments into the mix….

Did you record all the tracks separately or was there a live connection between two or more of the tracks?

Almost all were recorded separately although sometimes I stayed in the studio after a main session and rushed down a new demo (ie Do my Dance and Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter and He chose the road).

The idea was when Expat Records approached me to release an album the guys said – let’s do a great studio job that is radio playable in the USA. We hoped my music would break there but all the ideas from Expat have come to nothing. I am looking for a UK European label for a release of my new songs.

UNPLUGGED

I have gone back to my acoustic roots now and recorded tracks ‘unplugged’ style as you can hear from the House of Teaspoon sessions on SoundCloud.

DOGMAN NEW SONGS SET

DOGMAN - VISITED BY THE GHOST OF THE YEAR PAST

How fast did 2012 go by?

DOGMAN LIVE - THROUGH THE YEAR - 2012

January 25^th 2012 saw me play AS the featured artist at the wonderful Artist’s Hangout at Foulridge at the Café Cargo by the canal wharf. What a great venue! Teaspoon and me watched films, listened to other musicians, looked at art and enjoyed a creative evening. I played a set and really enjoyed the appreciation of a listening audience.

The months always seem to disappear quickly these days but last year in February marked the end of the Black Horse (Gregson Lane, Hoghton) music-nights after many years and some great Dogman gigs and brilliant open mic evenings. It was a great night (Rob Fielding and others played) with Pat Gaffney joining me on stage. We made it one last real blast to mark the end (Jo and her partner retired from the pub). Fortunately, I have some recordings kindly made by the host of the open mic nights, John Poulton, taken from times when Matt Wells joined me on a set.  

You are welcome to sample the magic of those nights with a couple of songs see link for SET on Soundcloud. click on the link to hear some live tracks

DOGMAN LIVE AT THE BLACK HORSE

EMERALD ISLE EXCURSION

In April, my wife and I travelled by car and ferry to West Port, County Mayo in Eire to meet up with Teaspoon and Matt Pawson and family to enjoy a musical week and a change of scenery. 

Dogman  and Teaspoon in Eire

We had some really great times playing the pubs and chilling (see link to Youtube for a filmed version of Marvin Gaye’s What’s going on with me and Matt Pawson). click on link to see video by Teaspoon

 DOGMAN AND MATT PAWSON 'WHAT'S GOING ON' LIVE

The owner of the famous pub at the bottom of the Holy Mountain gave us a great revue after we played there one evening. I had met up with him in the day and played him a couple of tunes to get us the gig. Paid in beer they were calling us to play on late into the night!

Dogman at Campbells

'WONDERFUL GIG' - THANKS FROM EIRE

Matt Pawson on guitar

Dear David,

Greetings from Campbells! I hope this finds you and Catherine doing well. I have been planning to e-mail you since your visited Campbell's last month to express my appreciation for the wonderful performances you gave here during your visit.

THANK YOU to you, Tea Spoon and Matthew for performing here. It was wonderful to have you play here and it was one of the best ever performances here. I do hope you can make it back again.

Please extend my sincere thanks to Tea Spoon and Matthew. Also, please extend my best wishes to Catherine  and the family members of Tea Spoon and Matthew. It was a great pleasure meeting you and I hope I will see you here again! Best regards,

Padraig Fitpatrick Campbell, Murrisk, Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland

THE YEAR OF COLLABORATIONS

Alongside my steady collaboration with Mikans, I ‘had a ball’ recording alongside music and remixes by Indigolab from Midlands (Lost – folk fusion), Middleschoolfrown from Scotland (sounding very Blue Nile) , Roy Taylor from Canada (fab flute on Trouble I’m in), Kenetic from South Africa (fab remix of Galileo see link) Ali Warlow aka Harm0nizer, down South (a dance remix of Bright and Beautiful) and the brilliant Peter Brown in Florida for my spoken word recordings.   click on link to hear collaborations

DOGMAN COLLABORATIONS 2012

PLAY IT AGAIN JIM!

I played the famous vegetarian restaurant and acoustic venue, Jim’s Café, in Colne, on several occasions (With Ray Irvine on keys in August) including a great gig in July with Ghost Radio and Teaspoon as support.

 I enjoyed playing there again with Ray for The Blues Festival Fringe in August. 

Dogman  and Ray Irvine at Jim's Cafe for the Blues Festival

Finally, to end the year I played a set for the Singer songwriter night. This was the first time myself and Mikans had played together live and the experience was excellent. 

Poster kindly designed by Mark Bennett

We are hoping for a video - from the brilliant Railton Lee Johnson (Shadow of the Hill Productions). This acoustic Christmas session included Teaspoon and Matt Pawson, Paul Aiden and James Hirst who all played brilliantly. This was my last of the year’s gigs in December.

As Dogman, I played as the featured artist (The Queens Folk Night’) but it was fun to play local pubs too including The Dog Inn at Whittle le Woods, The Last Orders ‘Buskers Ball’ Hindley Wigan, 

The House with no name, Bolton, the Red Lion, Wheelton, The Plough (twice and on the last occasion alongside old friend David 'Crick' Calderbank) at Euxton/Leyland. Our version of Light my fire is still the talk of the lane!

 

DOGMAN AND DAVID 'BLIND CRICK' CALDERBANK

and the excellent Saturday afternoon music venue, Heebie Jeebies, in Liverpool.

Dogman @ Heebie Jeebies Liverpool, pic Johnny Sands

DOGMAN UNPLUGGED 

THE NEW ALBUM FOR 2013

I had already begun recording with Teaspoon for an EP the previous year – a new song Avalanche came from those Higgin Street sessions with Matt Pawson on guitar and Lois on harp. The NEW songs grew and grew and so the EP will become an album - THE NAME NOT DECIDED YET with, hopefully, a bonus CD of Crossbreed remixes from my collaboration with Mikans. Click on the link to hear some unplugged songs

DOGMAN LIVE AT THE HOUSE OF TEASPOON

Dogman playing live in Eire 2012

THIS NEW YEAR?

I will write about 'Dogman for 2013' in my next blog. But for now, this musician is resting and planning some very different music for this Newest of Years!!

DOGMAN AND A SOUNDCLOUD NEIL YOUNG GROUP - UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Dogman establishees a Neil Young 'covers' Soundcloud Group 

SOUNDCLOUD GROUP DEDICATED TO NEIL YOUNG COVERS

Listen to some great interpretations on Soundcloud. There are  19 songs taken from the sets of members and already almost 40 members from which the contributors have been selected.

DOGMAN AND MIKANS HAVE PRODUCED A NEW TAKE ON A NEIL YOUNG FAVOURITE

'DON'T LET IT BRING YOU DOWN' DOGMAN MIKANS THE CROSSBREED DON'T LET IT BRING YOUR DOWN

  

Spirits living in another world (part two)

Spirits living in another world

(part two)

           Dogman, aka David Sands

  A review                          

           ‘SPIRIT OF TALK TALK CD 2’

my copy kindly signed by James Marsh 

A double album of Talk Talk songs covered by various artists and released by Fierce Panda (September 2012).

Having lived through the decades which saw all the musical output that is Talk Talk and Mark Hollis (solo) to date, and bought everything that is available, I am comfortable with the songs. They are now a permanent part of my long term music-lyrical influences that includes the Shadows, Beatles, Paul Simon, Rolling Stones, The Blue Nile, The Cure and Neil Young with jazz and blues in between. 

The Spirit of Talk Talk CD (digipak) is designed by Talk Talk’s now symbiotic graphic-artist, James Marsh. The artwork is said to be based on a cover created in 1983 for a prospective album 'Chameleon Hour' (which was never released). The musical and production supervisor for the project is Alan Wilder with mastering by Denis Blackham, (who mastered many of Talk Talk’s albums). The Project has been managed by Toby Benjamin.

I listened to the Universal Music re-release of the 180gm vinyl ‘Laughing Stock’ last night and what struck me was the sheer intensity in the voice of Mark Hollis and the musicianship/mixing of this last Talk Talk recording. This is nigh impossible to replicate or imitate for any musician or band in my opinion. I wager that it would be impossible for Talk Talk to reproduce although Captain Beefheart, if he were alive, might argue with me. 

I enjoyed this CD slightly more than CD1.  

There is an interesting article in the Guardian here and a quote from Phil Brown who engineered Spirit of Eden GRAEME THOMSON ON TALK TALK

Phill Brown with me after the launch party

Here is part two of my review and sourced notes are given in [ ]

Opening track

It's my life - The TenFiveSixty

This is interesting cover of a most familiar (popular), middle-career, Talk Talk song that already has a famous version performed by Gwen of ‘No Doubt’ who nailed the drama-in-the-disco remix. The TenFiveSixty work to create a new blend, rock-pop style and it does have its moments.

[I struggled to find much information on the website about this man-girl duo but heard them and took photographs as they were playing live at the launch party. I thought Fyfe Dangerfield was involved vocally and on guitar in the live jam but I might be wrong]

[Track four on the 2^nd Talk Talk album, ‘It’s my life’]

The TenFiveSixty playing live at the launch party (one of the few I took of the stage performances)

2) Inheritance - Recoil (ft. Linton Kwesi Johnson & Paul Marshall)

This is one of the most creative tracks on the two-CD album.

Alan Wilder conjures up the essence of Talk Talk with his arrangement on which Linton’s voice offers rich and deep spoken-word lyrics.

Paul’s vocal on this cover shines through, like the sun out of the clouds.

I can hear two versions here, one by each.

[Track four on Spirit of Eden, the 4^th Talk Talk album]

3) Ascension Day - Turin Brakes

Turin Brakes, were once ‘the darlings’ of acoustic duos in early 2000 with ‘Underdog’ from the first album a favourite at open-mic nights and ‘Pain Killer’ from the follow-up reaching top 5 high in the UK charts. I own both CDs and having heard previous snippets of Ascension and watched the video I was pleased to hear them take on a challenging Talk Talk song.  

From the first acoustic chords this has the Spirit of Eden 'feel' but not the urgency or the un-nerving off-key feel of the original. The vocal does not have the ‘difficult to recreate’ stamp-of-pain that makes Mark Hollis’s unique (as I found from my own weak efforts). However, a cover should offer a different take on an original and this does that.   

[Turin Brakes are a modern English folk duo, comprising Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, hailing from Balham, London. They had a UK top 5 hit with their song "Painkiller"]

[Turin Brakes topped the bill at the launch party and were involved in several superb Talk Talk jams onstage) Turin link

[Track two from Laughing Stock, 5^th and last Talk Talk album so far]

Part of the wonderful James Marsh animation show

4) Today - White Belt Yellow Tag

This cover captures the punk-pop feel and might be what might result from the symbiosis of Duran Duran and early Talk Talk. The version brings nothing new to a song that, in terms of standing the test of time, belongs in the past.

[there is one song on myspace – I don’t know anything about  them]

[track three from the first Talk Talk album ‘The Party’s Over]

my original discography list from fan club

5) I don't believe in you - Ian Curnow (ft. Human)

I adore this version. The vocal has some kind of bullish attitude, sung softly, and it works for me. The keyboard/synth arrangement reflects Ian Curnow’s splendid touches and I would have put this on the start of this second CD.  It is a fresh take on a great Talk Talk song.

[from the web - songwriter/producer /programmer /keyboard player. Having been a session player and arranger, Ian spent 3 years with Talk Talk as keyboard player, MD and co-writer. Then he became main keyboard player and programmer for the hugely successful Stock Aitken and Waterman team during their massive success period, playing on most of their big records and also producing and writing for many of the artists there. After that Ian co-produced most of the E17 output with Phil Harding, including the Xmas UK No.1 single Stay Another Day, and also co-wrote a number of their songs.† Other names that Ian produced and/or wrote for during that time were Boyzone, Take That, Roxette, Deuce, OTT, Let Loose and many others. Since then Ian has written songs for various artists including SClub 8 (UK No3) and produced tracks for Liberty X, Girls Aloud and Robin Gibb. Most recently Ian has been involved in collaborations including writing and production work with Darren Styles, as well as scoring a UK number 23 single having written and produced "My Generation" for Billiam. He has songs and productions out in Europe including a song on the new Kate Ryan album, and the accompanying single for Soraya, and has co-written and produced the new single for the reborn artist Angel City] info on Ian

[Can anyone tell me about Human?]

[track two on the ‘Colour of Spring’ – the 3^rd Talk Talk album]

My Colour of Spring 1986 tour T 

6) Chameleon Day - Goldheart Assembly

This is a gentle enough cover from a group that is signed to the same label that released this double CD tribute. I would rather play the original. It plods along in places and lacks both spontaneity and rawness that can be found on the brilliant Talk Talk album.  

[from the web: Goldheart Assembly formed in 2007, as a group of six musicians from various different bands. They met at club nights, at Covent Garden’s Rock Garden, run by now-bandleaders James Dale and John Herbert. Slowly, after a period of “band hopping and stand ins,” a stable line-up became Goldheart Assembly, who bonded over a mutual love of The Beatles and named themselves after a Guided By Voices tune, Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory.

In 2009 they recorded a live session for Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 1, being the first unsigned band to do so “in years”. In the same year, the band performed on the BBC Introducing Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, as well as a headline slot at the Camden Crawl and appearances at Isle of Wight, Wychwood, Middlesbrough Music Live,  Reading, Leeds and V festivals.

Goldheart Assembly’s debut single, a double A-side featuring the tracks So Long St. Christopher and Oh Really, was released on 15 June 2009 on the independent label Heron Recordings. In late 2009, Goldheart Assembly signed to the independent UK label Fierce Panda Records. Their debut album, Wolves and Thieves, was released to digital download on 8 March 2010, with CD release on 15 March. The majority of the album was recorded at Forncett Industrial Steam museum in Norfolk, England, and several tracks feature the sound of live steam engines. The remaining tracks were recorded at Jools Holland’s Helicon studios with British producer Laurie Latham]

about them

[track seven on the ‘Colour of Spring’ – the 3^rd Talk Talk album]

7) April 5th - Matthias Vogt Trio

This is a fantastic, brooding instrumental take on a great Talk Talk track. It reminded me of the Bad Plus (which is a compliment) who I have seen play live. If I walked into a jazz club and this was playing I would not be leaving until every tune had been played and I was on my knees, drunk.

[from the web: Matthias Vogt was born in German motor town Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt am Main. Matthias was involved in Jazz projects with Ben’s New Tribe or The New Fusion before founding the Matthias Vogt Trio. Roger Cicero and Dania König are featured in some of the trio’s songs. He also plays for Frankfurt’s [re:jazz] and is part of the deep house formation Motorcitysoul together with C-Rock.

Founding member Matthias Vogt is also DJing at Cocoon Club in Frankfurt]

[track four on the ‘Colour of Spring’ – the 3^rd Talk Talk album]

8) New Grass - Do Make Say Think

It is a great touch to put two instrumental covers one after the other. It has a trippy feel and it’s a shame I don’t smoke grass because I could to this great cover.  It trips a bit much at the end but, there you go.

[From the website - Do Make Say Think came together in Toronto in 1995-96 and self-released their self-recorded, self-titled debut CD in 1997. Constellation Records re-issued this record the following year and have worked with the band ever since. Do Make Say Think consists of Ohad Benchetrit, Dave Mitchell, James Payment, Justin Small and Charles Spearin. The band has relied on recent contributions from players Michael Barth on trumpet, as well as Julie Penner on violin.

Do Make Say Think records are marked by a fiercely independent approach to recording and mixing that is re-imagined for each release, but which always remains the band’s own; Charles and Ohad have emerged as a distinctive production team, now working out of Ohad’s Toronto studio th’Schvitz. Members of DMST are involved in numerous other groups as diverse as Justin’s messy garage-soul rave-up Lullabye Arkestra; Charles’ collaboration in playing and producing with Kevin Drew in KC Accidental and Broken Social Scene. James co-founded New Glue records to document local projects in Toronto]

[Track five from Laughing Stock, 5^th and last Talk Talk album so far]

Tomorrow Started - Jason Lytle

Arrangement-wise this could be the dub track from the Talk Talk track. However, Jason’s plaintiff vocal does give this cover a very good reason for it to be listened to again.

[from his website: Jason Lytle first wandered into the public consciousness as the principal singer and songwriter for the band Grandaddy.  Formed in Modesto, CA in 1992, and eventually consisting of Lytle along with Aaron Burtch, Tim Dryden, Jim Fairchild and Kevin Garcia, the band initially broke through with 1997′s Under the Western Freeway and the NME-praised single “Summer Here Kids.” The band’s sound,” atmospheric electronics meet warped Americana”, crystallized on 2000′s Sophtware Slump, which was met with breathless hype and earned the band “Next Big Thing” status. Tireless rounds of international touring and mountains of fawning press led to 2003′s Sumday, increasing album sales, more touring, more press,TV show appearances, and a slot on the main stage at the Glastonbury festival. The band produced another EP and an album entitled Just Like the Fambly Cat, before disbanding in 2006.

Since then, Jason has created music for a number of national and international commercials and released his debut solo album Yours Truly, The Commuter in 2009. A number of collaborations followed including two tracks with Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse for the Dark Night of the Soul album and with former Grandaddy drummer Aaron Burtch and Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray in the Admiral Radley project which yielded 2010’s I Heart California. Jason currently lives in Montana, and enjoys hiking in woods, skateboarding in skateparks, bicycling on anything, skiing on mountains, playing the piano in his living room, and recording music, and occasionally playing shows. His second solo album Dept. of Disappearance will be released in October 2012]

About Jason

[Track five from the Talk Talk album, ‘It’s my life’] [live B side]

10) Give it up - White Lies

This is now another real favourite of mine from this great project. There is a touch of Julian Cope’s ‘World Shut your mouth’ era about the vocal and I really love the arrangement.

[from their website band page and taken from Wiki: White Lies is an English indie rock band from Ealing, London. Formerly known as Fear of Flying, the band consists primarily of Harry McVeigh (lead vocals, guitar), Charles Cave (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Jack Lawrence-Brown (drums). The band perform live as a five-piece, complemented by sidemen Tommy Bowen and Rob Lee. White Lies formed in October 2007, upon writing songs they felt didn't suit their original band. After delaying their first performance for five months to build up media hype, they earned a recording contract with Fiction Records days after their debut. The release of singles "Unfinished Business" and "Death" led to tours and festival appearances in the United Kingdom and North America, including a headline performance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend and a place on the 2009 NME Awards Tour. At the beginning of 2009, White Lies featured in multiple "ones to watch" polls for the coming year, including the BBC's Sound of 2009 poll and the BRITs Critics' Choice Award.

White Lies' debut album To Lose My Life... was released in January 2009, debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Their second album Ritual was recorded in 2010, and was released on 17 January 2011. White Lies' musical style has been described as dark yet uplifting by the media, drawing comparisons to Joy Division, Editors, The Bravery and Interpol]

[Track six on the ‘Colour of Spring’ – the 3^rd Talk Talk album]

11) Time it's time - Lia Ices

Not very keen on this version.

[if you want to know more about her https://www.facebook.com/LiaIces/info]

[last track on the ‘Colour of Spring’ – the 3^rd Talk Talk album]

12) The party's over - The Lovetones

This remains faithful to the Talk Talk version but I love this title track so much that I don’t care. I could listen to it over and over.

[The Lovetones are an Australian psychedelic rock band. Their current line-up includes: Matthew J. Tow Matthew Sigley Serge Luca Chris Cobb]

[track four from the first Talk Talk album ‘The Party’s Over]

13) Candy - Thomas White

This is a real cover of an early Talk Talk song that is popular with fans around the world. The vocal is urgent and perfect and the arrangement is a brilliant mix.

[web: Thomas White is a Brighton, England-based musician, producer and visual artist. Educated at Davigdor Infants, Somerhill Juniors and Hove Park schools, he began learning the piano at the age of 5. Music groups: The Electric Soft Parade, Brakes, Restlesslist, Record labels: BMG, Rough Trade Records, Cooking Vinyl, Truck Records, DB Records, Better Looking Records, Fat Cat Records]

[last track on the first Talk Talk album ‘The Party’s Over]

14) Renee - The Black Ships (ft. Amelia Tucker)

This Talk Talk classic is one of my favourites and so I listened to this cover with anticipation. The sensitive vocal from Amelia works really well and the arrangement is wonderful and made me want to own a dub-orchestral version!

[The Verve guitarist Nick McCabe and bassist Simon Jones The Black Ships.

The Black Ships, who formed in 2009, also count drummer Mig Schillace and violinist Davide Rossi in their line-up. Rossi, though never formally in The Verve, played on their 2008 album 'Forth' and featured in the band's live line up frequently after that]

[third track on the 2^nd Talk Talk album, ‘It’s my life’]

15) Taphead - The Acorn

This is an interesting instrumental take on the more challenging of Talk Talk songs.

[The Acorn is a Canadian indie folk band from Ottawa, Ontario, formed in 2003. Their songs have charted on Canadian campus charts and have been in rotation on CBC Radio 3 and The Verge]

[Track four from Laughing Stock, 5^th and last Talk Talk album so far]

The 180gm re-release

I BELIEVE IN YOU - Richard Reed Parry

He may be a ‘name’ in Arcade Fire – he may sing and play better than me but this version is disappointing.

[Richard Reed Parry is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer and member of the indie rock band Arcade Fire, where he plays a wide variety of instruments, often switching between double bass, celesta, keyboards, drums, guitar, and accordion]

My attic office clutter

 listen to my music for free here and by all means offer constructive critique

Description notes taken from Spirit of Talk Talk on Facebook

FEATURING 30 artists, including: Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode/ Recoil), White Lies, King Creosote, Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), Zero 7, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Joan As Police Woman, Sean Carey (Bon Iver), Lights, Goldheart Assembly, Thomas White (Electric Soft Parade), Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots), Thomas Feiner, The Black Ships, Turin Brakes, as well as Ian Curnow, David Rhodes, Gaynor Sadler and Martin Ditcham, all of whom worked with Talk Talk.

TRACKS come from both sides of the Atlantic, and from seven countries in total, featuring some incredible collaborations.

Track listing :

CD 2:

01. IT'S MY LIFE - The TenFiveSixty

02. INHERITANCE - Recoil (ft. Linton Kwesi Johnson & Paul Marshall)

03. ASCENSION DAY - Turin Brakes

04. TODAY - White Belt Yellow Tag

05. I DON'T BELIEVE IN YOU - Ian Curnow (ft. Human)

06. CHAMELEON DAY - Goldheart Assembly

07. APRIL 5TH - Matthias Vogt Trio

08. NEW GRASS - Do Make Say Think

09. TOMORROW STARTED - Jason Lytle

10. GIVE IT UP - White Lies

11. TIME IT'S TIME - Lia Ices

12. THE PARTY'S OVER - The Lovetones

13. CANDY - Thomas White

14. RENÉE - The Black Ships (ft. Amelia Tucker)

15. TAPHEAD - The Acorn

16. I BELIEVE IN YOU - Richard Reed Parry