Testing

The new CD has finally been mastered, and the artwork for the cover is currently being produced. Hopefully, 11:53 will be ready in the next couple of weeks. Here is a little taster of the thoughts behind the concepty

11:53 Story

Waking up…..11:53 am, I am in a daydream, my life has lost its meaning…an office….a clone, dead inside. The machine is taking over…I am interfaced with a terminal, arranging electrons in an infinite series of 1’s and 0’s……no better than a battery hen, turning out endless reports, documents,…..which never get used…..work longer, work harder than the next person, it will be good for you…..’sleep is for losers’, life outside the machine, an ‘endless loop in perpetuity’….your neighbour has more than you, works harder, it should be your dream too. The machine is the dream maker, it tells me what my dreams are, it sells me my dreams back to me……Any thing is possible in the machine, except everything is out of reach as the dream is never fulfilled, the more you have the more you need. The machine thinks for me, tells me what to think, it draws me away from humanity, it sucks away my life blood…it tells those around me what to think of me and what I should think of them. It is 11:53, the sun casts a band of brilliant light into the cubical….a golden ray where dust particles dance in the void. A second, a nano second, it stops, the machine is gone. I experience life, I want more I am numb, my dead soul is awoken, I am scared. The electromagnetic spectrum is visible……How can I leave the machine? My heart races then slows, the light gets more intense, I see colours amongst the mono-chromatic background of my life. I reach out, I am overcome with sensuality….my inner core is about to overload with realisation….I see the machine, its claws in too deep….how do I escape? If it was my last moment, would I choose the light or the machine? Will this be my finest hour?

As mentioned in the previous post, 11:53 is nearly ready. I had to make some additional mix changes and I am now waiting for the mastering to be completed. So I thought it was time to post a list of all the song titles, there are quite a few (32 in fact!)…..and here they are….

11:53 - The Awakening
12:53 - Finality
13:53 - Core Overload
14:53 - If it was your last…
15:53 - My Finest Hour
16:53 - This World
17:03 - Slipping into Unconsciousness
17:13 - Dramatic Entry
18:53 - Embarking
19:53 - Can’t Say Goodbye
20:53 - Working Template
21:53 - A New Start
22:53 - Tinitus
23:53 - X-ray
00:53 - Abandon
01:53 - Work In Progress
02:17 - Sunday afternoon
02:53 - A War
03:53 - Epistemic Reality
04:53 - Day broken
05:53 - Lost in Hope
06:21 - Gamma Ray
06:53 - I am Scared
07:13 - Life in the Electromagnetic Spectrum
07:53 - Is this Joy?
08:26 - Is time stopping
08:53 - Move Your….
09:53 - Crushing (Colour Is Blind)
10:53 - Coming back to reality
11:51 - The Return of Me
11:52 - This is Strange
11:53 - Spatial Awareness

Watch this space for a few taster tracks coming soon

The waiting is nearly over! I am currently mastering (and remixing one track) of my latest Light B4 Sound album. This one is very different, it is all about a concept, it is all about living in the now, it is a very personal work, and I perhaps not to many people’s taste. That isn’t the point really, the point is about thinking, about appreciating life, even for a moment, the realisation that we are alive….maybe that moment is 11:53.

In preparation for the imminent release, I have created a short promo video, which will give you an insight into what it is all about. The promo features the first track off of the album called ‘11:53 - The Awakening’.

Light B4 Sound - 11:53 Promo Video

Enjoy!!

Well not really new, but from a few years ago now, featuring myself and Mr Sanj on guitar. Although old, I thought I would post them anyway….always good for a laugh! These were recorded at the Ace Cafe in London

Tush - ZZ Top

20th Century Boy - T-Rex

Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Whole Lotta Rosie - AC/DC

I hope you enjoy!!

Well now that the website is up and the pages are all getting fixed, I thought it would be time for an update on current projects. Well here it is, it is pretty much all go at the moment with a number of projects on the go at the same time…..

Filmwise

Currently working on post-production for Jonathan Stewart’s latest film ‘Iron’, as always it is fantastic to work with some one as visionary as Jonathan, who really values what sound can do for a film. I am also working on a number of idents, beds and theme tunes for various items at the University of Salford, in particular Smart City Futures, and Shout TV.

Bandwise

I will be depping with a really fun local band for a couple of months from February, and I am really looking forward to it. Watch this space for more details on the band and gigs. Also after some of the set-backs from my previous band out the way, the new band has recruited a new singer and we are back in serious rehearsal mode to get back out and gigging with in the next month or so.

Soundscapes

I am adding a new page on the website, which has a link to a number of my worldwide soundscape, as well as an upto date run down on the current state of the field.

Light B4 Sound

11.53 my never ending project is nearing an end! Yes for real! I will be launching a short promo film in the next week or so, and then be working flat out to get all the music mixed and mastered! 2009 is the year!

Photography

Upload of some of my photo’s from a recent trip to Amalfi and Naples can be found here….these are highly compressed and unedited, I will be updating this shortly.

Other projects

My Dystofear project is coming along very nicely, I still have some more sound-clips and photos to gather and then I will be uploading it.

So there you go, busy times at the moment! All good….

Peace

Neil

Yes! The new look website has gone live, and whilst there are still a few tweaks to be made, I hope that this is a much better site than my last one. I am combining my blog here with my showreel and all other stuff! I will also be adding gear review and some tutorials as well as my age old series of ramblings!!

There will be plenty more updates in the next couple of days…watch this space

Peace

Neil

;”>After spending most of my life trying to find the perfect lead sound, I think I have finally stumbled across it in the most unlikely  of places….yes a pedal suited more for blues playing. But this isn’t it is simply amazing, cranking up the gain a bit gives me the perfect creamy lead sound I have been looking for, and by backing off on the volume on the guitar it gives a lovely crunchy  rhythym sound. Obviously this isn’t for metal (have the Mt-2 Metal Zone for that), but I love it!

I hold my hands up, I love delay, it is a huge part of my ’sound’. After struggling for many years with the Line6 DL-4 Delay Modeler Pedal Guitar Effect Pedal
Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeller and never really liking it, I finally succumb and brought theBoss DD-7 Digital Delay Pedal
Boss DD-7 Digital Delay
I have been looking for an all in one solution for many years now, as I feel myself becoming lazier and less willing to carry tons of gear to gigs and rehearsals. I always get excited by what Line-6 have to offer and as a result purchased the Flextone III and pedalboard. What with all the amp and effect modelling it was the perfect solution, but I am always disappointed. I know tone is a subjective measurement, but these digital amps, whilst making my life so much easier just don’t cut it.

I just feel it is hard to beat those little stomp boxes, yes you can’t store presents and they take up loads of room and you have run power to them etc etc, but they do sound great, and the DD-7 is no exception.

Here are some of the features…

• Expanded delay time, up to 6.4 seconds
• Modulation Delay mode offers natural, chorus-type sounds
• Analog Delay mode models the classic warm BOSS DM-2 analog delay sound
• Tap tempo controllable via external footswitch
• Delay time, feedback, and effect level can be controlled via external Expression pedal (sold separately)
• Up to 40 seconds of recording for sound on sound (Hold mode)

For detail specifications check out the Boss Website Boss DD-7.

I am particularly impressed with the clarity of the tone from the pedal, it is to my ears clearer and not muddy like the Line 6. I am particularly impressed with with the Analogue mode, it produces that nice slightly inconsistent warm delay sound. I also like the hold mode, which can be used as a basic sound-on-sound looper. Whilst it does not have the functionality of the DL-4 (separate playback controls and reverse etc) it is a lot of fun, and if I wanted some exotic I would pick up the Boss RC-50 Loop Station Guitar Effect Pedal
;Boss RC-50 or RC-20XL (watch this space!).

All in all a great sounding delay pedal that hits all the right notes!! Great!!