Yes, the recording which got off to a bit of a ‘rocky’ start last year is now complete and will be released in the coming weeks. So keep an ear out on my soundcloud and Instagram for updates.
It was an amazing experience and I am over the moon with the results which was achieved over two brief sessions (June and August 2017). I cannot wait for people to hear it.
Between session #1 (1-3 June 2017) and session #2 (24-27 Aug 2017), we finished 8 songs in total. Five of these songs will be released as an EP shortly.
As for the sessions, while I returned to Dublin in June, the producer roped in drummer Dave Ruffy who is best known for having toured and recorded with such artists as Kirsty MacColl, The Waterboys, Sinead O’ Connor and his own band The Ruts. I cannot thank Dave enough for playing on my songs.
Needless to say, the Drums changed everything and was the pivotal turning point in the way the sessions ended up sounding. Initially, my idea was to record an acoustic record as all of the songs were written on an acoustic guitar to begin with but sometimes you just gotta go where the song takes you. I have ended up with an acoustic guitar based sound but with much more than just one guy and a guitar. In short, this sounds like the record I have always wanted to make with Mandolin, Bass, Drums and Keyboards included.
Before we commenced the second session in August, the producer (Boz Boorer) collected me at FARO airport in his silver hatchback and we stopped off at a cafe on the way to the studio. As all good producers will do, he asked me if there was anything else I wanted to do on the recordings and I said I thought it was almost finished apart from a few vocal overdubs but I did get an idea that one of the songs should have a fiddle playing over it. That song started out with working title of ‘folksong’ but became known as ‘Black Irish Dogs’.
As luck would have it, Boz said he knew a local guy who could play fiddle, apparently known as ‘the bearded angel’ for his life saving skills. He sounded ideal and I gave a thumbs up to send out a search party for the infamous fiddle player. By the time I returned from the cash desk, ‘the bearded angel’ had been located and booked in for the next session. Little did we know it at the time but this would be one of many small but significant ideas in achieving the sound produced.
Although the sessions were great fun and an experience I will never forget, they were not without their problems which lead to delays. Without going into details, a number of challenging events took place throughout the sessions which added unexpected pressure to those involved. My thanks to Boz for sticking with it and for putting so much of his craft and energy into these recordings. You can really hear it in the songs.
Track listing:
1. Just Like The Beatles (Dwyer/Murphy)
2. No One Ever Told Me (Dwyer)
3. The Highway (Dwyer)
4. Black Irish Dogs (Dwyer)
5. Country Mountain (Dwyer)
Produced by Boz Boorer
Mixed by Bead
Recorded at Serra Vista, Monchique, Portugal and Dublin.
Mastered by Tim Young @ Metropolis Studios, London
Bead – Voice, Guitars, Keys, Loops
Boz – Guitars, Bass, Keys, Mandolin, Backing vocals, Percussion, Loops
Special guests:
Dave Ruffy – The Drums
Stuart Wilcock – The Fiddle on ‘Country Mountain’ & ‘Black Irish Dogs’
Clare Murphy – Backing vocals on ‘Just Like The Beatles’
