The Soft Column

We're still alive and so is this blog.

The new album is one song away from being complete. Two tracks, The Chevalier Dent and Magnetism can be heard here: http://www.soundclick.com/leisurhive

Over the last few weeks we made a few changes to the main website. The news page is now more of a "blog" style with a handy RSS feed... Some stuff we post here may well therefore be cross-posted to the main site too... but we'll probably keep this blogspot page more for thoughts and musings about our creative process, and keep the actual "news" on the main site.

So how's it all going?.... So much to tell, so little to show for it.
I'll update this post later...

Exploration of Dent Le Trolles and other

The new album is now about 62% complete. Approximately.

We've kind of been dipping in and out of recording over the last year, but now we have an actual deadline to work to (more news on why we have a deadline later!) so things have become a hell of a lot more focused lately. I'm pleased about this. With the absence of recent live shows it's been nice to get really stuck in to the recordings.

This is far from a definite tracklist, but some of the new songs include: Interval, People & Tests, Magnetism, The Chevalier Dent, These Stairs, He Ghostly... plus about 12 other as-yet-untitled songs.

I should stop typing and get back to work... Vocals today. Wish me luck.
I may post again later to report my "findings".

xxx

And Tests...

We're back from Paris where we performed at the first Le Chantier Musical Festival. We should have some photos from the festival to post here soon...

New songs are coming along slowly but surely... In the meantime, if you havent already noticed, we've uploaded the b-sides from the 'On Sectional Pad EP'. Go and get them here: www.myspace.com/leisurhive

The process of writing lyrics for the new songs seems to be getting easier.. I seem to be covering things I've never written about before and it's lending the songs quite a different feel. Maybe it's something no-one else will notice, but that's beside the point really. I'm writing again and it feels good.

machines of joy

Things are taking shape a little more now. Maria recorded guitars on a new song which has no title which we're very very excited about. Look, here she is doing that here look:



She asked me to stress that she's recently had an operation and was feeling under the weather as if that's some kind of valid excuse for looking like a right mong...

But we shall forgive her, brothers and sisters, because on this day Maria officially "rocked". I can't get that guitar part out of my head! I'm itching to get some rough mixes finished so we can demonstrate to you good people exactly what we're doing...

Soon, brothers and sisters, soon. So, how's 2006 been for you so far?

x

"Roxy Music played back at the wrong speed"

I wonder if anyone reads this...

The vocal recording I was intending on completing this month has been postponed until my throat starts working again, struck down as I have been by some kind of sinus/throat infection.

I've been reading Austin Osman Spare's ecstatic, near-delirious writings from his "Book Of Pleasure"... actually maybe it's me who's delirious... too much sudafed and co-codamol and vodka... I've also just started to read "After The Quake" by Haruki Murakami which is possibliy one of the best things I've read in years.

Creative energies have been poured into lyric writing (more about that in a future post) ... and a seemingly directionless process of sound collection and manipulation rather than straight-forward songwriting.. As a result, there is now a load of new stuff up on various websites by my silly little side-project, Sweetie plus various sonic "bits" swimming in or around some of the new LH recordings.

Generally though, what with various live shows being cancelled, two biggish support slots falling through, illness (on my part and Maria's) and a couple of other boring things.. this month has been a bit... "non" .... know what I mean?

This hibernation period will be over soon though, as necessary as it was. .. . soon enough we shall be staring at the beautiful debris, wondering if the earthquake really was our fault...

A happy new year and very best wishes to everyone,
With love,

Dan
x

"it's a long trip. we are the only riders"

My apologies for the lack of updates. Work on the album was put on hold for a few weeks during October.
We've been busy putting together an evening of live music, which will happen next week at The Hoxton Square Bar. There's a thread on the forum (in the "shows" section) with more info. Please come along and say hello!

So. The album. It is always the "honeymoon" stage of a new project which sails by with ease. Starting something often requires a certain kind of discipline, and then you throw yourself into it all guns blazing... but if at any point you become distracted or if "real life" suddenly gets in the way.. then, re-starting requires a great deal more discipline.

But re-start we have. Tentatively at least. Maria and I were (with varying degrees of success) recording guitar parts last week, and this week I have been attempting to record some vocals.

Despite one day of non-starters and over-emotional self criticism, I believe I'm beginning to relax a little more when it comes to recording my voice.

I would try to descibe how this album sounds but that would be somewhat futile. And besides, it could all change tomorrow anyway. All I can say is that it's "more". More loud, more quiet. More happy, more sad. Everything and nothing pushing out from the centre in all directions. More personal, more generalised. More song-based, more atonal.

And now I can't think of anything to type.

don't shutup yet

Flashes of white light in the eyes, high-pitched backwards sounds in brain. Sleep deprivation, Pierre Schaeffer, and depressing country songs are all coming back to haunt me...

More recording this week...