Old Flame / New Spark is a track I wrote and recorded with the intention of including it on my debut album.
The universe being the universe meant that things didn't quite pan out that way.
After signing with a major label in 2018 it quickly became apparent that the album I had recorded wasn't going to see the light of day.
Some of the tracks found their way onto "The Internet Sucks" EP in 2020 but there's still a great many sitting in a folder on my hard drive waiting to be heard. (Watch this space!)
Some notes about the recording:
I had recently acquired some vintage recording gear (2 x Quad 8 Coronado channel strips, and a Tascam m512 mixing desk) which I was using and abusing on my journey to figuring out how to use it all.
The fuzz on the guitars is all analogue Quad8 pre-amp distortion played on a Fender Jaguar. The Synth is a mopho x4 crunched up by the tascam desk. Vocals were an SM7 with lots of Quad 8 top end.
The drums were recorded at the end of a session for another artist I was working with. We finished a little early that day so Simon asked if I wanted to record some drums to tape. I jumped at the opportunity and played all 12 of my songs in about 45 mins. One after the other. The kit was a vintage Premier recorded to Studer 2" tape. Lots of compression and analogue love on the way in.
I really love how they sound.
Lastly but not leastly, the saxophone.
This was recorded by the marvellous crane himself - Roy Molloy.
I met Roy a few years ago while I was performing with Kirin J Callinan. He would pop up at shows here and there, and I always had a blast playing with him.
In 2017, Roy ventured to SXSW in Austin Texas with Alex Cameron.
As luck would have it I was there too. As further luck would have it Alex needed a drummer. I performed 6 shows with Alex and again, had a great time playing with Roy.
When Roy was back in Aus for a brief moment in 2018 I jumped at the opportunity to get him on the record. He ended up playing on 3 tracks, but this is the only one that has seen the light of day so far.
It's nice to finally have one of our collaborations out in the world.
The out-of-sequence chipmunk counting at the end was performed by my daughter Lola. She was 3 at the time and spontaneously burst into my studio when I was recording vocals. It was just too perfect to delete. She also provided the cover art.
I am eternally grateful for the help and guidance of Simon Berckelman. Without whom, I don't think I would have bothered persevering with this initial batch of tunes.
Listening to this song, and the other unreleased tracks from this time is bittersweet for me. I am saddened that I never got to release them in their intended format, but I am grateful for the experience of recording them and for the audience I gained for Not A Boys Name in the process.
Thank you for listening!