Physics is not common subject matter for a song. You certainly don’t hear pop divas trying to sexualise the Second Law of Thermodynamics! In the geeky world of synthpop, however, it’s not unheard of. OMD’s “Gravity Never Failed” is a great example, and has always left me with a yearning to use an overt [...]
Believe it or not, this song started out as a trippy, Beatlesque song with a 12/8 time signature! But of course, this didn’t fit with the Synthwave stylings of the album. So I started messing with it – so much so, that it bears no resemblance to the original song from which it originated. This [...]
As a child, a large, semi-abstract painting hung inside our front door. It was called "Icarus" and was painted by my mother at art school. Mum explained the story of Icarus to me which I found fascinating. I suspect the intention of telling me this story was as a cautionary tale – about listening [...]
Typically pop albums start with a bang! An up-tempo, catchy number to pull people into the album. Not so here. I chose the second slowest song on the album, clocking just 90 BPM and with a quiet, ambient introduction. Since this was more of a conceptual pop album, I liked the idea of beginning with [...]
2017 has been a tough year for me with more lows than highs. Grieving the loss of a loved one, along with family, business and health challenges – the stuff life is made of! Still, the one thing which always keeps me moving forward and gives life meaning, is making music. I feel kind of ashamed [...]
I’ve seen New Order perform several times before, but when I read that they were headlining Sydney's Vivid Festival and performing at the Sydney Opera House with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), I knew this was something I had to experience. Kraftwerk similarly headlined Vivid at the Opera House in 2013, which I blogged about, [...]
For me, the most interesting part of making music is taking that germ of an idea and turning it into a song. In the early stages, a song can be anything – it is undefined and unlimited, and with that comes a great degree of optimism. As the production progresses, it seldom reaches [...]
Whilst the creative spark for a song often only takes minutes, finishing it can sometimes take years. Looked at another way, the spark is really just establishing the creative problem. Sometimes the solution comes easily, whilst in other cases, I'll put the song aside and come back to it many times. Some songs have such [...]
I'm happy to announce the final track selection for my covers album - 'It Must Be Obvious'. The album will be mastered by Robin Schmidt on April 9th. Robin mastered the 'Mountain King' album and has an impressive clientele. Consequently, we're looking at a May release date for the album. I'll also start sharing the [...]
Best Synthpop Albums of 2013 I'm delighted my 2013 album 'Mountain King' made it into The Pansentient League's Best Synthpop Albums of 2013. The Top 20 included some tough competition and many high profile albums by the likes of Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, OMD and Chvrches. In fact, Space March is probably the most [...]
