We've ended up recording almost all the drums for the album at this ruined church by the sea. It doesn't have a roof but has still got a great lively sound to it which is hard to achieve in outdoor locations. Depending on what song we were doing, we would move to different parts of the church and position the microphones further or closer to the kit. This song is still a bit of a work in progress but I reckon the grooves that Greg has brought to the table are helping to move it in the right direction.

x

It's been a while since I last wrote here, but not due to lack of activity. We have been pressing ahead with this album that's being recorded entirely outdoors, and it has brought us to some superb musicians and a number of interesting locations. 

Dara Stewart delivered a punch to the belly with his double bass performance in Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park, while curious Japanese tourists asked for photos. With Herculean effort, my friends managed to drag my piano outside allowing me to record a few takes before the rain came. My Dad, my brother and his kids invited me along to a barbecue at Aberdour beach, where I promptly whipped out an accordion and laid down a quick ditty. Tim, Marcus and Phil ventured to the top of Calton Hill in Edinburgh and delivered beautiful brass and horn performances in the shadow of the National Monument. And in the next couple of weeks there's glockenspiel, Rhodes, synth bass, vocals, drums...

There are a few photos and videos kicking about on this site and of course, all these excursions have been added to the map of recording locations that can be found here.

We're hoping to have most of the recording done in the next few weeks before winter sets in and before my wife gives birth to our first baby :)

Thanks.

Dan

 

HaarFest is a cracking wee music & arts festival organised by Fence Records and taking place in and around Anstruther and Cellardyke (in Fife).

 

We're delighted to be part of it, playing on the Thursday night with Geese, Jonnie Common and King Creosote. KC, along with Jon Hopkins has just been nominated for a Mercury music prize thanks to their amazing Diamond Mine album so it's a real privilege to be sharing the stage with him.

 

It's really best if you can get along to the whole thing because the line up is brilliant, featuring the likes of James Yorkston, The Pictish Trail, Withered Hand, FOUND, Kid Canaveral and a DJ set from the aforementioned Jon Hopkins.

 

It's running from Thursday 11th August until Sunday 14th August and tickets for the whole festival can be bought here.

 

Tickets for just the evening we're playing can be bought here.

 

It's going to be total aces. Come along.

 

Dan

OK, so we missed it but at least we were doing something productive.

I don't know about you but I've often considered the ill-fate of bandstands. A public concert venue in a park? Brilliant idea. So when we were asked to play at the bandstand in St. Andrews, it wasn't difficult to agree to.

We're playing this Sunday afternoon as part of the On the Rocks festival, along with Amy Rayner, Kyle Cuthbert, Sarah Banjo and Julia and the Dragoons. It kicks off at 3pm. If you're a Fifer, come on over, it should be fun.

Recording an album outdoors in Scotland has its ups and downs. An unusually long and cold winter has made it pretty difficult to get out into the 'studio' and it has taken unexpected trips to Uganda and Australia to provide any real opportunity to record new material.

But this weekend, everything changed. Sun, shorts, sunglasses, two excellent singers, a ruined Abbey and inspiration from Steve Reich - all combined to produce a very fruitful recording for a new song we're working on.

My friend Alastair MacGregor puts his hand to various instruments and along with Greg Bell, has been helping to write the arrangements for the album we're working on. He's in Australia at the moment so took the opportunity to record some bass lines at this spot overlooking Sydney opera house. It adds another dot on the map of places we've been recording, which you can check out here.

Had a lovely time playing at Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh last night. Very attentive crowd and some great acts. Particularly enjoyed Open Swimmer's set and am loving this song of theirs: http://soundcloud.com/eliandoz/open-swimmer-sugar-bowl-1

and an acoustic guitar...