In 2003 we recorded our first demo/EP proper. After several aborted attempts, we finally got it done at at Autumn Road Studios in Wrexham. A massive shout out and thanks have to go out to Nino Errico for guidance, recording and production.
You can preview/download the tracks here, or go have a listen on last.fm.
We produced a limited number of copies of the 'Slow Down' EP complete with:
- professionally produced CDs with stamped art;
- full inlay and artwork by Tom at Fervour Design;
- jewelled CD case.
We still have copies of the EP available for purchase for the bargain price of £5 plus posting & packing. If you want to help support the band and buy one of these lovely items, please get in touch. Cheers!
There are some other recordings knocking about:
slow down (demo)
An impromptu rendition of a very early version of 'Slow Down' was attempted at the Sun Inn in Llangollen a couple of weeks before this demo, and all this was a matter of days after Neil had come up with the main chords, melody and lyrics. Paul's arabesque lead fitted nicely into a post chorus break... and a new tune was on the way. We wanted to get the tune down quickly in order to figure the song out (the finished version comes in at around 7 minutes!) and get it clear in all of our heads. The easiest way to achieve this at the time was a microphone, an acoustic guitar, some bongos a line out from Paul's guitar pedals, a Eurorack MX 802A mixer... and a PC!
The demo was recorded by Paul, Neil and Tom in Paul's bedroom using an Athlon XP based PC running SoundForge (for sound and loop editing), FruityLoops (for drums and loop creation) and Acid (for sticking it all together and overlaying live recorded tracks such as Neil's vocals and Paul's guitar). The result is far from polished, but it was our first go at 'bedroom recording' - a technique we're now using regularly to construct new songs.
blue sun (demo)
Partly recorded at The Wall studios by Colin, only four tracks were laid down (bongos, Neil's acoustic, Neil's vocals and Hanny's vocals). Paul added the (somewhat sketchy) solo at home months later using his mixer and PC. This version is much more atmospheric than the version recorded at Autumn Road which appeared on the Slow Down demo.
how it comes (demo)
A slightly more complete demo recorded at The Wall studios, this is a much tighter performance of the song than the recording on the Slow Down demo EP.
right way to live (demo)
A sketchy demo of a newer tune recorded in parts at practice using a laptop and Sony Acid. The tune has been pieced together to give a rough idea of the structure of the song, but our bedroom recording and production techniques still leave a little to be desired! This one was rushed too, as we thought Hanny was leaving us forever...
Right click on a link and choose 'Save as...' to download. The downloadable MP3s are 128 kbps MP3s sampled at 44 kHz and the OGG files are 128 kbps encoded with VBR. Both are ripped from the master CD and should sound pretty close to the original recording.
