The English Electric Vocal sessions: Part 1

On  the 22nd and 23rd of August 2011, Andy, Greg and I went to record the vocals for English Electric with Rob Aubrey at Aubitt Studio in Southampton.

We managed to get a great amount completed. The initial idea was to concentrate on capturing as many lead vocals as possible and leaving backing vocals until later on. 

The sessions were fast paced and during those two days we have managed to complete not only the lead vocals but also the backing vocals on Swan Hunter, Curator of Butterflies, Leopards, Hedgerow, East Coast Racer and Uncle Jack.

We also discussed, planned and tweaked our release schedule. English Electric is going to be a double album and it will be released in two parts. 

The artwork and concept behind Station Masters was fine tuned on our Tuesday morning car journey from Bournemouth to Southampton.

We also spoke about instrumentation for our 'Big Big Thing'- Project (remember that?)

We also discussed how, where and when Big Big Train will play live. Lots of things to consider! 

Greg 'Live blogged' his way through the sessions ( See Big Big Train's Facebook page for the posts) 

We have another vocal session planned for October 2011 and then Nick D'Virgilio will be in the UK at Christmas once again to record more drum parts.

String Driven Thing

Leopards and A Boy In Darkness string session at Regal Lane Studio 09/08/11

BBT with Louis Philippe & The Covent Garden String Quartet

L to R:

Sue Bowran Violin I, David Longdon, Geraldine Berreen Violin II, Teresa Whipple Viola,

Louis Philippe string arranger, Andy Poole and Abigail Trundle Cello

photograph taken by Ken Brake

Andy and I travelled to London to record The Covent Garden String Quartet at Regal Lane Studio. The string parts were arranged by Louis Philippe (Philippe Auclair) and the session was engineered by Ken Brake

We worked on two songs which will be featured on English Electric. Leopards is straight forward in terms of what it needed string-wise and I knew that Louis would be perfect for the task. A Boy in Darkness is a little more unusual and has been written using an experimental process. It is in three sections:-

In section one, the strings add eerie and unsettling textures. Section two heads off at full gallop. Greg and Nick are pounding away in the rhythm section and Louis has scored some finger knittingly rapid lines for the quartet which they take in their stride. In section three the strings are full and emotional.

It was great fun to record. Louis has written some wonderful arrangements. Despite the length of the session the girls played beautifully with energy and spirit throughout.

I can't wait for you to hear it!

After the session we went into Camden for something to eat and in the evening sunshine sitting outside the Spread Eagle, it was business as usual. Londoners carrying on.

Peace

David

Incoming

Kingmaker came out earlier this month as an exclusive track for Classic Rock Presents Classic Prog Magazine. It was recorded to replace Master of Time on the Russian version of our Far Skies Deep Time e.p. 

Inside the magazine on the CD track and artist listing page there is a small picture of Andy, Dave, Greg, Nick and I, taken by Neil Palfreyman during a photo shoot at Winchester Cathedral last December. It all looks very Hogwarts.

We (BBT) have a string recording session in London on the 9th of August. Andy Poole and I will be at Regal Lane Studio with the very capable Ken Brake at the helm. Abigail Trundle and her quartet will be performing the parts for two new songs that will be on English Electric called Leopards and A Boy in Darkness.

I am over the moon to announce that the string arrangements on these songs have been written by my dear old friend and mentor Louis Philippe (Philippe Auclair) 

I'll take some photographs and keep you posted.

David

 

The Genesis Revelations

In the last days of 2010, I was interviewed for DUSK magazine (an Italian Genesis enthusiasts publication) by Mario Giammetti. The interview centres around:-

• My involvement with Genesis.
• Their search for a replacement lead singer.
• The initial recording sessions for the Calling All Stations album.
• My early work and the Wild River album. 
• My recent work with Big Big Train and the release of our Far Skies Deep Time ep.

The interview came out in the Christmas edition of DUSK (in Italian). I am pleased to announce that the interview is now available in English. 

If you are curious and would like to read it, please click here

Ciao

David

Photograph of David Longdon by Amy Mumford:- Aug 2010

BBT CGI ?................. LOL

CGI Picture of David Longdon by Jared Jackson 01/01/11

'After a text from Mr Spawton, Mr Longdon senses another epic is on the cards...'

Taken from the forthcoming PC Game*

BIG BIG TRAIN

Out of Aubitt

Only £39.99*

* = This is not true!

2011

Antifreeze? Check!

Flask of black coffee? Check!

Sandwiches? Check!

Sounds for the duration of the journey? Oh Yes!

So there I was, travelling down to Southampton on the 28th of Dec 2010 to attend the drum tracking sessions at Aubitt for the next Big Big Train album, English Electric .

The Christmas card weather in the UK over the last few weeks has made for some breathtakingly beautiful and dramatic scenery but rather hairy driving conditions. Poor visibility, cars speeding up then slamming on the breaks only to proceed at crawling pace once more. Repeat ad infinitum....

The brilliant sunshine, ethereally glowing behind banks of fog and mist, made for some very beautiful skies. Reminiscent of a Turner painting.

It's always good to to meet up with Greg, Andy and Rob again. Despite the road trip down to the south of England being a three hour drive for me, The Train manage to get together quite often throughout the year. The company is always good humoured and often hilarious. In stark contrast to our melancholy sound and serious nature of some of our material.

I met Nick D'Virgilio and his family for the first time. On the afternoon of the 28th, we were working on drum tracks for three songs I've contributed to English Electric. Nick is a very musical drummer and added much to the tracks. He is professional and able to swiftly adapt to anything we threw at him. Everything he does has a compelling groove. He is highly attentive to details, the mood of the pieces and the sounds he brings from his drum kit. I know he's a bit of a drum octopus in the world of professional drummers and I fully expected his playing to be as breathtaking as it usually is. The main thing that impressed me was how he engaged with the material. How he listened and understood what was needed. What a great musician he is.

Despite it being the first time we were all together in one room (Dave Gregory not included - we'd see him in Winchester on the 29th for a photo shoot), in between tracks it was just like any other band in a recording studio. Out came the stories, the banter and the jokes.

I spoke with Greg last Sunday who has been busy laying down bass parts over the past few weeks and he's delighted with the energy of the rhythm tracks we've got down for English Electric. All being well the first track may be with me by the end of this week!

I can't wait!

Happy New Year

David

Merry Christmas

I would like to take this moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A big big thanks to all Big Big Train spotters and enthusiasts for your relentless well wishes and support. We've received some incredible reviews concerning Far Skies Deep Time over the last few weeks. 

Greg, Andy, Dave, Nick and I will be at the English Electric drum recording sessions and photograph shoot which will happen in between Christmas and New Year. I'm really looking forward to getting the drums down on the new material. Strangely enough it will be the first time that all five of us have been in the same room at the same time. Life imitating art!

We've been busy preparing the audio files for the next album and adding them to Pro Tools. After the drums are down the rest of the instruments will be added and layered and then it's a questions of polishing the performances until they gleam.

 I don't know which instruments I'll be playing yet I'll have to wait until I have an overview of the album. Usually the instrumentation suggests itself depending on the themes, characters and locations within the works.

In addition to this I have been writing scenes for the Big Big Thing. I've had a rough structure of events for some time and have initially been immersed in research for the characters, places and theories to support the story. 

I'm writing the story in prose with notes and sketches which will help structure the narrative and pace of the piece along with the lyrics.  It's a large task but it's getting there and the characters are evolving in a natural way. They've begun to have a life of their own. As promised I'll keep you informed of developments.

Mario Giammetti's interview with me concerning my involvement with Genesis and the Calling All Stations album is now available in DUSK magazine. I will put a link to the English translation as soon as it is available.

Greg and I have been interviewed for Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine. So expect some BBT coverage in the new year.

So, that's all from me for 2010.

Have a wonderful Christmas and all the very best for 2011

Peace

David