The imagination of a madman
I've a got a studio session booked in with myself on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm currently preparing for it. That's right I'm following my own advice! I have always found that the creativity starts way before I get started in the studio. I know that if I play with the ideas in my head and let them form into sounds and feelings before I get started in the physical world things always go a whole lot better.
This might sound a bit crazy but I've always done that. I remember in the good old days when Koko was known as the mighty Camden Palace. The Mecca of hard house and hard trance. This was back in the days before the phrase "hard dance" had taken a hold in clubland. It was THE place to get your tunes played in London, if it worked there it worked anywhere. So I used to imagine being there and hearing how the my track sounded on that system. I'd get a feeling for how it fitted into the mix. I'd listen for the hi hats cutting through, the thump of kick drum announcing it's arrival and I'd feel the rush of the bass line taking charge as it lead the way to what ever magic was yet to come.
The sounds, the melodies, the hoovers, all of it, all of it wrapped up in that pure adrenaline fuelled atmosphere that made that place what it was. This tune, my tune, was ripping the roof off, and do you know what? All this happened before I even owned a keyboard. All this happened before I even knew how to plug the sodding thing in, but it didn't matter, because I'd set something in motion that would take a hold of me until it actually happened.
As the years progressed I constantly found myself imagining scenes like that when I was actually in the studio. I'd stare in over the top of my computer monitor picturing the scene as I listened to what it sounded like in the club and going absolutely nuts to it. Yeah it was a bit crazy, but it worked and its what I am finding myself doing now as I prepare myself for Saturday.
This time though, its the sound of psychedelic trance that is taking over my soul. The soundscape is different... its more refined. I'm not knocking Hard Dance, far from it.. it's just that this is about something a little different. Different textures, different timing, a groove that's based around the hips instead of a stomp of the feet. A rhythm that rolls along rather than punching the air. There's lots of finger pointing going on as my arms are finding the gaps in the groove that are begging for my attention and the dance floor is pulsing and evolving, becoming one.
I'm more patient than before. I'm enjoying the ride rather than gagging for the breakdown. I don't want this to stop. Everything is building as the waves of the euphoric binaural beats take over. The harmonic minors are left behind as a more modal vibe takes over. The groove is made up of synth stabs, like someone playing a drum kit that's made up of acid stabs and filtered nuances. The hats are skipping around, dancing on top of the bassline which is shimmering in the light as.. that sound, of my god that sound, did you hear that sound!
The club has gone and I'm dancing in the sunshine. I'm a in a field kicking up the dust and if I ever had a notion that the Universe is an amazing place to be its right now. I'm feeling that warm kiss of the sky playing with my senses as I get lost in the layers... there's so many layers. This is the nuts!
I don't think I've looked forward to Saturday more in my life! Someone drop some tunes on my facebook wall to keep me going until then!
