Category Archives: Henry Spencer Project

Thursday 16th June 2011 – My Redundancy Plan – Start of an Epic Year.

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Well, here we are.  No more news on the redundancy yet but our reps and union are apparently working hard to stop us from getting screwed over… We’ll see! 

Anyway, I’m not about to rely on any of this so I’ve started work on my plan to hit the ground running by the end of the year.  It will make sure that any plans I am working on or have even been just a basic thought will see the light of day; as I have said before, these plans will at least contribute towards my portfolio and hopefully give me a bit of leverage when bugging/begging companies to let me hang around their offices to learn about their processes/job vacancies.  As I mentioned before, sound design is the direction that appeals to me the most right now because of the huge creative scope that can be possible, and for some reason I just like finding/recording sounds….no, I can’t explain it either!  There are various types of company that use sound designers but my starting point is going to focus on the computer games industry because the creative possibility there is just huge.  Research here is in it’s early days but I’ll let you know how it goes! 

OK, the projects that I have given myself to do…  As I have said before, they will all focus on sound design to reinforce my main focus.  Some are weird, abstract ideas whilst others are more main-stream with varying degrees in-between.  Of course, the whole reason I am embarking on this project is because each element of it interests me and excites me to a degree not unlike the build-up to Christmas as a child; well, without all the jumping and shouting anyway… I’m a little more demure these days.  But anyway, the general idea is to use sound to influence emotion and image and to gain a portfolio. 

The main project of creating this portfolio includes a follow-up to Bedtime Nursery Rhymes, taking into account feedback I’ve received to improve on the original idea; a second follow-up consisting of original ambient music to promote sleep in children; a spin-off of ambient music for children to encourage creative play; short orchestral pieces aimed at conveying emotions/themes common in film;  my audio/visual ‘sound art’ project with Lesley Flower; the new look and sound Lunar Rising; an ambient music project using found sound and synth, based around a theme; a continuance of Henry Spencer Project for something a bit more song-oriented and another project based on Bedtime Nursery Rhymes that I wont disclose information on just yet…  Quite a lot of work, especially when considering that making the music is actually only a part of what needs to be done! 

So, I guess this blog will turn into one of those ‘rise and fall stories’, but hopefully I wont have to fake my death twice like Reginald Perrin (you’ll probably have to be British and over 30… or even 40… to understand that reference!).  But actually, if all goes to plan and I don’t become prone to intense idiocy and/or bad luck I’m hoping this will be a ‘rise and rise story’….. Or at least a ‘rise and level out’ story….  Come back next week to see how it starts…. I’m quite interested to see how it begins myself actually!

Thursday 18th May 2011 – ‘This week I have mostly been…’

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This past couple of weeks has seen the entry of my newest bit of kit into my arsenal of music-making tools and it should be all I need for quite a while!  Last week I received my Roland GR-55 guitar synth as well as my East-West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra sample library.  The EWQL stuff is actually being sold as ‘by-one-get-one-free until the end of May (2011) so I took advantage of this and ordered the Ra library too, which is a rather cool library of ethnic instruments from around the world (get in touch if you want the link).  On their website, you can have a  listen to music made with these libraries if y0u follow the links and I aim to post my own couple of exploratory pieces on here next week.  If you have a listen to the music, I’m sure you will agree that the results are truly amazing; a computer is playing the music!

The guitar synth also allows me to play samples such as the EWQL stuff and synth contained in my computer like you would with any midi keyboard.  If you are unfamiliar with midi think of the cheap Casio keyboard you may have had when younger and it’s ability to change sounds at the touch of a button.  Then imagine this replicating instruments in a way that is actually realistic (amongst other technical extras) and you have a  good idea what I can now do with my guitar; as you can imagine, the world of synth and sampling is very limited to somebody that cant play a keyboard so I had to save up for the guitar equivalent.  Like in those role-playing computer games, I feel like I have opened up a a huge oaken door with a giant gold key after traversing many puzzles and hazards.  The room behind the door is so huge that I can’t see the walls and much of it is dimly lit so I can only just make some things out, whilst small spotlights highlight some other wonderful things in all their glory.  Pretty cool. 

The first task I gave myself with these new toys was to finish off some music I offered to make a friend for their home video.  It was mainly images of architecture old and new with other scenic highlights from a trip abroad which allowed me to really inject all the drama I love so much when creating music (well, maybe I over-did the drama a tad, but I’m allowed to get excited eh! …and who can resist the chance of using ‘Wagnerian tubas’ when presented with pictures of the Reichstag!) 

This previous piece was mostly written before I had the sample libraries so it turned out to be a mixture of synth from Logic Studio and orchestral sounds.  Next, it was time to have a go at something solely using the orchestra but I decided to keep it simple.  So, after work on Tuesday I spent a couple of hours making a short piece (and learning to use the software!). It was based on an idea of confused action and movement which manages to resolve itself in strength before making a swift exit.  The next piece I will try this week will be something a little more melancholic and I will post whatever I come up with next week. 

As well as now being able to play at orchestration on my guitar, my interests in synth and abstract sounds are also blossoming.  For a while now I have talked a little about the project I am working on with photographer Lesley Flower and now I have an instrument I can use more intuitively I started work on a second piece.  For those that don’t know, the idea here is an experiment in atmosphere which will create a series of audio/visual pieces using Lesley’s photographs as a starting point for sound.  The sound will be designed in such a way as to enhance the overall experience although both elements will work together.  I spoke a bit more about it in my post ‘Audio/Visual Work and the Importance of Calm Thought’ back in September.  Anyway, my first incursion into this with my more intuitive instrument was Sunday evening…

The picture in question is an angled shot of raindrops on glass, some in focus, other parts out of focus; all very characteristic of Lesley’s work.  The main backdrop of the shot contains various shades of a soft grey and I took this as my main starting point, creating a backdrop which I felt echoed the the soft and calm effect the colours had on me.  For the next layer, I decided to widen the atmosphere and throw in a few obvious references to the subject matter by spreading different types of ‘droplet’ and ‘pitter-patter’ noises across the soundscape.  Some close, some far away; some more ethereal in nature, some more blunt.  I then sat back with my headphones on and had a listen to what I had created whilst looking at the print.  It was an OK backdrop but as my eyes wondered around the print there were aspects that I had missed.  Firstly, some water droplets were in really sharp focus and their bulging appearance also had a light sheen on them.  Also, parts of the print were fuzzy in terms of focus which left a feeling of wonder even though I was well aware what the haze covered.  To bring a sense of focus to these points which a wondering eye my touch, I found that a very deep bass with a slow attack time gave a ‘gloopy’ enough sound and I combined this with a slight high-pitched sheen; I then combined them by giving them the same compression treatment and a nice and muddy (ie not clear) reverberation (echo to give a sense of space – muddy to try to blur the differences between the two sounds a little).  I then spread these ‘rain droplets’ around various positions throughout the stereo field and made them intermittent enough so that their occurrence might seem like a discovery every now and then.  To blur passages, I used parts of the same sequence of the ‘droplets’ with a series of distortions heavy on low mid sound frequencies.  These sounds were mixed into the original ‘raindrops’ to make it seem like those particular parts ware blurred. 

In other news, the future of my band Lunar Rising is in doubt after one of us asked the rest about their commitment level.  We were then left two members down and that particular member being unsure if they could continue also.  It’s safe to say though that I’ll make sure Lunar Rising lives on in some way.  I had started to develop bringing in my new guitar synth into stage performance to heighten the whole experience, and I cant let that idea go to waste!

This month’s Henry Spencer Project post was the first prose-only post for this project.  My original idea was for the blog to be based around a fictional character who likes to hang around with a band but I ended up toning this idea down as it felt like I would be taking on too much work!  Henry Spencer makes brief appearances during music posts but as I would still like to embellish the project with other bits of information  I felt I would like to explore his character a little bit to help create an all-round experience….

Well, that’s this week.  Until next time!


Thursday 24th February 2011 – Henry Spencer Project

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To coincide with two new You-Tube videos I would like to talk a little bit about Henry Spencer Project (HSP) this week.  The two videos can be seen here and they are acoustic versions of Henry Spencer Project’s  two most popular songs.

HSP was never intended to be a band as such as it is difficult enough running one band (I also write for/play guitar for/help to run Lunar Rising).  Getting the right people with the right style of playing and way of thinking is hard enough and getting them all to be in the same place at the same time is harder; finding people that are committed is harder still!  So with HSP I wanted another outlet for my ideas but not wanting to wade into another band I kept it as a recording project.

The first incarnation of these ideas involved a singer named Jacqueline Rolston and we called our duo ‘Ephemeral’.  We worked quite well together but had to split due to her copyright worries.  After that I spent time coming up with music that followed on from this early project and was influenced by funk and acid jazz.  Well, loosely anyway…   Really eager to get some kind of music project out of the songs I approached Dominique Allan of Lunar Rising.  We worked on three or four songs but before long she decided that she didnt have enough time for the project; with the band and various personal responsibilities taking up much of her time.  So HSP came to a halt for a bit.  Later on during 2009, I found I had more time; taking on various projects always means that your concentration shifts with their needs.  So… I carried on with the usual internet advertising trying to find a singer. ..

Pia Berg was the first to contact me, and she did this very gingerly saying that she hadn’t really sung outside of the shower for ten years and hadn’t really tried to write a song before.  Always open, I thought I’d ask her to work on an idea that I sent her and bring it along.  Having never heard her sing, her caution rubbed off on me and wanting to avoid an awkward X-Factor moment I let her know that we couldn’t be sure if her voice would be right but would very much like to meet her as I really did value her interest in my oddball tunes!  Naturally, she was worried that her efforts would be wasted so I suggested that she just bring along a basic idea…. when she did this and started to sing during this ‘audition’ I couldn’t believe my luck…

So, that is how HSP formed.  The name of our little musical escapade is usually something that people ask me about too.  With much of the rhythmic influence coming from New Orleans funk and soul of the 1960s I wanted to give the name an almost retro feel and to do this I thought a jazz-esque name would be perfect.  Therefore, it had to be ‘something’ trio, something ‘project’ etc, etc. The latter seemed the coolest but I still needed a name to go with it…  For the name I took influence from a film that I’m very fond of called ‘Eraserhead’.  This is typical David Lynch weirdness but to me, the main character Henry Spencer is a (comparatively…) normal guy caught up in a weird world and a weird situation that he never asked for or wanted.  This really hit home with my distaste for the the world of corporate work, uninteresting jobs and offices etc that I felt forced into.  I’ve always had a gripe with not being able to easily do what I wanted with my life (although I am trying!).  People always have an answer for me when I say that but that debate is beyond this post…

So that’s it really… A short introduction into Henry Spencer Project…. I wont say much about the sound of our music as that’s for you to decide really.  But what I did want is rhythmic excitement coupled with a soul feel and the occasional use of some nice, dirty guitar… Follow the link in the first paragraph for a listen….  The videos can be seen there or here on my ‘Videos’ page.

Jay

Thursday 10th February 2011 – (An)Other Irish Cinema

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Last week, I attended a short-film event put on by James Devereaux for his Drifting Clouds Cinema Group.  We had orginally talked about Lunar Rising playing an acoustic set at the event but unfortunately the bar hosting it doesn’t yet have a  live music license.

Anyway, the event hosted a film-making trio that go by the name of (An)Other Irish Cinema.  As I have talked about before, for the fringe arts to survive it is necessary to collaborate and combine numbers and strength, and this formed the basis of the trio getting together.  In their own words:   ”(Donal) Foreman, (Rouzbeh) Rashidi and (Maximilian) Le Cain formed as a platform for joint screenings, to showcase their work and, in so doing, to propose the possibility of an/other filmmaking culture in Ireland”

I am no film critic and do not pretend to have any knowledge about film, the proceses used or issues that film-makers care about.  I do, however, like film.  All the way from cheesy blockbusters to the deeply strange.  Each film interests me in a different way and offers something, from gaining a few cheap laughs to something really profoundly effecting me.  So, yeah, this isnt meant as a film review (I probably wont even mention film titles) but it is an explanation of what I took from the films in light of my interest in combining and gaining influence from seemingly unrelated walks of life.

From what James had told me, I was aware that the films being shown were avant garde.  I’m not a fan of art that is elitist, or art that is so abstract you need a degree in art history to understand it so it may come as a bit of a surprise that I really enjoyed what was on show.  As the trio of film-makers hinted in a ‘question-and-answer’ session afterward, the films weren’t designed to wrap up an idea in such a deep cloak of mystery that it will never be understood. Indeed, there may be nothing to actually understand.  The works were based around the moment in which they were filmed and took influence from everything going on at the time of filming/editing.  You could even say that the films are a film version of Jazz….  What results is a feast for the senses; The films effected me visually, and most crucially to me, aurally.  The mix of these two mediums in the way presented, rather than being a narrative as such created an atmosphere that immersed me in something I had never experiecned before and also got my grey cells working.  The great thing about such film is that every one takes you on a journey you have never expereicend before.  In contrast, love stories etc take you on the same journey over and over again (which I think has it’s rightful place).

As some of you will know, the main focus of my musical interest is atmopshere.  With Lunar Rising, very much like my bandmates I think, I aim my input to work towards an all-encompassing experience that will hold you for a duration of time and tell you a story without actually telling you anything;  A sense of journey in emotion and immersive sound.  Whether or not I ever achieve this is down to the listener of course!  The lyrics do add a tale but combined with the ambiguity of the musical journey, I find the desired effect is intensified.  With Henry Spencer Project, I aim to create a more physical atmosphere that picks up the listener in rhythmic movement.  With the audio/visual project I am undertaking with Lesley Flower, we aim to make each aspect (audio and visual) mutually bolster the other to create an atmosphere that is intensified by their partnership.

It therefore follows that the main interest I took away from seeing these short-films are the atmospheres they created, how they did this plus how I might translate such ideas using the tools and knowledge available into my own work.

The use of space was very interesting.  Open spaces were used but sounds were intense and right in your face.  Visions of natural surroundings were used with heightened, intensified natural sounds.  The distortion of sounds lent fairly normal images more depth and an altered sense of perception.  Emotive sounds were used that worked in tandem with or against various images.  Lots of contrast and lots harmony in so many different ways.  Maybe I can use ‘normal’ sounds and songs but use anything I like to contrast or harmonise them aesthetically or theoretically with sound and/or image (or using any other of the senses for that matter…).

Also, I have been developing an interest in the sounds around us in our every day lives and how I can merge these to create something that is even more personal to me than the music I write/sounds I create.  To my mind it follows that combining my instrumental self-expression with sounds that I am personally immersed in intensifies my own stamp.  Therefore, the use of everday sounds (or ‘found sounds’) in the work of the films I saw really stood out and, for me, really made the experience complete in a practical sense once combined with my aforementioned thoughts.

Please do take the time to check out the film-maker’s and group’s links at the beginning of the article.  Keep an open mind and expect something more than a film; indeed something very different.  You wont regret it!  If you are unfamiliar with my work then it would be great if you found time to check out the links to Lunar Rising and Henry Spencer Project.  As always, I really am very grateful for any kind of feedback you can offer at all!

Jay

Thursday 3rd February 2011 – Don’t Get Carried Away

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For some reason, over the past week or so people that actually read this blog have been telling me that they take an interest in it and what I do. This is pretty amazing really as up until now it really has felt like I’m writing to the void.  In a peculiar way it is quite fitting that this week’s post was intended to be more of a listen than a read…

My newest song is called ‘Don’t Get Carried Away’.  I wasn’t entirely sure  what I was going to do with it but my partner in crime for Henry Spencer Project, Pia Berg, said she’d think it cool if we used it.  As this song is a bit of a cross-pollination between different interests I would like to talk a bit about it…

Don’t Get Carried Away is the third song that I have written as a solo effort (not taking into account a few singer’s-point-of-view suggestions Pia has made!)  My first one is posted on my music page but this one really has been a sort of maturity in my songwriting.  Have a listen to Don’t Get Carried Away while you read by clicking here.

First of all, the main guitar part isn’t mine… Lesley Flower wrote this after her first guitar lesson with me. I concentrated on getting her to make sounds and to strengthen her fingers.  I find no value in teaching people songs when they want to learn the instrument and actually use it.  Replicating a song is for iTunes and technique can be picked up other ways. I was very pleasantly surprised when she showed me the result of her efforts.  She was making her own tunes not playing a half-baked Oasis song…  However, it seems she did pick up my style somewhat as the melody may even sound at home in a Lunar Rising song! …Anyway, I turned a metronome on and held a mic to the strings and asked her to play… As well as it being a pretty little melody, the awkward picking style only a beginner has lends a lovely innocence to the tune and I feel this really adds to a resulting lullaby feel.  Lesley messed around with some midi strings but I used the surrounding chords to see through my admiration for the tune in my own way…

The second influence has been through a development about subject matter.  Some that know me realise I’m quite opinionated on stuff that’s close to me (although I hope not in an obnoxious way!).  Through chatting to people on Twitter (as well as ‘real life’ friends!) I started to realise that some have the same opinions as me (for a change!). In particular, TheRealBobby004 said something about extremist Islam that really hit home with my beliefs and it was this conversation that led me to convey my ideas in this song. (if you’re on Twitter, follow him, he’s a nice guy and balances the all too popular general/ignorant views of what Islam can be. No, I’m not religeous by the way…).

Lastly, a seemingly minor contribution comes from the synth sound used in the song, especially at the break before the last chorus.  This may seem a small aesthetic contribution but it has derived from my blossoming interest in the more artistic, experimental side of sound/music.  I designed this sound for the art project I am creating with Lesley and I used the ‘Sculpture’ synthesiser that comes with the Logic Pro sequencer.  The sound came from the making of a soundtrack for one of Lesley’s photographs; part of the background in the photo is quite blurry and I wanted to convey this with a sound… Out of context and using different notes, the sound conveys a different notion….. but in any case enough of the waffling… If you haven’e heard the song yet, have a listen by clicking here.

Thursday 16th December – Happy Christmas!

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This week my post is quite a bit more lightwight than usual!  I would like to wish all of my readers a very happy Christmas.  Make sure that you have a great time over this festive period but also make sure you don’t over-do it! Well, ok you can over-do it….

Through this site, I’d like to celebrate Christmas this year with some new music and a brand new website for Henry Spencer Project!  The song can be found at the new site: http://www.HenrySpencerProject.com.  So please pop by for a listen!

Pia and I, collectively Henry Spencer Project, decided to work on a Christmas cover song when Tina Bass at Hermitage fm talked about playing some during her Christmas day show.  We had a little think about our favourite ever festive song and both decided that Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon would be perfect.  The song is truly beautiful and we need hardly comment that it comes from the mind of one of the UK’s greatest songwriters, who also shares a passion of ours about about what is right and good in this world.  So go check out the song, but also make sure you hear the original and have a good think on what it’s all about and what it means in the context of the world today.  We give a belated and joint thanks to Mr Lennon for creating this song and we can only hope that we do it at least a little bit of justice.

The recording of this song accidentally co-incides with the creation of the new Henry Spencer Project website.  The site is a little basic at the moment but please do go check it out an give us your thoughts.  Over time we will be updating the site with pictures, stories, new songs, you tube recordings, and anything else we can think of!  We hope to update the site with something new every two weeks with a new song every month.  We are very much looking forward to the creative journey this site will take us on and want you all to be a part of it!  Similar to the site here, there is a mailing list there so if you want to be kept up-to-date please do sign up.  I wont automatically sign the readers here up as I think that’s a bit of a liberty to take!

Have a fantastic Christmas!

Jay

Thursday 8th April

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Just on my usual work walk to Canada Water tube and it’s a lovely spring morning. Nice clear air and lots of bird song… Something some people don’t believe happens in London!

Yesterday’s song mixing didn’t go too well really, the song I’m going to get assesed at the Songwriters Guild sounded great until the afternoon.. The verse sounds too hurried and it’s kinda unsettling. It’s a problem that some thought I had with a Henry Spencer Project song so I’m thinking something must be up with the way I do things sometimes. I’ll be looking at the beat first to sort that so hopefully it’ll get sorted! My Mac crashed again last night too so I may have to return the new RAM I bought too…

On the upside I think I sorted a continueing problem with my new BFD2 drum software! It has been becoming unusable due to an apparent lack of CPU power. Determined as ever I wouldn’t let it beat me so after some suggestions on the Fxpansion forums (the makers of BFD2) not helping I checked out the Sound On Sound forum regarding the Apple G5. It turns out that contrary to popular belief the Mac may need fairly regular maintenance and after performing some tasks recommended here. It now seems to be running 90% smoothly! Follow the link for some great advice on getting the best out of your Apple Mac computer!

Also, Fruit Tree played a cracking gig again last Sunday. Kinasis were particulary good so I managed to get a free Cd after we played our set. Nice!

Fruit Tree are now in Debate about how we promote the band more. Our singer is reluctant to promote the band’s first album, ‘Sunset’, too much as she feels it is not represntative of our sound. I’m thinking that getting our name out there can only be a good thing.. . We should be getting a merch man to help us sell our wares at gigs though and will be paying them in beer so if anyone is interested get in touch… Finally, we are using some of our gig money this saturday to get some preoffesional photos taken at Hampsted Heath, should be fun!

A New Begining

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Wow, two years or so since the last post…! If truth be told my blog stopped working and with all the bits and pieces I’ve been cultivating and taking a step up in the day job there just hasn’t been time to sort it!

Now I have found some stable musicians to work with and am getting far more productive with my music and general creativity, posts are going to be far more regular…

The website definately does need updating and it’s facelift will be happening as soon as my pal Jasal has sorted his computer problems.

So, the latest thing to happen is Henry Spencer Project which is the fruition of random ideas that have been floating around since I first started making music. I wanted the songs to be focused on rhythm whilst being basic yet atmospheric with the rawness I love from those old 1960′s funk recordings.. Pia Berg then came along to lend her amazing vocal talent and managed to give a lovely soulful glaze over the songs… They are yet to be finalised but have been made public so that you good people can give me some feedback on improvements needed! In a couple of weeks I will sort out the imperfections, get them mastered and see what I an do with them!