Taken from the new album coming soon

  

Run On This Land began life as a simple piano riff and eventually became the opening instrumental on my album *Still Life*. At the time, I’d written the melody, chords and lyrics for a full song, but the band I was in split up before it could be recorded properly. With no singer available — and trust me, you really don’t want to hear my dulcet tones — it became an instrumental instead, complete with a guitar solo that was my not-so-successful attempt to channel my inner David Gilmour.

Fast forward to now, and I’ve revisited the track, rewriting and (hopefully) improving both the melody and the lyrics, and finally bringing the song to life in the way I originally imagined.

On a more serious note, Run On This Land has always been about what we’re doing to our planet. Climate change, greed, and short-term thinking are pushing us towards the brink. We’re watching our own Eden burn — rainforests torn down, oceans and air polluted, and mass extinction wiping out the incredible wildlife we share this world with. If we don’t change our ways, there will be no planet left to run on.

So… who’s the singer? She’s AI-generated.
As a songwriter who doesn’t sing, getting songs across exactly as I hear them in my head has always been a challenge — especially without a top-class producer or the budget of a Taylor Swift recording session (or any budget at all, really). AI is here to stay, and used creatively, it’s an incredible production tool. It doesn’t replace ideas or emotion — you still need the song writing — but it allows songs like this to exist.

That’s it for now. You can buy the track here, or just press play and hopefully enjoy it.
The new album will be ready in March... 

New Album - The River of Change - available now on Bandcamp

It's been a while, but here goes...This collection of songs has been reimagined, remixed and remastered from recordings that go back… well, let’s just say some of them have seen things. A few were written over 20 years ago, back when I still thought I’d definitely remember every setting on every piece of gear forever. (Spoiler: I didn't.)

I’m genuinely proud of how these tracks have come out in their new forms. They’ve had fresh life breathed into them, a bit of polish, and in some cases a complete rethink. Hopefully you’ll hear something familiar, something new, and maybe even something that makes you go, “Huh, didn’t expect that.”

Feel free to share these songs with friends, strangers, colleagues, sworn enemies, or that one person who insists they have “eclectic taste” but still only listens to the same five albums. Every listen counts, and I appreciate them all.

Thanks for sticking with me. I know it’s been a while — but good news: new music is happening, and a brand new track will be out before too long. Promise.

Hope you enjoy the revamped versions.

Chris.

Stream or Download 'The River of Change' Here

credits

released October 28, 2025

Isolation Day 10 - Diary 5

Well I had a day off yesterday from blogging, probably as I'm running out of things to say about my Covid issues, thankfully I appear to have gotten off lightly. As far as symptoms go I do feel a bit weaker but getting stronger every day and unfortunately the taste and smell senses are still non-existent.

I see Greater Manchester and Lancashire has missed the highest level of restrictions but I feel very sorry for those in Liverpool and the surrounding districts. I live within a mile of the Merseyside border and those businesses that are on the wrong side are going to suffer terribly having to close for at least 4 weeks. I don't think the level of support announced is anywhere close to being adequate, but if we're heading for a national lockdown or a "circuit break" then surely it should have been done 3 weeks ago when the scientists first recommended it.

Personally I think we will need to learn to live with the virus until a vaccine comes along, socially distanced of course, hand-washing and mask wearing but that can't happen until track and trace comes up to speed. To be honest track and trace have called almost everyday and my experience has been positive. In fact I've just had a call to tell me I'm out of isolation tomorrow having done 10 days since my first symptoms. It'll be good to get out and about again. Yippee!!

We are still participating in the Office for National Statistics survey which means another Covid test for all of us today. They did ring me to say one of my tests was positive but it was the same day as my NHS test so I already knew and they've asked me to give blood as part of the antibody testing which I've agreed to, hopefully it may help someone.

Fingers crossed our level of football (North West Counties) is on this weekend as Ashton Athletic are away to Liversedge (Yorkshire) in the FA Vase but who knows what will happen in the days to come.

I'm not sure there'll be much more from me on this subject as thankfully I appear to have come out the other side. Thanks again for all the well wishes and support it really mean a lot. Look after yourselves and your families.

Keep Safe and Support the NHS x

Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash

Isolation Day 8 - Diary 4

Thanks again for the positive comments, I'll try and keep this going for a bit longer, gives me something to do at least.

Lets get the important stuff out of the way first. Last night (Sunday I think) I decided to check out my taste and smell senses via the medium of alcohol. Obviously 1 bottle of beer wouldn't yield enough data so I went for 7 or 8 and a glass of white wine but with the same result, I tasted f**k all. I did have a bit of a buzz on though so you still get pissed but just don't enjoy it the same. My sister in law reckons she had coronavirus back in March before proper testing and was quite ill for a week and reckons her taste and smell haven't come back properly yet. My son Josh thinks he had it around the same time and he is now ok so I'm hoping for the same.

This virus seems to be affecting people in very different ways, some don't even know they have it and some have actually lost their lives, others just get flu like symptoms which is the category I fall into, so far. In fact all I have today after 8 days is a bit of a muzzy head but you can probably guess why that is. Talking about symptoms I'll go through mine just so you know. I started with a bit of a temperature but wasn't burning up, my resting heart rate was up a bit, it's normally around 60 beats per minute but was in the mid 80's for a couple of days, nothing bad. My legs were aching down the backs for a few days and I developed a slight cough and runny nose but didn't feel breathless. I found deep breathing fresh air beneficial, there's a breathing technique on YouTube by a doctor from Queens in London that I did a few times and that seemed to help. If you search "Coronavirus breathing technique" it should come up first. Anyway I hope none of you will ever need it.

I have an old school friend who is extremely intelligent, well I have a couple actually, I won't name them as I don't want to embarrass them. They make me think of Tyrion Lannister from Game Of Thrones with the quote "I Drink And I Know Things" well this one doesn't drink but he knows a lot of stuff. He private messaged me with a list that may help with fighting Covid and I thought I'd share:

Zinc (good source pumpkin seeds), 

Selenium (good source is Brazil nuts), 

Vitamin D (high dose supplements),

Vitamin C (if you have viral symptoms take 1-2g 3 to 4 times per day)

Like I say hopefully you won't need them and we can get shut of this dammed virus sooner rather than later.

Track and Trace were on the phone again yesterday asking about contacts, thankfully because of isolating from my son's diagnosis I only have my close family. I did tell her about the funeral I went to but she reckoned that was before the contagion period. Thankfully the team I help out with at Ashton Athletic had their game called off the weekend I was infected due to bad weather or I could have spread it there. Jeez, scary stuff!

Well I guess we're all awaiting the Governments announcement today with bated breath, lets hope we can take something positive from it. I'm with Andy Burnham the Mayor of Manchester. If it's deemed we need a lockdown whether local or national then people need financial support, you can't just shut everything down again without it.

Anyway that's it for today, take care and Keep Safe x

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

Isolation Day 7 - Diary 3

Thanks for reading these posts, it's good to hear from so many people and the offers of help have been overwhelming.

Well my suspicions were correct. I received a text message this morning saying my coronavirus test was positive. It was pretty much nailed on when I lost my sense of taste and smell. I've had symptoms for a while but didn't get tested earlier as my wife Karen was ill the week before, had the test and it came back negative. I just thought I'd caught the same bug. Anyway myself and Lucas (21) are feeling loads better, our other son Josh (28) has no symptoms as we think he had the virus back in March, also losing his taste and smell senses.

You tend to speculate where have we caught it from but I guess we'll never know, it's so random and contagious all you can do is be careful, keep washing your hands, social distance and wear the masks if possible. One thing I would say which it says in the text message is "try not to worry", there's enough mental pressure with all the news bulletins being thrown at you constantly, try and eat healthily and do some exercise. Walking, deep breathing, stair climbing whatever you can.

As someone pointed out to me in the comments yesterday I think this kind of isolation is harder when you have the virus as you aren't allowed out at all, no going for walks, visiting shops and you're reliant on other people or getting home deliveries.

I really hope there isn't another national lockdown coming. People need to respect the rules and other people but we can't just let the virus run riot as some have suggested, we need to protect the NHS for those who will need it. I went to a funeral recently, an old agent friend who used to book our band and I knew he was ill but his health went downhill fast as his appointments for cancer treatment kept getting cancelled due to Covid. We really can't let that happen again.

I'm missing the football this weekend. I'm normally either stood on the touchline helping out with Ashton Athletic Development squad or manning the turn-style for 1st team home games. Unfortunately we've had to cease all football activities at the club as at least 3 players have tested positive. These grass roots clubs really need your support at the moment and I saw a wonderful tweet from one of our young 15 year old supporters regarding the Premier league charging fans £14-95 pay-per-view. His reply to BBC Sport was "£14-95 to watch a home game on your TV or £14-95 to watch a game in real life, get a drink, programme and something to eat. I know what I'd rather do @AshtonAthletic" We actually only charge £6 to get in and can I recommend the Tetley bitter, it's tremendous!

By the way drinking beer and wine without taste and smell is crap as I found out last night, of course I had a few in the interests of research but I can confirm it's not good. I might try again tonight to see if there's any improvement.

That's all for now, until next time. Keep Safe x

Isolation Day 6 - Diary 2

Thanks everyone for all your offers of help after yesterday's post it really made us appreciate our friends even though we haven't seen many for quite some time. Well things took a bit of a turn yesterday, I think I mentioned I'd not been feeling great all week, a few aches and pains, particularly in my legs, bit of a cough and sniffles but nothing really bad just a general malaise. That said as each day passes I've been getting better so I just put it down to a cold until I noticed I couldn't taste my food, a piece of toast, it was like eating a piece of cardboard, not that I eat cardboard but you get my meaning.

I then tried sniffing stuff, clothes, flowers, toothpaste, soap (which I got a hint of), whatever was around but basically I realised I've lost those senses and I can tell you it's weird! I spoke to Lucas (21) our son as he's experiencing the same and he agreed saying you still crave food but it's just odd when you come to eat it. I had my usual porridge with grapes and blueberries this morning and it tasted of nothing, but I still had to eat it. Bizarre!

NHS Track and Trace called this morning to make sure we knew we had to self isolate, a nice Geordie lad who was very helpful. I confirmed we understood the rules and we can't do f**k all for 2 weeks, obviously I didn't put it in those terms. He offered to get us help with anything we needed but I told him we're ok but always good to know just in case. I asked his advice on my new symptoms and he said to get another test despite having one done for the Office of National Statistics on Wednesday (which I haven't heard from since). I've been to Haydock Park this morning and been tested again, not a pleasant experience but necessary. It's a drive through and they give you the option of D.I.Y. or they will carry it out. I opted for the latter as I wanted it done properly in case I'd cocked it up, boy do they shove that swab right up your conk. Anyway results to come in 24 to 48 hours. I'm not too concerned though as I feel much better than I did but I do think it maybe positive.

I'm sure you heard of the sad passing of Eddie Van Halen this week, my social media exploded, he was a real pioneer of guitar and an amazing player, writer and all round musician. I made sure I listened to Van Halen's debut album yesterday and watched a lovely documentary on YouTube. It's difficult to explain how influential he was to so many musicians. At the time no-one could play or sound like him, he opened up a new style of playing using both hands on the neck that so many have copied and tried to emulate. I remember playing Jump by Van Halen back in the day and no-one could quite nail the solo like he could or if they got close, make it look so effortless. For those not familiar listen to "Beat It" by Michael Jackson, that's Eddie Van Halen playing guitar. Amazing!

That's me done for today. Tonight I'll be mostly drinking beer and wine, not sure how that's going to work if I can't taste it but in the interests of research I'm willing to give it a go. I'll be back with the results tomorrow. Keep Safe Everyone xx

Photo by Anika Mikkelson on Unsplash

Isolation Day 5 - a few thoughts

Perhaps I should have started this on Day 1 but it's taken a few days to get used to the new situation having found ourselves having to isolate for 14 days after our youngest son (21) tested positive for coronavirus. Thankfully he's much better after the aches and pains of last weekend even though he's still lost his sense of taste and smell. By the way I did find it funny last night as he asked his older brother (28) for a shot of his expensive vodka to see if the senses had returned. They hadn't. Maybe he'll ask him again tonight? Or maybe they've already come back!

It's a strange time for everyone with this second wave (especially here in the North) but I'm finding my new state of affairs akin to the last national lockdown as I'm already losing track of the days, forgetting to put the bins out was one example luckily remembering after hearing the refuse wagon turn the corner and dashing down partially dressed to walk them down the drive. I am allowed to put the bins out aren't I Boris? 

I have been feeling a bit under the weather with a slight cold, in fact every little ache, or slight cough is accentuated as you think is this the start of "my corona-virus" but as I had a test for the Office of National Statistics the other day and it's now been 48 hours I reckon the test is negative as they only inform you if the test is positive - part of the survey conditions apparently. Something we signed up a couple of weeks ago after receiving a letter saying you receive vouchers for taking part, £50 for the first test and £25 for each subsequent test. I'm hoping you can spend them on guitars?

I applied for some funding the other day as I now can't work for 2 weeks. I'm self employed and the Test and Trace Support Payment has just come in but you need to do it through your local council. If you're in the same boat be prepared to spend a few hours as they want to know everything, understandable I suppose. After downloading my tax return, turning it into a pdf, photographing my bank statement, downloading an isolation note, writing a letter to explain how I can't work from home I finally submitted my application only to be told by a pop up window that I hadn't submitted enough information. I had but repeated the submission a couple more times. Same message 'Computer says No'.

I decided to email Wigan M.B.C. to explain the situation and my frustrations being careful not to come across as an arsehole and left my mobile number. I actually got a phone call back from a nice lady who informed me that they'd received all the information required - 3 times! But I definitely detected a touch of sarcasm in her tone . I was sorely tempted to kick off about their IT department's incompetence but thought better of it as I could do with the cash.

On other matters my wife wants to redecorate the kitchen, that's not happening, our dog Luna seems like she constantly wants to go for a walk and follows me around the house but thankfully we have a decent sized garden so we can take it in turns tiring her out. I've also done an online shop at Asda, the first for quite some time which should arrive tomorrow around 6 pm, just in time for beer o'clock. Of course I've forgotten quite a few food items but hopefully the 3 cases of Heineken for £21 will arrive intact. Bargain!

Well that's it for today. I'll try and keep this little diary going for my isolation period but I can't promise as my good intentions often fall by the wayside. Keep safe everyone until the next time...

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Free Digital Download of Still Life

Hi all, those great people at Bandcamp are waiving their fees today, that's Friday 1st of May so I've decided to do the same for the digital download of Still Life.

I know things are tight for many artists, some are struggling and rely on music to pay bills or put food on the table so if you are able why not purchase some of their work or watch a live streaming gig and donate. I've seen some great ones lately.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the album, it's free untill midnight or pay what you want. 😊

Take care everyone and stay safe x

Click on the link below

https://chrispicton.bandcamp.com/album/still-life

Music in this strange new world

Well it's been a while!

Like many I find myself with plenty of time on my hands due to the pandemic that is Covid-19 and like many I'm unable to do my day job, not only that, there are no gigs to look forward to with my band Museum for the foreseeable future.

I've been finding work around the house and garden to fill the days, the same jobs I've been putting off for months maybe even years. At least things are looking much more shiny and new.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and in a way I feel lucky that I have my music and writing to fall back on.

It really is time I recorded and released some new music, the only reason this hasn't happened is I've been writing a book and the enforced lockdown has been the perfect time to get it finished.

In case you're wondering it's a young adults book but I'd like to think it would appeal to older generations too, it's a kind of crossover thing if you like, I hope so anyway. The idea started from a piece of music, a Prog Rock song to be precise. I'll not give the plot away now but it's a thriller that will hopefully draw you in and get you hooked, fingers crossed.

I think I'm coming to the end with final edits and checking the copy of the text but it's taken much longer than I thought what with the day job and life in general. Writing a book is much tougher than I expected and let me tell you and I have every respect for authors who are able to churn them out year on year.

Apart from consuming much more alchol than usual this strange new world has had me deliberating. I really would like to change the way I make a living when all this is over. I do actually love the creative process whether it's writing words or playing live, or writing and recording music. It can be very fulfilling starting from scratch with nothing but a blank screen and producing a piece of music a lyric or even a story.

I've also realised that working from home is probably going to become the norm for many people and I think I could cope with that. Don't get me wrong I'd still like to get out and play live with the band but that's not going to be possible for quite a while yet. I think Live streaming is the new way forward but that's a subject for another post which I'll come to again. 

Anyway the book is certainly the reason for my lack of musical output and there's a lot more to come once I can hopefully get it published and release this self inflicted ball and chain I have hanging around my neck. I'm only joking I think. 😆

Thanks for reading this and I'll be back, sooner than you think. Look out on Friday for a special deal on my music at www.chrispicton.bandcamp.com

Keep Safe everyone.

Chris.

Photo by Girish Dalvi on Unsplash

Time To Change and Stay Healthy Maybe?

More of a personal post today. Over the last couple of years I've had to completely change my lifestyle and for the better I might add. I was one of these people always thinking about getting healthy but never actually did anything about it.

My typical thought processes were -  "Yeah I'm going to lose weight and get fit. Yeah I'm going to do it but I'll start tomorrow or after the weekend, no wait I'll start after the holidays maybe the following week! Right I'll start after Christmas (this is in October by the way) or definitely when the winter's over. It's too cold today to go for a run, I'll go when the warmer weather comes for sure. Oh but it's a bit too hot today, reaches for the fridge - always time for a nice cold beer." And so it goes on, any excuse would do and as you get older it becomes increasingly harder to motivate yourself and talk yourself into getting off your backside!
Then one day I got a wake up call, no need for details, but just to say I was lucky, very lucky. At the time I was 3 stones (40lbs) over weight, feeling my age (52), unfit and more.
After tests, asking questions and talking to all the medical people the opinion I took away was, ok you need to change but even if you do it's probably only a matter of time before your health deteriorates. You can slow it down but you can't ever reverse the damage that's already been done. Your past lifestyle has finally caught up with you and it's downhill from now on. Let me tell you now, that is, pardon my French, a Load Of Bollocks and I'll explain why.
I went home and never one to take things lying down began my own research starting on the internet.
I came across Bill Clinton's story and his dietician, then The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and then best of all a Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn. I realise these names won't mean much to you now, but to save all the leg work I urge you to check out two amazing films, then you can make up you're own mind.
The first being Forks Over Knives which really explains simply why following a certain diet (the whole food plant based diet) can completely transform your health and even reverse certain so called Western diseases. Your body is amazing and can heal itself believe me, that's if you allow it to and are willing to put the right fuel into it.
The next film Cowspiracy (Full Film) looks at environmental issues and opens your eyes to the hidden causes of climate change and what we are doing to this planet. Produced by Oscar winner and man of the moment himself Leonardo Dicaprio no less!
Unfortunately I had to take the long way round doing many hours of research, in fact I wish someone had told me about all this years ago. In a strange kind of way I'm glad I got the wake up call when I did but unfortunately so many people don't, my own Father for one. Even much of the medical profession, through no fault of their own, have what amounts to a few hours training in nutrition. Taught to prescribe endless amounts of drugs or cut people open when the answer is staring them in the face.
After embarking on a plant based diet I lost 3 stone in a matter of months, took up walking every day, which progressed to running and cycling. Now I am fitter, free of aches and pains (and many other benefits I'll tell you about in another post) and have more energy than I did 20 years ago.
Hard to believe that cutting out processed and animal foods can have such a dramatic effect on your health and believe me I was as big a sceptic as anyone. I now know it to be true and hopefully maybe just one person reading this might do the same.
Expect more posts on this subject as it's now become a passion of mine.
By the way the gentleman in the picture above is a plant based athlete Follow the links to read more of his story and watch the films...
Best of luck and Good health.

"Judgement Day" video

Here's a video I made for my 2nd album "Still Life".

The track is called "Judgement Day". 

This idea came about from a jam we did with Quecia while recording in Wales. We got the idea down and even some lyrics but it was never finished. I was playing about with the riff and changed it around. Also trying to add some light and shade to the arrangement. The strings just seemed to fall into place and added to the power of the music and gave it a haunting quality I hope. I still had the recording of original bass line I did, so I dropped that into the mix, even though it was a little distorted in places it still worked. In the end I thought what the hell - If it’s not broken don't try to fix it!

Harper Lee RIP and Strange Happenings

I know it's been a while but I was very sad to just hear of Harper Lee's passing. A brilliant book I read at school in English lessons as you do and made into a classic film staring Gregory Peck. 

What was strange - while scanning through IMDB's list of top films earlier today I stopped at "To Kill A Mockingbird" and played the first few minutes, I then stopped it and went back to work. My thoughts at the time were, she's only written 2 books and those a life time apart, she must be getting on a bit now. Meaning she must be quite old.

This all before I knew she had passed... This is all probably some kind of ‪#‎weird‬ ‪#‎coincidence‬ but it makes you wonder how the mind really works and how much we understand of it.

Was it really by chance or have my eyes seen some snippet of the news somewhere reporting her death. My subconscious picking this up has registered it in a part of my brain that is only accessed in a different way. Subliminally making me choose the said film.

Maybe we pick up on things through other media, extra sensory perception perhaps, brain waves, radio waves, ghosts! Who knows? 

I'd like to think that there's much more to the human brain than meets the eye but I very much doubt it in my case. Made me think though. Food for thought and maybe for you too.

Thanks for stopping by and it won't be very long until the next post. 

Yeah! I can hear you say....

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Praise for my Album!

Here's my first review on Amazon for my new album, well chuffed with this!

Chris’s Picton’s latest album, Journey of Broken Dreams, is a mixture of new material and some spirited reworking of older songs from his Quecia days. But these aren’t just rehashed offerings, he’s obviously spent careful time in the studio to breathe new life into them.

The opening track, Awakening, does exactly what it says on the tin. An inspiring and powerful theme with some perfectly timed dynamic shifts in the overall tempo.

The title track is a pacey instrumental song with some solid guitar work over driving drums and haunting keyboard runs.

The Rhythm (a song from the criminally underrated Quecia II album) is led by Kirsty McCarrick’s beautiful and haunting vocals. Strong lyrics are perfectly matched to Chris’s solid instrumentals.

Don’t Stay Away’s delicate and evocative guitar work dictates a fine instrumental track that paints a picture of longing and melancholy that usually only meaningful, well-sung lyrics manage to do.

Calling Me Back has a lighter, jazzier feel with some funky overtones on guitar. There’s a very natural, unhurried flow to this track that never ceases to engage.

Road of Bones is another Kirsty Mc Carrick vocal over reworked instrumentals. Dignified sorrow and yearning suffuse this gentle and moving song.

Back Thru’ Time lightens the mood with a weaving interplay of guitar, drums and keyboards. Dynamically, the most adventurous song on the album. The changing moods and rhythm paint a journey through life’s ups and downs that is never maudling and ultimately sanguine.

Line in the Sand (another strong song from Quecia II) ends the album with more fine vocals from Kirsty McCarrick over Chris’s clever instrumentals.

This is another solid production from Chris that I’d wholeheartedly recommend to anyone interested in progressive/ambient/instrumental music made by a talented musician who writes with his head and his heart.

New Album - Journey Of Broken Dreams

I have just released my new album "Journey Of Broken Dreams".  
Again a predominately instrumental album, 8 tracks in total with 2 remixed songs from the old days and a previously unreleased track "Road of Bones" from around that time. 
Its taken me a couple of years (far too long) to put this album together having to work in fits and starts balancing "real life" with writing, recording and mixing, which is frustrating to say the least, but here we are again. 
I hope there's a slightly harder edge to this collection, but still hoping to keep the melodic progressive feel I am trying to achieve in my music. 
I've tried to use a lot of different instrumentation this time around, with mellotron sounds, acoustic guitars, flutes and my guitar synth, helping me be a little more expressive in some of the textures and solo's. 
Also a big thanks to my friend Sharon Coupe for letting me use the wonderful photograph for the cover. You can find her on Facebook for more great pictures. 
I hope you enjoy the album and it won't be as long until the next one! 
And finally a huge thanks to my family for keeping me going lately - Karen my wife and my sons Jamie, Josh and Lucas. (You don't have to listen to the mixes any more!)

Mastering Time - Part 2

I'm very close to finalizing the music on my new album. Of course I still have to decide on a title and get the artwork done but that's another story. The final part of mastering for me is to create a montage of all the tracks, which I do in Steinberg's Wavelab software. Basically the single audio files are dropped into the Montage workspace (as opposed to the Track Editing workspace) in a linear format, in the order they will appear on the finished CD.

Start and stop markers can be placed either end of each file and gaps inserted between tracks. You can also crossfade tracks into each other so there are no gaps, but as long as you have inserted markers the finished CD will still play continuously or you can still skip from track to track.

The best feature for me of this software is allowing you to match the volumes of each individual track to one another. By simply clicking an icon and holding down the mouse key you can raise or lower the volume of any individual track without affecting any others in the montage. You can tweak away until your hears content, getting levels right until you're completely happy and the sound is balanced across the whole of the finished CD. An obvious but great tool.

There are so many more features I could waffle on about such as track naming, fade in/outs, ISRC codes and so on, but just to get your basic CD sounding professional this is a great piece of software.

There are numerous video tutorials on Youtube for Wavelab and I would recommend checking them out. As the old saying goes - Knowledge is Power! Best of Luck...

The Rolling Stones - just the feel!

Just watching "The Rolling Stones Return To Hyde Park"  in 2013. It was 44 years to the day since they first played there in 1969.

What strikes me has they go through their classic songs is not only the energy they can still bring to the show, but the passion and feel they play with.

Of course as a bunch of musicians playing together for over 50 years now they are something special. But it is the sum of the parts that makes them unique.

I wouldn't class any of them as virtuoso players but its the emotion that each one can put into a single note, lick or song. Along with that is knowing what to play and when to play it. They always seem to leave the right gaps in the right places and just gell as a unit, like no other.

My take is that its not what you play or how many notes you play, but how much feel and expressiveness you are able to convey and this comes across in bundles from The Stones to their live audience and through the TV screen. Long may they continue...

Mastering Time - Part 1

As I work for myself I sometimes get quiet times in the day and this I find is an ideal time to work on my music. The house is empty and I can make some noise MWah!!
This week I've been mastering my third album (which is close to completion) in a program called "Wavelab" by Steinberg. This is a great program as it simply allows you to drag and drop music files into the work space and use up to 8 plugins simultaneously, to affect the sound.
I tend to use a similar sequence of plugins usually (but not always) in this order.
1. EQ - firstly to get rid of low end rumble
2. Another EQ  with more options just to give me more to play with.
3. A Multi-Band Compressor, split into 3 to 5 bands across the frequency range. So I can just compress the bass/mids/top or wherever I think is needed
4. A Limiter - to allow me to bring up and maximise the volume if needed.
5. A Leveler - in case I am comparing 2 or more files (usually a reference track) so I can hear the tracks at the same volume for comparison. As its easy to misjudge sound if the volumes are even slightly different.
6. A Stereo Expander - I don't always use this but it widens the stereo field and can excite the sound (make it brighter and bigger) but this can sometimes be too harsh I find, but is a useful tool to have.
7. and 8. Then one or two Analyzers to help visually look at the sound frequencies and dynamic range of the track. Although these can be great at times they can also mislead and its always best to use your ears rather than your eyes when mixing and mastering.
I would always add into the work-space a reference track that you know well, so you can compare your own music to an industry standard piece of work. I tend to use tracks by Peter Gabriel - usually "Red Rain" from the "So" album.
An excellent resource if you do master your own music is a great website run by top mastering engineer Ian Shepherd called "Production Advice". You should check this out as it is full of great articles, videos and advice to help the home studio musician. I've certainly learned a lot from Ian

Feels like a Saturday...And Bass Blogs!

Good morning, well it is where I am, even though Good Friday always feels like a Saturday. Beautiful sunshine if a little fresh in the breeze, but still it is only 9-30am. I woke early today 6am and I decided to go for a run believe it or not. That's my second in a week as I plan to do a 10k run for charity in September. Early days yet but I reckon if I can keep motivated I should be in reasonable condition to complete it by then. Who am I kidding?

As I was jogging round, looking across the fields, trying in vain to take my mind of the pain. I got to thinking about blogging believe it or not. I've posted a few over this last couple of days and it's nice not to be stuck in Twitter mode with just 140 characters to play with. Also last night I had a bit of fun with 2 of my twitter bass playing pals Alun Vaughan and Trip Walmsley and we decided we'd return to the "Blogosphere" as Alun puts it. Trip also saying he'll "try to bang one out tonight". A lovely way with words these two. Well we are all bass players so don't expect too much. Although we do like to think we are a cut above other musicians, particularly drummers.

Anyway hopefully this is the start of a little Triad of Bassiness and hopefully occasionally we might entertain, inform and definitely have some fun. The Three Bloggerteers or Muskebloggers you might say! Of course other bass playing pals are welcome to join us, or anyone else for that matter.

One for All and All for One!

Until the next time...

Are Musicians Better Language Learners?

Research has shown that children who study music before the age of seven develop bigger vocabularies, a better sense of grammar and a higher verbal IQ. Simply put, children who learn music from a young age find it easier to learn languages even in adulthood.

Even just 1 hour a week of learning music is enough for the full brain benefits to take place.

Here's the science bit - "Training of this neural network may produce cross-modal effects on other behavioral or cognitive operations that draw on this network. Plasticity in this network may explain some of the sensorimotor and cognitive enhancements that have been associated with music training. These enhancements suggest the potential for music making as an interactive treatment or intervention for neurological and developmental disorders, as well as those associated with normal aging."

Interesting stuff, n'est-ce pas?

Read more on the story here

Uriah Heep's new album "Outsider" out soon

Oooh, looking forward to this one! I've just learned that Uriah Heep have a new album coming out on June 6th on Frontier Records. I have been a Heep fan from being at school. They were the 2nd live band I saw at the age of 14 and I've loved their music ever since.

Although their is only one original member left in the line-up, Mick Box (guitar), Bernie Shaw (vocals) and Phil Lanzon (Keyboards) have been ever present since the 1980's.

Relative new comers are powerhouse drummer Russell Gilbrook (5 years or so) and Davey Rimmer on bass, replacing Trevor Bolder who sadly passed away last year.

Heep are still a classic rock band, gigging all over the world, presently touring Russia. If you get the chance, check them out, as they are a superb live band.
Here's some details of the new album. Love the album artwork too. Vinyl version for me I think...