I have
new album out. My first full album since 'Afternoons' in early 2010. Ten tracks
plus a bonus download track. The album is available as a limited edition
cassette or download. Each cassette comes with a free download code and is
priced at £5 for the cassette or £2 for the download. You can listen or
download https://patrickwray.bandcamp.com/
Here is a
fascinating track by track analysis....
I was asked recently
by Dexter Bentley what the title ‘ICU on Telephono 1986’ means. My response was
that it was fairly meaningless and just sounded cool. This is true to some
extent, but when I thought more about the question more later on it occurred to
me that it probably refers in some way to the sense disjunction one can feel in
the modern world when constantly
surrounded by references and
technology from different eras.
Ouija Board
This track is a story song about
some students doing a Ouija board. It was a struggle to make this work as a
song while telling the full story contained within, but I hope I have succeeded
in doing so. One of my favourite story songs is 'Camouflage' by Stan Ridgeway
but the sense of English domesticity (via student halls) was inspired by that
quintessentially English band Frasier Chorus (Remember them? Thought not!) I
made a video for this one in 2012....
Rusty Old BMX Bike
A song about looking back on childhood.
Quite a twee synth-folk number. I hate twee songs usually but this is the only
track that could be considered twee on the album I think. Like some other songs
here it takes some inspiration from Jona Lewie; a songwriter that I really
admire.
Power Ballad
This is a collaboration with
Norwegian Muso Mats Davidsen (aka Painted Romans). We did an EP together last
year which you can listen to here. I have never met or spoken to Mats so this
was all done by sharing files on the internet. He sent me a demo and I sent him
the vocal which he then added to the finished mix. I asked him for a synthy
ballad that might be evocative of bands like Icehouse and Wang Chung and he
came up with this amazing instrumental that succeeds in producing what I asked
for; while sounding modern too. The lyric is about the fallout from New Labour
and the Tony Blair government era in the UK and how Labour became disconnected
from its left wing roots. I made a video for this one in 2014.
My Big Idea EP
The Friendly Song
‘The
Friendly Song’ is a simple song about understanding and the simple act of
kindness that comes from being friendly. My mother had a life changing stroke
when she was in her early forties and lost her speech. She is a very
optimistic, positive person and remained cheerful during the months that she needed
to recover in hospital. For at least a few weeks after her stroke the only word
she could say was ‘friendly’ ; a word that seems to some up her character so
well.
Indie Rut
Catchy number with a great, funny
lyric that conveys my disdain for indie music/culture (Says he who is releasing
a 50 copy limited tape. Desperate to sell out; but no-one’s buying! Please buy
this tape!). The song dates back to around 2009 and an earlier version was
featured on my 2010 album 'Afternoons'.
Tape Recorder Blues
This track started life around 2007
and most of it was recorded during the sessions for a no-wave, industrial,
post-punk influenced opus I made called 'New Primitive' which I put out in
2008. A simple song about the perils and frustrations of home recording though
ironically (unlike most of this album), this was done in a recording studio.
Gin and Tonic Tonight
This song is a cover of a song by
Painted Romans. I was aiming to get a sound similar to fellow Norwegian art
poppers Fra Lippo Lippi on their song 'Crash of Light' but the end result was
somewhat different but no less pleasing. My friend Adam Stewart played the lot
on this. Dig the proggy keyboard solo and the beefy drums, courtesy of a Casio
CTK.
Comets
This track dates back to around 2009
and originally appeared on my album 'Afternoons'. It has a new age sort of
feel. I was reading Colin Wilson's Occult series of books at the time and the
lyric was inspired by some of the ideas in them. I made a video for this one in
2013.
Night Teams
This ultra minimal synth track
was recorded mainly using a Korg Monotron. The song was inspired by a
spell working overnight in a make-up factory. Travelling back and forth there
under darkness one becomes more aware of the sights and sounds of the night. ‘Attention
vehicle reversing’ becomes a chilling callout and it was that kind of
atmosphere offset by the drudgery of unrewarding work that inspired the song.
End of the Year
This was the last track recorded for
this album. It was done toward the end of 2015. A melancholic number with a
distinctly English seaside town, pastoral feel achieved via Yamaha PSS sounds;
complete with lyrical nod to Allan Smethurst.
Bonus Track:
Without War
The lyric of this track is from the
poem of the same name by Gerry King.
£ 5
No comments:
Post a Comment