Parliament of Owls

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to participate in one of Richard James’ Song/Poetry nights at Chapter. They are called, appropriately enough, ‘Chapters’ and they explore a central theme; trains, cafes etc. I was asked to write and perform a song with a bird shaped soul. I know I said I’m not going to play anymore but I like a challenge and besides, it gets lonesome on your ownsome, word.

Being a lazy BASTARD I invited my followers on Twitter to throw some bird names at me, hoping for a quick-fix inspiration kick; what my friend, Colourblind Elfyn, would call ‘a bolt between the baby blues’. The Boobs,Tits and Shags flapped in, followed by an interesting array of the familiar, the exotic and the completely shit. A friend of mine fluttered a collective noun my way ‘A Parliament of Owls’, topical and topical. Ace, I’m in.

The night was ace. I had a massive band, drummers, bassists, violinists, banjoists, cellists, laptopists, electric guitarists and me in the middle squawking a silly song about owls. Brilliant. The other songs and poems were an interesting bundle of epistle, memoir and eulogy, of krautrock, folk and sweet, sweet psychedelia. I apologised about rhyming ‘Rooks’ with ‘Coots’ then but I retract that apology. It’s a vast, barren land out there and they will cut you for an iphone . You do what you have to do.

I documented fragments of the recording process on Twitter (I love Twitter, come talk to me, I’m almost always hilariously stoned/knackered and up for talking about the Beatles), if you missed that, basically, I recorded it in the wrong key and my computer couldn’t handle the large project. Also, my singing is shit but OTHERWISE it’s turned out alright. I’ve moved the studio back into the house and I’m knocking out music that sounds better than it’s ever done, more time is all I’m needin’.

Two days ago this sounded AWESOME but I had a few crashes and blips, burps and bustibles and ended up BOUNCING TRACKS on this song, in this century. That is some 1986 shit right there but at least on a computer you don’t get the seething hiss with each overcrowded reduction pass. But it doesn’t PULSE and BREATHE the way it did before The Crashes and I forgot to record the final chorus, the one that resolves the most shaky of conceits, the one with the best words in. I forgot my head because it wasn’t screwed on.

Ok, I’ve almost got somebody to sing for me so this’ll be re-recorded at some point in the not too distant. Get it out. Finished. Done. Next.

Click on the Owl to hear the track.