I was interviewed about the Burnsong project on BBC Radio Scotland’s Iain Anderson show. Here’s the audio file.
Iain Anderson show interview
Tag: Burnsong
Burnsong 2009 – The Big Gig at the Parliament
Images from the Scottish Parliament Burnsong Big Gig, 30th November 2009.
All images © Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Click on an image for a short interview with each artist.
Burnsong 2009 setlist
BURNSONG set list 30-11-09
(1st set to be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland 11pm)
Scottish Parliament
1st set – 4.10pm-5pm
1. Inveresk 4:01 Alex Hodgson
2. Days Gone By 4:06 Marie Claire Lee
3. Put Good Knickers On And Go Into Town 3:02 Roberto Cassani
4. Tinto Hymn 3:27 Lisa Rigby
5. The Poet 2:45 A. J. Roach
6. Guthan Air A’ghaoith (Voices On The Wind) 3:30 Fiona J Mackenzie
7. Spielberg Moon 4:37 Andy Tucker
8. Thinking Hybrid Redirected 4:13 Emily Elbert
9. Plate Smashing Song 2:39 Nuala Kennedy & Ziggy Campbell
10. All Is Not Lost 3:41 Yvonne Lyon
BURNSONG set list 30-11-09
Scottish Parliament
2nd set – 5.10pm-5.55pm
1. Hang on in there Sunshine 3.02 Alex Hodgson
2. Housework of the Heart 3.14 Andy Tucker
3. Fill Asophocles 3.32 Nuala Kennedy and Ziggy Campbell
4. I Don’t Want To Love 3.30 Marie-Claire Lee
5. Mutton Dressed as Lamb 3.10 Roberto Cassani
6. Only In Your Love I Am 3.45 Yvonne Lyon
7. Thuirt Thu Riumsa 3.30 Fiona McKenzie
8. Clockwork Music Box 3.20 AJ Roach
9. Everything’s Changed 3.30 Emily Elbert
10. Hey Honey I’m Home 3.30 Lisa Rigby
11. A Man’s a Man for A’That 2.52 Robert Burns
At the Parliament
We’re here at the Scottish Parliament building, and this may be the last chance to post a blog entry before the show begins. Here are some pics of the soundcheck in the Garden Lobby area.
If You’re Ready
The songwriting part of Burnsong 2009 is be complete and I’m blogging this from the back of a splitter van, on the way to the Parliament gig (see Burnsong site for more info about the project). We have a luxurious 4-hour soundcheck booked today, then an evening off in Edinburgh. The gig itself runs 4-6pm tomorrow (Monday 30th Nov 2009) and will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland (the Iain Anderson show) we think between 11pm and midnight the same evening. Iain will be at the gig providing links and chatting to the songwriters.
We (me, Chris Blanden on bass and local session drummer Blair McMillan) have been rehearsing with the songwriters for the last two days, and now have two 45min sets. The first set consists of the ‘winning’ 10 songs – the tracks from which the songwriters were selected, and the ones that will be broadcast initially. These were easy to rehearse because Chris and I had time to work out the chords and structures before the project began, so all we’ve had to do is work out a band arrangement and write the backing vocal harmonies. The second set is a bit more tricky because some of the songs were only finished on Thursday, but there’s some great stuff there, including Lisa’s particularly rabble-rousing up-tempo song ‘Hey Honey I’m Home’, which should serve as a nice ending to the show (although we finally close with the even more stirring Robert Burns song A Man’s A Man For A’That). Needless to say I have not compromised on (over) arranging vocal harmonies – when you’ve got a room full of great singers who love working together the temptation is impossible to resist!
And I learn that every audience member will get a ‘wee dram’ in the break between sets. Proper Scots hospitality!
Mutton Dressed As Lamb
Mutton Dressed As Lamb (MP3 download)
Roberto Cassani
You say that you’re as old as you will feel
That you can wear whatever’s on the rail
You’re floppy as an accordion
But there’s a plastic surgeon
To lift you up where wonderbras will fail
But that’s a total load of tripe
You’re young, you’re old and then you die
There’s lots more dignity
In ageing gracefully, because…
Nobody likes a mutton dressed as lamb
Nor a 50-something year old man
Still wearing a tight speedo
To highlight the torpedo
For the benefit of all the female fans (aye, right…)
There is nothing
More off-putting
Than the look of Barbie’s granny
With the long nails
And the high heels
But a wrinkly old fanana-na-na-na-na….
Nobody likes a mutton dressed as lamb
Just try to look your age please, if you can
Stay young inside your head
But please do not forget:
Nobody likes a mutton dressed as lamb.
- Bass and production: Chris Blanden
- Additional guitar: Joe Bennett
Steal Away (Before The Night Falls)
Steal Away (Before The Night Falls) MP3 download
Sun on wet rooftops and gun metal sky
So good to stop and step inside for a while
Come away from the striving and let it all cease
To be who I am for a moment
Steal away all the moments and days
Steal away before the night falls
There are pictures in glass that still hang on the wall
With a permanence unlike reality calls for
These faces and places they comfort me still
And call me to cherish the moment
Steal away all the moments and days
Steal away before the night falls
Produced by Chris Blanden
Tasks 2009
It occurs to me that we haven’t blogged any information about the tasks. Here’s some background. There are basically five methods we use (at Burnsong and at the UK Songwriting Festival in Bath). They are, in no particular order;
- Analysing your own songs.
- Analysing ‘successful’ songs i.e. songs that have demonstrably moved an audience, shown through commercial success or longevity.
- Peer review – trying songs out in front of other writers and getting comments
- Practice i.e. lots of writing.
- Tasks that are designed to break habits and increase a writer’s range.
This week’s tasks are;
1. Write a lyric in its entirety and pass it to someone else for setting to music.
2. Write a chorus-form song suitable for audiences to sing.
3. Write a song without using a musical instrument (or for writers who usually work this way, to use an unfamiliar instrument).
4. Write a song in AABA form.
5. Write a song about a place or inanimate object.
The MP3s will be coming thick and fast now. Chris and I will be meeting our session drummer Blair today, then rehearsing the Parliament set for the next 48 hours. Busy!
Everything’s Changed
Everything’s Changed (MP3 download)
Everything’s Changed
Emily Ebert
I get the feeling when I open up both of my eyes
I steal the morning start at smilin’ on the moment I rise
I must have had a dream that brought me right back down to my size
I wasn’t sure before but all of a sudden I realise
Everything’s changed
Everything’s changed
Everything’s changed now
There’s something reeling me in, it’s got me feeling alive
I was afraid for my heart but now I’m not going to hide
But down my weapons machine and throw away my disguise
Been waiting here for a while I guess it’s finally time
Completely different, my life’s been since you are here
Broken the system I’ve been locked to for years
Everything’s changed (etc)
Hey Honey I’m Home
Hey Honey I’m Home MP3 download
Lisa Rigby
My journey began
I can’t remember when
As for a destination
I didn’t know it then
I’ve travelled this earth a thousand times
Felt the joy and the sting
Of a voyage to wha’s mine
Of a time when I can sing
Hey honey I’m home
Ma ain one, ma dear
Through ages I roamed
To get myself here
From near and from far
O’er sea and o’er land
It says who you are
It says who I am
My skin it is white
My skin it is black
My skin it is olive
And strong is ma back
I come fae the land
I come fae the scheme
I’ve travelled through war
But peace is ma dream
Hey honey…
But when I’m far away
from my heart
I know I can’t stay
Kept apart
From a part of me
That’ll always be
From this wee place
I stretch ma hand
Touch every face –
Every woman, child and man
From Palestine, Guyana, Afghanistan, Italy
I live in the hope
Some day everyone can say
Hey honey…
A Man’s A Man For A’That (Robert Burns)
This Robert Burns lyric, set to a traditional tune, is the song we’re going to perform at the end of the gig at the Parliament on the 30th Nov. The group is currently discussing how they want us to perform it – current suggestions include Gaelic, choral, rock and reggae versions!
Is there for honest poverty,
That hings its heid an’ a’ that,
The coward slave we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Its toils obscure an’ a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea stamp,
The man’s the gowd for a’ that
What tho’ on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden gray an’ a’ that?
Gie fools their silk an’ knaves their wine,
A man’s a man for a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Their tinsel show an’ a’ that,
The honest man tho’ e’er sae poor,
Is king o’ men for a’ that.
Ye see yon birkie ca’d a lord,
Wha struts an’ stares an’ a’ that,
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Their ribband star an’ a’ that,
The man o’ independent mind
He looks an’ laughs at a’ that.
A prince can mak’ a belted knight,
A marquis, duke an’ a’ that,
But an honest man’s aboon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Their dignities an’ a’ that.
The pith o’ sense an ‘ pride o’ worth,
Are higher rank than a’ that.
Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a’ that)
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
Shall bear the gree an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s comin’ yet for a’ that,
That man to man, the world o’er,
Shall brithers be for a’ that.
The Click Of The Door
The Click Of The Door (download MP3)
Words by Lisa Rigby
Music by Yvonne Lyon
Click
This time I’ve been shown grace
Life’s provided a space just for me
I never know what my fate will be
When I hear…
Click
When he stops all the clocks
I absorb all the shocks as before
Either mother or whore
When I hear the click of the door
This house is not a castle but a fortress
Locked inside – fear and self doubt
A beautiful façade, the rictus-grinning mask
Will they ever let the truth fly out?
Click
And so the dance begins
I atone for your sins once more
My gaze turns down to the floor
When I hear the click of the door
This house is not a castle but a fortress
Locked inside – fear and self doubt
A beautiful façade, the rictus-grinning mask
Will they ever let the truth fly out?
Click
And so the dance begins
I atone for your sins once more
Lay my life out on the floor
When I hear the click of the door
Tightrope walk
Tightrope Walk (MP3 download)
Words Emily Elbert
Music Alex Hodgson
24 Nov 09
Tightrope walk
Tiptoe so delicately
Think and talk
All simultaneously
Got to say what you mean in the most polite of ways
Balance beam
You’ve got charisma and you’re so p.c.
Ought to be on television
Colgate whites prob’ly glow when you turn out the lights
But how many pins can you juggle ‘fore they all come crashing down?
That mind must get awfully muddled with so many voices spinning round
Tightrope walk
Tiptoe so delicately
Think and talk
All simultaneously
Got to say what you mean in the most polite of ways
Portraits
Burnsong 2009 – The Songwriters
Burnsong photos
Meet and greet
Nine of the eleven songwriters are now here – our final two, Nuala and Ziggy, arrive later today. For the first full day we started with a discussion of last night’s task, which was simply for everyone to write ten titles and then discuss with the group how they might be developed further into lyric ideas and eventually complete songs.
This was followed by a lecture in which we discussed some of the techniques, challenges and pitfalls of the songwriter’s creative process, and some playback of existing songs, including Rodger and Amy’s song ‘Renegade Fishermen‘ from 2007 (a word-setting task), plus some pop songs including Sarah Bareilles’ Love Song, The Beatles’ Yesterday, George Formby’s Little Ukulele and various other songs that came up in conversation.
And then onward to the first full task, which is to separate lyric-writing and lyric ‘setting’ (i.e. writing the music). Each songwriter is to write a lyric in its entirety, and then pass it on to another songwriter for completion. This is the simplest form of collaboration because it doesn’t involve any negotiation; some songwriters find it very liberating to write music for a pre-existing lyric, although some have difficulty with writing a lyric with the knowledge that they have no control over how it’s going to sound.
Our week at Barncrosh Farm coincides with the terrible Nov 2009 weather that hit Cumbria and to some extent our current location – Dumfries and Galloway. 30 roads are reported closed, so we may end up with more songwriting time than we planned!
Burnsong – the beginning
Burnsong starts next week. I’ll be spending a week working with Chris Blanden and ten songwriters at a remote Scottish farmhouse in Dumfries (with resident llamas!), followed by a gig at the Scottish Parliament on 30th Nov, which is to be broadcast by the BBC. It’s a daunting thought that the songs we’re going to play haven’t actually been written yet but there’s something energising about rehearsing a band set at this speed!
The winners have been identified, and we’ve heard the initial songs (i.e. the ones written before the event). Here’s a list of the people we’ll be working with.
Fiona J Mackenzie
The first Gaelic speaking winner of Burnsong, Fiona J Mackenzie is a native of Morayshire, lives in Dingwall and is well known as a Scottish Gaelic singer and teacher. In 2004 Fiona was nominated and won the BBC Scotland Traditional Music Personality of the year. Well known for pushing the boundaries of Gaelic song, she is unafraid of experimenting with styles and genres as well as being passionate about her desire to make the learning of Gaelic language & song as accessible to as many people as possible.
www.fionamackenzie.org
Andy Tucker
Andy Tucker is an Edinburgh-born singer/songwriter. Formerly of The Dead Beat Club Andy is now singing with The Scattered Family – a broad musical collective of musicians from all over Scotland. Over the last few years, Andy has shared a bill with the likes of The Beautiful South, Seasick Steve, Angus & Julia Stone, Ian McNabb, Kim Edgar, Karine Polwart and Martin Stephenson playing everywhere from Portmahomack to New York’s east village.
http://www.myspace.com/thescatteredfamily
Yvonne Lyon
Singer-songwriter Yvonne Lyon is among the best and brightest emerging talent currently from Scotland. She has recently received national radio support and is winning over many new fans with her strong, creative melodies, demonstrating a voice that can be both fragile and intense. Yvonne has consistently drawn and stirred crowds across the UK with her emotive performances.
http://www.myspace.com/yvonnelyonmusic
Roberto Cassani
Scots-Italian Roberto Cassani sings his stories with lots of humor and a curious Scottish-Italian accent. Roberto is a in parts bit poet, a bit troubadour, a bit of circus clown. A superb songwriter and a master entertainer, Roberto Cassani is cheering up audiences nationally and internationally, as well as getting radio play and featuring in some of the most prestigious festivals around.
http://www.myspace.com/robertocassanimusic
Alex Hodgeson
A previous Burnsong winner in 2005, Alex has gone on to perform as far afield as South Africa and Malaysia. He also regularly performs at cultural events around Scotland. Alex Hodgson lives in Prestonpans with his wife Isobelle and two children. By day, Alex is a technician at Preston Lodge High School.
http://www.myspace.com/songwriteralexhodgson
Nuala Kennedy and Ziggy Campbell
Nuala and Ziggy met in the Burnsong Songhouse in Nov 2007. They immediately struck up an affinity and wrote several tunes together during their tenure. This year they have played incendiary sets at the Edinburgh Art Festival and at the Big Tent Festival in Fife. Nuala also accompanied Ziggy in a sell out performance playing alongside his latest BAFTA nominated sound installation, Cybraphon. Both have their own busy gigging schedule with their own acts but continue to write and play together.
http://www.myspace.com/nualakennedy http://www.myspace.com/ziggycampbell
Lisa Rigby
Lisa was born in England in 1974 and moved to Scotland when she was 8 years old. With family roots that are an Afro-Caribbean-Celtic, she describes herself as “ A Scot of the world!” Lisa is currently part of Edinburgh band Townhouse, that was picked as a finalist of Radio Forth’s Forth One to Watch competition this year. Lisa was also a previous Burnsong finalist in 2007.
http://www.myspace.com/lisa_rigby
Marie Claire Lee
Glasgow based songwriter Marie Claire Lee has supported among others the likes of Mercury prizewinner Julie Feeney, world-renowned Ojos de Brujo and, more recently, rising stars Mr Kil. Marie Claire currently plays with The Lotus Project and Engine7. Recent gigs include The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Mannifest Festival (Isle of Man) and a live session on BBC Scotland Radio Vic Galloway Late Live show.
http://www.myspace.com/marieclairelee
A.J Roach
A. J. Roach was raised Scott County, Virginia. The relentless touring and recording schedule that A. J. has kept since 2003 has paid off. In 2004, he was the General Category recipient of the Chris Austin Songwriting Award at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC. In 2006 his sophomore full-length album reached the number 1 spot on the Euro-Americana Music Chart. In 2007 his song, ‘Black Lung’ was included on a compilation album that was thrice nominated for Grammy Awards by the Recording Academy, and in 2009 A. J. was selected as an Emerging Artist at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. A. J. currently lives in Brooklyn, NY where he is working on his third full-length album.
http://www.myspace.com/ajroach
Emily Elbert
Emily Elbert joins Anthony as another of the first winners of the Burnsong International Song Contest. Raised in Texas on a musical diet of Antonio Carlos Jobim, James Taylor and oldies radio, 20 -year old Emily has a passionate, self-taught approach to her song writing. Emily has toured extensively throughout the United States, opening for artists ranging from G. Love & Special Sauce to Richie Havens. She is currently a student of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
http://www.myspace.com/emilyelbert
And so peaceful until…
Yes, I know the blog’s been a bit quiet lately. The studio has actually been quite busy with the Widcombe project and a couple of small freelance things, but mainly I’ve been preparing for a lot of commitments and events outside Bath in November. I’ve started the songwriting PhD (at Surrey) and had an initial meeting with my supervisor, Prof Allan Moore. The working title of the PhD is ‘investigating creative interactions in collaborative songwriting’ and I’ve been reading background materials for my initial literature review. I’ll probably post some more detail soon about the PhD for any interested songwriters or other musicians & academics – I’m hoping that the blog will be useful in this respect, because I want to (continue to) amass a comprehensive list of songwriting-related contacts, publications and interviews etc. So it’s always great to hear any recommendations that people may have for songwriting books or analyses – or, for that matter, any experienced collaborators who want to find out more about the study. There seems to be only one book that deals specifically with collaborative songwriting – Walter Carter’s The Songwriter’s Guide To Collaboration. Not that the PhD is going to be exclusive academic – it will involve interviews with songwriters and a lot of actual co-writing (it combines musicology and composition).
Part of the work involves investigating the psychology of creativity, in musicians and others, so it’s fortuitous that there’s a conference next week at Surrey about this very subject.
And I’m gearing up for a week in Scotland at the end of November working on the Burnsong project. Burnsong is a Scottish (Arts Council) organisation that promotes songwriting – not the songs of Burns himself, but of the values and beliefs he expressed in his work. They run an international songwriting competition, and the ten winning songwriters spend a week writing and recording at a remote farmhouse in Dumfries. We’re then going to perform the songs at a one-off gig (on 30th Nov) at the Scottish Parliament building, which will be broadcast by BBC Radio Scotland. Apparently we’re setting up the whole band on the staircase pictured – I’m intrigued!
Producer Chris Blanden and I worked on the Burnsong project back in 2007 (the songwriting venue was the same, but the 2007 gig was at BBC Glasgow). For 2009, the whole Burnsong event promises to be larger in scale, due partly to the fact that 2009 is the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth. We’ve already heard the winning songs, and there’s some good stuff there, from traditional Scottish folk music to acoustic singer-songwriters, and (I kid you not) a plate-smashing song. I’m planning to blog the project every day anyway (as we did in 2007), and as before will try to get as many MP3s and lyrics online as possible; it’s possible that the project will generate 50+ songs (10 writers, 7 days) and Chris is pretty adept at producing good-quality acoustic demos from the first playback sessions.
And now some bad news. I’m locked out of the studio! Rainwater found its way into the wood of the exterior door, which has now swelled so much that I can’t get it open. Hoping for some dry weather, and that it will shrink a little, so I can book a Man With A Plane. And a guitar recording project came in this week with a 7-day turnaround. So I’m going to do this using Chris’ help and a mobile recording setup. Which, as he says, kinda proves the point that we, er, don’t need studios any more…
Burnsong 2007
This week I’m working with a fine group of songwriters in Scotland. We’re staying in the middle of nowhere and have nothing else to do but write and record songs for a whole week. If I can get a web connection I’ll update this blog with photos and audio from the week.
