Let’s resume our track-by-track deep dive of Hold the Door Open with track 2: “Shine, Child.” (Click on one of the icons below to listen to the song on your platform of choice.)
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Track 2: Shine, Child
Category: recording
As I posted recently, I’ve made a commitment to reflect and share about each of the 11 tracks on Hold the Door Open as a way of promoting the album a little more, and providing myself with closure on the project. A “deep dive.” So let’s go. Track 1: “I Must Be Silent.” (Click on one of the icons below to listen to the song on your platform of choice.)
I was introduced to Michael Van Slyke, a wonderful singer, by Cedric Fithelere, who has provided the incredible strings for this album that I cannot wait to share with you. Michael and I are collaborated live between New Jersey and Texas today, as he recorded the part of Sir Palamedes the Saracen for the title track, “Hold the the Door Open”.
We are now in the endgame for Hold the Door Open (and for Normal Man, the separate EP I will be releasing just before the album, and which I should probably tell you more about in a future post). My Google Sheet with the task list on it gets a little smaller week by week. I’m tracking significant milestones to keep my spirits up. (I’m shooting for a February release for this, which may or may not happen, but deadlines keep me focused.)
Udalrich Schermer is in the house, bringing some authentic Elizabethan lute for “I asked of thee a boon”.
We have arrived at the cat herding stage of the album project. I’m maintaining a Google sheet of EVERYTHING that is left to do in terms of production, including the album cover. And tracking all the dependencies that require commitments from other people.
Louisa Valentín is so freaking talented, and such a joy to work with. (And you’re going to have to hear her Elf Queen vocals to believe them.)
After three long years in drydock, the Hold the Door Open album is back in production. I’m excited and scared. My ambitions for this album are a bit loftier than they were for Hidden Gold. Some of that is by design, some of it is by circumstance.
- My target is once again 12 tracks, but, well, the album is gonna be longer, with (I’m hoping) a little more variety of sound and style.
- I’m digging a little deeper on authenticity for the period music, and there is a little more of it. Hidden Gold had two Elizabethan-period tunes on it, one of which included the lute part (performed heroically by Dave Lambert), and the other of which was done with synthesized harpsichord (thank you Arden). For this one, I will be recording 3 or 4 lute pieces, one of which is an original composition in Elizabethan style. I intend to record myself doing the lute (-guitar) on most if not all of these. On the one hand, studio recording allows me to record using as many takes as I need to. On the other, a recorded song needs to sound rock solid on repeated listens, and I have no idea whether my lute skills are up to the task.
- The harmonies are more ambitious. Hold the Door Open has two original songs on it that include four-part harmony and counterpoint, for longer stretches than any of the songs on the first album. I’ve had to invest a lot of time to make sure these harmonies serve the songs and won’t distract or make them harder to follow.
- Probably the biggest difference is that I’m operating almost entirely without my one-man Swiss Army knife, Arden of Icombe (aka Paul Butler). My initial plans for the album were to bring in a broader array of musicians for the sake of variety, but last year, when I started trying to figure out how to get the project going again, I decided to scrap that and see if Arden could jump in and bring his incredible talents for arranging and recording an enormous range of instruments to bear in the interest of time. Ultimately, Paul, like so many of us, has had an attack of life, and his availability for this project has been extremely limited. So I went back to my first plan and started exploring my musical network for musicians who could provide what I needed either locally or remotely. It also meant that I had to figure out, if not specific arrangements, how to shape and vary up the sound on each song on my own. I think the lessons I’ve learned from Hidden Gold and Sing for the East are going to bear fruit, but only time will tell.
I’m going to try not to play my cards too close to my chest this time around. I want to blog about this a little more, and show my work. I know there are other people out there dreaming, pondering, and planning to record their own music, some of them with as little experience or formal background as I had over a decade ago when I started. Sharing our knowledge and experience is one of the things that makes the communities I’m part of so special. So here we go.
I have had the great good fortune to become acquainted with Cedric Fithelere of the Bedlam Bards through my wife. (Thank you, Jess! Thankyouthankyouthankyou) Cedric has accepted my invitation to record for the Hold the Door Open album. Jess offered me a fiddler for my birthday and flew him out from Texas.
Can you tell I’m excited?
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Studio Day: Homecoming
Something something too quiet around here. Broke through some of my resistance today, with the help of Dave Lambert and his ever reliable guitar skills. First real opportunity to inaugurate the new home studio in Park Ridge. We got to do our first pass at “Homecoming”.
Now, my vocals here are very rough, basically two half-takes, just as guide vocals. But I wanted to share some proof of life and art, and I really am pleased with this song and wanted to give people a chance to hear it while I get back to work on the album.
Drake Oranwood 