Wednesday 30 November 2011

Riot - Track 1 on 'In the Light of the Goddess'

So friends,

From back on the island I will be releasing my Autumn record, 'In the Light of the Goddess'. That's not on island records, I don't have a record contract. If you want to give me one, or know anyone that wants to give me money for my music, then please email me and tell me.

Anyway, the first track on the Autumn record is called 'Riot'. I wrote this song in reaction to the riots happening in England over the summer, but the general theme of it is conflict so it's not really London Riot's specific. If it had been more specific then I would have named it London Riots.

Riot - track 1 on 'In the Light of the Goddess' by [adj]-Andy D Jackson

This was the first tune from the record to get live airings, having been debuted at the Art show in a Squat Bank (of which video exists on the interweb) and then played as a Duet with Sylvia Ouwens at the old Pothouse in Utrecht. Originally Sylvia was going to record her vocal for the record version, but time and illness meant we didn't get a chance to do it. So I added a female vocal version of myself to it instead.

I made a video to go with it too, showing old riot footage from America. It seems that Riot's aren't exactly anything very new.



As we move into the winter months, I will release the rest of the record while I start work on the winter album. I already have a couple of idea's bashing around in my head that need to be turned into songs, so the pen and paper are at hand to catch any spilling thoughts.

Peace and infinite love to you all

Andy x

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Sudden change of plan

So friends,

Change is in the wind it would seem. The 11.11.11 came, mixed it all up, and now due to unforeseen illness we are back in the UK. This adventuring creative and his Beauty will be resting and recuperating in the lands of England. Although our journey has ended slightly prematurely, we will bounce back stronger. I will start releasing 'In the Light of the Goddess' at the end of the week, I just need to do a few tweaks to the demo's and then it's good to go.

I guess now that we are back in the UK, we will have little choice but to slip into standard working patterns for a while, until we have enough wonger to go adventuring again. I will finnish up my year albums project here and then work out what to do next. It's my work of passion, so I will continue, regardless of no funding, little to no interest from anyone and a general sense of pointlessness.

I have been making music that people haven't listened to for 15 years now, and I have had amazing experiences through it in that time, because in this life you have to just push on with what your soul resonates with, if you don't, then you will be unfulfilled. That might be total bull-baggings for all I know, but it feels right for me at the very least.

This blog is far from over, it will just be coming from the UK for a bit :)

Peace and infinite love to you

Andy x

Friday 18 November 2011

In the Light of the Goddess (Coming Soon!)

Hello friends,

Well, times might be a little on the crazy side, but I have finished recording my Autumn record, 'In the Light of the Goddess'. I put the last guitar and vocal lines down on the final track, and now it just needs some tweaking and checking before it can be released to the world for some listening.

Here is a little more info about it though, because I want to share it with you. The cover looks like this :
Autumn album cover.
The guitar is present as custom on my covers for this year project thing. This time round though, my Beauty is included, as the record is named after her. She looks very pixie in this picture which fits with the themes of the record nicely. The full track listing is as such :

1. Riot
2. Work of Passion
3. Mr. Gnome
4. Hidden with the Secret Stash
5. Oh My Goddess!
6. Old Private Familiar
7. Money Zombies
8. Ignore Them
9. Suitably Convinced
10. Registered Charity
11. Hug
12. Wont Win Any Awards

The last finished page in my precious book.
All the songs have been written in the last few months while I have been in Utrecht. A couple of them were birthed in Amsterdam in August but the rest all came to being in Utrecht. The whole record has been recorded in Henk's kitchen while Beauty has been lying ill above me in our room.

It's been a challenge, but I am pleased with the result. As there is more going on in each song then just guitar and vocals, I will construct some video's to go with them before I release them. They will get soundclouded and bandcamped sooner then that though.

Peace and infinite love

Andy x





Thursday 17 November 2011

Deep in recording lands...

So friends,

This last couple of weeks has been rather hard, what with the big energy shift of the 11/11/11 thing and a whole bunch of personal weirdnesses. Beauty fell very ill with tonsillitis and we waited longer then we should have to go and get antibiotics. When the money runs dry, something needs to be done in order to remain healthy. It has been stressful, but most of all it has been so heartbreaking to watch my Beauty in such pain and suffering. I tried everything I could think of to help her, but it wasn't until conventional medicine was applied that she started to show any signs of improvement.

I fear that several people may be having themselves tested on physical and metaphysical levels all over the world. At this time as well, I have been recording my Autumn album 'In the Light of the Goddess'. The title refers to my Beauty (I call her Goddess sometimes) so my mind has been occupied with thoughts of her and her well being. The travellers lifestyle becomes crippling when illness sets in, that's why houses have nice big central heating systems in them.
Me in the kitchen recording studio space.

I have tried to do something more with my demo's for this record, I have added other bits and bobs in garage band to spice the songs up, no longer is it just me and a guitar. Just like the last two records, there are 12 tracks, I have averaged one a day in my recording process. I look forward to sharing them with you. I have one more to do, the last track, and it's a biggy.

Anyway, thanks for reading my blog,

Peace and infinite love

Andy x

Wednesday 9 November 2011

In the Right Place (Summer Album) Remastered

So friends,

The almighty 11:11:11 is almost here (or gone now, depending when you read this) and I have the remastered version of In the Right Place available from bandcamp for a small fee.

At the end of the month I will release my Autumn record 'In the Light of the Goddess', but until then you will have to make do with my Summer record again. It has been tweaked a little here and there, but there's not much you can do with just one voice and a guitar.

If you do have a few pennies to spare, I would be most grateful of a sale or two :)



Here is the video version of it in it's entirety. Thanks for listening.



I am currently deep in the recording of the next one, I have upped the anti a bit and am adding extra bits on top of the vocals and guitars...you'll have to wait to hear it though. Then I should be ready to start writing my winter record.

So far this has been an exciting year of creating, and as I get to the final stretch it's refreshing to see what I've managed to do so far to get here. Being an adventuring creative is quite hard at times, emotions can run high and situations can get tense if not properly calmed. I look forward to the reflective nature of winter.

Peace and infinite love

Andy x

Tuesday 8 November 2011

My precious notebook

Hello friends,

In these crazy times where energy seems to be bouncing around, knocking peoples spiritual centres out of whack and possibly evolving our species in the process, I have had my head down in the creative lands. When things start getting bubbly, I like to pick up a pen and let the creative juices flow. I'm not the only one, the same thing happens to my Beauty, although, she reaches for the small glass tiles and PVA glue rather then a pen.
A Vocalizer page in my note book

I have a note book, it has a very nice cover painting. Back in 2009 I did some work under the name Vocalizer. I was singing lyrics over electronica music made by awesome electronica artists. When I was doing this, I used this note book to write up my lyrics. On the left hand page I did my workings, putting ideas down, finding a verse and a chorus. They are usually quite erratic. Once a set of lyrics can be pulled out of the workings, it would be written up on the right hand page. On a lot of them, I also did a drawing related to the song. Some of those songs are available to hear on the internet.

I stopped doing active Vocalizer work last year, and since I have been working on my solo singer/songwriter stuff. These new songs of mine have also gone in my note book, but in a slightly different way. I have been doing the working out stuff in other books or on my laptop (all of 'in the right place' was noted out on my laptop and then written up).

The first page of my upcoming Autumn record.
So why bother telling you any of this? Well, I have been feeling the changing effects of the spiritual rebirthing of humanity, and to deal with the pulsing nature of it, I have sunk my head deep into my precious note book and done lots of drawing. I have been writing songs all year, but done very little drawing - until now, when I have spent lots of time holding pens and finding images to go with my musical outputs.

My note book is precious to me, it doesn't mean anything to anyone else, but to me it means much. It didn't cost much money, a couple of pounds I think, but for years now it has been the collector of my creativity. I have no money whatsoever, but I am the richest man in the world. That's my point.

Have a great day you beautiful creature

Peace and infinite love

Andy x

Sunday 6 November 2011

In the Shed (Spring Album) - Remastered

Hello friends,

So as November gets well under way, I am in position now to record my next 'In the...'.
I shall begin that shortly, but until then, I thought it would be nice to re-release my Spring and Summer records so that people could buy them for small amounts of cash if they so wanted to.

So if you so want to, please download and enjoy In the Shed, the Spring album of my four seasons 2011. Coming on 11/11/11 is the remastered version of 'In the Right Place', the Summer album, and then hopefully, if I have managed to record it all properly, on the 1/12/11 I will release 'In the Light of the Goddess', my Autumn album.




In the Shed has been remastered to sound crisper, clearer and a little bit less shed like. You can hear the difference if you compare it to the video version below.



As it is getting colder, playing in the streets is getting harder and more undesirable, not only are people less generous (I guess they are saving for Christmas or the inevitable crumbling of the financial system), but they are also less willing to stand and have a little listen to the red nosed, red guitared singing bearded man. So I am turning my attention online, where people seem to be hanging out most of the time these days.

Peace and infinite love

Andy x

Thursday 3 November 2011

So what comes next?

Hello friends,

At the end of October I had a couple of interesting things happen to me, I will include them in this blog rather then giving them a blog entry of their own.

Firstly, I should talk a little about the Occupy movement. Here in Utrecht there is a small Occupy movement outside the town hall (and the only legal squat left in Utrecht). Henk and I have been there presenting 'Henky and Andy TV' where we had a wooden frame around us so we bring some reality music to the square of Occupation. It was fun, but I don't think we changed the world with our improvised songs.

We went on a march, from the Occupy centre all the way to the Mint, where money is printed here. It was interesting, as we chanted Dutch and walked through town slowly. People who were out shopping gave us one of three reactions, hatred, support or general indifference. The third was the most common.

Straight after the march I rushed up to Amsterdam to play at an art show for my friends Robert and Mirdije. It wasn't in a squat this time, and there were a few artists with work on display. Robert had made a giant paper snail which sat on the wall in the hall as you walked in. He had also made many small paper snails which were displayed coming down a pillar, going across the floor on a zebra crossing, and then up another pillar. I wish I had a photo to show you, but alas, I have lost my phone so am no longer capable of taking pictures of my moments (on the plus side, no more phone radiation, Yei!). I played a set in the main hall section, and then slipped to the back stage area where I drank and smoked and played more guitar outside to the other smoking artists. Good times in Amsterdam.
More copies of my busking album

I had to print up more copies of my busking album for the show, but I failed to sell many.

I have had another focus since then, my upcoming Autumnal 'in the...' record. My Summer record received more reaction then my Spring one. I have remixed both of them and will release them for download (at a small fee) very soon. That will be shortly followed by the release of my new record 'In the Light of the Goddess'.

I am going to start recording them this month, and I expect they will start being released one by one towards the end of this month.

Also, I shall put some stuff up that relates to 'online busking'...coming soon.

So that's what comes next from me, I look forward to sharing it with you.

Peace and infinite love

Andy x