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PROGAID
RECORDING SESSION. SATURDAY 29TH JANUARY 2005.
Stephen Lambe reports from this
extraordinary coming together of the British and international
Progressive Rock community in aid of the Tsunami Earthquake disaster
fund…. |
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| It is hardly a glamorous location for a
prestigious charity recording, especially on a decidedly chilly day in
mid winter, but something rather extraordinary is happening at Briar
Bank Studios in the small town of Penarth, Cardiff Bay, Wales.
For this is the home of “All Around the World”,
a charity single to be released in March, by Progaid, a
remarkable amalgamation of skills from many of the best-known bands in
the British Progressive scene. There are also some crucial
contributions from some key international stars such as Roine Stolt
of the Flower Kings, and Neal Morse, formerly of
Spock’s Beard, plus members of international acts Glass Hammer,
Pain of Salvation and Shadow Gallery. |
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| But, on Saturday it was all about the
British contingent, with members of Landmarq, IQ,
Pallas, Karnataka, Blue Horses and
Pendragon all in attendance, not to mention new kids on the block
Magenta and Strangefish. |
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Organisers of the project, David Robinson
of F2 records and Matthew Cohen of Magenta explain
how the event came about: “Originally it
came about through email conversations with a guy called Nick Gielkins
from Holland,” says David “we just wanted to do something to help with
the Tsunami relief effort. As I know a few musicians and a few studios,
I said I’d see what I could do. I mentioned it to Matthew Cohen and
Rob Reed (of Magenta), and from there the whole thing has snowballed
into something much bigger than we could possibly have imagined, with
over 40 musicians and journalists involved.” |
| Since the project was first
announced, little more than 3 weeks ago, there has been much speculation
as to the content of the single. Many people will be surprised to learn
that the chosen song is not really prog at all, but an uplifting
power-ballad, entirely appropriate for this sort of occasion, but with
enough space on it for each musician and singer to add their own moments
of magic. Nor is it a new song, but one written several years ago by
Rob Reed and then Cyan singer Nick Voyle. Rob,
as Producer, also has the daunting, yet exciting task of piecing all the
contributions together. Unlike other charity singles, the instrumental
contributions are as important as the vocal ones, this being prog, which
leaves plenty of scope for extensive remixes and re-workings of the same
song: |
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| “Some of the stuff we’ve been getting in already
from the musicians has been amazing, “ says Matthew, “Arjen Lucassen
of Aryeon has sent in some amazing guitar, we’ve got some great
guitar and harmony vocals from Roine Stolt, some beautiful work
from Troy Donockley from b, and
Oliver Wakemans Keyboard parts are simply outstanding. The
commitment shown by everyone has been fantastic.” |
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| “There’s simply no mediocre work so
far,” agrees David “which gives us the scope to do maybe 3 or 4
different mixes. It’s amazing how different the final versions will be
compared to the original Cyan track. We’ll have one definitive version
for radio, but while keeping the basic song structure the same, we can
experiment with different musicians and singers, maybe do a heavier
version and a really quiet version. The possibilities are almost
limitless, but in the end it will be up to Rob. He’s the one with the
musical ear.” |
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The whole event was covered by Jerry Ewing of
Classic Rock Magazine, who provided regular updates to
listeners of Total Rock Radio as the day wore on. The
sessions were also videoed in an informal, fly-on-the-wall manner, with
both interview and performance material taped, so a video and interview
footage may also go on the single. Recording
had began on Thursday 27th, when Allan Mason-Jones of Magenta
laid down a basic drum track “just in case no other drummer turned up”,
and was scheduled to continue over the next few days with other
musicians coming down on the Sunday, and the final session, with Neal
Morse, on Tuesday 1st February. |
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| Plenty of other contributions from those that
could not come to Penarth in person, including those from Heather
Findlay and Bryan Josh of Mostly Autumn, and
progressive rock legend Anthony Phillips, were expected early in
February.
Of course, with so many musicians present, the day
was a logistical nightmare. As individual players were invited to the
studio to add their own contributions, there was plenty of time for
chat, and it was almost slightly surreal to sit around a pub table and
listen to wee Alan Reed, singer of
Pallas, and John Jowitt, bass player of IQ, swap
stories about life on the road, as if they had been ones friends for
life. This was certainly an egos-free zone, and Rachel Jones’
comment to me was fairly typical: |
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“This is the first musical thing I’ve done since
Karnataka split up,” she said with a throaty laugh, “and I’ve got
the cold to end all colds, so I’m hoping Rob will bury me in the mix
somewhere.” Despite the tight schedule, this
was never less than a good-natured day, with elder statesmen mingling
freely with young pretenders. An “incident” involving a near-naked John
Jowitt and a full-clothed Tracy Hitchings (of Landmarq), remains
unconfirmed, but is thought highly likely.
“People would be disappointed if I kept my clothes
on for the entire day”, remarked the affable IQ bassist. |
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| As the day drew to an end, it was time for the
centrepiece of the occasion, and a 30-strong choir gathered together to
sing the uplifting chorus. There was no option for each of us but to “go
for it”, and the results sounded breathtaking. As we sang the lyrics,
which beautifully describe both a sense of despair and of hope for the
future, a shiver ran down my spine, as I hope it does with everyone who
hears the song for the first time. |
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| The next step is mixing, mastering
and pressing. Then the hard work begins. Sales and Marketing.
“We have a lot of options regarding distribution”,
David Robinson remarked, “but as the object is to get as much money
to the disaster victims as possible, we need to make sure there are as
few people as possible taking a cut from the single.” |
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Do they think the single could possibly chart in
the UK? “We’re not naïve enough to assume it
could do that easily, but the song is so strong, and so catchy, that
people are going to be singing it for weeks, and if the radio stations
that we will be targeting pick it up, people will want to buy it”.
In the end, though, everyone agreed – that the
only thing that matters is raising as much money for the victims of the
earthquake as possible. There was a huge feeling of astonishment at the
sheer scale of the Tsunami disaster, and a huge will to pool resources
in the only way these people know how. By making music.
This is only the beginning of Progaid, so watch
this space for further developments, but in the meantime, this was a day
to remember for a lifetime. |
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