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An Archive Of The Imaginary
“…I no longer know what was real and what I imagined, what I heard and what I made myself believe I was hearing.”
Daniela Casella: En Abime (2012)
This is an archive of studio and home recordings made by myself in the late 1970s through to the mid 1980s and charts where my musical journey began and how it developed through home recorded demos and commercial studio recordings. It records the influence of the technology and the individuals I worked with.
Made by the Leeds based band called Air Raid. The band members were Jeff (vocals & bass), Howard (vocals & lead guitar), Alan (drums) and myself (rhythm guitar). This track was written by Howard and was our first attempt at a studio recording. There are no details of the recording studio used to make this recording. The audio here has been taken from a cassette copy of the original master recording.
Sacrifice (1979)
On 25th July 1979 Air Raid played at the York Pop Club supporting Adam & The Ants on their 'Zerox' tour. An audio recording was made of Air Raid's performance that night on a portable cassette tape recorder. The tracks below were written by Howard and/or Jeff.
Maybe One Day
Children Of The Future
Creeps
By 1980, the musical approach of Air Raid was changing. The song writing was now being undertaken by Jeff and myself and Howard had moved to playing bass guitar. The group came to the notice of Bill Nelson who brought his expertise to the recording and production of a number of studio demos which are reproduced below. Whilst still very much a 'live' band set up, the production skills of Bill Nelson introduced the group to the possibilities of multitrack audio recording and studio effects such as the Eventide Harmoniser. These demos were recorded in a small 8 track recording studio in Leeds.
Johnny Johnny
Party Time
Look Out Look Out
In 1981 Bill Nelson's Cocteau Records released the 7" single, "...a certain bridge". By now Air Raid had changed its name to Last Man In Europe. Written by Jeff and myself. Produced by Bill Nelson and recorded in Leeds.
A1_A Certain Bridge
A selection of demos made by myself between 1980 and 1984 using a Teac 144 PortaStudio, Boss DR55 Drum Machine, Korg MS20, EHX Memory Man, MXR Flanger, Fender Telecaster and an Ibanez bass guitar.
Demo 6
Demo 5
Demo 2
Demo 1
In 1982 Last Man In Europe became a duo and the name changed to The Last Man In Europe Corporation. The fledgling record label, Situation 2 records released the following album entitled Songs From The Ark made by the duo of Paul Martland and Trevor Abbott.
Audio is available here: https://www.discogs.com/release/322569-The-Last-Man-In-Europe-Corporation-Songs-From-The-Ark
Following the recording of Songs From The Ark, The Last Man In Europe Corporation (myself and Paul Martland) continued to work with the music producer David Motion. Below are examples of how demos I made on a 4 track cassette tape recorder were re-imagined in a professional recording studio by David Motion. The 'studio' versions below were recorded at Southern Sounds Studio, London.
A1_Thread Of Love (Demo)
A2_Thread Of Love (Studio)
B1_That's The Reason Why (Demo)
B2_That's The Reason Why (Studio)
Now available as a limited edition 10" archive disc in screen printed cover
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