The Songwriter Forum - songwriting reviews, tips and chat
Songwriter Forum => The Bar => Topic started by: jacksimmons on November 04, 2019, 02:20:19 PM
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well the day has (finally) arrived and my album Secret Mover is on Soundcloud, Bandcamp and all the streaming services RIGHT NOW. I would just like to say from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU to everyone here on this forum who listened, has been supportive and has offered criticism and feedback over the last year and a bit. I love this place and it has been invaluable to be a part of this community while writing and recording an album.
The album was expertly mastered by @Boydie (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=18510) and I can't thank him or praise him up enough for the great work he has done. I would recommend him to any fellow album-makers.
So, the album is on Soundcloud here:
And it is available for download for free on Bandcamp (or pay what you like) here:
https://jacksimmonsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/secret-mover (https://jacksimmonsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/secret-mover)
Thank you to all of you again, and thank you in advance for any and all time taken to listen.
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Congratulations @jacksimmons (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=18881) Looking forward to a listen :)
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Congratulations, Jack! I have my copy already! :D
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Congratulations, Jack!
I've grabbed a copy :)
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Yep ! Copy bagged :)
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@Jack Simmons (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=18691) - Hope you sell millions of copies Jack, a lot of work in there.
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Wow thanks a lot everyone. I hope you all enjoy the album. Massive love to you guys have bought it - I didn’t expect any cash, just a listen would have been more than enough for me! I hope you don’t regret the buy hahaha
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Yo @jacksimmons (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=18881)
Copy purchased,I hope all your hard work pays off and it sells loads. 8)
Davy.
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Great stuff Jack, hope it's a commercial winner for you, or maybe leads to your next breakthrough step at least.
You are one of the ones to watch on here for sure, what with your terrific vocal, ever improving songwriting skills, plus your live pedigree already at such a young age.
I really hope it works for you! ;)
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Big congrats Jack... just procured my copy and will be listening on the commute tomorrow. The song titles are great...
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Thank you very much guys! Much appreciated! @PaulyX (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=21034) let me know if it's a good commuter album! Oh and I am glad you like the song titles. For the first time ever I came up with them first, then wrote the songs to fit.
@Skub (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=20061) Thanks mate! I hope you like it!
@MichaelA (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=21274) I appreciate that mate, thank you. Not sure if it's gonna be a 'breakthrough' right now but I have learned a lot in this process that I will be taking forward.
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Well Done Jack
I'll want to take this road too one day.
Good luck with the sales!
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I'd forgotten how good Secret Mover was. I loved that song. I'll have a listen to the rest of the album when I get the chance. Congrats on finishing this.
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Well Done Jack
I'll want to take this road too one day.
Good luck with the sales!
Thanks @Rightly (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=20219)! Appreciate it
I'd forgotten how good Secret Mover was. I loved that song. I'll have a listen to the rest of the album when I get the chance. Congrats on finishing this.
Aw thanks @Sterix (http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=22024). It's awesome when a song you make resonates with someone. I hope the rest of the album lives up to expectations
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Hi Jack!
What a great album! Nice vocals, both soft and powerful.
Good selection of songs, feels like their all kind of chapters in a book (if that makes any sense).
Big fan of the sounds you got out of the synts.
I hope your album gets heard by all who love popular music
/Martin
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Congratulations Jack. I'm loving what I've heard so far. Be great for those of us that have followed you for a while to give us a bit of insight into how the album came into being. How you selected the songs, the order etc. When the tracks were recorded. Helps contextualise what we are listening to. Cheers Micky
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yay well done, cant wait to listen
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Congratulations Jack. I'm loving what I've heard so far. Be great for those of us that have followed you for a while to give us a bit of insight into how the album came into being. How you selected the songs, the order etc. When the tracks were recorded. Helps contextualise what we are listening to. Cheers Micky
Thanks Micky! Sure I'll give a little bit of background.
I have always wanted to write/record something quite synthy and 80s but didn't feel I really had the necessary production skills. I got some new plugins and have learnt a lot since joining this forum, so that's really what gave me the confidence to start thinking about putting an album together. I have LOADS of songs written already, in various forms of completion, but I decided for Secret Mover I would start from scratch and write every song as I went. I also decided for the first time ever to start with the title first, which was an interesting tactic as it often informed the story and style of the songs before I started writing.
Secret Mover was written and almost entirely recorded in an afternoon, and after that the songs came bit by bit. I hadn't really decided on any over arching themes but I guess LGBT issues are prevalent. My brief travels in Europe inspired a lot of the lyrics too (Amsterdam, Secret Mover). And then obviously there are deeply personal songs like Billy (which is 80% biographical) and I'm Over It, Continent of You, We'll Look Back On These Days & Laugh and Passengers to Love, which are all inspired by my friends or my relationship in some way.
Time to Face the Crowd is an interesting one. I used some old poetry for the lyrics and wanted something really ominous. I guess you could say it's a love song of sorts, but maybe it's a song about being cheated on, too. Then there's story songs, which I can't help but write: Kombat Truck is about a doomed relationship between two soldiers in an apocalyptic future, and She's In Deep is about a girl who is convinced she is being followed by the KGB or other G-Men...and perhaps she's right?
This is the first time I have been really careful to make a collection of songs feel fluid. Anything that didn't fit the synth-y 80s remit was eventually discarded. I did however like the piano ballad enough to leave it on. The last song, We'll Look Back On These Days & Laugh, is edging towards a more natural, full-band sound, which should give segue nicely in to what I am working on right now for the follow up.
Everything was recorded in my tiny bedroom at my Mum and Dad's house, apart from Passengers to Love. It's a special collection to me in that sense as these are the last songs I wrote and recorded there before flying the nest.
Thank you for your interest! I hope that is in some way interesting haha
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Great work Jack.
Album sounds great, takes me waaayyyyy back to when I left school, 1980 something.....
Memory jerker.
Andy