[TimCurtis]

OK..  It's been a while but we've had our first gig to practice for with another coming up - 8pm at Mr Wolf's on 3rd July if anyone happens to be in Bristol and fancies popping in , plus new songs to write.  Excuses, excuses.  So here's one of our many new ones.  Over to Gaby:

'I woke up one day with a vivid image from my dream that stuck with me until I exorcised it in a song... The vision of a naked, defiled woman's body lying in a stark snowy landscape, her bright blood melting a red river into the whiteness, set me off into telling a melodramatic, metaphor-heavy narrative of a love affair gone wrong.'

Back to me.  Gaby came over to mine one Saturday once the song had been written and played at a few open mics and we did a 'live' Cubase studio recording of the vocals and guitar.  I had a work trip to Minneapolis the next day so I copied it onto my laptop and recorded/sequenced pretty much everything else on the flight over there (a few weird looks when it came to playing drums on the qwerty keyboard).  Got into the motel room, saved an mp3 and pinged it back to Gaby for comments.  A bit of back and forth tweaking via email over the next few days, the addition of some backing vocals on my return and there it was.

Hope you all enjoy it. Sorry for the gratuitous gig plug.  

https://soundcloud.com/zendiummoon/red-river

Red River

Come to me,
Lying naked in the snow.
Come, tear out my heart,
rip though my bones,
And then just go.
Blood steams forth,
Melts a river as it flows.
An expression of life, leaving me-
Last traces taint the....

Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
Left for dead,
Time’s run out.
Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
Left for dead,
Time’s run out.

White corpse lying,
Naked in the snow.
Ribs splintered, soul shattered,
The cold wind blow.
Last breath breathed out
Nobody will know.
You killed what you came for
Shed your footprints in the...

Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
Left for dead,
Time’s run out.
Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
Left for dead,
Time’s run out.

You took my heart,
Shook my heart,
I let you shake it,
I couldn’t take it anymore.
You stoked my heart,
Broke my heart.
I let you break me,
And then take me in the...

Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
Left for dead,
Time’s run out.
Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
You left me for dead,
Let my light burn out.

Snow stained red
Heart poured out
You left me for dead
Let my light burn out

Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
Left for dead,
Time’s run out.
Snow stained red,
Heart poured out,
You left me for dead,
Let my light burn out.

[CaliaMoko]

I can't see a link to the song...?? Is one available?

[tina m]

I couldnt find a link to the song either ..tho to be absolutely honest the lyrics put me right off hearing it...
I hope its got a happy beat

[Skub]

Tim must be drunked,or maybe lying bleeding somewhere in the snow   

Here's a link you lazy people.  

https://soundcloud.com/zendiummoon/red-river

[Skub]

Yo Tim and Gaby.

This one is very early Jefferson Airplane in 'White Rabbit' era. Gaby's vocals are very Grace Slick,which is cool with me. 

The song has quite a live feel. I thought the drums were a bit low in the mix,or maybe the guitar too high? All that added to the live vibe,which may have been intentional.

Anyway I loved the song and the twisted darkness casually portrayed.

[TimCurtis]

Oooops....    Far too many balls being juggled at the mo - a poor excuse I know.  But I've added the link to the first post.

[PaulyX]

Hey Tim, nice to have a Winter murder ballad on a hot afternoon - cooled me down.
I agree with Skub's Jefferson Airplane comparison, I felt that too.
I really like the third chord in the chorus - it almost sounds wrong, to the extent that it sounds absolutely right.  I liked the electric piano too.
Great work for a Transatlantic flight!

[TimCurtis]

Thanks for listening everybody.

... the lyrics put me right off hearing it...

Oh dear.  We haven't really done happy up to now... although we do have not one but TWO upbeat ones close to the point we can get them out live.  All I can say is: watch this space.....

This one is very early Jefferson Airplane in 'White Rabbit' era. Gaby's vocals are very Grace Slick,which is cool with me. 

The song has quite a live feel. I thought the drums were a bit low in the mix,or maybe the guitar too high? All that added to the live vibe,which may have been intentional.

Anyway I loved the song and the twisted darkness casually portrayed.

The guitar and vocals were recorded 'live' then the rest back-filled, so hopefully that gives it the live feel.  Not the traditional way of recording it I know, but seemed to work better to stop it sounding like us singing along to a machine.  Not deliberately made the drums low in the mix, but perhaps wanted the live parts to be paramount....  Love White Rabbit but I don't think it was consciously in either of our heads when we wrote it.  Always like a bit of casual twisted darkness

I really like the third chord in the chorus - it almost sounds wrong, to the extent that it sounds absolutely right.  I liked the electric piano too.

Ah - the chorus.  When we were first working it out, I came up with what I thought sounded right under Gaby's melody - she had a completely different set of chords in her head.  After a little heated discussion we decided to mix both versions up and so a chorus that utilises 6 chords in 4 different combinations of 4.  The 3rd chord was a C#, which sounded a bit dull when played as straight barr chord and so I played a C shifted up a fret. Sounded a bit weird and out of place so it stayed!!

Thanks again everyone for listening/commenting.  Got a gig next week but then should be fully back into songwriting/recording mode again.