This was the first track I ever recorded, although not the first one I ever wrote. It took quite a considerable time to get from the idea stage to having a recorded track and it took several days to actually record it, mainly because I didn’t know quite what I was doing at that time.

It was originally called “Rhodes to Nowhere” because of the Fender Rhodes sound I used for the pianos. I renamed it because it sounded sort of sleepy and dreamy.

This is me trying to be clever with MIDI sequencing and the Lydian mode. To what extent I’ve succeeded is a matter of opinion but I don’t think it’s too bad for a first attempt.

I called it “Swifts” because I was working in an office out in the sticks and some swifts used to come and drink water from puddles in the car park which I could see from where I sat. I’d never seen swifts actually land before and it seemed amazing to me.

When my mate heard this he said “I liked your new track but I couldn’t decide whether to order the chicken or the steak”. Cheek so-and-so!

This  track was one of those where it was easy to start but really hard to finish but I’m glad I persevered. I was especially pleased with the sound I got from my acoustic guitar : I’d recently had a pick-up fitted to which cost quite a bit and I was worried in case I’d wasted my money.

I used to work with a girl who’s into Dance Music. Being a “gentleman of the old school” I poured a certain amount of scorn on this genre and boasted that I could “knock up a Dance track in half a day”.

Well, it took me half a year to complete it and even then it doesn’t even sound like Dance music. I am reliably informed that it falls into the category of “Ambient Techno” which isn’t surprising since I started recording it two days after I returned from a weekend in Dusseldorf.

Once again, this is me trying to do something with the Lydian mode. I couldn’t get the “sweet but mysterious” sound that people go on about so I  went for “spooky” instead. Nothing sinister about the ghostly voice, however. I read a sentence from a Sherlock Holmes story, lowered it an octave and then reversed it. All electronically, except the reading bit, of course!

This is also the first track I recorded where I “tapped” some of the guitar parts. It seems to have worked and I’m quite pleased with it.

This is the Music Page (No.1) of Ged Cowburn, Sunderland