Dear reader. Let me start this news item by apologizing for the shameful period of inactivity regarding ‘House of Cards’ album news updates. You’d be forgiven for thinking that I’d taken a break, or had somehow forgotten that I had a deadline to work to, or that I’d been kidnapped and held hostage in a Chinese bakery. Well, I’m afraid to say that none of the above is true. It has simply been a case of not having a huge amount to report on until now (but thanks for sending the search party out anyway).
Work has been slow but steady over the past few weeks. I’ve been in and out of the recording studio laying down track after track on the album, and each song fights another for inclusion on the final ‘House of Cards’ release.
Following the completion of all the rhythm tracks, including the drums and guitars, I’ve been spending time working on the acoustic guitar parts, and have also been laying down a lot of the vocals. As is always the way when working on a project like this, you rearrange and rewrite parts as you go along, feeling inspired by the ever growing sound that takes shape in your headphones. Each song begins to take on a life of its own, growing and expanding with ever more ambitious production ideas and the reworking of phrases and arrangements. Ultimately, each listen brings with it ideas for improvement until you’re ready to try some of them out.
The end results can often surprise, with a final song sounding quite different to the idea you originally had when you wrote it with just a voice and guitar/piano to work with. To me, this is the most exiciting part of the recording process; where the recording, and a subsequent playback session, encourages a second phase of writing. Tonight I listened back to some of the original demos I produced for this album and the evolution of these songs is apparent when compared to the songs in their current state. I can’t wait to play you some of them.
The focus of my attention in the run up to this news update has been the songs ‘Forever Young’, ‘Love Love Love’, ‘When Push Comes To Shove’ and ‘Climbing Rose’. I’m thrilled with the way these songs have ended up sounding, particularly with the introduction of some unorthodox instruments such as the Mellotron and the Ebow. There will be plenty more of this kind of studio tomfoolery in the coming weeks, and I’m hoping to be able to step up the recording process as we start the final leg of the journey. I’ll post another update shortly, but in the meantime here are some photos taken during the recent recording sessions. Enjoy 
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Dan
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Dan at Koolworld Studios, July 2010.
Drummer Carlos Hercules working his magic on one of the new songs.
♫ Dan Furr and Carlos Hercules busting out some hot licks! ♫
Dan during a playback session with sound engineer to the stars, Dave Wooster.
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