I mentioned Seeds by Lasperanza a little while back. It’s out everywhere now! Thanks again to Rico for having me on board. I played bass on ‘Working Day and Night’ and ‘One Minute From Love’. The whole album is a stonker though! Get it from all good stores via the Lasperanza site, or listen below:
Continue readingGoodfoot – ‘Love Come Down’ (live at Abbey Road*)
*One of the smaller studios. We’re not big-time yet.
Enjoy this live session Goodfoot recorded a few months back. It’s one of our original tunes this time – in fact, the first song Danny & I wrote together!
I also mixed the audio and edited the video. We only had 3 static angles on the day – we should have had 4 but I forgot my GoPro – so I had to get creative.
Thanks to James Dickson for having us and engineering the session! And it goes without saying, we love our amazing live band.
This is the title track from our new EP. Get it here!
Goodfoot – ‘Love Come Down’ EP out today!
It’s finally here! 6 tracks that we’ve slaved over for far too long. Download/stream here. x
Patrice Rushen – ‘Music of the Earth’ bass playalong
Another video with the Hayman 40/40! It’s Patrice Rushen, so the original bass player can be none other than ‘Ready’ Freddie Washington.
Signal chain for those interested:
- Hayman 40/40 bass, neck pickup
- Origin Effects Cali76 compressor
- Noble preamp (low cut on)
- Vanderkley Aurora + 112MNT (for monitoring only in this case)
- Vulf compressor
- EQ cut at around 130Hz
Any requests for playalongs? Let me know in the comments below. ↓
Lasperanza – ‘Working Day and Night’
A few years ago Rico Garofalo asked me to play a couple of tracks on his album. The project is called Lasperanza, and the album Seeds is released next month.
At the session, Rico explained the concept to me: the album would be comprised of re-worked covers that reflect his musical upbringing, namely soul classics he heard on the radio in the 80s.
One of the tracks I played on is a re-imagined version of MJ’s stonking disco classic ‘Working Day and Night’. Check it out below!
Haim – ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’ bass playalong
There’s some killer playing all over the first Haim album, but I think this one stands out for me. The pattern in verse 1, with its 16th notes jumping between octaves, is deceptively difficult.
Although Este Haim exclusively uses a Fender Precision for Haim’s live shows, to my ears the bass on this track sounds like a Jazz. At least that’s what it sounds like initially – the tone changes a bit in the pre-chorus, so it could be a variety of basses throughout. At any rate, I thought my recently-acquired Hayman 40/40 would be perfect to attempt this tune. With both pickups on, it sounds like a beefed-up Fender Jazz.
Continue readingRuthAnne – ‘Love Again’
One evening last November I tracked bass on this single by RuthAnne, and last week it finally dropped. It sounds huge! It’s always interesting how a track can evolve after a recording session – I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a gospel choir on the record when I played my part. Thanks to George Moore for getting me involved.
For those who are interested in this sort of thing, here’s some gear chat! I used my trusty Anaconda UJ5-E bass, direct into the desk via my Noble preamp. If I remember the session correctly (and this is pushing it – it had been a long day!), I used the neck pickup only for a warmer and fatter sound.
If you want to hear other tracks I’ve recorded as a session musician, you can follow my Session Cuts playlist on Spotify. 🎚🎛
Hayman 40/40
Just got my 1975 Hayman 40/40 bass back from the workshop. I started playing it this morning and felt inspired to write this short ditty. Enjoy!
(I was going to do some more work on the audio mix, but decided it sounded fine as it was when I finished editing the video. So, my signal chain is just bass into my Noble preamp, bass & treble boosted a bit, with no further EQ or compression in Ableton Live. It’s probably the first time in years I haven’t put Vulf Compressor on a mix.) 😅
For those interested – I bought this bass a couple of months ago via Basschat. Hayman were a short-lived British luthier, and the 40/40 was the only bass they produced. The company later evolved into Shergold Guitars, which is still running today – although they don’t make basses anymore. This particular instrument was restored a couple of years ago by Basschat member discreet – below is his informative write-up on this bass, with some backstory on Hayman too. If I decide to sell this bass at some point, I’ll point the buyer in the direction of this post so they know exactly what they’re getting!
Continue readingTom Walker – ‘Hometown Glory’ (Adele Cover) in the Live Lounge
Today I performed in the Live Lounge for the first time, with Tom Walker. Here’s a video of the second track we performed, a cover of ‘Hometown Glory’ by Adele.
Continue readingThe White Keys return to Under The Bridge, Friday 15th Feb 2019
Circa 2008, some friends at Leeds College of Music put together a band to play covers gigs. Now, over 10 years later, we’re still doing it.
Every so often The White Keys play a public showcase. We’re back at Under The Bridge for the fourth time on Friday 15th February 2019. Come and party with us! Expect to hear some old classics, some reworked arrangements, and an epic show finale.