I just made my video. It took six months to do, not that it was six months of work, just six months to get round to finishing it. I’m not really happy putting out old material, it’s a bit sad really that someone should be plugging a record made 25 years ago, even if it is brilliant ! But I am a bit pissed off that other people have been using Disco Volante, when I was using it first (as a band name). Don’t people have any dignity? Perhaps we should just all call ourselves the Beatles that would give Yoko a few headaches! Disco Volante is my territory, Disco Volante is mine , I’m staking a claim.
I enjoyed making the video, though I can hear Flash programmers everywhere howling laughter. My plan was, as I can’t afford Naomi and Kate ,to go for the so bad its good approach. Then after 24 hours nonstop tidying up I played it in QuickTime only to discover that although it was co-ordinated in Flash preview, in the final version the music and images were out of sync, so another four hours of extending scenes by a frame at a time until it worked.
I’m hoping for an Oscar nomination, for Best Short Animated Feature, I want to get invited to Elton’s party afterwards, perhaps Robbie will be there too.
Anyway, I’ve decided to try doing Click, the b side now, watch this space.
A regular report about the electronic music project Disco Volante
Showing posts with label Disco Volante. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disco Volante. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Monday, 21 September 2009
The story so far
Well, where to start.
I am well over 40 now and no one wants to listen to my whole life story.
So here are the relevant bits.
At the age of 11 I discovered Marc Bolan and decided I wanted to be a pop star.
After Marc died in 1977, I got into the punk scene and moved to London. I tried to form groups but have always been a bit of a loner when it comes to work, so decided to work alone. I then became influenced by the early 80s electronic music such as Soft Cell, Human League and Depeche Mode as well as others and quickly put together a backing tape and started performing.
My first performance was in a wine bar near to Holborn tube station; I was determined to do it in style and spent my last £15 on a bottle of champagne. The weekly poetry and music club was run by my good friend Steev Burgess, and he put me top of the bill. The champagne worked, I did four songs and was very well received by the audience of mainly follow artists.
My performing career lasted 3 years with varying degrees of success, I am a shy person and needed a few drinks to get up on stage, and this didn’t help.
Musically I was working totally alone, there was no web to give advice, no tutorials and very little in the way of a support network for people working with sequencers and drum machines. I may not have had the sophisticated studio technology of Human League but considered myself a pioneer in a certain type of music.
My first single was released in June 1984, I am not naive and never expected a hit record, I just wanted one or two favourable reviews to help me get better gigs and perhaps get my money back, however fate wasn’t kind, a large part of music press went on strike and I didn’t get one review.
I then started visiting Ibiza and the record was given some attention by the radio there, this was a consolation prize.
Up until that point I had been working in part time jobs, living in a bedsit in Kensington. Now however I was in debt, I had borrowed money from friends and family to make the single and now had to pay it back. I had been in this bedsit for 5 years and needed something better. The worst thing that could have happened, happened, I had to get a proper job.
Now I was upwardly mobile, and it was nice having money, holidays, I got a nice flat and my interest in music was neglected as I got a career.
I never wanted to be a financial management consultant..... I wanted to be a lumberjack, sorry , a pop star.
In 2001 taking advantage of rising property prices I sold up in London and moved to Ibiza (my other passion), but carried on working from Ibiza, and in 2006. I sold up again. (pre subprime hehehe) and moved to Buenos Aires, where I now live a simple life but do not have the constraints of work.
Now I am too old and not pretty enough to be a pop star, but I still have to box in my head that needs to be ticked.
So now I have recently started my music again.
Times have changed a lot, and sequencers are housing in computers not in silver boxes, so I’ve had to re learn a lot.
My plan is to make an album, my current musical interests are consistent with what they were in 1984, electronic dance orientated. I have lived in Ibiza so hopefully have some feel for this music.
I expect to have some material by the end of 2010.
I was never a strong vocalist and was always a nervous performer so I will be looking for vocals at some point.
But for now in studying technique and technology and writing songs. I plan to have a selection of about 20 songs before working in more depth on the best.
I plan to update this weekly, however I won’t be putting any new music out until it sounds 100% professional. My 1984 single “No Motion” and the B side “Click” is available on I tunes.
http://www.discovolanteonline.com
I am well over 40 now and no one wants to listen to my whole life story.
So here are the relevant bits.
At the age of 11 I discovered Marc Bolan and decided I wanted to be a pop star.
After Marc died in 1977, I got into the punk scene and moved to London. I tried to form groups but have always been a bit of a loner when it comes to work, so decided to work alone. I then became influenced by the early 80s electronic music such as Soft Cell, Human League and Depeche Mode as well as others and quickly put together a backing tape and started performing.
My first performance was in a wine bar near to Holborn tube station; I was determined to do it in style and spent my last £15 on a bottle of champagne. The weekly poetry and music club was run by my good friend Steev Burgess, and he put me top of the bill. The champagne worked, I did four songs and was very well received by the audience of mainly follow artists.
My performing career lasted 3 years with varying degrees of success, I am a shy person and needed a few drinks to get up on stage, and this didn’t help.
Musically I was working totally alone, there was no web to give advice, no tutorials and very little in the way of a support network for people working with sequencers and drum machines. I may not have had the sophisticated studio technology of Human League but considered myself a pioneer in a certain type of music.
My first single was released in June 1984, I am not naive and never expected a hit record, I just wanted one or two favourable reviews to help me get better gigs and perhaps get my money back, however fate wasn’t kind, a large part of music press went on strike and I didn’t get one review.
I then started visiting Ibiza and the record was given some attention by the radio there, this was a consolation prize.
Up until that point I had been working in part time jobs, living in a bedsit in Kensington. Now however I was in debt, I had borrowed money from friends and family to make the single and now had to pay it back. I had been in this bedsit for 5 years and needed something better. The worst thing that could have happened, happened, I had to get a proper job.
Now I was upwardly mobile, and it was nice having money, holidays, I got a nice flat and my interest in music was neglected as I got a career.
I never wanted to be a financial management consultant..... I wanted to be a lumberjack, sorry , a pop star.
In 2001 taking advantage of rising property prices I sold up in London and moved to Ibiza (my other passion), but carried on working from Ibiza, and in 2006. I sold up again. (pre subprime hehehe) and moved to Buenos Aires, where I now live a simple life but do not have the constraints of work.
Now I am too old and not pretty enough to be a pop star, but I still have to box in my head that needs to be ticked.
So now I have recently started my music again.
Times have changed a lot, and sequencers are housing in computers not in silver boxes, so I’ve had to re learn a lot.
My plan is to make an album, my current musical interests are consistent with what they were in 1984, electronic dance orientated. I have lived in Ibiza so hopefully have some feel for this music.
I expect to have some material by the end of 2010.
I was never a strong vocalist and was always a nervous performer so I will be looking for vocals at some point.
But for now in studying technique and technology and writing songs. I plan to have a selection of about 20 songs before working in more depth on the best.
I plan to update this weekly, however I won’t be putting any new music out until it sounds 100% professional. My 1984 single “No Motion” and the B side “Click” is available on I tunes.
http://www.discovolanteonline.com
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)