Following the buzz of Na-Mara's final concert on 4th December 2024, Rob and I have begun to focus on our post-performance future, in particular working on new recordings of different types. With that in mind, we are already busy recording tracks for a new EP to be released later in 2025.
For some years now we’ve preferred to record our music in a home studio. We have decent recording kit, a reasonable level of experience in recording and mixing, and plenty of time available to lavish on getting the kind of sound we desire. That said, once we get the mixes to a point where we are satisfied, we send them off for professional mastering before release onto streaming platforms. We have given up producing physical CDs.
Our usual approach to recording songs is for me to lay down and edit to finished quality, my guitar and vocal tracks. Rob can then come into the studio and lay down his accompaniments. Naturally, this requires us to agree the structure of the track in advance.
With this in mind, I have now recorded my guitar and vocal tracks for the four songs for our planned new EP. The songs were chosen late in 2024 and comprise three traditional songs of which two have been translated from the French, plus one self-penned song. Three of the tracks being recorded featured in the setlist for our final live concert, but one will be completely new to anyone who follows our music. The songs for the new EP are as follows:
The Bonnie Gardener Boy, our translation of a traditional French song about a young girl tricked by a handsome young gardener. Metaphors abound and, I confess, many liberties have been taken in the translation;
Father Oh Father, one of our own compositions and addresses the practise of church authorities who shuffle abusive priests across countries and continents to protect the reputation of their institutions. While the song’s terminology implies criticism of one particular strand of church practise, it applies every bit as much to other strands and, indeed, to many secular organisations who hide and protect abusers rather than seek justice for victims;
The Poisoned Brew, our translation of an ancient and shocking tale. Here, a wife is browbeaten by a powerful figure into both a relationship and the attempted murder of her husband (mariticide). The husband is only saved by the miraculous intervention of an infant son. Tragedy of Shakespearean proportions then ensues.
and
P Stands for Paddy, a traditional ‘listening song’ where the narrator eavesdrops on a domestic drama. Our version is Irish in origin and taken from the music of Scottish folk supergroup, Five Hand Reel.
With my tracks for the new EP now completed and edited, Rob and I have begun putting dates in the diary for him to come into the studio and weave his magic. This should happen over the coming few weeks.