We're almost there

For various reasons (including one of those landmark birthdays that come round from time to time), this summer I ended up with a brand new 12-string Ovation guitar, a new microphone, two rather nice monitor speakers and a couple of audio interfaces to be able to connect everything to my computer and iPad to record some new music. It's a long way from the two-track reel-to-reel tape recorders I used when I first started writing songs, adding harmonies by bouncing from track to track.

The array of sounds and effects on GarageBand and Cubase helped to make my first musical attempts both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. The first two pieces of music I came up with were a song that I'mstill writing lyrics for and 'We're Almost There' which isn't really a song at all. After I added the line 'Wake up. We're almost there' and the sound effects of the cars passing on the motorway, I remembered a video I made in Mexico City.

The trip to Mexico was part of the research we did for Beyond. We visited a lot of schools there and met some amazing teachers. Most of the schools were out of the city and we spent hours driving from place to place. I thought the network of roads in and out of Mexico City werespectacular with its two levels. It reminded me of an old Tractorial Base song called 'Underneath the Overpass'. Anyway, I made a couple of quick videos in order to keep a record of it. I tried setting 'We're Almost There' to the video and it fitted almost perfectly.

Anyway, I'm hoping to be able to spend more time making music, writing some new songs and recording some old ones. I'll keep you posted...