Just back from a fabulous trip to Toronto where, amongst many other fun things, I recorded vocals for my song A Watch of Nightingales with the infinitely talented Nicole McPhail, in Studio C at Revolution Recording in Leslieville (slightly in wonderment as Nile Rodgers had recorded there a week earlier and I was amazed to learn that Rush had recorded their most recent album there!).
Nicole added things to the song that I couldn’t have dreamed possible… the whole experience was totally exhilarating as I heard the music truly come to life in her hands. Not being a singer myself, I’d written a melody that seemed to work well but was ultimately nonidiomatic, perhaps slightly awkward and definitely lacking in imagination. Nicole took those melodic bones and fleshed them out with emotion and subtlety, reinterpreting with grace and great creativity.
I now have the joyous task ahead of editing and assembling and bringing everything together (not to mention the small additional job of re-recording the piano part as we transposed the whole song at the last minute to (rightfully) make it work as well as possible for Nicole’s voice). So the song is still a way off being finished but I’m so excited!
Josh
