Feels Kind Of Like I'm Back Home.

Hi, my name is Ben and I have a USB port where my belly button should be.

Yesterday I actually had to do some real work on this album and do what, out of a limited range of musical skills, I do best. It was electric guitar time!

After primarily playing acoustic guitar for a while, it's all too easy to forget a little bit of where my roots lie - especially when my amp's been sitting at Joe's for a few months and the Les Paul's been suffering some input-related-illness. However, with the amp back at home and the Les Paul sporting a brand new lead-hole, I've been rediscovering some of the reasons why I started playing guitar in the first place. Not that I can tell you exactly what they are, but I can say it always just feels very right. Within a few minutes of playing around the new songs with a properly-powered guitar, all of the parts and noises that I knew I could hear when I was originally writing them are totally there; the intricate, instinctive finger-movements that don't do anything for an acoustic reveal their power on an electric - I guess it's what it must feel like to go from living in a foreign country and having to constantly translate English thoughts into an alien tongue, back to at least being able to think and talk in the same language (even if that's still an imperfect way to express what's going on).

I've been away from home for a couple of weeks doing proper, real-life stuff, which has given me plenty of time to sit and figure out the different guitar parts for all of the songs and if you happen to be keeping score, that's like, score one million for this gradual, extended recording process. Who needs to learn about eyes when you can concentrate on working on your lovely fingertip calluses?

More efficient guitar recording = more arty photos!

By the time I got back, I was raring to go and so yesterday's recording process felt like a very nice release indeed - working through a mercifully-mild hangover (that was totally Joe, Ellie and Kez' fault, not the tequila's), Luke and I loaded up on snacks and got to work. There isn't really much to say about the actual recording bit itself, since it went relatively smoothly. The result, on the other hand, is more worth a mention - we've definitely broken the back of the recording process now and with the majority of the electric parts laid down, the more subtle ideas have started to raise their head. The actual faces of the songs are in place now and when I describe how they're going to end up to people, I don't have to ask them to take quite so much of a leap of faith any more. Synth ideas have started to come out of the woodwork and secondary guitar parts are beginning to take shape. The plan is to record vocals next, then to sit back and work out any complementary guitar parts, then on to synths and the big M&M.

It feels weird, but so good to actually be able to talk about the end of the recording process like it's some time soon. I almost want the recording to not end as much as I want the finished album, just because of how much fun everyone involved is having - as I've bollocked on about a load before, music is a world that's where I've both found and forged some of my best friends and the recording process is one of the largest, most intensely fun countries in it.

OK, so next up: vocals with Joe, Ellie and Jackie. Let's do it!

YOU ARE UPDATE!

- Ben

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