Oh, I Thought You Said 'Goat Team'

Hi, my name is Ben and I'm completely immune to sore throats and illness.

In actual fact, it would be more accurate to say I feel like shit today - I don't know whether it's just a coincidence that my throat feels like I swallowed a sharp, mucousy cheesegrater overnight after spending the day recording vocals, but if the two are related, I have to admit it seems totally worth it.

I really like recording vocals. Even though, like with playing any instrument, you kind of get good and bad days in the studio, the nice thing is that I'm pretty sure the good are starting to outnumber the bad. Coming from a person who would probably describe his singing as pretty much a 'competent vehicle for well-written songs', it's nice to think that over the last couple of years especially, I've been able to start worrying less about being able to execute what I've written without having to battle with my own voice.

Having said all that, and having now laid down most of my vocals for the album, I would humbly submit that the best part of yesterday was getting to hear Joe, Ellie and Jackie record their vocals. Joe's singing the main vocal on one song for the album, which I wrote specifically for him - there's not much I can describe properly in words about it (you'll get to hear it soon enough), but I can at least say that I'm glad that another song I've written specifically for Joe to sing is turning out exactly as I imagined it would.

On that note, we come to Go Team. This song is going to be great. Again, there's not really much that there would be any point in talking about, except to say that Joe and the girls killed it. The song kind of loosely tells the story of a great night out that we had at the end of last year and I'm very excited about it - it's going to be a bastard to mix properly (especially considering there's more to add to it yet), but when it's right, it'll be very right. Jackie and Ellie are both jaw-droppingly effortless vocalists and to hear them do what they do with words that I wrote made be feel something that I can't really describe properly, but that I think sits next to happiness - a completely different kind of satisfaction and friendship that's born of the moments in the studio where things just work with talented musicians.

I have the feeling I'm going to spend the days before we finish the vocals (assuming I can even talk by then) carved up into four-minute chunks while I listen through the rough mix of Go Team on repeat. Once I've finished the vocals, I'll sit back, take stock and make a proper blog post (with pictures and everything). Until then, I need to go and get some more Lemsip.

YOU ARE UPDATE!

- Ben