Cosmic Glue: Across The Years

Today is Will I Am's birthday... Will Shakespeare that is... We're celebrating in style with an As You Like It brunch.

Ah, but yesterday! Yesterday there was no rest for the wicked as Mike Cooling and I spent a straight twelve hours at Skyhook Studios working on two tracks that spanned the decades. First up was 'Immortals', a song written on the last day of winter - just a few short weeks ago - inspired by the ever-changing world events that fill our days and nightmares.



Second track was 'Poison Pen': drums, bass, guitars and backing vocals recorded in the summer of 1977 at Sound Service Studios in Zwanenburg, The Netherlands featuring the cream of Dutch musicians (Hans van Epen - guitar, Cees van der Laarse - bass and Gerard Jeltes - drums).

I had completely re-written the song, but kept the awesome rhythm section complete with my acoustic guitar and backing vocals. Rufus Fry added some wailing harmonica, Mike added acoustic guitar and I went for the kill with new lead vocals plus Sandra and son Toby adding atmosphere on some spooky backup choir stuff.

So, there we are playing along with my twenty seven year old self (that's me then - Toby is the same age now) and creating a magic track that sounds so current that it slots right into the new tracks building up for Cosmic Glue.

'Immortals' will have two versions ready for release. The song is a driving, stomping tune that works both as an acoustic number and as a full blown techno anthem. We used a sample of my legendary Cosmic Boot and a vintage tambourine from the 1930s. Mike added bass and I added synth and white noise washes right out of my pretty little mouth. Given a prevailing wind, this could be massive. We will be releasing the first mixes as soon as possible alongside a video to be shot real soon.


Yesterday was momentous for another reason too. I signed a publishing deal for the Cosmic Glue songs - so the train has left the station!

We'd love to play you some of the ongoing music - but we have to keep things under wraps until the final mixes are ready.

To keep up to date - you could always like either of my Facebook pages at: Cosmic Glue FB or GOFC

...oh yes...the Cosmic Boot Stomp!

The Evolution Of An Album

I promised myself that there would be no more new songs for Cosmic Glue. We had narrowed the choice to fourteen killer tracks and at one point I had edited the list down to ten, then back to twelve and then came 'Immortals'.

'Immortals' is a song I wrote on the morning before a session just around two weeks ago. It worked well as an acoustic track, but I knew there was a dance anthem in there too. Initial recordings have borne that out and, true to the acoustic roots, we recorded my Cosmic Boot Stomp (now one of our archive samples) and a a rusty old tambourine from 1930 I found on my travels. The rest is my acoustic guitar, voice and a tiny synth riff - all that coupled with Mike's bass and we have the track.

There is every chance that 'Immortals' will be the lead single.

Yesterday saw the second of two sessions this week and we were joined by the truly awesome Rufus Fry of Thee Ones on harmonicas. Rufus had worked with me on A Twist Of Time and apart from being the sweetest guy in the world, he blows a cool tune. We hurtled through six tracks - each one very different in feel from the other - and we ended up with textures and riffs that have given each of the half dozen songs a special quality. Home Made Mini at under two minutes is a hoot. Change Of Heart at over seven is a very West Country slice of trip hop - one of those songs where all sense of time seems to vanish...love it!

Now we have a ten day break before embarking on a mammoth 12 hour session to prepare for the final overdubs of Chris Egan on sax. We have the following day set aside for cellos and fiddles and other stringed beasties and then we're on the home stretch.

I have some definitive lead vocals to set down, some choral work to add and then the mixing will begin.

It looks as though we'll settle on fifteen tracks in all - real old school album stuff (there is promise of a vinyl release)

Blast From The Past Time: I received an email from Stephanie De Sykes (Born With A Smile On My Face)  last weekend. Didn't see that one coming! I didn't know Stephanie, but a friend of hers was trying to track down some information about for a forthcoming book on 1970s cult singles. I have never been described as a cult before (well, not to my face...) but if selling six copies of a debut singles makes you that, well I guess I qualify.

My single was reviewed by Melody Maker on the same page as Live And Let Die. I got a good review, Macca fared less well...as I said - I sold six copies of mine...go figure!

But the single - 'Coming Up Strong/Shoot The Family Man' - was spotted on eBay this week for 50 Euros...and described as 'FreakBeat'. I'm not complaining. I was able to send Stephanie's friend a good deal of info about the tracks and the recording.

Every day turns up something new.

Back to the present...

coda: a package arrived a few days later from the author containing a demo copy of the single in question. I'd never seen it before, so four decades later there was that little frisson of excitement about what might have been.