Well, 5 months after completing CONSTELLATIONS, I have now begun writing and recording what will be hopefully the 2004 KE release. I was pretty burnt out ideas-wise after the last album as I poured a lot of time/energy into it, but I seem to have got the muse again....

The new album currently has a working title VODR04 because I don't want to completely spill the beans yet. Like EVE and CONSTELLATIONS, it will be another concept album - why do anything else?!!, lol. The idea has got the legs to be a series actually, but we shall see. I can reveal I've returned to a gothic idea and it's turning out fine.

I have completed the opening title track which clocks in at just over 9 minutes. Caron and Helen have contributed some great cor anglais and violin last month and I've done the rest - including the recording debut of my Transylvanian Bouzouki. It's actually a very major re-working of an old instrumental I wrote originally called 'Wired To The Moon' - now it's got the arrangement and edge it deserved. I always find the opening track to be the real grind of a conceptual project - trying to set the theme and atmosphere - but I can happily say that it's done and dusted and we're off.

Tuesday August 19th

After some dabbling over the w/end and Monday, I've got the themes worked out in a 4.30 piano sketch for the second VODR04 piece 'Festina Lente.' Time now to expand it, figure out the arrangements, record and generally experiment. That's the next month or so sewn up.

Sunday August 19th.

Continued expanding 'Festina Lente' this week - recorded Ileesha's first vocal section today. Having fun playing around with time-sigs on this one - to try and capture the 'Hasten Slowly' idea, I've got 3/4 melodies within a slow 2/4 beat. Good fun. (oh and a bit of 5/4 thrown in for luck).

Also figured that writing this diary and trying to make it sound interesting whilst keeping the theme a secret is going to be difficult! But I am doing other things 'behind the scenes - CD front cover picture is complete - scary! - continuing research...joining societies, getting old books off e-bay....

Friday, 5th September.

Speaking of keeping things secret ... I put up the new track and album image 'somewhere' on the web, just for my own amusement (and with NO links to it) and somehow, it got 9 plays!!! How? I only did one of them!!! That's so funny, especially as it got more plays than any of my main mp3.com page tunes today. Sufice to say, it's hidden again.

Sunday 7th September

Had a reasonable week, although seemed to struggle getting started each day... more dabbling with Festina Lente, bit's of percussion here and there and a sub mix. Did get some cello parts written though and started on flute/violin parts. Ileesha did some more vocals today - more latin words. Not grammaitically correct, just ones that have the correct literal translation and are evocative to the subject.

I will knuckle down better next week.

September 20th

>>>Sufice to say, it's hidden again!<<<

I changed my mind - couldn't resist!

'Well you know what we have to contend against, but we, too, are not without strength.'

Sat 20th September

Festina Lente still proves to be slow going, but most of my parts are done. Cello part was recorded by Sarah Higgins on Tuesday. A couple of other sessions should happen in the next few weeks. I may overlap the finishing of this piece and the start of the next one as I've got a sketch on guitar. Festina Lente clocks in at around 6.40 mins. I'm particularly pleased with how my bouzouki sounds mixed in with the harpsicord patch from my CS1X.

Taking a break next week.

Thursday 9th October

'Festina Lente' is complete! (I think...) No it IS! Further sessions included Zoe last week on flute and touches of clarinet, more singing from Ileesha over the weekend and Helen's violin on Monday. And I've just this moment finished the master mix. That was a long 6:40....

Two more pieces are in sketch form at the moment - the first (working title) 'M' is pretty together mapped out on classical guitar and a main melody. It's a little more lyrical in comparison to the first two pieces. The other 'Flyman' (second time it's been used as a working title, trivia fans) is really in my head - and considering the nature of it, the sooner it's out, the better! I may work these pieces side by side. Not my normal routine, but they are so contrasting, I think I'll be able to keep them seperated in the two hemispheres.

26th October

I let the cat out of the bag today - mainly due to a 'spooky' thread on PROGRESSIVE EARS and Halloween coming up -

mp3.com/DRACULA

Sunday 2nd November

Just taking a break from recording Ileesha's vocals for 'M' - 'Mina'. This piece is coming along fine, Caron recorded oboe for it on Monday which came out great.

The way the whole suite is panning out, I suspect this will end up the forth track on the album - I want to seperate Lucy from Mina - probably with 'Flyman/Renfield' for more contrast. Like my EVE album, this isn't an adaptation of the story - more an exploration. That's why the final track comes from the begining of the book - 'Kisses For Us All' as I wanted to finish with the scene that struck me most - Harker and the three vampire women. I'm also sketching out a piece 'The Land Beyond The Forest' (which is what Transylvania translates to) which makes me think the album will be six pieces long.

3rd November

OK - now Halloween is over, I've let the good Count get some rest again and the link http://www.mp3.com/dracula is inactive once more. Those who heard the preview - I hope you enjoyed the taster.

25th November

'Mina' is fully constructed now, just awaiting final violin and flute parts which will be recorded by Helen and Zoe in the next couple of weeks. Managed to have a lot of fun with the percussion again - my recording debut of the Rastrophone and what I believe may be Tingsha (small prayer cymbals) used by Tibetan monks. Vocals are complete for this piece too, plus the theremin guitar has returned...

'Flyman' is still in limbo, but I have started recording 'The Land Beyond The Forest' in earnest based on themes from a short piano improvisation I did over a rather menacing loop made of a church organ and synth guitar harmonic sample with the attack taken out.

Wednesday 3rd December

Done my homework! Helen recorded some great viloin for 'Mina' on Monday - but it takes me forever to edit all the ovedubs we end up recording... It's more like a jigsaw puzzle. Still - it's done now - just flute and any little extras left to do and we're done with Mina.

I keep wanting to put this as the third track now... it flows so nicely from Lucy/Festina... hmmmm....

Tuesday 9th December

'Mina' is complete. Zoe recorded the flute parts for this piece yesterday and I've done the final mix this morning. I think this track should definitely follow 'Lucy' now. In fact, I'm thinking of splitting the album into two sections - the first containing 'Voivode Dracula', 'Festina Lente - Lucy' and 'Mina' because these all deal with the nature of vampirism, it's relation to time and immortality and what happens to three characters (including the Count) who fall under it's spell.

The second section, I'm tempted to take a slightly different angle and look more at the heady combination of fear and desire - especially from Jonathan Harker's perspective. Obviously, there are central themes running through both sections, most notably immortality and eroticism, but as I've noted down potential areas to explore, I have become more and more aware that I can logically (if unchronologically) split the album into two sections. The only one that doesn't really fit is my Flyman piece - anyhow, this portrait of Renfield hasn't gone too well so I might drop this for the time being (and save it for the sequel!) I'm rambling... it makes sense to me anyhow.

Zoe also recorded some flute and alto sax for fourth piece 'The Land Beyond The Forest', and this will be the opener for the Harker section I think. I love the sax stacked for chords....Back to the mix.

7th January 2004

'The Land Beyond The Forest' is going very well. All the backings are complete and mixed down. Caron recorded some oboe yesterday - all that is left is Helen's violin parts (to be recorded Monday) a final mix and it should be a wrap. This piece is based around a slow, deep Talking Drum sample loop. As it has gone on, this sound has been translated in my mind as a slow motion beat of bats wings - quite apt for this portrait of Stoker's Transylvannia.

18th January

'The Land Beyond The Forest' is complete and mastered too. A CD-R deciding to fail at a critical moment left me playing around with track order and I'm coming to the conclusion that 'Forest', which is a very dark sounding piece, would indeed be better between 'Lucy' and 'Mina' as I think it adds more contrast - how's that for a turnaround?

Last night, I dropped all my rough ideas/sketch for what will probably be the final track - 'Kisses For Us All' and started composing again from scratch. This piece deals with the scene of Harker and the three vampire women. I'm going to use three different woodwinds to represent them and all manner of textures to highlight the incredible clash of revulsion and desire going on here. Glorious stuff!

21st February

'Kisses For Us All' is well on the way to completion - contributions from Zoe, Caron, Helen, Ileesha and newcomer Michelle on Clarinet are sounding great. Quite a piece to work on at over 13 minutes, I found I had a wealth of themes ... probably as I find it the most evocotive scene (of many) from the novel. Done and dusted in a couple of weeks?

5th March 2004

'Kisses' is complete. It's the longest and most complicated piece of the album. It was pretty tricky trying to represent the different emotions present in the Harker/3 vampire women scene. The three women are by turns playful, seductive and horrific - which certainly makes for interesting musical twists. This scene has got it all! So a great one to close on..... and yes, (just like EVE), this album isn't a chronological adaptation of the book. It is an exploration of some of it's major themes.

Anyhow, this is the last entry in the diary as the album is now complete and mastered - artwork all but done too. It will be released around May time on Cyclops - Cat no: CYCL143.

I've been a Dracula fan since I collected the 'Shocking Laffs' bubblegum cards aged 11, but it has been a real experience eating, breathing, sleeping the original novel these last eight months or so. Thank You, Mr Stoker for your amazing novel and the inspiration it has given me.

Richard Wileman