Different camps, different experiences
For the second time in my life, I went on a songwriting retreat. Or perhaps “songwriting camp” is a better description this time.
And this time, the destination was rather special: Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, at the camp called Pro7ect.
Two years ago, I attended a songwriting retreat in Shropshire led by Berklee professor Andrea Stolpe. That experience was much more like a course. We spent time learning about songwriting craft, looking at lyrics, melody, structure and the many things that make a song work. In the afternoon we would co-write in small groups, and perform our results live after dinner. No recording, just practice.
This time was completely different.
This was three days of co-writing and recording, with a new song being created and recorded every day. It somehow felt more like creating something that you would actually release!
We were a group of around fifteen musicians. Some were performers and songwriters, others were more production-focused, and each day we were divided into small groups of four or five. Every group had a headline producer working with them, helping us turn whatever ideas emerged that morning into a finished demo by the end of the day.
Walking into the breakfast room and looking for your name on the blackboard to see who you were working with that day was very exciting!
Welcome to Rockfield
There is something quite surreal about walking around a place where so much music history has happened.
Rockfield is one of those places where the walls seem to carry stories. Very famous people have recorded very famous albums here, and suddenly you find yourself sitting in one of the studios, talking about chords and lyrics and production ideas as if this is a completely normal way to spend a Tuesday. It wasn’t.
It was a treat. I mean, there was Freddie Mercury´s piano in the live lounge (they worked on Bohemian Rhapsody here!), Elton John´s mixing desk in the studio, and the knowledge that Oasis recorded Wonderwall here and Coldplay got inspired by the black sky and starry nights at Rockfield and wrote ´Yellow´… Robert Plant, The Cure, Simple Minds, Black Sabbath, Stone Roses, Manic Street Preachers, many of whom recorded their biggest hits at Rockfield. It´s incredible, really.
There was the history of the place, and then there was being surrounded by fifteen participants and a handful of top level producers who were all there because they cared deeply about music.
It´s great being in a room where everyone wants to talk about songs, and you don´t have to worry about boring the hell out of your family again discussing the concept of your new album.
We talked about music over breakfast, music over dinner, music late into the night. We shared ideas, influences, experiences and stories. And, as tends to happen when songwriters get together, conversations could move very quickly from “What chord should we use?” to some pretty deep territory.
Because songwriting is vulnerable. I feel deeply, and when people open up and share their stories of heartbreak, grief or loss…. I am in bits. Which is of course when many of the greatest lyrics are born. There were some very honest conversations, stuff shared for the first time, hearts opening, common experiences found. Tears, serious chats, and there was a lot of laughter too.
Day One: Freddie Mercury’s piano and the Live Lounge
The first day was special because one of the groups was going to work in the Live Lounge. On Day One, that was me.
The challenge was to form a band, write a song and perform it to everyone after dinner, and after visiting each studio and hear what the other groups had created and recorded during the day.
I was the featured artist in our group, working with headline producer Lewin Barringer, who I got on with very well. Performing is something I do pretty often, so being thrown into that role was fun. Everyone else quickly took on the role they felt comfortable with and work began.
There was the small matter of Freddie Mercury’s piano sitting in the room with us. Jakub, from Slovakia, turned out to be an absolute star playing it, Oliver dived onto the beautiful vintage organ, Steven cobbled together a couple of drums to create a makeshift drum kit, Lewin played electric guitar, and there was me on lead vocals and the acoustic rhythm guitar. The funky song ´Stalker´appeared, based on some lyrics I already had and a rough idea for a verse. The rest grew by jamming and trying. And laughing, a LOT.
By the evening, we had a song. And a band. And an audience.
Pretty cool, huh.
Day Two: From folk melody to sonic landscape
The second day was completely different.
This time I was part of the group supporting Charlie Eaves, the featured artist, with Gethin Pearson as our headline producer.
What fascinated me most was watching the transformation of the song.
Charlie started with something that had a relatively traditional folk melody. But as the day progressed, Gethin began layering sounds, textures and effects around it.
What started out relatively simple became something modern, atmospheric and much more expansive. I added harmonies to the chorus and played harmonica during the instrumental section.
Watching something evolve like that in real time was a great reminder that a song doesn’t necessarily reveal its final form when it is first written. Sometimes the production opens up an entirely different world around it.
´Loving with teeth´is a truly a beautiful, and very personal song. I can´t stop listening to the demo.
Day Three: Any Human Heart
Then came day three.
This time I shared the featured artist role with Arthur Newman, who started the session by playing some beautiful acoustic fingerpicking on guitar.
He also happened to have a novel with him: Any Human Heart. And that became the starting point for our song.
Sharing some of my own emotions around the subject, we began exploring the idea of the heart being pulled in different directions. That feeling of yearning for more from life, of being tempted by different possibilities, perhaps making bad decisions, only to discover that much of what you are looking for already exists…in fact, you already have. A bit like Paolo Coelho´s The Alchemist. You look everywhere…and you find it at home.
Lyrics were written from scratch by brainstorming, or pulled from existing scribbles on my google drive, and eventually blended into something that felt right and fitting.
With Lisa Fitzgibbon and Jack Boston producing (Jack recently worked on the latest album by The Cure) our song grew into this gorgeous layered landscape of sounds, harmonies, beats and a great chorus. A soundtrack to a film, almost!
I ended up doing the lead vocals, with Arthur adding harmonies and some vocals towards the end.
It is very different from what I would normally release, but it inspired me to think outside the box and wonder what else I could do musically with my own songs.
Three songs. Three completely different experiences.
That might be one of the things I enjoyed most about the retreat.
I came away with three very different tracks, each reflecting a different group of people, a different producer and a completely different creative process.
And none of them sound like what I would normally make, which stretched me and made me feel very inspired.
One of the reasons I wanted to go was to get outside my own creative bubble. After spending so much time writing, recording and releasing my own album, I wanted to put myself in a situation where I wasn’t entirely in control. A thing that´s quite hard for me, haha, letting go of control…!
Where other people could throw ideas into the mix. Be open to them. Where I had to sit and listen, and where I was not the most important person in the room, but serving another. Experiment. Adapt. Surrender.
Being the least knowledgeable person in the room
If there is one thing I really take away from the experience, it is how much I still have to learn. And that is actually a useful realisation.
It is humbling to be surrounded by people who know considerably more than you do. Producers who can hear things I don’t hear yet. Musicians who approach their instruments in completely different ways. Songwriters who think about melody, harmony, rhythm and structure from perspectives I haven’t considered. Lyrics that I would never have thought of.
But rather than making me feel like I don’t know enough (or to let the old imposter syndrome take over), I felt excited about what´s next. The knowledge I have access to all of those talented and skilled people I met, to continue collaborating and growing.
I think that is one of the great things about putting yourself somewhere where you are not the expert. You become curious again, even though it is a little bit scary too.
What did David Bowie say again? “If you are feeling too comfortable, you are probably in the wrong place.”
Photos by Ian Wallman (except the last one)
For more information about the songwriting camps at Rockfield led by Pro7ect, check the website: www.pro7ect.com
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