During Session #3 with Pete, our main goal was to record the rest of the demo drum recordings so that all of the appropriate musicians can use them as a reference point, allowing them to understand the structure of the songs prior to the recording stage.

After having completed this, we discussed the various ways we as individuals in our respective roles within society can lead by example and build comradery between teammates to ensure the completion of various tasks throughout life. This discussion was extremely important, not only as it clarified that me and Pete were on the same page with each other with regards to working together, but also how we as people can go forward in life working with people. These skills are going to be implemented throughout the duration of this assessment as well as life, so creating a discussion between creative minds regarding this topic was extremely important and has bought us two closer together as creative individuals.

For our third session all the tracks structures and lyrics were complete and we went into the session with the intention of getting all of the track’s drums completed.

However, after having complete the first track’s drums it became obvious that there we a few things that needed addressing with regards to how I was going about singing. We spent a substantial amount of time talking about how I can approach singing throughout my life – the fact that I’m most likely not going to be a vocalist who wants to utilise the full extent of their octave range, for example, or want the sing particular dramatic. But, however, most singers aren’t like this. If you listen to Beck, Paul Banks (Interpol), Bob Dylan – none of these guys have particularly great singing voices. They do, however, have distinctive singing voices, which is what Pete was putting forward to me. He challenged me to become much more confident in how I sing, not being hesitant but embracing a unique sense of my voice that can be a staple of my music.

From here, we agreed that for the next time I head down to Nottingham (15/03/17) we will complete the drum demos for the rest of the tracks, which would allow us to rehearse in our own time for when it comes time to record at the beginning of April.

I began our first meeting by showing Pete and Thomas (next door neighbour, talented musician) my tracks so I can get a better idea of what they think about the vibe, structure, development and just overall direction the songs are going in. They were both extremely happy with them and thought they were very much in the style of BJM (Brian Jonestown Massacre), The Dandy Warhols and Death in Vegas. They preferred ‘You and I’ the most, mostly due to how developed it sound in terms of the inclusion of a variety of musical elements.

From here, we felt that I should complete the structure and lyrics for each song by the next time I head down to Nottingham, so that we can record some of his electronic drums to a set structure, allowing us to get a better idea of how each track will feel.

Prior to our first meeting, I had recorded the following demos – at this stage they were rough sketches of how the songs could sound, with a loose song structure and no lyrics. What I wanted at this stage was to just get a taste of how exactly I could incorporate Pete’s talents (alongside other musicians, if required) within the frameworks of the songs. I wasn’t too sure how I wanted the vocals to flow, what the lyrical content of the songs would be, but I did know how I wanted the vibe of the songs to feel.

What I wanted to take from our first meeting was what Pete thought of the songs in terms of their instrumentation, development and vibe, as I value his opinion very much and believe whatever he would suggest would most likely benefit the outcome of the song, and also how I should approach writing lyrics, as he is an extremely talented lyricist.