I've always been obsessed with this song, and it's one of my all time favourite songs, so I thought I'd give it a bash of covering it.  I've kind of put my own slant on it a wee bit by adding some more electronic elements to it, such as synths, which I think work pretty well.

Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire cover

This track was created by recording unusual sounds made by a violin.

Concussions

This is a tune I created in October inspired by Bach's Minuet in G (Anh. 116), which I came across whilst mucking about on my keyboard trying to teach myself it from the old ABRSM Grade 3 piano exam pieces book I had lying about. The first couple of phrases got stuck in my head and I got the idea to re-invent it as a trad/electronic tune, so I started writing a jig on my fiddle and then it sort of took off from there!

During the time I was finishing the tune off in the mixing and mastering stage I was finding it quite hard going and taking lots of walks in Glasgow Green to get a break. On one really warm autumn day I found myself particularly mesmerized and obsessed with watching the smoke coming out of the big factory chimney from the Strathclyde Distillery across the water from the Green. I found it to be really beautiful and soothing, so decided to use a slow-mo clip of it to accompany the tune as a wee video.

Special special thanks to my friend JP in allowing me to send him countless drafts of the tune to give me feedback on the mixing and mastering of it. I knew nothing at all about that stuff and he helped and taught me so so much, thank you ❤. Also thanks to my other pal Fergus in helping me name the tune, based on the name of a piece he wrote for me in the past called "Not Fratres lol" 😂.


Not Bach lol

I feel like now is the perfect time to share this, as we are now in a full Lockdown once again, which partly feels like being back at square one.  However, Nicola's words in this reminds us that there is a light at the end of this tunnel and we will get there. 

I initially wrote the slow air in the introduction of this track back in March 2019, but during the pandemic I began playing it again more and more with hopes of recording it as part of a larger composition.  I was then watching Nicola Sturgeon's TV address on 22nd September, where she set out that from Friday 25th September there would be a national curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants to close at 10pm and that the people of Scotland were no longer allowed to have indoor visits in other people's homes.  This was set out as an attempt to slow down the virus before we entered into winter, and the strategy just before the tier systems and the second lockdown.  I found the end of her speech to be particularly inspiring and uplifting and it left me with a sense of hope and pride in Scotland and our leader.  So from that point I knew that I had to find a way to marry up the two in a, hopefully, equally inspiring piece of music. 

Once again special thanks to JP for the mixing advice, which is always very much appreciated! Also special shout out to the wee star of this piece... the Kalimba that was gifted to me by Tom.

This Too Shall Pass

This was a tune that I originally composed with violin and a loop pedal when I was filled with inspiration after a summer's bike ride to Bowling Harbour.  Back when I lived with my parents in Clydebank I'd often take bike rides to Bowling Harbour in the summer on hot, sunny days where I'd just sit for hours and look out at the water and write in my journal.  I used to call it my happy place, as it was always quiet there, with not many people around, and I felt peaceful.  One time when I was there I saw this man gently sailing along in his boat and the water glistened and glittered in the sun as he went past.  I thought to myself "sail away with me to the sea", these then became lyrics to the tune and I added "drifting on by feeling free".  Seeing this left me with a sense of hope and reassurance.

Sailing On

I like to experiment with merging elements of traditional music, and acoustic instruments, with electronic sounds.

Aimée Laws

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