By far the most musical theatre of any song I've ever written. Make of that what you will. This was a rare occurrence of the chords and the melody coming together with surprising ease and then the words taking months of frustration. In the end it was a collaborative piece with my wife Emma (Malhann to those of you in the field), without whom I would still be banging my head against a wall.

The Moments In Between

This is what happens when you want a better recording of one of your old songs and your wife has amazing harmony ideas. Song is Wheel Keeps Turning, my Prosperity based song for Empire. Musically, this extra special edition takes a bit of a departure from the WM musical brief, so it is unlikely to be heard in the field in exactly the same way, but damned if I'm not happy how it came out. Big props to Emma (Malhann) for the sweet, sweet harmonies.

Wheel Keeps Turning (Extra Special Edition)

Continuing adventures in multitrack recording!

This was the second song I wrote for Empire. It's great to get it recorded as I honestly felt it was starting to get a little stale as It represented 33% of my repertoire for a long time. I had a bit of fun with the stereo mix for this, so can recommend headphones for the best creepy-voice effect. At some point I will redo the drums as I'm not entirely happy with them (I'm not a percussionist and we have neighbours which limits re-tries without pissing off the neighbourhood). Aside from that, each track here was able to be done in a single take which is very nice. I mean, there are a total of four chords in the whole song (Am, F, G, E) so it's hard to get it wrong, but still.

Rise Up (Rise Further Edition)

Second attempt at recording one of my first ever songs. Still not entirely happy with the mix, but it makes for a fuller sound than the original "singing into my phone" version.

Nowhere I'd Rather Be (v2)

Wrote this one bloody ages ago, but it made its proper Anvil debut at E3 2023 during the Virtue's Roar performance. The recording lacks a certain something compared to the live performance (such as another 15 bards all playing along).

This is another one that started off as an idea for a filk that I couldn't actually make work, but i liked some of the lyrics i had and so I just rewrote the music around it. 

The sharp eyed/eared may hear the ghost of the original inspiration in the lyrics of the second verse, especially if they are of a musical theatre persuasion. ;) 

My thanks to Emma for providing the epic backing vocals for this one (and for the gift of the portable studio device it was recorded on).

I still suspect that the scream at the end is too much, but it continues to make me smile and so I'll continue doing it in the field whenever I have the voice to belt it out. 

FUN FACT: The final vocals for this were recorded in my car after I drove to the middle of a building site with my porta-studio as I was too self conscious to the shouty-screamy vocals at home where the entire neighbourhood would hear.

What We Came For

This is a cover of the song "Sail On Boys" from the musical Operation Mincemeat. In the show it is presented as a multi-part harmonious shanty. I, however, am a basic bitch without the skill to work out those harmonies. So you're getting it simple and stripped down.

In truth, this is more an accountability upload. I got a new piece of kit (Focusrite Scarlett 2i2) and I used this song as a chance to play around with it, mainly because this is a very gentle song that I can record without annoying the neighbours.  I'm planning on uploading at least one new recording each month and so starting off simple.

There is a version of this I sing at Empire, with only slightly tweaked lyrics to better fit the setting. At some point I'll get that recorded and add additional vocal parts and some percussion. 

Sail on Boys

A filk based on the song Altar, by the Youn ‘Uns https://open.spotify.com/track/5yKKNXs6dVezr3dqQoDgPV?si=070018e904a8499e

This is my "Oh crap, people are dead, time to do a sad one" song.

Story

Recorded on my phone because my PC was being a dick. Very basic recordings which I hope to replace at some point soon. All lyrics and melodies are my own, but the chords, rhythm structure and rhythm for Rise Up was heavily inspired by 'Believer' by Imagine Dragons. It's not a direct filk, exactly, but I certainly can't claim it as completely original.  More songs will follow as I complete the songbook. 

From an RP perspective, there is a reasonable chance that you could have heard these performed as Tarik wanders the trods and performs in taverns to pay his way.

Wheel Keeps Turning (Prosperity)

Sing For The Mark (Pride)

Rise Up (Ambition)

Nowhere I'd Rather Be (Loyalty)

New songs debuted at Empire LRP's E1 event, 2019

Word To The Wise (Wisdom)

Where Do You Stand (Rage)

A song of Vigilance. As of the end of E1, it has not yet been performed at Anvil due to a loss of voice on Friday night.

Although my softest song, it is also possibly the most barbaric in terms of musical stylings as I still find writing to style hard.

Andrew Ruddick

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