12 challenge #7
I've had the main riff of this song rattling around my head for about 3 months, but it's took me a while to figure out where to go with it. When I came to record, I changed up the rhythm to work on the off beats rather than the standard rhythm that it had before (which gave it more of a folky sound - nothing against folk, I love it).
I was influenced by certain bands who use synths and electronic sounds / voice manipulation such as Bastille, Shiny Toy Guns etc.

Rapture

12 challenge #8
This is definitely my favourite so far and the sound that most resembles what I want to go far. The moral of the song: enjoy the present.

Streetlights and Shooting Stars

Lots of screw ups, and lots of roughness, but who cares really?

Dusk and Summer (very rough Dashboard Confessional cover)

12 Songs #10
This is the first song that I've recorded using a digital input for my guitar / bass = a much smoother sound. Great Keppel Island, what a place!

Great Keppel Island

12 Songs #11
This is a song called Georgia. I don't know anyone called Georgia... anonymity is key!

Georgia

12 Songs #12
Challenge COMPLETE! This is the last song of my 2013 challenge of 12 songs.
Being the last song and being that I'm making it in December, it seemed a great idea to make a Christmas song. Also I wanted to do something a bit more light hearted, so I wrote it about Die Hard, from the perspective of John McClane. I even rap, oo-err!

The Ballad Of McClane (I Want To Spend Christmas With You)

12 challenge #4
Time for a sad one. This as you can probably guess from the lyrics is about a song which reminds me of a tricky period in my life. I've had this little melody running through my head for a few years, based around the founding of the original song. I thought it was time to give it a full length run...

There's A Song That Reminds Me

12 challenge #5
A song that has been rattling around my head in many forms for about a month and a half. I was very excited to feature my new instrument (the Kalimba) for this song, as I adore it's sound. All in all, I'm very happy with how this song has evolved and eventually turned out.

Through Water and Air (Gull Song)

12 challenge #6
This was a challenging song to record, as I didn't have a conceived idea from the start. It was frustrating at times when I didn't know how to progress, and because of this it took me a lot longer than the others which seemed to just fold out naturally.
I tried to make this one a bit more light hearted, and believe it or not, there's a few direct influences from my favourite bands including Simon and Garfunkel (yes, really!), Vampire Weekend and Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service/anything that Ben Gibbard is in.

howarddyer