Come get a taste of "cock-rock" in the spirit of the big-hair, spandex-clad 90's.
Tongue firmly in cheek on this one !
Based on the crowd pleaser song "PMT" by my old band Wayland.

UPDATE : IT WON ! HOLY MONKEY BALLS !!
http://main.iosmars.com/2013/09/10/music-nathan-tillett-monkey-balls/

Starting making this as a joke song for the good folks at the iOS musician forum on Facebook but started running into problems. Then along came the iOS MARS 90s metal competition and it gave me a kick up the arse to get it finished, here it is...

Hardware used :
Guitar - Gibson Les Paul Studio
Interface - Apogee Jam
Recording Device - iPad 2
Mic - iRig Mic (IK Multimedia)

Apps used :
Amp Sim - JamUp Pro for iOS
Drums - Amplitube for iOS
Bass - GarageBand for iOS
Audio Routing - Audiobus for iOS
DAW - Garageband for iOS

Mixed and mastered with Garageband for Mac.

"Monkey Balls"

Every day, life can make you curse
When things progress from bad to worse
When you bash your head, or stub your toe (oooooooh...Owie !)
You need a way to let it go

So what do you say ?

Monkey balls !
Yeah monkey balls !
Shiny blue monkey balls
M m m monkey balls
Monkey Balls !!!

Now every day, life can kick your nuts
You need a way to spill your guts
So waddya say ..."Oh deary me ?".....no
That's just not my cup o' tea...(well I am British you know)

You scream
Monkey balls !
Yeah monkey balls !
Pink fuzzy monkey balls
M m m monkey balls
Monkey Balls !!!

Hope you enjoy !
Nath
\m/

Monkey Balls

Who remembers the priceless sensationalist headline in late 2013 “Ghost Ship full of Cannibal Rats heads for UK” ?

Well, it inspired me, firstly to make a Photoshop joke (see picture) and now I bring you the Rock Opera !!!

Sitting somewhere between Iron Maiden and Spinal Tap, this one has the OTT tongue-in-cheek dial turned up to 11 !

Had loads of fun making this one, including recording my vocals on an iPad in a blacked-out office during a thunderstorm. Really helped get into character !

Delighted to bring you the Soundcloud debut of Matt Harfield-Mitchell http://soundcloud.com/matt-mitchell-2 who did a stellar spoken cameo as “The Newsreader” at very short notice. Well done Matt !

Thanks also go to http://soundcloud.com/gordon_m  who nudged me towards using this story as the theme and also to Patrick at http://thegaragebandguide.com
for his kind help and advice with Garageband 10

The tech details :
Guitar : Gibson Les Paul 95
Interface : Apogee Jam
Mic : iRig Mic
DAW/Amp Sim : Garageband for iOS and GB 10 for Mac
Synth Bass : GB10 via Logic Remote app on iPad
Drums : GB10 Drummer

“Cannibal Rat Ghost Ship” © Nathan Jon Tillett 2014

Intro :
[news announcement]

Verse 1 : 
The papers say that there’s a curse on the way
Something evil is heading for you
A “ghost ship full of cannibal rats”
If what the papers say is true
A 40 year old cruise ship that was cut adrift
Lost for a year it’s understood
But lurking in the shadows in the depths of the hull
Are diseased rats with a thirst for blood

Chorus :
Beware the cannibal rat ghost ship
Beware the cannibal rat ghost ship
We’re all gonna die !

Break :
[news announcement]
[solo]

Verse 2 :
The papers say that it’s much too late
The Lyubov Orlova is near
Tsunami waves have brought the ghost ship this way, and
Murine armageddon is here
So you would be wise, when you see their red eyes
To lock your doors and hide in your bed
But put the strychnine away because the papers now say
That it might be killer spiders instead !


Chorus :
Beware the cannibal rat ghost ship
Beware the cannibal rat ghost ship
We’re all gonna die !

Help us !

Everybody panic !

Run naked in the streets !

Loot the supermarkets !

Set fire to....stuff !

Stock up on bread and milk !

AAAAAAgh, you’d better run for your lives !



Cannibal Rat Ghost Ship

Feeling "synthed up" after my recent collab with cosmic girl https://soundcloud.com/selena-jay I decided to dig out an old synth track and beef it up with Positive Grid's "Final Touch" mastering app. The result was pretty good.
100% made with iPad apps.
Trippy video version of this track here :
http://youtu.be/HrV14kjreW8

DeepStar

Very pleased to give a new home to this great collab track.

All music & production by Jack Morefield : https://soundcloud.com/jackwm

Heartfelt lyrics by John Eagle: https://soundcloud.com/marshmaster-1johneagle

Vocals & Photo by me.
"The After Love"

The miles are long
Between us these days
Somehow we are closer
In oh so many ways
So just hold on to that feeling 
Because

Something in our past
Will help us rise above
Somewhere beyond our lives
We will find our after love

I remember in the morning
You were silent and subdued
Well, until you had your coffee
This calm I would not abuse
But it didn’t work so well did it ?
We were better in the moment
Than we were over time
If I had to do it over
Baby, I swear I'd find another way

But that’s all innocence
We both know the cost 
It’s more than we can pay
Tears for love that we lost
So we’ll stay this course
Lovers across the miles
I love you more now than then
Now hold on

Something in our past
Will help us rise above
Somewhere beyond our lives
We will find our after love

The After Love (Morefield, Eagle & Tillett)

Take a moment, if you can, from your busy lives.....

Video version now available here :
http://youtu.be/CV79B00bnQo

My first original piece of music for quite a while, hopefully this signals the end of music writers block !
Hope you enjoy :)
All music made on an iPad2 with Garageband, Sessionband Piano edition and Omenie's M3000 HD.
Mixed & mastered with Garageband for Mac.

Artwork made with Matter app for iPad.

Thanks to https://soundcloud.com/gordon_m for the production advice

Shifting Sands

Always wanted to make a full-on psychedelic Space-Rock track, here goes...
(headphones & darkness for best effect)
Video Version Here :
https://youtu.be/Sir38UQZotM

DAWS : Garageband (Mac & iOS)
Controller : Logic Remote for iPad
All Guitars : Gibson Les Paul Studio 95
Synth Pads & FX : Garageband, Omnisphere, Sunrizer
Leads Synth Solo : Geosynth
Vocoder : Qneo Voice Synth
Vocal Compression : Vocalive
Artwork : Pixelmator & Matter for iPad

Eternaeon © Nathan Jon Tillett 2015

Kill the lights 
Flick the switch
Turn the machine on
Shoot the beams
Collide the parts
'til time and space are known

Oh, they'll kill the future
Prepare to send "The One"
Oh, they can't discover
Send the Eternaeon

No more failures
No short circuits
No parts must be flawed
Work continues
At all costs to
Find or create God

Oh, they'll go no further
The saboteur will spawn
Oh, kill the Grandfather
Send the Eternaeon

Time has halted
Space becomes
No longer of concern
Let the lights
Ignite the fires
And watch existence burn

Oh, they seeded the past
The future has foregone
oh, the cost was too vast
They ARE Eterneon


Eternaeon

A personal song I made with Refracted Memories nearly two years ago. Very pleased to give it a new home on my cloud.

Music & Production : Mike Wadlow
https://soundcloud.com/michaelw-2

Guitars : Jack Morefield
https://soundcloud.com/jackwm

Vocals, Lyrics & Photo by me.

"Love Child"
My eyes are your eyes, we see the same
My soul is your soul, I pass the flame
My heart is your heart, beating in time
My blood is your blood, flows down the line

Your pain is my pain, we share the hurt
Your joy is my joy, laughing in the dirt
Your fear is my fear, I’ll be your guard
Your strength is my strength, no challenge is too hard

This life is your life, it’s just the start
This path is your path, one day we must part
These dreams are your dreams, all yours to pursue
These words are yours to keep, take all my love with you

Love Child - Refracted Memories & Nathan Jon Tillett

A simple, catchy pop-rock song for the Summer, hope you enjoy :)

Had this one kicking around unfinished for over a year. Started off in a cheesy electro style which wasn't right. Then I played it to my good friend and Napier's Bones bandmate
https://soundcloud.com/gordon_m

He kindly offered to add his sparkling twin 12 string guitars and also played a fantastic bass track plus some subtle echoing clean leads. Really pleased with the result. Big thanks to Gordon for his valued input on this track !

Lyrically, this was one of the first songs I ever wrote, back in my very early 20s which might account for the naive idealism, but much of it still applies.

Music, Lyrics, Vocals and Cover Art by me, made and recorded with Garageband for iOS.
Rhythm Guitars, Bass & Clean Leads by Gordon Midgley

Thanks for listening folks :)

"Free Flying" © Nathan Jon Tillett 2015

Don’t need your rules, heard them before
They’re made for breaking and I’ll gladly break ‘em all
Don’t need your ideas, on how it all should be
I’ll live my own way, and I’m just flying free yeah

Don’t need your ways, I’ve got my own
If only you could see that there’s a life you’ve never known
Don’t need commandments, they’re not for me
I’ll live my own way, and I’m just flying free yeah

Chorus :
Free...flying, free flying high oh oh oh
Flying so free

Don’t need opinions, keep to yourself
Mind your own business,  do it for my mental health
Don’t need your bullet points, objective 1, 2, 3
I’ll live my own way, and I’m just flying free yeah

Don’t need religion, each to their own
Makes sense to me that we all reap the seeds we’ve sown
Don’t need an answer, I can live with mystery
I’ll live my own way, and I’m just flying free yeah

Chorus

Free Flying - feat. gordon_m

Hosting this lovely old collab track as a tribute to the band "Refracted Memories" who many of you will know.
Now a well-honed three-piece, they are shortly to be releasing a beautiful new album called "Stepping Stones" and I wish them every success. You can find all their news here :
https://www.facebook.com/RefractedMemory

I only contributed a small vocal cameo midway through this track but it's of special sentimental value for me as it was the very first time anyone asked me to sing for them and I've never forgotten it. So if you need to unwind, feel the sun and smell the flowers, sit back and let this warm and mellow song take you Home.

Words & Music :
https://soundcloud.com/michaelw-2

Guitars :
https://soundcloud.com/jackwm

Vocals & Photo : NJT

Home - Refracted Memories & Nathan Jon Tillett

A song hopefully anyone can relate to.
Nothing fancy, just a simple pop tune.
Hope you enjoy :)

Made and recorded on Ipad Air 2.
Music, Vocals, Lyrics, Photo, Art by yours truly.

Lyrics :

Do you remember when
Words flowed freely from the pen &
Colours filled the pictures of your dreams
Well, time goes by and people change
Ink runs dry, thoughts out of range &
Worries block the path ahead it seems

Just remember :
You’ll find
You’ll find a way

Do you remember times
Poems flowed from simple rhymes &
Music filled the dances of your soul
Well, time goes by and places change
Rooms fall quiet, plans re-arrange &
Troubles stand so tall before your goal

Just remember :
You’ll find
You’ll find a way

Find a Way

A little bit of Seasonal Silliness from me...because the world needed a Speed-Metal Yuletide Anthem !

Made on iPad with the following apps :
Drums, Bass, Riffs : Sessionband
Lead Guitar solo, Rock Organ : Garageband
Vocal Compression : Vocalive via Audiobus

"Balls to Santa" © Nathan Jon Tillett 2015

Lyrics :

You know what really ticks me off
About this time of year ?
All the pretty lights and plastic trees…ugh
Just bring me forth the beer !

I don’t want your Hallmark cards
Nor jolly bearded men
(So I say)

Balls, Balls, to Santa
Don’t come knocking on my door with your half-arsed songs
Take your mince pies all filled with lies away
Balls, Balls to Santa
Shove your plastic pine where the sun don’t shine
And bring me wine not pantomime ok ?

Solo

I don’t want to hear Cliff Richard
Sing that song again 

Balls, Balls to Santa
Don’t let your elves glitter my shelves
Take your tinsel TV ads away
Balls, Balls to Santa
No I haven’t been a good boy all year long
So Santa Claus take your retail whores away ?
Come back with your sack full of crack and lets party !

Balls To Santa

A bit of good old Hard Rock with guitarist Jack Morefield. Made a few years ago, now with remixed vocals.
Lyrics and music reflecting our work-related angst at the time.

Music and Production : https://soundcloud.com/jackwm
Vocals, Lyrics and Artwork by me.

Check out Jack with Refracted Memories here :
https://soundcloud.com/refracted-memories

Lyrics :

I used up all my sick days
So I phoned in dead !
I’ve reached the point of no return
I gotta clear my head

I used up all my motivation
Can’t get out of bed
I told the man that I just can’t take it
This is what he said :

You gotta hit the ground running (hit the ground)
You gotta hit the ground running (hit the ground)
You gotta land right on the target (hit the ground)
You gotta hit the ground

Oh, I cant keep running
Oh, I cant keep running
Runnin’ away

I used up all my sick pay
Soon ran out of bread
I’ve got no other choices baby
To keep my ten kids fed

I used up all my dignity now
My heart it felt like lead
I told the man when he kept on knockin’
To go get screwed instead !!!

You gotta hit the ground running (hit the ground)
You gotta hit the ground running (hit the ground)
You gotta land right on the target (hit the ground)
You gotta hit the ground


Hit The Ground Running w/ Jack Morefield

I'm very pleased to be hosting this passionate cover version of "The Raven" by The Alan Parsons Project that Jack Morefield and I made some time ago. This new 2017 version is stripped down in length but rocked up in feel, hope you enjoy !

All music by : https://soundcloud.com/jackwm
Vocals by me.

The Raven - Morefield & Tillett

A few weeks ago I was approached by multi-instrumentalist Kenny Mitchell with a great rock ballad he'd originally scored in the early 80's, asking if I could write some lyrics and add vocals. 

This is the result, we hope you enjoy :)

All music and production by Kenny Mitchell 
https://soundcloud.com/kenny-mitchell-28

Lyrics and vocals by me. 

Loosely based on a tragic local story....

"Where do I go ?"

It was a dark Friday night, she slipped from that house
Stepped out in the cold icy rain
Her shining red coat seemed to light up the night
But she never came home again
A young man stood waiting on the far side of the road
Headlight beam lifelines through the mist
He opened the door as she slipped from the cold
But she never saw the blade at his wrist

She said where do I go ?

They drove through the night, burned the roads to that house
Stepped out on the lonely high moor
Her gleaming white pearls seemed to melt in her grip
But she never understood their allure

The young man stood frozen as she cried for her mother
Tears nearly drowned his jealous blade in the flood
But he knew the painful truth, she loved another
And her pearls were found beaming with blood

She cried where do I go
Where do I go from here
She cried where do I go
Where do I go from here

A young girl lays silent, her cheeks white as clay
Her red coat now blacker than shame
Her story died with her, what she saw in that house
But her neck bore the killer's red name

On dark Winters nights, on the lonely high Moor
It’s said she steps out for to roam
Her cross stands alone in the shadow of the tor
But she never finds her way back home
(she cries)
where do I go from here 
where do I go from here, tell me
where do I go from here
where do I go from here

Where Do I Go ? - Mitchell & Tillett

Delighted to be asked to pen some lyrics and sing on this hauntingly beautiful and contemplative piano track by Kenny Mitchell. Best with headphones in the dark.....
Video version here :
https://youtu.be/dm5f8GMfN9E

Piano & Production : Kenny Mitchell
https://kennymitchell.bandcamp.com/

Lyrics, Vocals & Artwork : Nathan Jon Tillett
https://nathanjontillett.bandcamp.com/

"The Score"

The Gods have fallen, rest in peace
A world forgotten now, time will cease
The trees weep black tears as the grasses return to dust
The noose pulls tighter round the dry throat of our lust

And I know, know the score
Oh I know, I know the score

But I will lay here 'til the sunrise of the age
A revenant entombed by history's ever turning page
And I will lay here 'til the dawning of time returns
and I know.......know the score

The Gods were calling, now deceased
A world in mourning for, time's release
The seas cry mercy as the creatures return to stone
The cracks grow slowly on the cold seat of our throne

And I know, know the score
Oh I know, I know the score

But I will lay here 'til the sunrise of the age
A revenant entombed by history's ever turning page
And I will lay here 'til the dawning of time returns
And I know.......

The Gods had spoken, now unheard
The world has woken to, the new word
The sky turns blood red as the fireclouds clear the air
A new sound echoes as the dream wakes from the mare

And I know, know the score
Oh I know, I know the score......

The Score - Mitchell & Tillett

Let me take you on a journey, to outer space....and inner space.

A Prog rock/Space-rock odyssey inspired by a traditional Russian language marching song by composer Lev Knipper in 1933 called "Polyushka-Polye", also known as "Meadowlands".

Video version here :
https://youtu.be/Z8ozrNRI6bc

Music made on an iPad2 with the following apps :
Voice Synth : Vocoder,
Thumbjam : Mellotron choir, Mellotron flutes and Sax
Sunrizer : Big Strings
Space Wiz : Generative soundscapes
Garageband : drums, guitars, bass, lead synths
Hokusai : audio editing.

Hope you enjoy, one for headphones in the dark. Comments welcome.

Lyrics : Star Fields © Nathan Jon Tillett  2012

Star fields, deep fields,
We crossed the bridge of space and time,
Solar winds scatter our forgotten dreams now dust,
Realities entwine.

Star fields, deep fields,
We left the fabric frayed and torn,
Soaked in the blood of dying stars still screaming light,
A universe reborn.


StarFields

Singer-Songwriter, Napier's Bones vocalist, Digital Artist, Photographer and Film Maker from Plymouth UK. 

New FREE Solo Album Here : 
www.nathanjontillett.bandcamp.com

I compose, perform and record original and personal songs using mainly mobile devices. 
Styles include : Prog rock, soulful ballads and soaring instrumentals. Comments, crit and mockery always welcome !

I occasionally collaborate with other musicians around the world, something I enjoy immensely.
https://soundcloud.com/nathanjontillett/sets/collaborations

If you'd like to collaborate with me in any way, please feel free to shoot me your ideas.

Also now the vocalist in new UK Prog Band "Napiers Bones". Our debut album is FREE here :
www.napiersbones.bandcamp.com

Thanks for stopping by. Nathan :)

Nathan Jon Tillett

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