Motivated by the passing of Taylor Hawkins, drummer for the Foo Fighters, I teamed up with my buddy Masa to take a crack at this song. 

We recorded with all signals running through analog tube amps and effects, then converted to digital. Guitars were tracked through a crunchy Marshall head and Blu Guitar twin cab with multiple mics on the cabinet and in the room. 

I don't absolutely love the resulting tones on everything, especially the vocals, but it was a great learning experience. 

Tried adding a little something extra to the original with some subtle keyboards and vocal harmonies...

Masa: Guitars / Bass, Chris: Vocals / Drums / Keys.

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

Aurora (Foo Fighters cover)

Recorded this live with a single take while feeling mellow on a rainy Sunday. Not perfect, but I think it captures the feels.

Chris: Keys / Vox

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

Times Like These - Live (Foo Fighters Cover)

For my mother on her 80th birthday. 

A cover of a song by Lincoln Brewster. I used AI to remove Lincoln's original vocals and then sang over the remaining instrument track.

Love Of God

Sometimes we just need a connection

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Sounds on this track are 100% real instruments. Synths include a Prophet 10, Arturia MicroFreak, Moog Minitaur, and Nord Stage 3. Percussion includes a DW Performance Series kit with a Ludwig Black Beauty snare. Tracked through Neve and API preamps, WesAudio compressors, and hardware EQ.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox
Eric Eckstein: Guitar

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

-------------------------------
Lyrics:

How can you be so close to me
Yet be a world removed
I reach out to touch your hand
And feel it pass right through 
Like the Holy Ghost

The love that you put out 
Is supposed to come back

It’s not supposed to be this hard
Teach me the sacred dance
Do I lead off or do you reach out
How’s it supposed to go
Our secret sacrament

The love that you put out 
Is supposed to come back

I just need to taste your soul
To burn inside your fire 
I’m trying hard to breathe you in 
But tonight it feels like 
Speaking to the darkness

My voice it echoes in a cave
Asking, What is Grace?
Does it rush by like a wind
Or physically embrace
Don’t wanna miss it

The love that you put out 
Is supposed to come back

I just need to taste your soul
To burn inside your fire 
I’m trying hard to breathe you in 
But tonight it feels like

I just need to taste your soul
I’m trying hard to breathe you in 

I just need to taste your soul
To burn inside your fire 
I’m trying hard to breathe you in 
But tonight it feels like
Speaking to the darkness

The love you put out 
Is supposed to come back

Copyright 2023 Christopher Couch

Darkness (demo version)

Ever feel like the world is about to burn down? Me too. And I wrote a song about it.

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So analog it hurts! Tracked through Neve preamps, WesAudio compressors, and hardware EQ. Vocal chain includes a U67 mic and Neve 1073 preamp.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox
Jason McGovern: Guitars
Jody Daniels: Bass

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

--------------------------------
Lyrics:

We’ve built it up so high
Shining glowing glittering
Towers punch right through the clouds
Hubris turned to steel
Rendered into steel

It’s gonna last forever
It has to last forever
Built for the ages
Not even gods can bring it down

But it only takes a breath 
To blow back the veneer
Lay bare our hidden nature
Barbarians deep within
No... gods can’t bring us down

The ashes choke our lungs 
The sky a preternatural hue
Jade mountains burned alive
An arsonist of truth
Cinders from the truth

In our push for the sugar rush
The everlasting high
We burned, burned so bright
Pyromaniacs of life

It only takes a breath 
To blow back the veneer
Lay bare our hidden nature
Barbarians… deep within
No... gods can’t bring us down

Walking on a razor’s edge
One slip and it’s sticks and stones
No margin for any error now
No time to let it go

No... gods can’t bring us down

Launching endless fusillades
From ramparts of our arrogance
Machines to feed the new machines
Can’t relax our stance
Don’t let them break your stance

We always get what we deserve
Kick ourselves down to the curb
Do we ever really learn?
Just bomb and let the cities burn

It only takes a breath
To blow back the veneer
Lay bare our hidden nature
Barbarians… deep within
No... gods can’t bring us down

Copyright 2024 Christopher Couch

Veneer (demo version)

When I Think of You (Janet Jackson cover)

Sometimes the distance between us feels like being lost in space

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Real drums and analog synths. Tracked through API and Neve preamps, WesAudio compressors, and hardware EQ. Vocal chain includes a U67 mic and Neve 1073 preamp.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox
Jody Daniels: Bass / Keys

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

----------------------------------
Lyrics:

When I’m lost in space
And the ship is dead
And the busted up radio sputters
Like the fake eggs in the pan
 
Can ya still hear me
I feel ya touch my check
I feel ya hold me close and you whisper 
Oh, that everything’s gonna be fine

Even though
Even though you’re worlds away 
On the far side of the moon

When I’m drifting free
And the black hole looms
And the engines are crusted over
Like the coffee in the captain’s room

Can ya still find me
In the dark expanse
Can ya teleport me a lifeline
And pull me back from the brink

Even though
Even though you’re worlds away 
On the far side of the moon

Beep boop beep boo bop
Goes the radio
Nothing's coming through
Beep boop beep boo bop
Goes the radio
Nothing's gettin’ through over to you

When the tanks are dry
And the air is gone
And the tunnel vision starts to hit me
And the cold soaks through my bones

I can see your smile
On the network streams
And your memory floods around me
Like the light from the broken screen 

Even though
Even though you’re worlds away 
On the far side of the moon

Beep boop beep boo bop
Goes the radio
Nothing's coming through
Beep boop beep boo bop
Goes the radio
Nothing's gettin’ through over to you

Copyright 2024 Christopher Couch

Lost In Space (demo version)

Feels like the gods are mocking us

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Real drums and analog synths. Tracked through API and Neve preamps, WesAudio compressors, and hardware EQ. Vocal chain includes a U67 mic and Neve 1073 preamp.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

----------------------------------
Lyrics:

The clouds are tall
The humans small
And the gods watch us crawling
Through the dregs and all

Tired hands covered in dirt
Tired hands covered in dirt
Knees skinned, bloody and hurt
Tired hands covered in dirt

Until the skyfall
Until the skyfall

We’re only human
Je pense, donc je suis
Are we all the way human
J'eavance masqué

Tired hands covered in dirt
Tired hands covered in dirt
Knees skinned, bloody and hurt
Tired hands covered in dirt

Until the skyfall
Until the skyfall

Copyright 2024 Christopher Couch

Skyfall (demo version)

Say hello to The Normies

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Tracked through Neve preamps, WesAudio compressors, and hardware EQ. Vocal chain includes a U47 FET mic and Neve 1073 preamp. Instruments include a Nord Stage 3 running through a vintage Eventide H3500.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

----------------------------------
Lyrics:

Gotta get up outta myself
Grab the pills right off of the shelf
Cannonball with Don Julio
Drop kick my worries and let 'em go

Isn’t that what all the normies do?
Tamp down fears with a toxic brew
Cook our inner eyes in a chemical stew
I need to keep up with the normies

Can I live with a naked soul?
That’s not what the normies do
Can walk on scorching coals?
That’s not what the normies do
Can I trade anesthetics for risk?
That’s not what the normies do
Can I stare into the abyss?
It’s a long way down

Isn’t that what all the normies do?
Tamp down fears with a toxic brew
Cook our inner eyes in a chemical stew
I need to keep up with the normies

Gotta get up outta myself
Grab the pills right off of the shelf
Cannonball with Don Julio
Drop kick my worries and let 'em go

Copyright 2024 Christopher Couch

The Normies (demo version)

With apologies to Taylor Swift... :-)

This was a project some students did for a biology class in Michigan. The song is about photosynthesis and is set to Taylor’s “You Belong to Me.”

2024 Skyline AP Biology Song

2024 Skyline AP Calculus Rap

Politics. Wars. Broken relationships. Can we live up to love?

----------------------------------
So analog it hurts! Tracked through Neve and API preamps, WesAudio compressors, and hardware EQ. Vocal chain includes a AKG C414 mic and Neve 1073 preamp.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox
Eric Eckstein: Guitars

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

----------------------------------
Lyrics:

First the air raid overhead
Fire bombs paint the night sky red
I should have heard the warning
I should have heard the sirens
Heat sucks life from out the room
Burning flesh, a fiery doom
I should have heard the warning
I should have heard the sirens

I look through the flaming door
Head down, run, and close my eyes

It’s a tall order to love right
To shun the hate
And embrace the light
It’s a tall order
It’s a tall order (yes, Sir!)
Incoming fire rains down all night
How can we survive 'til the morning light
It’s a tall order
It’s a tall order (yes, Sir!)
When you’re going through hell
You gotta just keep on moving on

Through the crashing surf we run
Onto the beach, into the guns
We should have seen it coming
We should have smelled the fight

Cut the wires and dodge the mines
Push right through the pillbox lines

It’s a tall order...

Out the door into the airstream
Plummet through the onyx sky
I should have checked my rip cord
I should have checked my harness

Am I just a floating target
Kill or be killed as I land

It’s a tall order...

Are we made for fighting
Are we made for drawing blood
Can we learn to rise together
Above the flood

To rise above the flood

Copyright 2024 Christopher Couch

Tall Order (demo version)

For anyone who's lost a little faith

--------------------------------------------
Synths include a Prophet 10 and Moog Matriarch. Tracked with Neve and API preamps, and WesAudio compressors and EQ.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

--------------------------------------------
Lyrics:

When you don’t believe in you
And your flesh is torn in two
You can call my name and I’ll be by your side
And my faith has wings for both of us to fly

It’s faith enough for two
It’s faith enough for two

When you don’t believe in us
And we’ve burned your world to dust
You can rage at me and scream out to the sky
And my faith has wings for both of us to fly

It’s faith enough for two
It’s faith enough for two

When you don’t believe in light
And your soul has lost its sight
You can hold my hand and I’ll kneel at your side
And my faith has wings for both of us to fly

It’s faith enough for two
It’s faith enough for two

When you don’t believe in life
And you feel drawn to the night
I will be your shoreline in the rising tide
And my faith has wings for both of us to fly

Is faith enough for two
Is faith enough for two

Copyright 2023 Christopher Couch

For Two (demo version)

When times are tough... gotta keep going!

----------------------------------
Everything on this track is 100% analog or acoustic. Synths include a Prophet 10, Arturia MicroFreak, Moog Minitaur, and Nord Stage 3. Instruments include a DW kit with Meinl cymbals, and Latin Percussion congas and bongos. Tracked through Neve preamps, WesAudio compressors, and hardware EQ. Vocals tracked with a U67 mic and Neve 1073 preamp.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox
Eric Eckstein: Guitars
Jody Daniels: Bass

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

----------------------------------
Lyrics:

Here I stand
A crossroad up ahead
The village burned behind
How did it come this far
Is this happening for real
Cursed by an unlucky star

No time to cry
No energy to whine
Lace up my boots
And stiffen up my spine

Gotta move, but it’s hard to see
The crossroads through the darkness
The journey to the sunrise
Always starts with putting
One foot on the road

In a flash
A dump truck bearing down
My heart won’t make a sound
And then it hit so hard
One minute I was fine
The next all I can see are stars

No time to cry
No energy to whine
Lace up my boots
And stiffen up my spine

Gotta move, but it’s hard to see
The crossroads through the darkness
The journey to the sunrise
Always starts with putting
One foot on the road

Swift and strong
A punch into the teeth
A boot kick to the guts
Why do people stop and stare
Phones up in the air
Guess I’m gonna be a star

No time to cry
No energy to whine
Lace up my boots
And stiffen up my spine

Gotta move, but it’s hard to see
The crossroads through the darkness
The journey to the sunrise
Always starts with putting
One foot on the road

Copyright 2023 Christopher Couch

Crossroads (demo version)

Just chilling and thinking about everything. Am I "doing life" right?

----------------------------------
Synths include a DX7, Prophet 10, and Moog Minitaur. My goal was to create a meditative soundscape using 80s synths and modern vocal production.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox
Sade Sealey: BGV
@sadesealey

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

----------------------------------
Lyrics:

I jet around, a rockstar in my mind
Vapor trails streaming out behind
The loves, the hates, they coalesce
Concrete from the sky
Rain down, piling up

Another stone, the weight grows large and then
Gravity bends and pulls me in
Magnificently desolate
Grey as moonlit skin
Shining down, piling up

Look at all my pretty rocks
Don’t I get an hallelujah?
Like trophies they’re all piling up
Can I get an hallelujah?

I raise my hands like a Roman god
False triumph on rubble-covered sod
The Gothic spear strikes to the bone
When all the sacking’s done
Cut me down, piling up

Look at all my pretty rocks
Don’t I get an hallelujah?
Like trophies they’re all piling up
Can I get an hallelujah?

I'm headed for a whiteout in my head
The static blows frigid through my hair
Up is down and in is out
I think I’ve lost the trail to the magic

Look at all my pretty rocks
Don’t I get an hallelujah?
Like trophies they’re all piling up
Can I get an hallelujah?

Hallelujah and an Amen
Just another and an Amen

Copyright 2023 Christopher Couch

Piling Up (demo version)

When the demons in our heads are our own worst enemies...

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So analog it hurts! Synths include a Prophet 10, Arturia MicroFreak, Oberheim OB-X8, and Nord Stage 3. Instruments include a DW 22" kick, Ludwig 14x5 snare, and Meinl cymbals. Tracked through Neve 1073 preamps and WesAudio compressors (Rhea Vari-Mu and Dione VCA).

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

------------------------------
Lyrics:

Swimming through the crashing surf
Soft fingers cradle my head
Sweetly selling the sink
(Selling the submergence)
Warm waves kiss my cheek
The salty scent of a lover
Singing
Sleep now
Sleep now
Sleep now
So quiet

Walking through the raucous streets
A secret door to the dark woods
And soft strings with human harmonies
(Selling the escape)
Glowing fireflies scatter like dust
As feet gently drum the beat
Singing
Come this way
Come this way
Come this way
So quiet

The thoughts all swarm like locusts
Stripping bare the fields of my mind
Flying, crawling, chewing
(Selling the swarm)
Always so insatiable
Clamoring and gluttonous
They never stop
They never stop
The buzz, it never stops
It never stops

Copyright 2023 Christopher Couch

Quiet (demo version)

I returned to Venice with my love after 20 years. Will we still be around to return again in another 20? I got the feels and wrote a song.

-----------------------------
Synths include a Prophet 10 and Moog Minitaur. Instruments include a Steinway B grand piano and DW 22" kick with Ludwig Supraphonic snare and Meinl cymbals. Tracked through Neve preamps and WesAudio compressors and hardware EQ.

Chris: Percussion / Keys / Vox

Tracked, mixed, and mastered in Studio One.

-----------------------------
Lyrics:

Always feels like there’s more time
Eons gone, must be eons more
But the sea knows better
It sweeps away
Knows how to sweep away

Blown baubles shimmering
Alive but fragile, songs from light
But the stones know better
They shatter glass
Know how to shatter glass

Write our names with golden tiles
Carve into a monument
But all will slip beneath the waves
All belongs to the sea

Our love rose up
Waves from the Adriatic Sea
Crashing onto white marble
Venetian Blue

Regal faces stare from walls
Lines of life carved into time
But did they know better
They loved like us
Knew how to love like us

Write our names with golden tiles
Carve into a monument
But all will slip beneath the waves
All belongs to the sea

Our love rose up
Waves from the Adriatic Sea
Crashing onto white marble
Venetian Blue

Copyright 2024 Christopher Couch

Venetian Blue (demo version)

Lyrics:

I fell in love with an Earth girl 
She pulled me into the real world
When I was lost and floating free
She taught me all of the right words
My little humanoid Earth girl
When I couldn’t even speak

I took a swim with my Earth girl
She kept me out of the whirlpools
And showed me vibrant reefs
She pulled me up on the beach and
My little humanoid creature
Danced with all of my left feet

Without you I might just land
On worlds where I shouldn’t go
And I might
Eat the locals and drink their wine
And lose myself
Staring up at the rings around the world 
Staring up at the rings around the world

I fell in love with an Earth girl
She pulled me in to the real world
When I was lost and floating free
She taught me all of the right words
My little humanoid Earth girl
When I couldn’t even speak

Grab my hand as I float on by or I’ll
End up on the blackside of the sky
Grab my hand as I float on by or I’ll
End up on the blackside of the sky

Copyright 2025 Christopher Couch

Chris

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