independent-analytics domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home3/jvweb056/public_html/website_45451092/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131I had quit my job, broken up with my long time girlfriend, had various short, terrible relationships, and I was renting a room from a family friend, it was freezing cold, I had single glazing, and I was doing takeaway deliveries for £50 a night.
Another burning sermon,
Delivered by a nervous hermit,
Stressing over earnings,
The blessings never early.
I remember I’d wait around all day for 5pm to start work and I’d finish at 11 or so. It was bleak. I did like the car I drove though. 2003 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI, it had done over 300,000 miles. Still drove well, but I did put it in limp mode a few times, giving it a kicking on the parkway.
Towards the end of this project, I started using Splice, which definitely changed the way I work. I still sequence a lot of stuff from scratch, but it’s interesting to have the option of all these nice textures, i.e. nice jazz chords, already mastered and ready to chop. You can hear some early sample stuff on “Hovis’ Theme”.
In retrospect, I really regret putting “Bill Evans” as track one… I don’t think it’s a very inviting intro, and maybe people would have listened more given a different opener. That said, my marketing efforts were incredibly half-arsed, I’m not that concerned about people listening. I’m not trying to make a career of music, I just like having it on Spotify so it’s easier to listen to when I feel like it.
]]>Looking back on this from 2025 it feels a bit corny and trite, but I suppose it’s all part of the journey. This was the first hip-hop project I had any intention of ever sharing with anyone. I had been rapping for a long time at this point, but it had just been something me and a couple of friends would do, send tracks back and forth, but I decided to try and make a more finished project and actually publish it.
3/5 of the tracks document some of the aforementioned relationships. It’s not all about women though…
“Ball, For What?” offers a rebuttal to my friends’ music – how come I’ve never seen this Ferrari you’re always talking about? We have done music together for years. I always tried to coax more earnest vulnerable stuff out of him, as yet unsuccessfully.
“This Island” documents the malaise of being an ordinary guy in Britain. Shit weather, poor work-life balance, backwards opinions everywhere, and their mental health repercussions.
]]>