The Grey Room II (Hidden Annexe)

I have during the week returned to a track I started a couple of weeks back called "The Grey Room II (Hidden Annexe)". After struggling with this one things clicked in to place last night with the structure of the song completed and a rough demo recorded.

The song was intended to be an instrumental which was inspired by the story of Anne Frank (Hence the "Hidden Annexe" reference in the song title) but today I have come up with some lyrics and done a very rough vocal over the demo and it sounds promising. I have written the lyrics which refer back to the time the frank family hid in an annexe in a building during the war.

Here are the lyrics:

A Thousand Pages On The Floor
Inside A Place That No One Knew
The Memories From So Long Ago
A Room With People I Don't Know

Although I Never Knew His Name
He Looked Like Someone That I Knew
He Cast A Shadow By The Door
I Think I've Seen Him Here Before

Outside I Want To Catch My Breath
I Look Around But, There's No One Left

Outside I Want To Catch My Breath
I Look Around But, There's No One Left

Lyrics By Gary Hunter

New Album Updates

Spent some time mixing a few tracks for the album, one of them, "A Million Stars" has had the vocals re-recorded and also a lot of changes made regards effects used on the vocals. The song is pretty much complete as is an extended version of the song. "The Grey Room" has had the drums re-recorded as there was a minor issue regards note lengths being all over the place so that has been re-done, also slight changes made in the sequencer sections, again this track is pretty much done.

The other new track "Annexe" actually has a similar sound and structure to "The Grey Room" so I have decided to re-name the song "The Grey Room II (Hidden Anexxe)". Still some work to do on this one.

I still need to tidy up the vocal on "I Remember You" and once that is done and I am happy with the mixes for "A Million Stars" then it is on to a track called "Car Crash Flashback" which needs new vocals doing I think!

If I can get all the above sorted in the next week or so the songs completed will be as follows:

"Stranger In A Room"
"I Remember You"
"A Million Stars"
"A Million Stars (Extended Version)"
I Once Was A Machine"
"The Grey Room"
"The Grey Room II (Hidden Annexe)"
"Car Crash Flashback"

I then need to look at completing "A Face I Knew" (Album & Extended Versions)and "The Glimmer Man" (Album & Extended Versions). That will give me 9 tracks for the album PLUS 3 Extended Version Bonus tracks. Lyrics have been done for 2 other tracks "Smoke Screen" and "Years Ago" but no music.

Gary

www.myspace.com/garyhuntermusic
www.icompositions.com/artists/garyhunter
www.myspace.com/definitionofsounduk

Updates! Updates! Updates!

Once again I have fallen behind with updates on this blog!

Right since my last blog I have finished the cover of "The Sound Of The Crowd" and in addition I have done my own extended and dub versions of the track which have come out really well with some fantastic feedback.

I still have a couple of cover versions to finish off when I get the chance.

I decided that from the beginning of the New Year I would return to work on my own album which was called "Systematic" but is now called "The Grey Room" because I have written and recorded 2 new songs for the album, one of which is called "The Grey Room". I love the title and therefore have decided the album should be called that. That song is complete with the other song "Annexe" nearing completion. In addition I have done a brand new version of my dark electronic ballad "I Once Was A Machine".

I have also been working on and finishing off the song "A Million Stars" both the album version and an extended version. I have recorded new vocals for this track and have completely re-visited the vocal effects I have used on the song.

"I Remember You" has also had it's vocals tweaked with a couple of small bits to tidy up.

I want to concentrate on getting this album finished so cover versions are going on the back burner. I will also be looking at my dance/trance album (New Myspace page for this as I am working under the name The Definition Of Sound - see web links below) as I have numerous songs recorded but they need mixing.

I think that brings everything pretty much up to date.

Gary

Gary Hunter Myspace Page
Gary Hunter iCompositions Page
The Definition Of Sound Myspace Page

New Myspace Page For My Dance/Trance Music

First the electronic music news. I have finished off the cover of OMD's "Almost" and have decided to have a stab at a Human League track "Sound Of The Crowd" which is going pretty well with the music almost complete and the chorus vocals recorded.

I would still like to tidy up a couple of other cover versions including wrapping up another Gary Numan cover "Down In The Park".

I have decided to do a new Myspace page for my dance/trance music which is something I want to return to in 2009 as I have 14 songs recorded but need to be given the final mix treatment. In addition I have around 8 remixes as well which will be released as a separate album. The name I am working under for my Dance/Trance music is "The Definition Of Sound".

The new page for the dance/trance music can be found here

OMD Cover "Almost" Complete

Another track that was started some time ago is a track originally recorded by OMD called "Almost" which is a track that can be found on their debut album "OMD" which was released in 1980. I have been recording some new vocals this week and also mixed the track and I am delighted that I have finally managed to do a good version of this song. OMD greatly influenced a lot of the songs I wrote in 1989/1990 with ray Naughton so to finally do an OMD track with vocals is great for me.

I may put this one online once I have been in touch with the band.

The 2nd CD revised list of songs to be included:

Don't Go
Complex
Almost
Warszawa
I Nearly Married A Human
Don't Go (GH Re-Invented Mix)
Space Oddity (Full Original Version)
Blue Monday (GH Special Radio Mix)

Still to look at improving or recording the following tracks:

Please Push No More
Trans Europe Express
Nobody's Diary

Gary

Gary Hunter Myspace Page

Gary Hunter iCompositions Page

Where We Are At & Where We Are Going

I'm a bit behind with my updates so to bring things up to date I have completed the single and extended arrangements for the Yazoo cover of "Only You". These can be heard via the links below:

Gary Hunter - Only You (Single Arrangement)

Gary Hunter - Only You (GH Extended Arrangement)

I have had probably my most positive feedback on "Only You" which is pleasing as I do think on the vocal side it is my best effort to date.

I have just finished off a cover of Gary Numan's track "Complex" off his album "The Pleasure Principle" and that can be heard on my myspace page and via iCompositions in high quality here

I started "Complex" a year ago but abandoned it as I could not get a good enough vocal done but returned to it recently and finished off the music and managed to do a pretty good vocal on a song which is very difficult to sing.

I am also putting the finishing touches to another David Bowie cover "Warszawa" a track I really do like which is on his classic album "Low". I am hoping to get the finished version of that done by next weekend.

The covers album "As It Is When It Was" is complete and I am now going back to some of the tracks I did n't finish off or scrapped with a view to doing a 2 CD edition of the CD. The revised final track listing for "As It Is When It Was" is below:

Blue Monday (Long Version)
Me I Disconnect from You
Europe Endless (GH Single Arrangement)
Too Pieces
She's Lost Control (GH Electronic Mix)
Cars
Gordon's Gin (GH Extended Arrangement)
Neon Lights
Goodbye 70's
Space Oddity (GH Space Age Synthetic Mix)
Living On The Ceiling
Only You
Love Will Tear Us Apart (New Vocal Mix)

The second CD will feature tracks, as mentioned, that were worked on during the sessions for "As It Is When It Was" and also alternative mixes of some of the tracks off that album. So far this is what will be included:


Blue Monday (GH Radio Mix)
Europe Endless (Full Version)
Don't Go
Don't Go (GH Re-Invented Mix)
Complex
Warszawa
I Nearly Married A Human
Space Oddity (Original Long Version)

Hopefully I will include the following tracks to If I can do vocals I am happy with:

Please Push No More
He's A Liquid
Trans Europe Express

Once that is complete then it is going to be full steam ahead on my album "Systematic" with some work done on the album over the last week or so. A potential new song, well lyrics done for a potential new song.

As mentioned you can listen to "Only You" and "Complex" on my myspace page to via this link:

www.myspace.com/garyhuntermusic

On my iCompositions page you will find 49 songs to listen to which you can access here

Gary

Only You - 2 Versions Completed

I really do like doing 80's style 12 inch mixes and I have done what must be a very unique extended mix of the Yazoo track "Only You". It runs at over 5 minutes and keeps all the key elements of the original sounds of the song (At least as close as I could get!) so this must be the first extended version of the track available, yes we have probably had butchered to death long versions of the song but this is very close to an extended mix of the true original track.

I have completed the original "Single" mix cover to, both will be online next weekend.

Today I have added my own extended arrangement of the cover version of the Gary Numan track "Cars" I have recorded which again is pretty much a typical 80's extended mix keeping to as close as possible to the original sounds.

You can listen to my "Long Distance Mix" of "Cars" here

Gary