Today, after a very, very, very long time, I delivered the new Digitonal album to our label, Just Music. It's been almost an act of therapy for me to finish it. It's the most honest thing I've ever done and has more of "me" in it than any other record I've put together. Those that know me well will be struck by how personal some of it is. Those that don't will, I hope, feel it on listening, despite not having lyrics to guide them.

Now the long wait for release (probably in July!!!) which is always a bit frustrating cause you just want to get it out there, but the label are doing things properly on this one and will hopefully not let it slip out unnoticed. I'm sitting here now about to start writing the thanks list for the inner sleeve (which is currently being illustrated and designed by Neil and Camilla who did the Centre Cannot Hold) and it's going to be really hard to not write an essay. So many people have been instrumental in the making of this album. I hope we have done it all justice.

...and it's funny you know, just as this thing which has been an act of sheer will to get out comes to a close, so has another area of my life found something joyous...perhaps that was all I needed to do...

More on the new album over the next few months, and do keep an eye on the Digitonal purple radio shows (every 2nd sunday at http://www.purple-radio.co.uk) as I'm sure i'll be throwing out the odd track or two.

Interesting article over on cnet about Radiohead's In Rainbows stunt and whether it's really the future or not. I've always maintained that only a band like Radiohead could probably get away with something like that. It's certainly not something we could ever consider. It would completely miss the point of what we're about by devaluing our principle output.

Without a shadow of a doubt the worst year of my life. My ups and downs have been well chronicled (where appropriate) in this blog and I'm not going to whinge about them any more, other than to say (and apologies to family members reading this, but no other words will fit) a resounding "fuck off" to 2007 and to welcome 2008, if not exactly brimming with sunshine and confidence, at least determined to never have to go through that again.

I'm off to Ginglik now to play acid house to the West London party massive and make sure that 2007 is actually gone.

In more positive news, the album is so very close to being finished now and I am resolved to enter this new year with a better attitude towards my insecurities and issues and to celebrate the good in myself and my achievements instead of mourning the bad.

A very happy new year to all and may the best of this year be the worst of next year for everybody!

Andy.xxx

I did post a long blog entry about my sister's wedding but my laptop crashed and took the post with it. Suffice to say that it was a beautiful weekend and I'm terribly happy for James and Caroline. It was also nostalgic for many reasons - the first time I had sat down for a meal with my immediate family in 13 years, the first time I had seen many friends and family for a long time and I suppose the general taking stock of things that events like these engender. Entertainment for the evening was provided by a cracking Céilidh band, my sisters in fine voice and the fine company of the Mounties (long story...;o).

All this nostalgia for happier and simpler times has led to a couple of things. Firstly, me posting some very, very old photos of myself up on facebook, much to the amusement and bemusement of many friends. Secondly, to spending the whole week listening to 80's pop music.

So here, thanks to the glory of youtube, are my all time top 5 80's pop songs.

The Pet Shop Boys - Kings Cross
A dark, brooding masterpiece and utterly beautiful. I've been known to play this on permenant repeat for an hour solid.

Talk Talk - Life's what you make it
Now they really don't make them like this any more. Phat drums and lush harmonies.

Neneh Cherry - Manchild
You just wouldn't get a pop tune like this now would you? All that harmonic variation and weird production. I'd love to see the R&B stars of today push the boat out a bit and try something like this.

Jevetta Steele - Calling you
It's all about the vocal in this tune. Mary J Blige did a bit of stuff like this in the 90's but that kind of soulful vocal seems to be a lost cause in these days of autotune.

Suzanne Vega - Left of Centre
Actually, I've got a horrid feeling this might be early 90's but the production is so 80's I'll let myself off. Wicked slice of pop with top notch lyrics.

This is all off the top of my head and I know I'll have missed plenty of classics - i didn't even mention my first 7" single: Desireless - Voyage Voyage (good to know I was on a synth tip from the start!).

This week I have mostly been working on the album. It's so close to being done and Samy and I did a cracking session the other night. Another couple of weekends and I reckon it's pretty much in the bag. We have had to employ some pretty hardcore EQing to get my old clarinet lines sounding right mind you. This image was taken on Wednesday night trying to sort out 93 Years On!! Check out the curves on that!

This weekend I went to Suffolk to hide out and recuperate a little with my friends Jim and Lucy who live in Ipswich. Lucy was brought up around the Southwold area and we took a drive up on Saturday afternoon to see her friend Thea who runs a small business in Walberswick and Southwold, and then go for a lovely, if muddy walk.

It turned out to be a major memory trip for me. Southwold, and in fact that whole region, were the destination for many of my family holidays when I was a kid and I hadn't been back for probably something approaching 20 years. It never ceases to amaze me that feeling of comfortable recognition that you get when confronted with something from your past. As soon as I saw the seafront, with it's raised promenade and the little beach huts (I think we rented one once), and I felt like I was 8 years old again, in simpler and happier times.

I went for a drink at the Swan which was the posh hotel in the town centre, wandered past the lighthouse and the Adnams brewery (sadly shut now so the smell of hops no longer permeates the town) - even the dunes at Walberswick and the houses on stilts provoked memories from childhood.

Later, we drove down to Aldebrugh where I had probably the best Fish n' Chips I have ever had in my life...and I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to this. No kidding, they were utterly divine.

I'm already looking into hiring a cottage near the seafront in February to go and spend a week writing. A truly magical place.

My sister's wedding next weekend so all thoughts are toward her and my very lovely new brother in law to be.

The Southwold seafront in December.

Ok, so I finally got the NI stuff sorted out...they were actually very helpful in the end. I've installed Kore which is this weird little silver box that has been sitting in my cupboard for the last 3 months since I bought it. Until I actually got it working, I wasn't really sure what Kore was all about. it's a plugin, but it's also hardware. but the hardware has no DSP, but it is an audio interface...

confusion!!

basically though, it owns. It's bascially just a rack for all your plugins, except you can blend them and mix them in a variety of ways. It's going to make my method of sound design so much easier. I'm not using the audio functions of the Kore box, just the controller, but it's so well built and verbose in it's dialogues. So far, colour me impressed!

Last night I went for a rare cinema trip to see Into The Wild, an astonishing film about a young man's journey...a little heavy handed in places, but utterly beautiful in others...and it really made me want to do my long promised drive across America trip. Probably with a few more comforts than he had though!

Tonight, I'm singing in my first classical concert in about 12 years, as a bass for Ad Libitum, a small amateur chamber choir I've been singing with for the last couple of months or so.

update! That was ace!! really lovely to be singing again and I can't wait for the next season of stuff. More soon, with photos.

hey ho...