Fred has to write an album

Worst thing is, I only had one song that I’d written, just like that, in my basement, after training. The second great idea I had was to play it to Ben, my teacher, who wanted to hear it. Man, from that to writing a whole album, with orchestrations and all, there’s a serious gap! But Ben wouldn’t let go. I won’t regret it, he kept saying (mmm, some doubts here…) “It’s the only way to keep your songs alive, Fred, else they’re going to end up in some forgotten drawer.

That’s it. The genesis. I had one song, that’s 1 song, a model of a song, with a lot of work to do on the lyrics. I told Ben I’d think about it. He told me it would take 2 or 3 weeks to record. 5–6songs should do it. I’d have an EP.

OK, so, do the math, I was missing 4–5 songs. But, while I’m at it, why just make it 6-track EP? Just a half album. Why not make it a full-length thing, a 10–12 track beast. I had at least that many songs in me, no? I was missing 10 songs. My view on life: once you’re on a creative path, better go all the way. It was October 2015 by then. I had no choice but to tell Ben. That’s how I am. I can’t do half a thing. OK, we’d record my songs (that weren’t written yet!), but I wouldn’t satisfy myself with a demo or simplistic songs. I’d forge myself a real load of kickass songs!

Oh, and another problem, at that time, I owned a scientific writing company. It’s quite strange for a guy who studied literature… Anyway, a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do to get by in life. That company made me a decent living. And, you know, work eats up a lot of time. So, get it on man, between two of my kids' soccer matches, homework, meals (everyday life!), at night and on weekends (I’d hide in my basement!), write, write, write…

Ben would hit me every week: “OK, how many songs do you have with drums? Did you find another guitarist? Do you want me to do the Bass tracks? Are we in line for the drum session in February? Do you have a sound melody for that song?” Well… I DON’T KNOW MAN !

The drum session in February … that’s a good one! We effectively got to the February drum session. I had 9 songs with drums in it … no 8 songs, maybe 10. Anyway, I had Cailloux dans la tête that was nearly complete, so I built the other songs frames: bars, chords and all it takes to make a good song. That’s another thing you need to sort out, the songs structure: “That part, you play it 2 or 4 bars? You should put a break here, don’t you think?” Grrrrr….

We’d get to the melodies later, lyrics and orchestrations. Thinking about it today, man, it was all a bit crazy. You bet, 3 weeks for recording… But I have to admit, you gotta take notes, you gotta be clear on what you want and don’t EVER forget to experiment. An idea is just an idea; reality, with music as with everything in life, is a whole other thing. Really, 3 weeks…

Fred