After a month of intensive activity, taking part in the RPM Challenge, it’s finally here, the latest album from Mister Fusty. It’s a little rough around the edges due to the time frame but probably no more than usual! Half the tracks have vocals, half are instrumentals and it’s goofy, whimsical and at some points a little strange.

You can listen using the player below or at Bandcamp, where you can download the album in any format you like (including lossless) for as little as £1 (about $1.60 or 1.18 EU?) or you can pick your own higher price if you really like it. You can also download an mp3 version for FREE at Soundcloud. If you prefer the likes of Spotify, iTunes or Amazon then the album will be available there and most other download/streaming places in a week or so.

I hope you like it, it was fun making it.

OK, so it’s DONE. The RPM Challenge album that’ve been working on the last month is complete. I will post the CD off to the organisers on Monday and will make it available online then also. Look out for it!

I’ve made another podcast (as I’m too lazy to type out a whole blog) briefly describing my experience with the challenge and a quick guide to all the songs on the album – with clips. If you can stand my boring voice do have a listen..

This time I’ve made my update an audio one, for a change, so you can listen to me ramble on how about I’m doing with the challenge. It could help if you are having trouble sleeping if nothing else…

You can listen to the podcast here 

So…. I’m a week into the RPM Challenge of making an album in just one month. Up to now I have three tracks complete, “Twice Nightly Richard Whitely” (previewed in the last blog post) and an instrumental called “Spilsby”, which you can listen to below or at SoundCloud, and a song called “I Knew You”

I’ve also got a backing track for another song that is quite near to completion,  I’m not sure if it will be an instrumental or vocal yet, I’ll probably work on this tonight. I also have a small fragment of an idea, just a few loops & chords really, that I’m not sure what to do with as yet. I often start on something then put it down, try working on something else and go back to it. Often I have 3 or more songs or fragments on the go and I find this ‘rotational’ method helps if I get a bit stuck or short of ideas.

I had a cold this weekend which slowed me down a bit but I think by mid-week I should have at least 4 finished tracks, which is almost half way, so I reckon I’m on schedule!

As you may have read in a previous post I’m attempting the RPM Challenge this year, which involves creating an album in just the 29 days of February, so here is my first update. I’ll be posting regular updates here, that’s the plan anyway, of course I could find I don’t have time!

The challenge has started well as I have a song more or less complete and it was achieved surprisingly quickly, you can listen to it using the player below or at SoundCloud.

Before starting this endeavour I was assuming that the direction of the album would most likely be instrumental and electronic, with few guitars, electric bass etc., simply because I find this type of music quicker to get going on and quicker to make – time is of short supply of course! However I’ve confounded this on the very first “session” by making a mostly guitar based vocal song. I don’t know why, it just seemed to flow that way, so I’ve created a nice little whimsical short song called “Twice Nightly Richard Whiteley”. Listeners of a certain age with a knowledge of British TV might be able to make sense of the lyrics which are reproduced below.

The backing track came about quite quickly, however vocals as usual took a lot longer and I’m still not sure about them. I’d forgotten that it takes me quite a long time to get vocals down, perhaps because I’m not a great or confident singer. So as time is limited I’m not sure there will be many vocal tracks on this album. But you never know…

Usually my songwriting process goes thus: Create chords and backing track, scat sing over and over the music until I come up with a melody and then usually a phrase or two comes out of this singing to build the lyrics on. For some unknown reason the phrase “Twice Nightly Richard Whiteley” popped into my head!

Richard Whiteley was a popular TV presenter here in the UK, he’s now sadly deceased. “Twice Nightly Richard Whiteley” was his nickname and it’s ended up being a song about nostalgia. If all of the songs on this album come about this quickly then I’ll be very glad. Something tells me it’s not going to be that straightforward though…

Onwards.

It’s twice nightly Richard Whiteley
The Calendar guy with Countdown Carol
I smile so sweetly at nostalgia creeping
Up on me like a lost friend

Flashing fingers Ted Rogers lingers
Rattles my head like a coin in a tin
Maybe I’m crazy, the past it haunts me
Cart me off inside Dusty Bin

The truth is clear
The past is dear
To us it’s home

Nancy it’s true, I can paint along with you
The past it seems a different colour
Mr. Men are my brethren
The Clangers are still on the moon

Hi there! The first post of 2012 is a new track called “Sunrise (It’s a Good Start)” which you can download FOR FREE using the player below or on the Soundcloud page. My vague plan this year is to try and release a track a month (roughly) and if they hang together well, and I have enough songs, gather them up like marbles and release an album of them. So far I’m on track! Although it is only January…

Sunrise (It’s a Good Start) by Mister Fusty

Whilst we wait for the new album to be polished into shape at the mastering labs, and the artwork department to throw their artistic ideas around their garret, here’s a track that didn’t make it on to the album. It didn’t really seem to fit in with rest of the tracks. It’s very much a throwback to the earlier instrumental stuff I used to do.

I didn’t even get around to giving it a proper title.
Instrumental No.1 by Mister Fusty

Happy New Year! Here’s a new song and my favourite from the new bunch. It’s called “Chemistry” and if ever I was to have a single from the next album I think this would be it.  This will be the last taster before I eventually release  the (as yet untitled) new album sometime in the spring (hopefully).
Chemistry (rough mix) by Mister Fusty

The first (and probably only) Mister Fusty Christmas single is now available and it’s FREE. The song, “Jump Up and Down for Christmas”, is suitably festive and comes in two flavours – regular and instrumental (both with extra cheese.)

I’d had this backing track for a while and decided it was a little too ‘jaunty’ for a regular Mister Fusty track (which is saying something) so I thought it would make a good Christmas tune.

You can listen and download using the player below or by going here, I hope you like it.

All the best for the holidays from all at Mister Fusty HQ!

UPDATE: 18/2/2011 As it’s WAY beyond Christmas I’ve taken this off Bandcamp now, you’ll have the chance to listen/download next Christmas..maybe.

The two EP’s “Sprung” from 2008 and this year’s “Connect” have been handily compiled into one album, the unimaginatively titled, “Sprung/Connect”.

The reasoning behind this is to make these two EP’s available in more places, like iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, emusic, etc. Rather than put them out separately I decide to form them into an album (also it’s cheaper that way hee hee), also I’ve mixed the order about a bit so it flows more as one piece. If you don’t know the album is a mixture of vocals & instrumentals, and is the usual eclectic mix of shoddy but sweet tunes.

At the moment it’s just on iTunes but I’ll let you know when it’s everywhere else.

UPDATE: You can now buy the album at Amazon, Emusic and 7Digital. You can also listen on Spotify