Occupied, but not at Wallstreet

Look, click, Grabbelton

It's full of surprises....(no not this picture, but...sorry it's gone!

Art Decoy The Bluebeard Boy: the songguide, the moodswings

Turn it on and read all about it: the tunes & the moodswings:

1.Drool All Over You

Grotesque rock´n roll fun with breaks in between. One of the first things that took off very fast. The "fool" section in the middle was a little idea that I already had. Just laughing and joking around.....droollll. Got me very involved. Soon  a special version on Youtube...

2.Bet That You Feel Better

I often listen to black music. Many crossover (blue-eyed soul) artists of the seventies injected their music with R&B and soul. Those who've managed that perfectly and still influence me to this day: Boz Scaggs, Todd Rundgren, David Bowie, Steely Dan and Robert Palmer, just to name a few. They have always put those sophisticated melodies on top of these irresistable grooves. So now and then I strum along a shuffle groove I stumbled on and this is the result. There's Sam my son on bass! Slap!
I feel better now.

3.Don't Want 2

Energetic powerpop. I've read a biography on Pete Townshend who I admire for his energetic guitarplaying and songwriting. It reflected on my songs, but not in a "Who" way, no.
I sing simple, cliché lines along this pianopattern. Sometimes you have to stick with what you´ve got. I wanted 2....

4.Motorbike

I totally improvisized the lyrics. Just wanted the spontanity and the expression of my voice on this latin, funky groove. Intensity in overdrive.

5.When The Gutter Looks Up

I play a lot of piano these days. A lot of songs come out of there, because I'm still discovering "new" combinations of jazzy chords. The title stuck by me a long time (something I've read) and it happened to fit in with the electric pianomotive. I'm really proud of these jazzy, Steely Danesque twists I've came up with. The smell of the downtown blues....

6.Occupé

Sometimes you've got a simple motive and it builds from there. But big ideas on piano, I kept voice to a minimum. A big sound developped, but that was intended. It took a while to figure out all the details arranging drums and melodies. Yes I was occupied...

7.Facebookland

Everyone's face is on the web. Now how to close the book.... This is an old-fashioned Tin Pan Alley farmersong. Just a guitar and some analog hammer & saw effects to stick to the basics. Impress me or I wil impress you...

8.Occupied 100 Percent

We're all occupied with something ($) or with ourselves. No, I am not....!?
Wrote this joyous ditty on a cheap guitar. Put some fitting stimulating effects, like carbreaks and money shaking to accentuate greed. Fellt 99% ironic...

9.Drug That Frog

Funky, groovy, just goofing off with breaks (intro) and frogs. Kiss me...

10.Trigger In My Heart

I come from the pop tradition (10cc-like), although I'm more of a ragged bluessinger. Therefore, melody is an important part of my plan to vary in styles as "broad" as possible. I was in love with my piano.

11.An End To Ballads

An after midnight tune. I doubled electric and acoustic piano's, both did it in one or two takes. Not perfect, but I always like to keep the intensity. It's about dark dilemma's; give it up or carry on...

12.Hello neighbours

I live in a Funky neighbourhood. I found a groove and these horns to work with. And I wanted a hypnotic Steve Miller's "Fly like an Eagle" inspired song. Paranoia? Schizoid? Isolated? Moodswing?

13.Beat Yourself To Death

I used irony and latin beats intertwined on this one. Irony crept in again...beat myself.

14.Freaking Again

I had great fun writing this simple ditty, it came very quickly. When I feel up, this kind of song bubbles up.

15.Partner

Boz Scaggs "Lowdown" is one of my most favourite songs rhythmically. There's an almost dark (street) tension in there. It has influenced my style of writing a song with some kind of interesting beat and melody. My voice is not that sophisticated though. I tried the Rupert Holmes mode...

16.Good T. Narcissus

I've used this bit of Bossa Nova kind of guitar chordstructure before, but as years go by, I think I'm more aware of what I can do with it. So instead of that special nova drumpattern, I've chosen a slow funky beat. Look in the mirror boy....now smash it!

17.Cheese Dream #7

With that new Pro Tools system came a lot of interesting plug-ins. Apart from the organic drums I've played everything on the piano. Enhanced some of the melodic stuff like the sologuitar. It's an ode to al the great fusion of the seventies (Mahavishnu, Jeff Beck). But it's not a virtuoso thing here that I wanted to express, but the instrumental melodic side of that instrumental spectrum. The 7th dream.

18.Impossible

Just like "Partner" I figured out this chord progression on guitar with a melody on top. I combined that with a funky groove and bassslapping at the bottom. (Lyrically) I'm not in love, no no...

19.Finger Ballet On WB Strings

WB (Wijnand Brant) plays some acoustic sologuitar in a very expressive way. I had this piano- based song for a while. We just jammed and improvised like the old days and I sort of edited it. And with some feedback from WB, I finally got the "right touch". Just did it for old sakes with an old mate.

20.Toy Tornado

Another instrumental, one of the first songs that jumped out of my skull for this album. It's the same story as "Cheese Dream #7". Freaked out a lot in my toystore.

Do I have to say more?

Finally on Spotify

JoosTVD - Art Decoy The Bluebeard Boy [2012] 

Art Decoy The Bluebeard Boy: what proces? Progress!

Finally it's out there...now....got a second...?
Just like last year's record I´d like to fill you in with some details about the new one.
Well, the albumtitle came as a quick surprise: it was the flow and combination of the words.

The proces of songwriting goes on, even now, but it's just like a painting, you have to stop in time and say: it's finished. There has been a drastic change in the recording proces though. And some unexpected guests dropped in that have lead to spontanious combustions....
First, I had to profess myself with some new interface (Pro Tools) which had a positive influence on the process. Had a lot of fun with a whole new perspective on how to arrange the songs. Hey, only smooth recording here, no tape knots with too much hiss on it!
I play everything except for some organic samples, like woodwinds, strings, a few basslines and drums (although I can handle a stick I have got a "high" standard in my head for that). As long as the organic, human feel shines through. For example, my son Sam plays bass- his recording debut- on song 2, only for a few bars (to keep it "simple"), so I could use his funky slapping all the way through the song.
On another one-take session, my old pal Wijnand Brant (WB) improvised solo acoustic guitar on song 19 intensively along my moody piano instrumental, so I had a lot of various melodies to choose from. Only some didn´fit in or didn't gel, so I used the cut/paste method (sort of had to rebuild his lines as I do with other samples) to find a new structure. With his feedback I changed some parts. On song 11 I also used his picking from that session.
What makes this process always so furstrating are the details I often seem to struggle with. Mostly on the vocal (come on, a little more self-confidence TVD!) and the lyrical side. I ain't a perfect pitched studio-singer. "Give it all in one-take" does it for me. The intensity is there. And, no auto-tune for me! So there are always the little rough parts I have to correct, with the right feel in mind. Work on it!
Another slowburner are the words: they-not-always-come-easy. A first spontanious one-liner does the trick mostly, but it can take ages before words blend when I put them on a melody. Let alone, without being too pretentious, preachy or self-important. Work on it!
Aaaaarrrrggggh....
I 'm aware I´m not a live band, I just use the studio as a tool to make the songs work just as I have envisioned them in my mind. Basically it´s guitar or piano I work on and if I´ve got  a song worked out (a lot of repetition helps).
Pro Tools helps me out to do this all in a very flexible way. I guess many hermit studio- musicians recognize the things I do.
I don't care if It fits in a market, that's the exploitation side of milking out a blind cow. The market changes fast. As I write this, a huge merging is happening between Universal and EMI. I wonder who will have the power and monopoly over creativity. A more honest equal divided pay-system in the near future would be welcome(!)
To me, music is about emotion, freedom. To spread this around the world in a few clicks, is satisfying enough for me, because of the worldwide access. More people can listen. I thank them for that and for their patience to wait for this one. It is streamready (spotify) and you can even buy it! (iTunes, etc), just try out the widgets! Soon you can grab those new soundbytes on the right (scroll to "Grabbelton"). There's a lite version I saw somewhere by the way...You can support me by streaming the stuff (soon on spotify I hope). It's that easy...

Hey, but don't be a stranger, if this music means something to you.....I'd like to know.
You can give reviews on Jamendo, facebook or up here. It means a lot, more than a golden ticket....
Next up: the songguide, the moodswings

The "lite" version

For the ones who like it short and sweet:

Art Decoy The Bluebeard Boy lite version on Bandcamp

It's up here too, on the right, in the widget section.....sooo wha'da'ya'think?

Drool All Over You, don't Jagger me!

On soundcloud Drool All Over You with that Jaggerlips expression

The video

Teaser 3: When The Gutter Looks Up

Another preview from the new album "Art Decoy the Bluebeard Boy" to stimulate the mind.

                                      
                                   And a fourth teaser? Nope, teased you enough...

Teaser 2: Bet That You Feel Better

Just a little snippet (to tease you) from the new album "Art Decoy The Bluebeard Boy".
On Bas: Sam, my son. Hey hey, what a funky boy....

                                                        There is a teaser 3!

U wanna hear some, mmm? Teaser 1: Toy Tornado

Although I'm not a videoartist (that's why the short version), I know there are a lot of Youtube fettists out there. To stimulate their senses. So let's relax now, enjoy one of the turbulent instrumentals (yep, no voice here):

"Toy Tornado" (edited version from the new album for 2012 "Art Decoy The Bluebeard Boy")

 

And yes, there will be a teaser 2!

Waiting.....

The album is  in the distribution hands of RouteNote, it's in "Pending Moderation". Waiting to be approved so to speak (maybe 20 songs is too much to handle), so it's still not clear when you'll be able to hear it on Spotify for example. Check anyway, you'll never know. Guess I'll have to knock on RouteNote's doors then. But.... this week I'll fill your head with a few (!) teasers from the album. So when it's officially released, I'll come outside..... so patience.

Ok, finally finished recording...now buy a christmas tree.

It's difficult for me to stop....but I have to. I'm ready to put these babies of mine out in the open. These past few weeks I've put the final touches on the tracks, listening to the little details over and over again. It was driving me crazy! It took a year, but it was worth it as I demanded it of myself.

So- when- will- the- album- come out?
I've found a new online distribution label: RouteNote. A few months back I tested it on two older albums (Giftshot [2005] and Volumed 10 [2007]) and it worked out fine. The album wil be on Spotify (stream!) and iTunes and other online shops in about two or three weeks. I hope so....
In the meantime I will put out a promovideo on Youtube. In total I've got four songs with each an different accompanying video. I still have to sort them out, so first things first.
And of course, if you´re patient, it will be available on the free online platforums like Jamendo and Bandcamp and finally on this blog. No, you dont have to wait that long. You will be able to sing these songs under the christmas tree. Cozy...