Central Line by Rebsie
Genre: Electropop
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Keywords:
Central Line (1), London Underground (1), Project Adorno (1)
Description:
Right, well, my last few posts have been very dark and serious so I thought it was time for some levity.
"Central Line" is not my song. It belongs to London-based beat poet duo Project Adorno, whose music, papier mache minotaur, lyrics and outlook on the world I love immensely. It was written for their A-Z of the London Underground show, which involved them doing an alphabetical tour of 26 tube locations in the course of a weekend and writing a song about each place. "Central Line" is the song that goes with Oxford Circus tube station.
Very big thanks to Praveen (the song's author) for permission to post it.
This is my first foray into 80s retro-electropop (though I grew up in that era so I feel at home with it). I've never even sung over a backing like this before, so I put together the music bed without having any idea whether I'd be able to pull off the vocal or not. Double tracking did the trick. The rest is lightly tweaked GarageBand synths.
"Central Line" is not my song. It belongs to London-based beat poet duo Project Adorno, whose music, papier mache minotaur, lyrics and outlook on the world I love immensely. It was written for their A-Z of the London Underground show, which involved them doing an alphabetical tour of 26 tube locations in the course of a weekend and writing a song about each place. "Central Line" is the song that goes with Oxford Circus tube station.
Very big thanks to Praveen (the song's author) for permission to post it.
This is my first foray into 80s retro-electropop (though I grew up in that era so I feel at home with it). I've never even sung over a backing like this before, so I put together the music bed without having any idea whether I'd be able to pull off the vocal or not. Double tracking did the trick. The rest is lightly tweaked GarageBand synths.
Lyrics:
Central LineWords and music © Praveen Manghani
Central Line
Everybody loves the Central
We know why
It'll get you east to west
The quickest and the reddest
It's the Central Line
No potential deviation
It's flat and horizontal
The line of least resistance
A crime to call it crimson 'cause it isn't
It's the Central Line
Goes from Epping to West Ruislip
Hear it's nice there
It used to be much longer
It used to go to Ongar
It's the Central Line
London's very own equator
But it's not that straight
It's got the sharpest curve along it between
Shepherd's Bush and White City
It's the Central Line
49 different stations
Stationed on it
And as for Oxford Circus
The busiest station on the network, maybe on earth
Hardware:
Mac G5, M-Audio 49e midi keyboard, Rode NT1-A micSoftware:
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Peter Bauckham
It's so unusual hearing your voice against a synth/pop backdrop - but you've really done yourself proud. It's a cross between Yazoo and Black Box Recorder/Sarah Nixey. Great recording too - very clean and clear.
Peter
Epileptic Gibbon
It does sound quite a bit like the wonderful Black Box Recorder.
Feter
Just wonderful as anything you work with ..your vocal
spirit will make it with any style ..you ve done this
wonderfully very moving harmony there ..me either grew up
in the 80s but unlike you never felt home ...but your
vocal let this all home to me just excellent (reminds me
of late blonde a bit) ..thnx alot for sharin !!!
ktb
Rebsie and Electropop in my in box. How cool is that. Very lively and niftly done. The ride could have been ever slightly longer :-) well done
LunaTrick
Liking this Rebsie Kraftwerk thing. Lovely harmony - let me know if you'd like more instrumentation.
Relic67
vocals are perfect, what a beautiful voice. Lyrics are clever and amusing.
a drum track would go well with it I'd say.
good post!
cjdaley
leads straight to my home.
Now let's hear your thrash metal song!
DWL
Anyone who manages to get Ongar and West Ruislip into a song without it sounding odd gets my vote and you've done a great job with the music.
Although I would take issue with "everyone loves the Central Line" Especially in the middle of summer when trains break down in overheated tunnels :-O !
Beautifully done.
Cheers
Dick
Rebsie
Thank you Dick. And thanks for the pre-post feedback you gave me on it.
I can't say I love the Central Line that much either. My enduring memory of it was when some bloke tried to grope my arse on a crowded train between Holland Park and Notting Hill and when I turned round to confront the culprit he turned out to be a rotund City-type in a pin-striped suit who was old enough to be my granddad. Twat.
I wish I had Praveen's lyrical skill, but it gives me something to aspire to.
caroline
of all the things i never expected to hear... it works really well rebsie - maybe a vocal version of 'popcorn' next? ;) thank you for sharing xoxox
Rebsie
Thanks Caroline. This is the nearest I can get to pink and fluffy ... even if it's red and linear.
saymme
This definately makes me smile... WONDERFUL Rebsie to hear You singing so Happily !!! You're an Artist here who can make me smile & cry... : ) ( :
thx
Rebsie
Glad you like it. I've built my reputation on doing dark haunting ballads but I like to remind people that I have a sense of humour.
saymme
Alot of FUN to here this style with You ! ! Grand as always . . & such a treat heard it about 5 times in a row ! now i'm listening to DWLs Hallowwen song(?) *Monsters* : )
Rebsie
Thank you Lena, multiple listens are the biggest compliment. Look out for more DWL collabs, we're working on something at the moment. :)
saymme
tx for the tip !! Yes he's does great stuff - i always find collabs so inspiring.. they're so uniq !! & yes the darkside always has a light side , like the moon or 2 sides of the same coin i usually say- I'm sure You have a great sense of humour(!!) ( : )
very nice to get backcomments Take care Rebsie
(i haven't caught up yet)
- we have a fullmoon here tonite.. !
jiguma
My friends from Dyko would love this (see their MySpace page). So odd hearing you sing over this, but at the same time, it works really well.
I'll wait until the Aldwych song - my fav station ;)
Neil
Rebsie
Thanks Neil! An Aldwych song may yet materialise ... funnily enough I started writing a song about disused tube stations a couple of years ago and never finished it. They used to do tours of Aldwych but sadly it's closed to the public now. :(
Down Street is another interesting one ... it was used as a bomb-proof government shelter during WWII and it still has its (very dusty) 1940s telephone exchange and Winston Churchill's old tin bath and toilet.
Epileptic Gibbon
Don't change a thing. It's brilliant as it is!
lavalamp
Is this going to be in a commercial?
Cool tune. Cool vox.
Loved it.
Original. Clean.
LL
borisluxx
Rebsie! I really like this little Krafwerky tune you've created here. Very creative and fun. It was a great listen and it sounded like it was fun to make too. Take good care and hope to hear more tunes like this from you. Me like very much! :^) Cheers!
-Boris Luxx
Vic Holman
excellent
reminiscent of early 80's new wave synth pop bands... i want my mtv
lengold
Rebsie and you've certainly done it proud. Vocals sound wonderful and Bravo for stepping out of your comfort zone - it worked.
I lived at Ongar for about 9 years and used the central line frequently - nobody ever grabbed my arse though, unfortunately. Maybe I'll take a trip on it again, you never know.
Cheers
Len
HenriROGERsoloandbands
It's very nice you went on something different ( it's risky you know :-) and you did such a great job .
Love the song .
slumbering
This is so different from your other music but it's very, very cool!
Your voice complements the song sweetly. I've not heard the original but this suits you so well. It's very enjoyable and fun, too! That it's done by you makes it all the more exciting.
Great work!
jgurner
I hope this isn't your only foray into 80s pop. This is great and the style really does suit your vocals. I've had many a long-winded discussion (usually over too much alcohol) about what it is that makes 80s music "80s music." I think there's a feeling of cold and desolation and isolation that runs through the music of the era, no matter how "poppish" it might be. Maybe because of the infusion of new electronic technology and maybe because of the times, but it's much like the feeling of so many of your tunes that your vocals fit so wonderfully.
I hope you decide to experiment some more with this style. Its really a fun listen.
It feels good to get out of one's comfort zone once in awhile. Nice job Rebs.
Poppish. Funky. Yet melodic and lovely. Very pretty vocal harmonies.
I only wish it was longer...SIGH...
Be well my friend!
guitapick
...I was listening and thinking that this would make a really nice theme song for a tv show.
Then I read the description...
Cool tune and you put your hand to it quite nicely, Rebsie.
Skean
Im very surprised but in a good way... I love it... Cool work my friend.
chikoppi
What a fun electro-retro piece with clever lyrics to boot! Now I wanna ride!
John Stebbe
The opening synth part reminds me of Devo from the 1970s. Your vocal harmonies work very well. The whole song is rather quirky in a very pleasant way. And too brief! Left me wanting more.
Your voice has a power to communicate, even in a more frothy number like this. It seems as if you are coming out from the computer -- your personality comes through, even through all the filters (your mic, GB, iTunes, MJ, and finally my own computer speakers). A pleasure.
bud
Glad I finally caught the train. You handled this beautifully. I think you could literally "sing the phone book" and make it yours.
loricunningham
This song is fun and light. You achieved what you were looking to do, that's for sure. And lovely voice, I might add.