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Description
Chris and Ed are proud to present "Always Surrender", their take on summer and the ideal summer song, which centers around the wonders of the spontaneous summer romance.
Chris:
This was truly a collaborative effort with Ed providing the tasty guitar work and bridge instrumentation, while I (Chris) handled the drum and synth programming for the verse and chorus sections, as well as the tenor sax. We split the vocal and lyric duties for our own verses. Ed starts things off in the 1st verse. I handle the 2nd verse and we both trade off lines in the 3rd verse. Ed further doubled the main chorus melody and I provided the harmonies and lyrics.
The bridge is actually the first part of the song that we agreed on. It was something that Ed had lying around. From there we tried a few ideas until I came up with a simple chord progression on the organ and lively drum groove that ended up being the foundation for the verse. Tried some different concepts for a chorus until the one you hear came out of left field and seemed to work and have that swirling, waves crashing feel that we liked. At this point Ed brought in the sweet guitar riffs as well as the initial ideas of a partial singing/rap verse. The sax solo over the bridge was a 1st take recording after I played along for a bit to get the basic ideas down. In retrospect we had all these desperate music ideas that somehow gelled and spelled out the overall song feel that we were hoping for. The whole song fell into place with minimal fuss on the final mix and master. Lots of back and forth with comments about what was and was not working, but the verse and chorus have been locked and groovy, pretty much since they were first written. The biggest challenge was getting two white guys to rap (possibly for the 1st time) without sounding too lame. . . but maybe we do. . .points for trying.
Lastly, it's been an absolute pleasure working with Ed on this tune. He's a great musician with some killer song ideas and has an amazing guitar tone and feel for the music. I do hope to work with him again in the future as we are kindred spirits in many ways. It's been really cool to become friends with him over the past couple months.
Ed:
l just echo what Chris said. For the most part this was an absolute breeze to work on. I hope that wasn't because Chris was secretly doing all the work while I was asleep :) Initially I had a rough tune laid out. The bridge was the only thing that survived that and Chris worked the eventual verse and chorus around it. My guitar part during the verse was such fun to create. As chris had created a synth groove I stuck it on a loop, dissected it, closed my eyes and felt the mood. It made a nice change to be forced into playing a certain way to suit a style. I've not played that way in such a long time. It produced a slightly jazzy clean guitar part which i'm proud of. The chorus took a little longer for me to get as the "guitarist" side of me kicked in and I started playing over the top wah parts.... I tamed the beast eventually and settled on a more subtle style again. Most of the pain came from doing my vocals. I always seem to revert to a slight rap style to hide behind but with Chris to help we developed that into a sing/rap combo which I think really works. Our tonal qualities are quite similar apart from Chris has a cooler accent and more control :) Lastly i'd like to thank my girlfriend Evi for her spectacular performance in the bridge, its sets up Chris's flaming sax solo perfectly.
Ok and to finish. Big thanks to Chris for working like mad on this while I photoshoped girls in bikinis. I knew he'd be the one to mix it when he started confusing me with words like "Limiter" and "shelf EQ"?? He's full of groove and ideas. Good ones too which helps :) Always willing to listen and share his ideas. But best of all are his little stories of where his inspiration comes from :)
I look forward to working with him again in the future given more time who knows what we can do!?
Please enjoy our vision of summer. Thanks for stopping by.
Chris:
This was truly a collaborative effort with Ed providing the tasty guitar work and bridge instrumentation, while I (Chris) handled the drum and synth programming for the verse and chorus sections, as well as the tenor sax. We split the vocal and lyric duties for our own verses. Ed starts things off in the 1st verse. I handle the 2nd verse and we both trade off lines in the 3rd verse. Ed further doubled the main chorus melody and I provided the harmonies and lyrics.
The bridge is actually the first part of the song that we agreed on. It was something that Ed had lying around. From there we tried a few ideas until I came up with a simple chord progression on the organ and lively drum groove that ended up being the foundation for the verse. Tried some different concepts for a chorus until the one you hear came out of left field and seemed to work and have that swirling, waves crashing feel that we liked. At this point Ed brought in the sweet guitar riffs as well as the initial ideas of a partial singing/rap verse. The sax solo over the bridge was a 1st take recording after I played along for a bit to get the basic ideas down. In retrospect we had all these desperate music ideas that somehow gelled and spelled out the overall song feel that we were hoping for. The whole song fell into place with minimal fuss on the final mix and master. Lots of back and forth with comments about what was and was not working, but the verse and chorus have been locked and groovy, pretty much since they were first written. The biggest challenge was getting two white guys to rap (possibly for the 1st time) without sounding too lame. . . but maybe we do. . .points for trying.
Lastly, it's been an absolute pleasure working with Ed on this tune. He's a great musician with some killer song ideas and has an amazing guitar tone and feel for the music. I do hope to work with him again in the future as we are kindred spirits in many ways. It's been really cool to become friends with him over the past couple months.
Ed:
l just echo what Chris said. For the most part this was an absolute breeze to work on. I hope that wasn't because Chris was secretly doing all the work while I was asleep :) Initially I had a rough tune laid out. The bridge was the only thing that survived that and Chris worked the eventual verse and chorus around it. My guitar part during the verse was such fun to create. As chris had created a synth groove I stuck it on a loop, dissected it, closed my eyes and felt the mood. It made a nice change to be forced into playing a certain way to suit a style. I've not played that way in such a long time. It produced a slightly jazzy clean guitar part which i'm proud of. The chorus took a little longer for me to get as the "guitarist" side of me kicked in and I started playing over the top wah parts.... I tamed the beast eventually and settled on a more subtle style again. Most of the pain came from doing my vocals. I always seem to revert to a slight rap style to hide behind but with Chris to help we developed that into a sing/rap combo which I think really works. Our tonal qualities are quite similar apart from Chris has a cooler accent and more control :) Lastly i'd like to thank my girlfriend Evi for her spectacular performance in the bridge, its sets up Chris's flaming sax solo perfectly.
Ok and to finish. Big thanks to Chris for working like mad on this while I photoshoped girls in bikinis. I knew he'd be the one to mix it when he started confusing me with words like "Limiter" and "shelf EQ"?? He's full of groove and ideas. Good ones too which helps :) Always willing to listen and share his ideas. But best of all are his little stories of where his inspiration comes from :)
I look forward to working with him again in the future given more time who knows what we can do!?
Please enjoy our vision of summer. Thanks for stopping by.
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Lyrics
(verse)
She set me on fire
with her eyes of burning desire
Instant attraction
Summer satisfaction
It was a perfect day
for getting a little bit closer
As we began the most
magical time in the sun
Rolling in the sand
Getting lost in the surf
passing the time in the liquid earth
Lazing on the beach
& getting cosy in the shade
sharing all the moments
of which my dreams are made
Summer soul mates
turning golden in the sun
our dog day fling was almost done
but i will always remember you
hold a place in my heart for you
always remember to
(chorus)
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
I can't believe my eyes
She drive me wild
She's paradise
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
Aphrodite's child, so wild
Drown me in Paradise
(verse)
I can remember
That blonde beautied specter
June thru September
Always together
Had it gone over
I would have given
my heart forever
Day or night
it always felt right
I was blown away
with a stunner like you
loved your moods
loved your groove
your thoughts, emeralds
that matched your eyes
with a face as bright
as the summer skies
Sweet sugar skin
those muscled curves
clothes scattered on the floor
a whisper of words
Bittersweet to remember
I will always remember you
Always remember to
(chorus)
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
I can't believe my eyes
She drive me wild
She's paradise
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
Aphrodite's child, so wild
(verse)
Open your mind to a summer of love
When I move on, a new one, a new love to dream of
Acting on things with no rhyme or reason
When I recall that sweet summer season
It may last weeks, it may last days
Deja-vu when my mind replays
In the arms of a lover as the summer unwinds
Forever to remember you when it shines
(chorus x3)
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
I can't believe my eyes
She drive me wild
She's paradise
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
Aphrodite's child, so wild
Drown me in Paradise
She set me on fire
with her eyes of burning desire
Instant attraction
Summer satisfaction
It was a perfect day
for getting a little bit closer
As we began the most
magical time in the sun
Rolling in the sand
Getting lost in the surf
passing the time in the liquid earth
Lazing on the beach
& getting cosy in the shade
sharing all the moments
of which my dreams are made
Summer soul mates
turning golden in the sun
our dog day fling was almost done
but i will always remember you
hold a place in my heart for you
always remember to
(chorus)
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
I can't believe my eyes
She drive me wild
She's paradise
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
Aphrodite's child, so wild
Drown me in Paradise
(verse)
I can remember
That blonde beautied specter
June thru September
Always together
Had it gone over
I would have given
my heart forever
Day or night
it always felt right
I was blown away
with a stunner like you
loved your moods
loved your groove
your thoughts, emeralds
that matched your eyes
with a face as bright
as the summer skies
Sweet sugar skin
those muscled curves
clothes scattered on the floor
a whisper of words
Bittersweet to remember
I will always remember you
Always remember to
(chorus)
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
I can't believe my eyes
She drive me wild
She's paradise
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
Aphrodite's child, so wild
(verse)
Open your mind to a summer of love
When I move on, a new one, a new love to dream of
Acting on things with no rhyme or reason
When I recall that sweet summer season
It may last weeks, it may last days
Deja-vu when my mind replays
In the arms of a lover as the summer unwinds
Forever to remember you when it shines
(chorus x3)
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
I can't believe my eyes
She drive me wild
She's paradise
Always surrender
to that summer fling splendor
Aphrodite's child, so wild
Drown me in Paradise
mvh9591
Very nice vocals and mix. I like the raps...(very nice) Music is well performed and the sax - nice touch - Bass guitar - shoot, everything is well done. This is very good.
Enjoyed - DL - Thanks for sharing,
mvh : )