Guitars for ‘Oceans’ (Now available for digital download at Bandcamp!)
With our previous album our approach – led by a suggestion from Mick – was to try to make a record that was stripped-back and simple, with tunes that would require as few over-dubs as possible – hence the title of the album being ‘Back to Basics’!
When it came to making ‘Oceans’ we were open to more complex ideas. Having said that, we had also experienced a slight lineup change between the two albums that resulted in us becoming a trio, so we also had to think about how that would change how we tackled ‘Oceans’.
A key thing for me was that I would now be responsible for all the guitar work. While I had primarily been the lead guitarist on Back to Basics, I would now be playing all rhythm, lead, and fills. But with our decision to make this album sonically more layered, it wasn’t just a case of coming up with these three essential guitar elements for each song, as I also realized that layering guitars was really going to enrich this new album.
It meant more work, but it also meant that I could really think about creating distinct tones for several guitar tracks for each song. This took me down a rabbit hole of experimenting with different guitar effects, and trying a bigger range of tones across several different guitars, including a brand-new 12-string hollow body Gretsch (electric) that was acquired specifically for this album. As a result, many of these new songs have multiple rhythm and lead guitars, giving the album a fuller sound. I am really happy with how all of these guitar tracks turned out, and am looking forward to exploring guitar even more on the next album!
Thanks for listening, and I really hope you enjoy ‘Oceans’!
Dain
(Note: If you are a fan of CDs, those are not far away… about 2 weeks!)
Categories: About Us, The Silvers
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