|  |  |  |  |  |  | | | | | | Bio of the Artist | MOONSTRUCK IS A PROJECT THAT ORIGINATED IN AYRSHIRE, ON THE SOUTH WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND IN LATE 2007 WITH GRAEME YOUNG (MYSELF) AND ALAN FREW. WE HAVE NOW BEEN JOINED BY LYRICIST KIMBERLY TRIBBLE FROM MICHIGAN IN THE USA.
ALAN AND I WERE WORKING ON A SOUND ENGINEERING PROJECT IN THE STUDIO IN MY HOUSE IN THE SUMMER OF 2007 AND DISCOVERED THAT WHEN WE'D TRACKED A GUITAR SOLO AND PLAYED A MIXOLYDIAN DOUBLE TRACK OVER IT THERE WERE VERY BEAUTIFUL AND DISTINCTIVE HARMONIC PROPERTIES.
WE PLAYED AROUND WITH THIS TRYING OUT VARIOUS KEYS AND MODES, USING BOTTLENECK SLIDES, CAPOS AND FINGERING TECHNIQUES, COMBINING THESE LEAD SOLOS WITH RIFFS THAT HAVE RUNNING EIGHT EIGHT TIMING. WITH THE ADDITION OF SOME PHASING, FILTERING AND CHORUS EFFECTS WE HAD THE MAKINGS OF A TRADEMARK MOONSTRUCK GUITAR SOUND.
TO FILL THIS OUT, WE HAVE OUR ELECTRONIC DRUMMER, WHICH I CHRISTENED ERIS HATHOR AFTER ERIS, THE GREEK GODDESS OF DISCORD, AND HATHOR, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GODDESS OF MUSIC. ERIS HATHOR IS ACTUALLY A PC BASED DRUM SEQUENCER SIDE-CHAINED THROUGH AN SSL TALKBACK COMPRESSOR AND SOME VST PLUGINS.
AT FIRST I TRIED TO MAKE THE DRUMS SOUND AS LIVE AND HUMAN AS POSSIBLE BUT SOON REALIZED THIS WAS NOT WORKING. WHILE I WAS TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO ABANDON ERIS HATHOR AND HIRE A LIVE DRUMMER, I SAW THE SISTER'S OF MERCY PERFORMING LUCRETIA ON YOUTUBE AND DECIDED THAT THEY HAD THE RIGHT APPROACH, SO I FOLLOWED THEIR EXAMPLE AND DELIBERATELY EMPHASIZED THE MACHINE LIKE QUALITY OF ERIS HATHOR'S SOUND.
FINALLY, I ADDED VERY SIMPLE STRAIGHT BASS LINES SO THAT I COULD PLAY BASS WHILE SINGING THE SONGS LIVE WITHOUT DIFFICULTY. THE VOCAL SOUND IS A KIND OF TIRED BARITONE THAT GIVES THE SONGS A DARK FEEL AND COMPLETES THE AMBIANCE.
KIMBERLY IS A VERY PROLIFIC LYRICIST WHO CAN WRITE LONG WEIGHTY EPICS IN MINUTES WITHOUT HAVING TO MAKE A SINGLE CORRECTION. I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER WORK AT ONCE AND SHE LET ME ARRANGE MUSIC FOR A FANTASTIC SONG SHE'D WRITTEN CALLED MY BEAUTIFUL RAIN.
AFTER THIS WAS DONE, I WAS TELLING HER HOW I HAD WRITER'S BLOCK ON A SONG AND WAS MISSING A LINE THAT I'D BEEN STUCK ON FOR THREE WEEKS. SHE READ THE LYRICS AND HIT ON PRECISELY WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY IN THREE SECONDS. OF COURSE, I ASKED HER IMMEDIATELY IF SHE'D LIKE TO WRITE SOME SONGS TOGETHER. SHE'S ALSO A VERY BEAUTIFUL MODEL AS YOU CAN SEE BY LOOKING AT THE MOONSTRUCK AVATAR | | |
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