lurksalot

Have we done lurksalittle’s favourite colour yet ?

Well , cheap , cheep , it’s all in the interpretation of the budgies in the picture 😃

Too loud

Hmmm ? Singist 1 Singist 1,2&3 FFS don’t let that guy with the big violin anywhere near us

just sneaked another under the radar I see ! have a look here

Well it's a tough one I grant you. I have a penchant for all of the above, but right now the choices are below , based on the picture you see chosen by last months co-winner @upside downer who had the nod over @Leonard Smalls for the honour Pick your favourite 3 , listen to them all mind , some you might listen to again , oh yes! Your choices ........ 1 @Dad3353 Suspense, anguish, doubt, bordering on terror, à la Hitchcock, with these inexpressive 'birds' watching every approaching step. What gauntlet do we have to run..? What are they waiting for..? What do they want with us..? The heart beats apace as the tension mounts. WHAT DO THEY WANT..? 2 @xgsjx Well I remember the band "A flock of seaguls", so this must be "A band of pigeons", which means it's 80's. So Synthwave it is! 3 @Leonard Smalls The picture reminded me of going into the local butchers shop a few weeks ago... The butcher was expertly dismembering a pigeon for a customer who was going to do a fancy confit of leg with seared breast in hoojahcapivvy sauce. Hence a rap, in the form of a confessional, detailing with a total lack of empathy how being ignored, mistreated and abused as a child led him to a life of murder... 4 @Nicko Seeing pigeons go round and round in circles reminded me of the discussions on certain, ahem, internet forums and the feeling that they aren't fully in control of their thoughts. So I took a synth and let the synth take over to an extent using the auto arpeggio function. Like xgsjx I ended up with 80s synth pop. Bits of it remind me of the Pet Shop Boys which would be a good tie in but that's incidental and I didn't set out to recreate that sound. 5 Lurksalot I took the picture as being a guard of honour by birds , and that opened up a few options for a story with some wordplay , of course the downside is that my dulcet tones are all on the vocal on this 6 @upside downer Inspired by the sheer lunacy of people wearing pigeon heads I've gone oddly peculiar with the lyrics if not the tune which is a bouncy little thing that bobs along happily with a spring in its step. Mrs UD helps out on backing vocals by putting to good use her experience of going "woo woo" on stage with my old band when we used to play 'Sympathy For the Devil'. 7 @Nail Soup There are lots of phrases involving pigeons - like pigeon toed and pigeon chest, stool pigeon etc.... and my first notion was a Booker-T style instrumental called "Pigeon Peas". However the riffage went in a different (Crampy) direction so I ended up using all the phrases into a full set of lyrics. 8 @adamg67 Pigeons.... I always think the name for a wild pigeon is way cooler than for a domestic one: Rock Dove! So I wrote something that I though deserved the title "Rock Dove". It feels like it worked to me, it was what I was aiming for anyway, with the bonus that I managed to use all 3 of my basses on it, and the bass feels like the main instrument even with the guitar on there. excellent , please be so kind as to put a tick in 3 of the appropriate boxes by.... Midnight on the 31st May , its a bank holiday so plenty of listening time available on this long bank holiday. ooh , sat outside in the evening with a suitable drink, in front of the fire pit with your headphones on , oh , heaven

A quick heads up due to a calendar pink torpedo up Er....you only had the one bank holiday , so if you are hanging in to the next one , the bird will have flown, the boat will have sailed and you will have missed it ! humble apologies for any misunderstanding , I would say normal service will be resumed , but this , is, actually it 🤦‍♂️ As you were 😃

I've done a bit to it, by taking out half of the guitar , it leaves more space to appreciate the singing .....

I loved the picture but really struggled to find a way in on this, but after a bit of riffage it kind of came into view I took the picture as being a guard of honour by birds , and that opened up a few options for a story with some wordplay , of course the downside is that my dulcet tones are all of the vocal on this the guitar is an Ibby played through waves Gtr3 , the bass a Gordon Smith , drums EZ and loads of FX to try and offer some help to my voice , while hopefully keeping it on top of the mix. A splash of ozone polishes the turd a touch cheep cheep

Ooh , I wonder if we’ll hear them in this months composition challenge

On your marks, get set ...........Go

Many congrats to young @Leonard Smalls (again) for his double and @upside downer for the joint win in April. That now puts Lenny on a hat trick and as he chose the picture last month, upside downer has provided the inspiration for this one. As he says .............."I've gone for daft again, I'm afraid I just can't help myself " I think this will provide the option for many stylistic approaches! Usual rules apply. You know the drill: ✔️ Entries must be <5 minutes and written/recorded this month. ❌ No illegal samples, copyright infringements or other snide goings-on ❌ Bagpipes. please no bagpipes, Easter truce now Expired. Also on thin ice with panpipes, to be perfectly honest. ❌ No voting for your own entry. We'll know. And we'll shame you. A line or two offering an insight to your inspiration will be good as well , it works nicely on the voting thread. Deadline wise , following a Zulu theme last time, we will call midnight on African Liberation Day , and yes, yet again, you probably have till about 19.00 on the 26th, ( the clue given here is that African Liberation Day is the 25th) Go To It , no excuses , 2 bank holidays to spend recording as well

Ah ok , I really don’t envy you that . I think I avoid as many updates as I can, but realise that one day I will have to catch up/sort /reload this sort of thing , I think I’m lucky that I keep things simple , I keep the wavs safe 😁

Andy did one for me on his previous offer , it opened my eyes ( and ears) massively , dive in and get the benefit while it’s on offer

WOW , very exciting voting to the end there , such a close thing to the death with a very tight call to a worthy tie . A splendid entry which has obviously appealed across the BC voting massif and results in kudos due to @Leonard Smalls and @upside downer I can offer no more than my congratulations , certification of the result may well be bestowed by one who excels in this field, but I will cast my glance in the direction of @upside downer for the presentation of the visual stimulus to inspire the toonage that May transpire 🤔

It has to fit the picture though Dad , I can’t just turn it on , I’m an artiste don’t you know ! harrumph 🤦‍♂️

I had an idea about that , I fancy doing a full choir of me , that should share some love and joy round the world 😎

It’s a toughie , but if I stopped voting for the winners I might win one myself 😂

If you are on Reaper, you will have ReaXcomp in the toolbox 👍

The voting thread is up and running , how is that for efficiency

It’s time to listen through this month’s fine selection of toonage folks, based on the picture chosen by last month’s winner Mr Smalls ( and …. Ahem …myself!) This picture then , chosen by Lenny himself, in his usual eclectic taste, offers a little insight into the image. "A Zulu delegation who came over to the UK to honour those who'd fought at Rourke's Drift, one of whom was my great grandfather (whose grave you can see in the pic).." . 1. @xgsjx I took inspiration from the pic, listened to several Zulu songs & then got the vocal samples from Splice. 2. Lurksalot I've gone for a simple tune this month , I couldn't really get my head around lyrics for it, so I've left it quite empty deliberately, but tried to get the feel. 3. @Dad3353 A solemn occasion, so a sombre mood seemed appropriate, to commemorate the Fallen. A tribal tribute, with a military tinge, and weather to suite. Not really dance-hall stuff; more for reflection on the wisdom of taking the Queen's shilling, or following the Witch Doctor. Sad days for all; there are never any victors. 4. @Nicko I had to look up the battle and when I realised it was what the film Zulu was based on I couldn't get "My Name is Michael Caine" by Madness out of my head. That lead me to doing something vaguely inspired by the UK Ska sound - not sure whether I got there or not. There are two famous paintings of the battle both called "In Defence of Rorke's Drift" which have both been criticised for glorifying empire. I've tried not to make comment on the rights and wrongs of the battle. 5. @Leonard Smalls For some reason this made me think of all the tiny wars going on in our cities - where kids feel the only way they can survive is by carrying a blade... 6. @lowdown I have always had a fascination with the defence of Rorke's Drift, along with the punch up over at Isandlwana earlier in the day and have read dozens of accounts, watched various documentaries and generally, been curious about the whole episode that happened over those two days. This goes back to when my Dad took me to see the opening of the film 'Zulu' in the West End, back in 1964. KwaJimu' is 'Jim's Land' in the Zulu language.. 7. @upside downer The title translates as "Thank you, my friend". The few words are along the lines of "Hello again" and "Thank you", taken from an online English to Zulu site so I apologise if the quality of the translation isn't up to scratch. 8. @Nail Soup I abandoned early on any attempt to incorporate Zulu-based music. Also abandoned an idea to have a narrative based on Leonard's Great-Grandad's story. But two ideas did come to me ...... the "Zulu" in the phonetic alphabet and the reconciliation process which the UK and Zulu descendants have been involved in. These combined to lead me to the young persons word of apology, which in phonetic alphabet is Sierrra Oscar Zulu Zulu. Disclaimer: I didn't, and haven't, checked that those are the correct words for S, O or even Z! One word from Leonard's GGD's life story survives in the lyrics - Himalaya, the name of the boat he sailed to Africa in. Well there we go , another fine selection Voting closes at Midnight on the 30th April ,

late shout for any more , I've listened through these and fair play guys , some stonkers in there , all very interesting takes as well , top stuff

I go with mates mainly , I’ve got a few friends who like different genres so it’s not difficult to find a gig buddy

I've gone for a simple tune this month , I couldn't really get my head around lyrics for it, so I've left it quite empty deliberately. I do of course reserve the right to over complicate it in due course , but I have been messing with all sorts of sounds to underscore it but nothing has taken my fancy .. Enjoy

I’m going in there I think, it looks very interesting 👍