When I lived in Austin, I was part of a songwriter group called "Soulwriters University."
The group had a weekly challenge of writing a song with a "lyric prompt." Everyone would have to use a certain phrase in the song and it was due by Sundays at midnight. 🕛
Everyone would post the song on a public or private soundcloud link, and the lyric that was required for this particular week was "underwater void."
I imagined swimming into the deep of the ocean - into the dark - into the void, - and wrote "The Captain." ⚓️
The song involves 4 characters besides the captain: the sea, the ship, passing time, and a ghost lover.
The phrase "Hey yo," begins each conversation between the captain and the other characters. Lyrics below...
Hey yo, said the captain
Hey yo, said the sea
You sail every direction
and still stay close to me.
Hey yo, said the captain
Hey yo, said the ship
You ride with my protection
don’t you forget.
The ocean will bring you home.
He yo, said the captain
Hey yo, said the time
If you forgive and you listen
you’ll stop asking why,
The ocean will bring you home.
The storm will come,
Your boat may overturn,
You’ll swim into the underwater void,
It'll drown out all the noise,
Hey yo Hey yo.
Hey yo, said the captain
Hey yo, said the ghost
You dream of me often because
I loved you the most.
The ocean will bring you home
The storm will come,
Your boat may overturn,
You’ll swim into the underwater void,
It'll drown out all the noise,
Hey yo Hey yo.
The ocean will bring you home
This song got a positive response from listeners at gigs, and the song demo was well received by the songwriting group.
I knew I wanted to re-record it, so February 2020 while I was visiting Austin, I recorded the piano part on my Steinway grand. 🎹
Since moving to Holland, I had to find a new home for my Texas piano, and it now lives at the Austin Clubhouse recording studio.
Earlier this year 2021, I recorded the vocals here in The Hague and created some glitch / clock / mechanical sample sounds and place holder drums.
I asked Clubhouse recording engineer and friend William West to help me produce and finish it.
He hired a guitarist and drummer to play over my piano / vocal / glitch tracks he really helped shape it into something beautiful.
Now for the artwork...
I'm obsessed with collage art, both physical and digital, and it's something I've enjoyed doing all my life.
I headed to Fiverr to try and find a freelancer that creates collage art.
The picture above was a first mock up.
I was a bit disappointed, because it didn't have many elements, and I wanted it to have more depth and darker vibe. He revised it.
This was his revision and he was kind to give me all the layers / assets in the file, so I decided to go a bit deeper.
It was important to me to have all the characters: the sea, the ship, the girl ghost, the time, and of course the Captain.
I wanted the captain to look a little more contemplative, so I changed his face.
I added layers of piano waves, a clock, and a sky. I created hair for the girl and made her lips red. I felt much better about this artwork as it relates to the song.
I've now embarked on the radical challenge of creating a stop motion collage animation video from photoshop stills. (A little insane....)
This video will feature at least a few thousand images derived from assets of this artwork.
Stay tuned for the video and please consider following on
Youtube!
