{"product_id":"don-t-welcome-the-plague-as-a-blessing-the-babelsberg-basement-files","title":"(Don't) Welcome The Plague As A Blessing \/ The Babelsberg Basement Files","description":"\u003cp\u003eEarly in 2016 \u003cstrong\u003eAli Chant\u003c\/strong\u003e texted me, asking if I still wanted to record some stuff at his studio - as property developers were about to knock it down. Another creative space bulldozed away for capital gain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePolitically it was a tough year. The noise building for the Brexit referendum that would impact the future of the young was in full swing. \u003cstrong\u003eBowie\u003c\/strong\u003e died, and on the morning of the first recordings I had the worst migraine. I left the building and threw up in the street.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI wanted to commit to the lyrics and sing live so I think I was stressed about getting them ready to sing. I had a batch of songs I wanted to record but I didn't have a record label or any plans of what to do with them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI gathered incredible musicians from my square mile in Cardiff in the van and drove to Bristol. \u003cstrong\u003eKliph\u003c\/strong\u003e on drums, \u003cstrong\u003eSteve\u003c\/strong\u003e on bass and \u003cstrong\u003eOsian\u003c\/strong\u003e on piano. I sang and played guitar - We recorded live takes for 3 days then I sat on the songs for almost 2 years. Eventually handing them to composer \u003cstrong\u003eStephen McNeff\u003c\/strong\u003e to work on orchestral arrangements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI called the album that was mixed by \u003cstrong\u003eSamur Kouja\u003c\/strong\u003e; \u003cem\u003eBabelsberg\u003c\/em\u003e - and I'm very happy with it. This album meanwhile is an exploration of how it came to be - and the songs in their raw state. A companion piece rather than the definitive article.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMost tracks are similar to the final work except for \"\u003cem\u003eSelfies in The Sunset\u003c\/em\u003e\" which is pre-duet and much longer. At some point it would be great to release the amazing orchestral elements too. Maybe both records could be played at once.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the meantime please enjoy the fruits of \u003cstrong\u003eKliph Scurlock\u003c\/strong\u003e's mixes and demo digging for \"\u003cem\u003e(Don't) Welcome The Plague As A Blessing\u003c\/em\u003e\". I'm very grateful to \u003cstrong\u003eLisa Jen\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eMirain Haf\u003c\/strong\u003e from the band 9 Bach for singing the background vocals. Kliph for overseeing this project, \u003cem\u003eRough Trade\u003c\/em\u003e for their enthusiasm and thanks to the designers; thanks \u003cstrong\u003eUno Moralez\u003c\/strong\u003e for agreeing to have his incredible \u003cem\u003eBabelsberg\u003c\/em\u003e sleeve illustration carved up, and ace designer \u003cstrong\u003eMark James\u003c\/strong\u003e for this final article. Further thanks to \u003cstrong\u003eAli\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eSteve\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eOsian\u003c\/strong\u003e and also to \u003cstrong\u003eRobin Turner\u003c\/strong\u003e for lending his ear at the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eFrontier Man\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eThe Club\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eOh Dear!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eLimited Edition Heart\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eTake That Call\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eDrones in the City\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eNegative Vibes\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eSame Old Song\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eArchitecture of Amnesia\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eSelfies in the Sunset\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50490598687051,"sku":"1090438","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/91be1b6f-d3a9-423d-ae55-61c3529cdfcd_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727667706","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/products\/don-t-welcome-the-plague-as-a-blessing-the-babelsberg-basement-files","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}