As a teen and recording with my one of first bands, I rented a small studio in the middle of nowhere, a converted barn which often the does the job well for these things or definitely did at the time. The set-up was much of what you would expect as you walk in. A big room with a assortment of synths, kits, amps and guitars and at the back, a door leading next to a huge glass window at the front facing out.
Inside this room was the hub of the station, in front of the glass window was an old style BBC, 8 channel desk that pretty much filled up most of the space of the room, behind it drum machines the best of the analogue synths an 8 channel reel-to-reel machine with tape half an inch thick (12mm) and another 2 channel reel for mastering.
Fixed somewhere to the left of the desk was an Atari ST1040 computer which the dance and music industry had adopted as standard this being 1990 (this went on to host my music productions for many years after). So we walked in with a cubase file which was just a few k on floppy disk.
The sounds we had planned to re-map to other synths. Left behind by a friend of the studio owner was a Korg M1 keyboard, this owed by the now huge "James Wiltshire" of the "Freemasons." The sounds were sent around to as many great synths as we could find though mostly the M1, parts were written, the usual studio stuff and the song was coming together. Somewhere in the middle of recording the vocal I saw an extra face in the sound booth and this belonging to James, who luckily seemed to be enjoying the whole experience, I guess there were not to many producing dance music to studio level back then.
I think James was around 17 at the time, and he wanted to add a lead line to the track, which we were more then happy to hear, his end line for the track just proved his worth even from back then and it added a nice dynamic to the track. On backing vocals here was also "Michelle Chivers" who had releases with amongst others "Shiloh", another backing vocalist also featured, though but the time the producer had moved her back enough she was practically out of the door. This track being the best effort we ever made with this band.
I kept in touch with James hoping to work with him and he mentioned the fact he was off to study at Manchester University doing some intense studies on music production, engineering and other recording. With I myself being interested in this area i did wonder what could come of it with this area being as competitive as this was and I just carried on in my own studies in printing, my speciality being pre-press, a trade which I have done all along.
The music writing continued for me at every opportunity probably still in the belief that i would one-day be able to support myself in this.
Pete Lunn became my next music colleague and he was the reason i adopted dance music, but i had to fight very hard over the next few years to prove myself in this genre especially as male vocal was not popular at this time and moving to the Soundsation base in Bournemouth had to be done. Pete and I went on to produce about 50 or so tunes from 1994-2003 as Soundsation, Lunn and Latham and Tartmaker, before i set off for Iceland where i reside now though he still remains and always will my closest alli.
The track where everything came together was actually quite by accident. "Do you feel it?" started as a bit of fun in the studio playing with the JV1080 and editing out the most obscure sounds. The next morning we knew we had something and we just flowed as we added and built this tune, which we werent sure whether this was trance or house, but clearly part of what went on to be know as progressive. On releasing this on our own "SOS Recordings" clearly it looked like we might of run a little off track with this and we were set to move in a different direction for a while.
Probably about six months later it all started happening, a friend told me "Sasha" played it at his gig, and Christmas 1996 on BBC Radio Ones Essential Selection "John Digweed" named it as his favourite tune of 1996, and it featured on Renaissance Part 4 compilation (Though forgetting to name me on the sleeve). A few labels were in the running including Jackpot, before we decided to sign this to Dave Seamans Stress Records (DMC).
Wierdly enough i discovered James Wiltshire was the studio guy for them there and I have always thought his vouch for me could well of been the clincher of this getting to paper, especially as Stress had so much kept the artists in house.
In re-recording the vocal James was on studio duties at Stress and I think he was expecting another vocalist to turn up before i delivered it in typical fashion, the track was completed and later released.
Its been nearly twenty years since meeting him in some old barn studio yet nowadays even living a few thousand miles away i still cant escape his music from my radio. I do have and enjoy the albums actually :)
Recent developments might prove i still have something left vocally and lyrically for this industry with a tune coming on "Armin Van Buurens" Armada with DJ Eco and high expectation with the feature on the Proton release of "tONKPROJECT "Forever" and a brand new album late 2009, so, if you..re out there James prehaps you want to try deep male vocal on one of your tunes, thats if you are not too busy working with Kylie or Beyoncé that is :P