Day 38 Song 38 - The Gulf of Shit Part ii

So I've been working on the Gulf Oil song... just in case any of you trainspotters are interested in the creative process, i thought i'd post the developments...

Day 37 Song 37 - Save the Best till Last

Day 36 Song 36 - The Gulf of Shit

This is the chorus to my new song "Blow that oil away". I found these lyrics in a comment on a discussion forum about the BP oil disaster and put them to guitar. I'll finish it on Sunday I promise!
n.b. make that next Sunday - it's getting to be a big project!

Day 35 Song 35 - and all my life

Hello children of the zodiac! Have listened to the Portishead album Third inside and out and have concluded that it's very good, but I still prefer Jenny Wilson. Ok ok, I'm not an amateur - I loved their Dummy debut in 1995 with the best of them but I really think Jenny Wilson and her producer are fucking awesome. To be honest, I don't know whether they're geniuses... but in music I often find I don't personally need genius. I will expand on this tomorrow, so don't fall asleep yet - there's a new song to be heard!

Day 34 Song 34 - Afro

A bizarre song to say the least - I wrote it about 4 years ago around the time of promo for Soft Rock. It was an exciting time, yet very busy, and summer was in full roar. I started to imagine what it would be like to be a single mother... and was experimenting with a recording of my old boyfriend Hans Narva made on Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island), where we played that I was my Dad, and he was calling me up to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage.
By the way, I changed the music players since this one is less graphic intensive, I thought maybe it will be quicker to load..?

Day 33 Song 33 - Errare Machinale Est

Hey hey hey! Sorry I've been out for a couple of days - to be honest I was so busy that I completely forgot I had a blog!! Some friends of mine have been in town - shouts to Joni and Norbert and congratulations on your wedding :-) - and I've been doing sound for a theater piece for a friend of mine, Beatrice Jugert. If anyone has time on Saturday night (5th June) our piece starts at 8pm at HBC in the theater room, and it will probably be very magical :-)) It's also been kind of stressful carting the baby around everywhere, but to be fair he has behaved himself splendidly, and laid uncomplaining on the floor of the theater every day :-)
This song was originally made by Jori Hulkkonen, and I added the vocal arrangements to it. I love Jori - actually I borrowed his "Fancy Robots" name idea for my previous track! Thanks for the feedback mh, martin and the new guy. Much appreciated!!!

Day 32 Song 32 - Fancy Robots

Day 31 Song 31 - Petting Zoo

A little something I wrote at my brother's place in China. He lives in Shanghai in a skyscraper, and it was very peaceful in his apartment for about 2 hours every morning :-) I recorded with my buddy Florian in Lothar's studio in the RAW temple in Friedrichshain. Lothar is really nuts about acoustics and the walls and ceiling of each isolation room are covered in foam daggers and bumps. It was magical to record there, as Lothar is a true Sound Scientist.
Petting Zoo by Justine_Electra

Day 30 Song 30 - Berlin Rocks

And now a little dirty dance remix I made for my pals Sex in Dallas... Adrian was very passionate about this remix and came into my room every half an hour to espouse compliments on its developments. I really enjoyed making it, and I think you can hear that in the track :-)
Berlin Rocks by Justine_Electra

Day 29 Song 29 - Virgin

Yet another of my southern whore fantasy songs :-)
Virgin - She'll Let You In by Justine_Electra

Day 28 Song 28 - Bagpipes

If you live in Germany and have ever wondered about the literal difference between "kalt" and "warm miete", then you may find this piece of information valuable.

Grundsätzlich gilt lt. BGH WuM 2006, 518: „Die Vereinbarung einer Warmmiete ist nicht erlaubt“. Mancher glaubt, dass eine sog. Warmmiete sämtliche Kosten abdeckt, die im Rahmen des Mietverhältnisses anfallen. Doch im Mietrecht gibt es diesen Begriff nicht. Richtig ist „BRUTTOMIETE“. Diese beinhaltet einerseits die Nettomiete und andererseits die Heiz- und Nebenkosten (zusammengefasst als Betriebskosten bezeichnet). Als Betriebskosten dürfen nur die Kosten umgelegt werden, die in der Betriebskostenverordnung ausgewiesen sind und dementsprechend tatsächlich mietvertraglich auch vereinbart sind. Dabei ist zu beachten, dass auch eine Heizkostenpauschale, bei der alle Kosten mit einer monatlichen Zahlung endgültig abgegolten sind unzulässig ist (OLG Hamm RE WuM 85, 267; OLG Schleswig RE WuM 86, 330). Ausnahme ist dabei nur ein Gebäude mit zwei Wohnungen, von denen eine vom Vermieter bewohnt wird, hier braucht nicht nach Verbrauch abgerechnet werden, wenn das vereinbart ist.
Die Miete ist am dritten Werktag des Monats fällig (Bruttomiete). Über die monatlichen Vorauszahlungen der Heiz- und Nebenkosten ist nach Ende des gesetzlich vorgeschriebenen 12monatigen Abrechnungszeitraumes innerhalb 12 Monaten abzurechnen.

Bagpipes by Justine_Electra

Day 27 Song 27 - Mon Citroen

The literal translation is supposed to be "My Citroen remains in disrepair" x 5 then "I love you" then "I would like a beautiful night" and then "I would like condiments of the night (condoms??)" and then right at the end, the only other french phrase i know "Ferme votre busch" which means "shut your fucking mouth".
Mon Citroen by Justine_Electra

Day 26 Song 26 - Delmenhof

And now something for those of us who like to boogey down on a Thursday morning. It's one of my newest tracks, I made it a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting my parents-in-law in a town in Germany called "Delmenhorst". I made it all in Live 6.0 and it's still under construction - that intro melody is somewhat annoying so I'm going to make a new mix of it on the weekend and re-load it.
Hope you get something out of it :-)
Delmenhof by Justine_Electra

Day 25 Song 25 - Golden Brow

This is a remake of one of the first songs I ever "produced" on my own. At the time I was living in a town called Lismore, near the northern coast of NSW. My flatmate Damian had a fancy 80s synth keyboard and I remember distinctly being mesmerised by the sounds of my own recorded instruments, and the eery effect of the vocals. It was like sinking into another world, and I stayed there completely concentrated for hours.
But as I mentioned previously, this is a remake. I made it with Bernd from Tarwater and love the crazy alto sax at the end which is off-tune a little bit, but still seems to fit perfectly, as Bernd's music always does.

dancing on my own to the L.A.
swimming through the fields of light
take me down
take me to that ancient place
Stroke me underneath my golden brow
hold me under
hold me under
as you stroke my golden brow
feel the sweat as it holds my head
in this position
Dancing on my own to the L.A.
swimming through the fields
as you look that way
as you catch that tear
take me down the road
stroke me underneath my golden
brow
Golden Brow by Justine_Electra

Day 24 Song 24 - Primal Scream

My Dad was upset that not every song on my blog is "up to scratch". My argument was that everyone's scratch is different, and besides, this is a journal.
Enjoy today's song "Primal Scream". It contains the only known recording of Bernd Jestram's voice.
Primal Scream by Justine_Electra

Day 23 Song 23 - Wild Country Girl

leaving my wild city life
cos it's getting in my lungs
sick of dance and drink and rugs
thou seek your peace in the leaves
and the sky'll shine all day
and we'll eat and sleep and lay

he was my wild country boy
he had feathers in his hair
he took me riding on his horse everywhere
and we went shooting bows and arrows
and we played wretched games
we gave and lived under the rain

no two-time running man
will save my soul for me
no promises will stop me live my dreams

i was a wild country girl
i had feathers in her hair
and i hitch-hiked everywhere
my best-friend made guitars
and we stayed up all night
and his wife she didn't mind

no two-time etc.
no hard-done tellin boss-man
will get inside my day
i'm gonna have my fun and have my way

this is our wild country life
and we run around all night
and we cry and laugh and fight
these are our wild country babes
and they love it in the dirt
and they smile and play and hurt

no two-time etc.
no hard-done etc.
i'm gonna have my fun
i'm gonna have my life
i'm gonna have my love and have my way
Wild country girl by Justine_Electra

Day 22 Song 22 - Inside Yr Heaven

At the time when Hanno Leichtmann and I were working together (around 2000) I had a contract with a sub-company of BMG called K&P music, who some of you may know as Krall und Puppe of German "City" band fame. They were both very eager for me to record a hit-song (remember the days of militant record company managers?) and just LOVED Inside your Heaven.

Inside yr Heaven by Justine_Electra

Day 21 Song 21 - Can't Explain

If you are older than 25 then you probably have at least 1,2 if not 3 relationships that really made a deep impression on you psychically... and that is most likely because you "lost" meaning: you got dumped :-P and if the person/s who dumped you was passionately interested in some aspect of your creativity, then you probably found yourself on a kind of "pavlov's dog" endless cycle of productivity at the end of the relationship. some would call it "musing"... "Can't Explain" is one of a massive series of songs I did over a period of months in 2008... don't listen to it if you're in a good mood :-P although you can hear birds chirping in the background!
Can't Explain by Justine_Electra
i set you free
my little bumblebee
it's not so bad
it's not so bad
when you feel the pain
the pain of heartache
and it feels the same
i let it in
i let it in
it feels warm inside
the feel of heartache

i know what is
and i tell it loud
you cannot lose
when you love the crowd
i never noticed
just how hard it feels
the pain of heartache
when you let it in

it's not so bad
being on your own
the freedom whispers in the telephone
what will i do
with my time today?
i think i'll work it,
work through the pain
it's not so bad
when you work it out
it's not so bad
when you work it out
i let it in
and i tell you straight,
it's not too late

i'll find another
with a golden hand
who takes me swimming
who'll understand
with whom i'll sing
with whom i'll swim

it's not so bad
when you work it out
just who is running
and who's had enough
i build these pictures
inside my brain
and some get scrambled
and some explain

explain to me exactly what you mean
explain to me
come inside with me
i will help you feel
everything
is always strange when you work it out
i can't explain what it's all about
just choose your rides
get on it properly
you can jump off
before the end is near

they gave me a message
yesterday
i have to get up
and i have to pray
i must believe
in the times to come
or incomplete
my mission
to tell you now
to tell you now

Day 20 Song 20 - 50 Times

If there's two things I like, it's phonebooths and library books. I think it's their anonymity. And their condition. You always have to trust that the last person to use them didn't wipe snot on them, and if they did it doesn't matter. Also, when you call someone from a phonebooth, they don't know who's calling you, and if you use a phonebooth in the dark when it's raining, it makes you feel like you're a detective or a fugitive. Even if was pissed in. Another thing I like is 70s era council flats. There's a big acre of them around the corner from my 30s era nazi worker's flat. Walking past them is so depressing that it gives you a good mood just as a contrast. It was on a mid-summer evening walk past those council flats that struck me with the need to record a song. This is what came out! *WARNING* it's RRRUFF!
50 Times by Justine_Electra

Day 19 Song 19 - Tammy Pilot

I had a very close friend when I was 19. Her name was Tamara Verhagen, and together we wanted to conquer the world. She led me to tree-lined valleys in her Toyota Hiace and eventually to Europe where we got picked up by the Roman Mafia and had all kinds of terrifying adventures. I wrote this song and realised later that it was about her. A kind of imagined dialogue that she could have had with her parents if they could express themselves better.
tammy pilot by Justine_Electra