Last official Stories of the beat-blog. Next week I will talk a little more about the album as a whole and how it came about, but this week it's the story of one song.
The song.
The one song that I decided should be the title track of the album.
The sound of the beat.
It could easily be the title of a nineties dance compilation. Yet it isn't.
The line 'we all have to move on, we all row to the sound of the beat' always gives me visuals of eighteenth century boats powered by chained slaves rowing below deck to the sound of a drum, rowing for dear life, rowing because they are forced to, rowing because they cannot do anything else.
Although I'm usually very optimistic and chipper, and I love all the things I get to do in music and museums, sometimes I do feel like I'm the rat inside the wheel, just running around like crazy without any clear goal, forgetting I took the same turn albeit a thousand times. The song is partly about that.
But it is also about not needing to prove yourself anymore. Every story has already been told, every song has already been sung.
For me the song is a kind of crede, a testimony to how I feel I stand in life (at this point in time). I wrote the song most likely 5 or 6 years ago. I wanted to make a new record, not for the critics or to prove my own legitimacy as a songwriter. I just wanted to make it for the sake of the music itself. I'm not sure I would write the exact same song today, but I am very proud of it lyricwise, the song comes full circle, from beginning to end. For a long time it didn't actually, not until I wrote the bridge.
Furthermore l feel that this song is the sum of all the songs that come before it on the record. It could not have been anywhere on the record but at the last position. (not taking into account the bonus track 'hoping for a miracle').
The song's arrangements was quickly determined in a very early stage. It's one of the more 'loaded' songs, in terms of amount of tracks. There are several guitars and vocals, organ, drums, bass, backing vocals.
Yet it's not a rock song. It's very clearly a roots song, with a clear and defined place for every individual instrument. I particularly had a lot of fun recording the vocals in the outro, as it the chorus becomes a group chant. There are no less than sixteen vocal tracks (if I recall correctly) in the outro....
All singing the same mantra... 'we all have to move on, we all row to the sound of the beat, of the beat'
Lyrics here
Listen here
Credits:
Marjan Debaene: Lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, hammond organ, percussion
Alex Brackx: Electric guitars
Bert Embrechts: Bass guitar
Eric Bosteels: Drums
The song.
The one song that I decided should be the title track of the album.
The sound of the beat.
It could easily be the title of a nineties dance compilation. Yet it isn't.
The line 'we all have to move on, we all row to the sound of the beat' always gives me visuals of eighteenth century boats powered by chained slaves rowing below deck to the sound of a drum, rowing for dear life, rowing because they are forced to, rowing because they cannot do anything else.
Although I'm usually very optimistic and chipper, and I love all the things I get to do in music and museums, sometimes I do feel like I'm the rat inside the wheel, just running around like crazy without any clear goal, forgetting I took the same turn albeit a thousand times. The song is partly about that.
But it is also about not needing to prove yourself anymore. Every story has already been told, every song has already been sung.
For me the song is a kind of crede, a testimony to how I feel I stand in life (at this point in time). I wrote the song most likely 5 or 6 years ago. I wanted to make a new record, not for the critics or to prove my own legitimacy as a songwriter. I just wanted to make it for the sake of the music itself. I'm not sure I would write the exact same song today, but I am very proud of it lyricwise, the song comes full circle, from beginning to end. For a long time it didn't actually, not until I wrote the bridge.
Furthermore l feel that this song is the sum of all the songs that come before it on the record. It could not have been anywhere on the record but at the last position. (not taking into account the bonus track 'hoping for a miracle').
The song's arrangements was quickly determined in a very early stage. It's one of the more 'loaded' songs, in terms of amount of tracks. There are several guitars and vocals, organ, drums, bass, backing vocals.
Yet it's not a rock song. It's very clearly a roots song, with a clear and defined place for every individual instrument. I particularly had a lot of fun recording the vocals in the outro, as it the chorus becomes a group chant. There are no less than sixteen vocal tracks (if I recall correctly) in the outro....
All singing the same mantra... 'we all have to move on, we all row to the sound of the beat, of the beat'
Lyrics here
Listen here
Credits:
Marjan Debaene: Lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, hammond organ, percussion
Alex Brackx: Electric guitars
Bert Embrechts: Bass guitar
Eric Bosteels: Drums
RSS Feed
