MUSICIANS

Paul Roberts - Vocals, guitars, mandolin, harmonica, keyboards, bass & drum programming
Les Davidson - guitars
Robin Langridge - keyboards
Dean Ross - keyboards
Robert Webb - trumpet
Ali Kennen - backing vocals

PRODUCED: Paul Roberts

MASTERED:  Duncan Cowell at The Digital Editing Suite

After No Damage Done I was determined not to be compromised by the recording process again. I resolved to gain control of the means of production and buy myself one of those new fangled Digital Recorder things. Technology that even ten years ago seemed like a dream now exists to make records of the kind of quality that in the past could only be made with the financial clout of a record company behind you. While I know there are plenty of musicians doing things this way I'm still surprised at how many people still put themselves in huge debt to record companies. The power should be in the music, the recording process is most effective when it doesn't get in the way. Without this sounding like a manifesto, if the artist controls the means of production he or she can also retain their integrity. The record industry works on the principle that if twenty projects fail, the one that succeeds justifies the huge wastage of talent and resources expended on the others. The problem being that the success of the one must be instant. It is this blockbuster mentality that leads to the extreme conservatism of most record companies. It means that potentially good artists are never given the chance to develop. New technology and of course the internet hopefully is creating a new autonomy for musicians.

I had spent hundreds of hours watching engineers do their stuff and never really questioned the way they jealously guarded the desk. I assumed it was an unbreakable studio etiquette and that when they told you that attaining a certain sound was difficult that they had good reason to say so. What I have discovered is that mixing is like cooking, everybody has their own idea about how much salt a dish needs to taste good and if you want a particular flavour it's a hell of a lot quicker to get put your hands in the bowl and do it yourself. Dodgy analogies aside I can now get what I want with the minimum of fuss, although it did take me a couple of years mucking about to get there. Underground was recorded and mixed on a sixteen track digital work station and although my equipment and knowledge of how best to use it are now more sophisticated, I'm pretty happy with the results. I played a lot more stuff myself for obvious reasons but I was able to persuade Les Davidson to play guitar and Robin Langridge Keyboards, In this way I felt justified in making it A "Sniff" project. Dean Ross came down to play on 'Night City' and Robert Webb played Trumpet on the same track. Ali Kennon a young singer with a beautiful voice did backing vocals. All in all the only thing I felt it missed was live drums, hopefully this will be remedied for the next one. The album is still available through Amazon etc.