Always a lark getting up with one on a Sunday morning for a sesh with Arktik Lake Tony in Sydney. In fact, today I went back to bed afterward because as I tried to fall asleep last night, I heard some horrible music coming through the walls, like an all-night disco playing house music, just what you need when you have to be up in the morning. The worst thing about it was that the rhythm wasn’t constant, so there’d be bangin’ drums, then they’d stop and start again, so you couldn’t even drift off to a groove. My despair reminded me of my Mum’s despair when she heard me listening to Deep Purple, she had that look of confusion on her face, “You can’t understand the words”. She was a Glenn Miller fan. What she didn’t know was that hearing Deep Purple’s words wasn’t really the point.

So early sesh then sleep, then up late afternoon and getting on with listening to mixes and writing copious notes. One of the bulbs blew in my red lamps but by some miracle, there was a bulb sitting on the desk that had been there for weeks looking for a home. Let’s face it, it’s all about the lighting! Haha. The lighting and the whiteboard, you need the lighting for the mood and the whiteboard to keep track – the secrets of success!

I was half-heartedly watching some second-half football matches over dinner, but nice to see Wales beat Croatia 2-1. I then had a Skype call with Salim in Texas, making plans. He told me that the most streams he’s getting for the album I worked on with him – A Nuclear Winter (2023) are from Australia, we may have to go there. Arktik Lake will be releasing an album at some point, so I should be there for that and maybe Salim can come too, and do some gigs.

The blinds were down and the windows in the front closed today as the rainy weather continued. The ladies of the day were huddled in the entrance to their rooms upstairs. I was up earlyish for me and was surprised to see two young lads go in there, teenagers, maybe early twenties, at 10.30 on a rainy Sunday morning, I guess business is business and what are guys this age even doing up at this time on a Sunday morning in the rain?

Music today has been the latest release from boygenius, the 10-inch, The Rest (2023). Four tracks – great if you like this kind of thing, but I’d buy it now if you want the vinyl, it’s one of those that will be impossible to find in the not-too-distant future, or pricey if you do find it.

Music Of The Daze