The story so far this year

Hello

I hope all is well with you wherever you are in the world?

Sitting here eating chocolate (as usual lol) and thought I should put together a blog with the story so far this year with regard to the new album and the studio.

Firstly, the album is now completed!  It has taken exactly one year to complete from the first song last September 2018 which was Doppelgänger, the name we have also chosen for this album. 
It has been a rollercoaster of a year with lots of peaks and troughs, but as 'they' say "It isn't how you get there it's the final results which matter."  Or something like.
​  
At the beginning of September I lost my fur companion in the studio, Katey.  She was my everything and used to sit with me looking so serene and patient as I sometimes battled my way through the emotional turmoil of creating a song from silence.  I fought for her and the vets did everything they could to help, unfortunately her kidneys failed suddenly, she stopped eating on the Thursday and the following Wednesday morning she was gone.  I felt so helpless not being able to help her, making me feel like I would make a terrible parent. She was 18 years old.  A good age many would say, we rescued her from a rotten life when she was 3 years old and gradually she let her guard down to allow me to show her how much I adored her.  
​You have no idea how it feels until you allow a kitty into your heart, I know it's painful but I cannot imagine my life without all the love and joy they bring while they are here.
I sat in the studio with my youngest kitty, Poppy who was inseparable from Katey, and wrote the words to 'Smoking Gun' which expresses how I was feeling at the time and how many do not want to see how unhappy you are feeling and want you only around for the good times.  So a brave face I adorned with a huge smile just to please others, when inside I was in so much pain due to losing my Katey.  I'm sure many people can relate to this song and how it hurts to lose someone you love so dearly.
We are going to dedicate Doppelgänger to her.  It has been a struggle to find a way through this and to keep focused, I love her so much and always will <3   

Katey, May 2000 - Sept 2018

ALBUM COVER

Chris is also a photographer (O-Ten Photography) so we did a photo shoot for the promo shots to promote Doppelgänger and also the album artwork.  We brought ideas to the table and then went with the flow of the shoot to create the album cover and photos which express more of an edgy look, all in black and white, as Chris loves to shoot in this format with his Leica M8 and film cameras.
My two faces in the photo express two main emotions, happy and sad.  I would love to know what you think of the album cover, it is intriguing to know how you see this image... dark? edgy?  emotional?  disturbing?  Comments please ... ​

Doppelgänger - Album Cover.

The album is called Doppelgänger as initially we had older songs we wanted to add to this album, so it was a way of saying that there are 2 versions to these songs, now there are more new tracks than old.  If you purchased the debut album, you will be familiar with 'Blind', this has been renamed 'Musik' and instead of being a song about my mother abandoning me it is now a very positive subject on how music uplifts and gives you a good feeling, unifies people and date stamps your experiences.   ​
Now one year on and the album is complete.  Chris and I will be listening to each song and making sure we are both happy them, a little tweak here and there, then Doppelgänger the album will be ready to master. ​

STUDIO

In August we decided to put a spanner in the works by having double glazing in the studio, as if writing the album wasn't enough lol, so this set us back a few weeks as we made our way through all the upheaval to create a brand new layout and to then adjust our ears to the new acoustics in the room.

Studio - New Layout

The studio somehow seems bigger, maybe getting rid of huge unwanted looms and sorting through books and throwing out old manuals has decluttered the place?  I think the room is encouraging us to be more creative, there are curtains now at the windows as the bright light was something I wasn't used to and often distracted me from working.  Also laying down vocals in the bright sunshine was off putting too, but it nice to have the choice of daylight or a more subdued light.  

THE OPENING TRACK

At this stage it is difficult to have a set order for the songs, we have however decided that the first track will be 'Love Lies Bleeding'.  When my previous album, War Torn, was released and pledging was underway for the hard copies on Pledge Music, there was the opportunity to grab a hard copy of the demos and also on there was an embryonic version of LLB.  It has never been released other than on this demo album, exclusively to Pledge Music at the time.  It has had a huge facelift and we are so pleased with the results, it is very catchy and makes you stomp around the room!  Considering the subject is very dark it is very uplifting and we feel it gets you into the album instantly.  Chris has laid down fretless bass throughout this track with overdubs on his fretted ESP, playing a Peter Hook style bass riff, which personally is my favourite riff in this song from him.  

Chris and I cannot wait to tell you more about this album, we are bursting at the seams to release this and for all the radio and magazine interviews to begin!  
Please be a little more patient for a little while longer... it won't be long now!! 

Much love,
Micci xx
She's Got Claws
www.shesgotclaws.co.uk

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