I finished Bembé a week ago last Saturday. Actually, Jeremy and I got together that afternoon and worked our way through the entire song; intro, verse, chorus, bridge, montuno, coda, breaks, the whole lot. To say that it was one of our better days is an understatement.
Then Ana joined us later and we nailed the basslines, completing both the core rhythm and vocals for the song. It was already sounding great. We introduced it in its entirety to the remainder of 4de12 a few days later (sans Carolyn and Dan who were holidaying), who all quickly got their teeth into it. Despite Bembé's tender age, it's taking shape very quickly which is the mark of a good song. There's even a chance that we could have it ready to debut at our gig in Leeds.
Jeremy and I began the process of recording Bembé with the guide piano, vocals and clave last Sunday - this is the fastest we've ever worked on a song. Conventional wisdom dictates that we should gig a song for at least a year before recording it; to give the musicians time to explore it, for the song to reach maturity. Scheduling pressures on the recording project dictate otherwise.
Where some might think of this as an unfortunate circumstance, I think of it as an opportunity to give Convention a good poke in the eye. Having been through the recording wringer a few times already, I think and feel that there's every chance we can come up with a rendition that will match the others in terms of exceptional quality.
The Fast-track begins here and now!
Loo Yeo
PS. I've recently discovered Facebook and in it, I'm documenting the rise of Bembé in the form of a photo diary. It's a bit of an experiment right now and if it works out as well I think it will, we might publish it on one of our websites.
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