Songs in a New Minor

Released : February 2001

 

Personnel

Peter Nuttall - Music/Lyrics/Vocals
Douglas Hunter - Lyrics
Ian Forbes - Music
David Baker - Music
David Marshall - Lyrics
Paul Lee - Music/Lyrics

We needed a new direction. We needed new ideas and inspiration. We went to a Goth Weekend in Whitby and came back with a plan to do an industrial, dark, brooding, odd and melodic minor album.  'Dead of Night' was written in a few hours and in the same session, 'Edge of Dreams' and 'Terror of Love'.  All heavy guitars, baroque strings and spacey drums.

'Catherine Wheel' was the epic on the album; it used the main riff from an old song 'Silent' which was on the 'Reflection' album as the bridge between chorus and verse.  It asks 'Twisted tree, tell me what you've seen'. The tree is in the courtyard of the Treasurer's House in York. It looks at least 1000 years old and when I saw it one day, I would love to have heard what it had seen in that time.  

'Silver Religion' was about my obsession with the moon. I used to sit in the garden at 2am staring up and writing poems and lyrics and whatever, like I was worshipping it.  The re-recording had Richie Schulz on guitar, who added loads to the atmosphere.

'Money' was a song written by Paul Lee with whom I collaborated briefly in 1997.  There were two demos from then - one of which was re-written and appeared on this album, and the other 'Belong to Me' a bit later on. The Demo is on the playlist here.

The closing tracks of the album were both ballads. 'Would I need you' and 'Confusion Rains'.  They were written originally for the Musical I was writing and directing with a local theatre group called 'Dark Heart'. It was my attempt at writing something like 'The Phantom of the Opera' - it had Vampires in it and a song called 'Taste Me' which we've never recorded because none of us can sing it.

I was invited along to sing for a band Ian was in, which also had Alex (ex-Urban Fox circa. 2000) and a couple of old school friends.  They were jamming what became 'Dead Beat'; I added lyrics, tune, bridge and chorus.  I suggested finalising the structure the following week - I wasn't invited back.  Turns out they just wanted to jam and have a laugh. I was all about getting things written, recorded and moving on.  You could say we broke up after one rehearsal through musical differences.  I finished the song and recorded it myself.

- Peter