Little Dipper ‘Ceefax at 3:00 am’
Rob Allen is out and about presenting the infectious sounds of Little Dipper to an ever growing and enthusiastic following. Between gigs and putting the finishing touches to his forthcoming album ‘Ceefax at 3:00 am’ he took some time out to discuss his new project with Crunch Record’s John Simpson.
Some thoughts and stories? - ok here goes...
‘Ceefax at 3:00 am’ recording sessions...
Challenging
“I have been recording music since I was 15, most of it all myself using drum machines for the rhythm tracks, the ways ranging from putting two old tape decks together for the lowest-fi of multitracking you can get, to upgrading to analogue 4 tracks in the late 90's, being given a digital 4 track in the early 2000's for free(!) to play with, to finally using a computer (last year) and having all the tracks I could possibly want.
What I found though, was that having a million and one tracks to play around with doesn't necessarily mean you're making a great record. When the album was first started it felt like the vibe of the songs (especially the rerecorded versions) had been slightly lost, as I was used to being on my own in a small flat trying to think of ingenious ways to add another guitar or vocal track to the already full 4 track songs I was making. There's something fun about that, it's challenging, but now I found myself in a totally different situation in a studio with an engineer and no limits. Which, in a bizarre way, seemed to limit the songs. I started to get neurotic about sounds and layers of sound in a way that I never had done before and definitely lost my way somewhat around the end of last year.
“I sacked off the songs…”
So, I forgot about these recordings that we had done and started using my 4 track again to demo new songs I had been writing in the mean time. This seemed to give me some perspective on the job in hand and so I went back to the studio songs for the first time since last Christmas. Things started to sound like they were taking a little more shape after a bit and I started feeling much happier about the record. I sacked off the songs that just didn't work and focused more on the ones that did. I've only just now got it sounding more like I wanted. It's been a long hard slog , it's not over quite yet either, but it's almost there... watch this space.
“…different sounds and styles…”
The songs on Ceefax at 3:00 a.m are quite a mixture of different sounds
and styles that seemed to just develop naturally over time. Some of them are recordings of songs that are on old 4 track albums I used to make and give away to anyone that would have them. They are simple yet complex, danceable yet thought provoking, sad but optimistic. They're light years away from the grungy, Nirvana influenced pop, that I wrote when I started Little Dipper. They are warm for the winter and bright for the summer and I hope that they appeal to a wide range of music lovers all over the land.
Since I was a young musician my dream was to have a record in the shops, I don't want massive fame like Oasis or U2, I never have, I couldn't imagine it. All I want to do is make my little mark on the world with some honest songs for good people and give enjoyment to people who want to listen.
Live times...
I used to have a band. In fact there's been more people in Little Dipper over the years than there probably should have been. But by around 2003/4 I'd had enough of trying to organise rehearsals and teach people songs, so I had the idea of recording some backing tracks to play over at gigs. It worked too. The quality wasn't great, but you got the idea. I still do this, although the quality is a lot better and fuller sounding. Especially at venues with sweet P.A's and sound desks.Though now if I get to a venue that hasn’t got monitors or decent enough sound, I use my backup plan, which is to quite simply just play the guitar and sing. It's a different set, but it still goes down as well as the other. I learnt this lesson when I played a gig in Manchester once, the sound system was basically none existent but I went ahead and tried to do the full thing anyway and it went badly wrong!
After some gigs people come up to me and tell me I must have 'balls of
steel' to get up on a stage and do what I do live on my own. But that’s the way I like it. It's simple, it's effective and I don't have to rely on anyone but myself.”
Ceefax at 3:00 am is scheduled to be released in February 27th 2007 and will be distributed in the U.K. by Proper Records.
For Little Dipper forthcoming gig dates check out the Crunch Myspace www.myspace.com/crunchrecords
