Here's what I remember of my Jan 23 & 28 and Feb 4 viewings:
Friday, January 23, 1 pm.
The band and producer are sat in a circle: Polly Jean Harvey at 12 o'clock, Mark "Flood" Ellis at 2 o'clock, Terry Edwards at 4 o'clock, Alessandro Stefana at 6 o'clock, John Parish at 8 o'clock, Enrico Gabrielli at 9 o'clock, and Kenrick Rowe at 11 o'clock.
Sound engineer Rob Kirwan operates outside of the circle at 4 o'clock and is mostly hidden from view, behind his work station. Assistant sound engineer Adam "Cecil" Bartlett sits on a foot stool just outside the circle at 3 o'clock.
Photographer Seamus Murphy moves among us, filming in the public gallery.
Mic stands, headphone mixers and instruments surround each musician's chair - a violin sits atop an old upright piano behind Polly, an olympic white Fender Jaguar on a stand to her left, a Rosen autoharp in front, a saxophone and an ornate guitar-bodied hurdy gurdy to her right.
The band is recording vocal overdubs to an as-yet unidentified song, singing in unison: "Nobody asked us/if we want them."
Polly says that she wants to add another voice in the upper register and asks if any of the guys can reach the high note - they all try, but only Enrico and Cecil come anywhere close; lots of laughter ensues.
Cecil steps up to Terry's mic to deliver the vocal, he seems shy but his voice holds up well.
Polly expresses concern that the "d" in "asked" isn't sounding pronounced enough, Flood warns that it may become too plosive if everyone starts enunciating properly, Polly asks that everyone at least hear it in their minds as they're singing.
Flood asks Polly if she'd like the "Rules and regulations" refrain to fade in, Polly says that she hasn't thought that far ahead yet.
The band moves on to another song, "Guilty;" Rob and Cecil adjust the mics as the band members pick up their instruments.
John explains that he isn't comfortable with the strumming pattern on this particular number - there's a pause that he would prefer to play through. Flood asks John if he'd be prepared to try it both ways and see what sticks. John decides to pass and hands the sunburst Fender Jazzmaster to Alessandro to play instead.
The headphone/monitor mix begins and Polly lays down some saxophone, Enrico some bass clarinet, and Terry some flute.
-------------------
Wednesday, January 28, 3pm
The band and producer are sat in a loose circle: Polly Jean Harvey at 12 o'clock, Flood at 2 o'clock, Mick Harvey at 4 o'clock & 6 o'clock (depending whether he's on vox or keys), John Parish at 8 o'clock, and Jean-Marc Butty at 11 o'clock.
Seamus Murphy is filming inside the live room, sitting on a couch at 9 o'clock.
The band is working on a song called "Imagine This," a sombre tune that conjures up images of blindfolded men being led away to a watery grave:
"Imagine this/around your eyes/a rag is tied/and you're on a track/right hand on the back/of another man."
Jean-Marc is on his feet recording a vocal overdub, singing lines from the chorus in a low voice; he seems to be having difficulty with timing and is glad when his take is finally wrapped up.
Flood then takes a turn on the mic, singing lines from the verse in a falsetto; he's straining and is also having issues with timing. Mick ribs him, enjoying the boot being on the other foot.
Polly wonders if they should all sing the song through again, but with more punch, as it's sounding too pretty and ethereal. She wants to take another stab at her lead vocal too, making it louder and more forceful.
Polly stands up, removes her jacket and delivers a pristine lead vocal take.
The rest of the band then prepare to re-record their backing vocals in unison. Someone suggests that they do 3 passes and imitate each other's vocal style on each pass. Polly thinks it's a decent idea and might give it an interesting timbre.
They run through the song again. Mick's the one having timing issues now, with one of the lines coming in on an off-beat.
The band listen to the song on playback. Polly thinks it's sounding pretty good, but that it's feeling a bit slow; she's worried it's becoming "Ploddy." Polly recalls how this was the first song she wrote after Let England Shake.
Flood agrees that the rhythm section could use some tightening up. He suggests using varispeed, but Polly questions whether that might throw the drums out of tune with the guitars.
--------------
Wednesday, February 4, 6pm
The band and producer are sat in a loose circle: Polly Jean Harvey is ensconced on a couch at 9 o'clock alongside a woman I don't recognise, Jean-Marc Butty is at 11 o'clock, Alain Johannes at 1 o'clock, Flood at 2 o'clock, Mike Smith at 4 o'clock, Mick Harvey at 6 o'clock, and John Parish at 8 o'clock.
The band is working on a song called "The Orange Monkey," in which Polly appears to describe a tour of Southeast Asia and an encounter with an Orangutan:
"Restlessness took hold my brain/with questions I could not hold back/an orange monkey on a chain."
Jean-Marc is playing a bass drum and a crash cymbal with a soft timpani mallet, Alain is strumming an 8-string cigar box guitar, Mike is playing saxophone, and Mick is playing a Moog Taurus bass pedal synthesizer with his hands.
Mick is trying to figure out verse/chorus transitions, he tries several different variations before hitting on one he likes, his movements becoming more exaggerated with each turn. Mick points to a line in the song, "a happy chaos/carried on," which he feels pretty much encapsulates the moment.
John says that he liked what Mick did on the 2nd and 3rd, even if it was a bit "wayward," and flashes him an impish smile.
With the synth and sax parts sounding good, Flood suggests that they move on to the coda. The band pick up the song towards the end of the last verse and play through to the end, the music gently falling away.
Alain then prepares to record a separate cigar box guitar track. Polly moves over to an empty chair at 12 o'clock to listen-in to the running headphone/monitor mix, Mick moves to the couch beside Flood at 2 o'clock, and Mike to the other couch at 9 o'clock.
On this take, Alain taps at the strings of the cigar box guitar, instead of strumming or picking them. On completion, Mick and Flood offer some feedback, suggesting a few tweaks, but Polly says she likes the take as it is. Alain compares the sound at one point to swirling water rapids, which seems fitting.
The band check their watches and decide to listen back to a couple of the songs from previous weeks, Polly says she can barely remember them now.
The first song we hear on playback is "Age Of The Dollar." The mix is sparse, just Polly's vocals, some percussion and woodwind. The song has a distinctly jazzy feel and Polly's voice is deep and full of character.
Polly, now settled on Mick's old chair at 6 o'clock, remarks that there are "big holes" in this number. She also has an issue with a trilling sound, which she feels is going to wear on her nerves quite quickly. She says she likes the general feel of the song, but that it needs something to draw the listener to the words.
Next up is a song called "A Line In The Sand," which Flood suggests was once titled "A Line In The School." We hear up to the second verse or so, when the sound cuts out; our allotted time is up.
|