Maplewood Studio master Rob Chappers latest EP ‘At Arms Reach’
A concept album with a difference! In Rob’s Words -
“The concept was that I could only use whatever I could reach from my office chair… I love the concept of limitations forcing us to become more creative. I could reach the following musical items:
- Yellow stick – part of a dog agility training kit that was on my floor Wooden Chair – Which I hit with the stick
- Electric fan – Which I also hit and scraped with the stick
- Big Cardboard Box – Which used to contain the fan, I hit this with my stick and fist
- Faith Eclipse Saturn Acoustic Guitar (AKA my B-tar) – I plugged it into my JVM205 Marshall, tuned it open and hit it on the bridge with my fist as I slid up and down the neck. Some of the tunes are tuned to B… every string is tuned to B.
- Chapman Guitars ML2 – I played it as normal, but tried as much as possible to forget all theory, scales and just bend, ripp, express etc… lot’s of fun to be free.
- Marshall JVM205 head and 1960 4×12 cab – Orange channel, not too much gain, all the presence and most of the resonance
- Shure SM57 – Used normally
- Philips SBC MD110 Mic – Cost me £12 from Currys, used it to record Red Dream. It is the ancient stick of win \m/
- Canon HV20 – I filmed everything and used the built in condenser mic, blending it with the Philips and the SM57
- Boss DD3 Delay Pedal – Used on some of the vocal tracks .
I recorded all of the above into my Mac using a Presonus Firebox and Garage Band, I then exported the uncompressed files into Sony Vegas and chopped it all up like I was editing video. Once edited, I mixed the tracks and then sent them to Paul “Stick” at Maplewood Studio for mastering. The whole EP was recorded and written in an eight day period and was one of the most freeing, cathartic and natural musical experiences I have experienced. The resulting work is unlike anything anyone will have heard from me, it is absolutely not a guitar album and is far more akin to a cross between PJ Harvey and Soundgarden – on acid – being hit with a stick.”
Track Listing
1) Tree Of Life
2) Follow the Valley
3) The Last Day
4) **** You John
5) Three Wishes
Available on iTunes and the Monkey Lord Store
