The Story
"Away" began as a single, five-second Apple loop. Something about the loop caught my ear. It was a guitar lick with an infectious energy and drive, so I started playing around with it.
During the days and weeks that followed, I added other loops and electronic instruments--guitars, synths, drums, bass. An accordion drone even found its way into the bridge. Gradually, a song emerged.
Mostly I followed the rhythm. The question was always how new sounds worked with the original guitar lick. If they worked, I kept them. If they didn't, I deleted them. That first loop was the heart of the song, pushing it forward like wind filling the sails of a tall-timbered ship.
Curiously, even after working on the song for several months, I never got tired of it. That seemed like a good sign. The music brought to mind a sense of adventure and exploration, so I added lyrics about going to sea. The melody came last, but by the time I had the loops, structure, and lyrics down, the melody practically wrote itself. I guess the muses dropped by that day.
I don't have a performer's singing voice, and I don't play guitar. So, to see where this all might lead, I enlisted some help.
The Song
Two talented musicians helped bring "Away" to life: Kirk Edmunds and Anda Kappeller.
The first time I heard Kirk sing I was sitting at a table outside a club in Lisbon. There was a group inside doing karaoke. The singing was about what you'd expect from a karaoke party whooping it up around midnight. But then Tom Petty's "Free Fallin" started to play. By the time Kirk finished singing the first verse, I knew I had found my vocalist.
I met Anda a few years ago when I stayed at the Tobermory Youth Hostel, on the Isle of Mull. I'd been out hill walking all day and when I got to my room I opened the windows to let in the evening breeze.
Across the street, down by the water, there was a guy playing an acoustic guitar. He was good. In fact, he was so good that I went down just to hear him play. We talked a bit and he gave me his card.
When I decided to turn my loops into a real-instrument song I got in touch with Anda. He's playing the guitars in this mix. And the bass. And he did the arrangement and mixing. Anda deserves the credit for the instrumental accompaniment.
