4.52am Issue 059: The Pyramid Park Issue 16th November 2017

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T
his week in 4.52am we have an interview
with the brilliant Pyramid Park as well as
other music and news from John Stamp,
Lee Ranaldo, and Indigo Sixteen, whilst Learn to
Play sees us enjoying ourselves with Suede and
Pink Floyd.
Hope you enjoy it
All at 4.52am

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Contents
Pyramid Park .......................................................................... 9
Learn to Play: Pink Floyd ...................................................... 31
Learn to Play: Suede ............................................................. 35
Indigo Sixteen ....................................................................... 39
Lee Ranaldo .......................................................................... 41
John Stamp ........................................................................... 45
La Contessa Presents… .......................................................... 47
1960s: Amen Corner .............................................................. 49
1970s: Robert Palmer ............................................................ 51
1980s: Billy Idol ..................................................................... 53
1990s: Beth Orton ................................................................. 55
2000s: Doves......................................................................... 57
2010s: Lana Del Rey .............................................................. 59

Pyramid Park
I
am more than happy to admit, that in terms of the music that
is going on out there, I can be totally oblivious about some
bands that when I do finally hear them, totally blow me away
and turn me into some sort of acolyte. One such band is Pyramid
park who have their debut album ‘Vulnerability’ living it large,
but I tend to want to know more than just the song names so we
asked Pete McAllen from the band, to tell us what the score is.
Glady he was happy to. So who are Pyramid Park?
“We have known each other for a few years being based in our
local church in Cambridge where we’ve played with various
bands and set ups. The band finally came together from people
that have worked with me and were happy to play songs I’ve
written live. The rest is history!”

In terms of influences, who are they and how do you go about
bringing them into your music?
“A long list but here’s the short version: Blur, The Killers, The
Beatles, The Verve, Kooks, Mute Math, Franz Ferdinand,
Delirous?, Switchfoot, Asgeir, Two Door Cinema Club, Jonsi,
Brook Fraser (latest album), SOHN, Phoria, Athlete, Of Monsters
And Men, Jack Garrett, White Lies, Saint Raymond, Bon Iver and
many more.
Certainly the early guitar influenced bands have always helped
me focus on tone, so without even thinking about it my tone
(especially clean tone) begins shaped by the likes of Blur, Kooks
etc. For the Vulnerability album we really wanted to model
certain tracks on particular artists, so for one song Asgeir was a
reference (possible two or three tracks actually), then Phoria and
SOHN came into the picture fora couple of others. It wasn’t until
we got stuck that we had to go back and see how far we had
strayed from the reference list and had to decide if it was a new
direction or to pull back. This is when bands who had been
around a while came into the picture, like Athlete and White
Lies. I recall saying to Iain Hutchison (producer) that we just
needed the grit of a White Lies track in one of the songs. This
was really useful and helped our reference list expand a little.”
Going back to the beginning, when did you know that you
wanted to be a musicians?
“I used to play the violin at school, and loved the performance
side of it. My theory wasn’t as strong as it could have been, but I
loved improving. At school I began song writing, and then was
asked to play and sing in from of my whole sixth form. The
response I got was so positive that I knew this was something I
needed to invest in and give more time to. Art was my favourite
subject at school, but as soon as I got into song writing

everything seemed to click. Although it’s not been an easy road
and one I’ve definitely doubted myself on I know that playing
songs I’ve written is part of who I am meant to be.”
How did you go about it ?
“Like I mentioned, violin was my first instrument so a whole lot
of lessons (thanks mum), school orchestra and then trying to
form bands. I also grew up in a church that heavily encouraged
creativity and we used to have a Sunday rock band at our youth
each week which I led for two years, mainly playing cover songs.
They really helped break me into songwriting and just having a
go. Once I left school I was encouraged to keep writing and
although I wanted to be in a band I couldn’t seem to find the
right people so I called a covers band in the local area to see if I
could play some acoustic songs before their set to get some
experience and exposure. They were brilliant and up for helping.
It’s people like this in the early days that give you the push you
need and see more in you than you do yourself.”
Who were your early influences, and can you see them in your
early work? If so, how about now?
“Personally I loved a lot of Blur, Brit Pop, then the likes of The
Kooks, Switchfoot, Athlete, Franz Ferdinand etc growing up.
Guitar bands with attitude I guess. My other huge influence
were two contrasting bands - Delirous? and MuteMath. I’ve
continued to be a fan of MuteMath through their ten years or
more being together and blown away by their live shows both
times I’ve seen them. I also loved bands who meshed electronic
music with guitar led stuff and I think you start to see this cross
over in some of our tracks on Vulnerability. Songs like The
Unexplained, Lead Me and Caught In The Depths have this mix.”

How did you learn to write a song?
“Haha! That’s a good question. Someone famous (who I should
probably find out) once said that they stick their antenna up in
the air and catch whatever is going on. I guess that was my first
approach. I wasn’t lyrics or music, I was both….just get caught
up in the moment and write. However, after a few songs I
realised that I couldn’t sustain this approach otherwise I would
be so distraught I’d never write another song. Learning how to
craft as well as go with the flow of a moment has been essential
to my development. Four years ago I did an evening songwriting
course at The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance
which helped me to critique my style and begin to co-write
better with others.”
Can you describe your sound?
“Here goes…although someone else will have a different
opinion. A mix of alternative guitars, deep snares and alt-pop
synths.”
When did you start gigging - what was your first gig like?
“I guess my first solo gig was the school concert playing infant of
my sixth form. But first proper gig was definitely with the covers
band in a pub on the outskirts of Letchworth. All I remember is
that I gave it my all, it was loud (for one man on a guitar) and the
crowd were mildly interested!”

Tell us about the big gigs you’ve played and how did you enjoy
them?
“Last summer two of us went over to Germany to play at
Freakstock Festival on their main stage. It was a huge privilege
and I was super nervous beforehand. The band on before us
were incredible - they headlined - before we had the first slot
into the night…midnight I think. We had such a good reception
and stupidly didn’t bring all the CD’s we brought with us, as we
sold the ones we had as soon s we came off stage. There have
been several other enjoyable festival moments, but for me this
was a huge highlight as the crowd had never seen or heard of us
before.”
What was the first thing you recorded?
“Oooh, that has got to be an acoustic demo EP in 2005. It was
me trying to capture some of the early singer songwriter
material without much of an idea of arrangement. The studio
was near Swiss Cottage in London, and apparently the producer
had worked with several pop acts that were current. He helped
me record five tracks. I’d never played to click before so that
was a huge learning experience and looking back I probably
could have been better prepared. The EP was titled “Plug in”
and only one or two of the songs get the light of day, but on a
very rare occasion. I sold 300 copies and kept one for myself,
just to reflect back on and smile.”

Is there anything you wish you'd known then?
“Yes! I think I was very naive about production, the process and
how to work with producers. Thinking back I would certainly
have upped my preparation time, making sure I knew exactly
what influences I wanted plus giving more time to the craft of
songwriting. You also never know who you’ll meet and I wish I’d
kept connected with the various musicians involved on the
project.”
How does that compare to how you recorded the album?
“So very differently. Back then I didn’t really have a budget, so
everything was done cheaply. For this project I worked hard to
raise nearly £13,000 to use quality producers, and mastering
engineers etc. For this album I think I wrote over 50 songs, and
really didn’t stop until I was happy with each one. Iain Hutchison
(GloWorm Records, Glasgow), who produced this record, was
brilliant to work with. We clicked early on, and between us it
felt like we had a goal in terms of influences, sonic pallet, and
even the compromise between passion and perfection in a take.
We tried to work on what was a good ‘feel’ as much as what was
a good take. Going away to record as well was a huge help,
because for a week or two at a time my head was fully immersed
in the project, and this lifted my game.”
Can you talk us through the tracks on the album?
“Sure. The first song The Unexplained is the most upbeat song
on the album but it begins with a long intro swelling and
dropping into the first verse. It was written at the back end of
the writing process, and so for me I feel it is a conclusion of
where I’ve been…a nice way to start. It hints at my past rock
influences growing up with the heaviest guitars on the album.

In contrast, song two Born To Be Brave is much more indiealternative
in sound with guitars much cleaner and more like
Two Door Cinema Club. The song uses a lot of repetition and
from a recording perspective we played a lot of attention to
getting the right clean tone, only using the warmth of the amp
(Flynn amps - made in Scotland) and a Deep Six Compressor,
which we used on every guitar track it sounded that good!
Lead Me (song 3) and Vulnerability (4) plus the later Caught In
The Depths (track 9) have a similar alt-pop feel with dreamy
synths, and even a vocoder on Lead Me. A lot of the guitar parts
on these have reverbs and simple but quite intense picking
patterns. For Vulnerability we spent a long time working on the
texture sound from my fingers on the telecaster. We retuned
and detuned a lot, and tried to play as delicately as possible,
which made little room for error, both in terms of the actual
notes, but also the way the ones were struck. Vulnerability for
me is the best songwriters song on the album, and the only one
that has three chorus’ that drop down. The piano in Caught In
The Depths is beautifully warm (a one hundred year old upright
that has been kept in the producers family for generations) with
the instrumental outro seeing Iain play at his very best.
Tracks 5 and 6 are quite meditative in feel, with my faith clearly
playing a part in the lyrics and focus. Hills (track 5) is a re-write
of an ancient Psalm, and Mesmerised was influenced by a lot of
Asgeirs work - particularly his vocal parts. For me the bridge
section instrumentally is so simple but lifts and sits so well with
the lyrics “I’ll soar on the wings of eagles.” During this track my
wife came up to help lay down some BV’s and nailed this song in
particular. What was particularly special for us is that our
daughter Lilja was in the womb (7 months pregnant) and we
now sing this song to her and she recognises it. Must have been
all those takes!

Fall On Me, co written with a friend Feranmi Oguns (OL Music) is
a big lifter, upbeat and energetic, with slight Killers “Human”
influence. We found this the hardest song to find synth, keys
and guitar parts as it was too tempting to add 50 layers! I think
we managed to find the balance…!
Then we have the track that surprised everyone. I love funk, but
never seem to be able to write anything funk inspired that would
work with my voice…until now. We tried to put our own slant
on the song, so it didn’t stick out too much from the album, but
enough to change direction. Day And Night saw us record drums
in the booth for that tight sound, the guitars were simple,
rhythmic and never ever chords!
Father Father (track 10) is a song particularly personal to me, as
it talks about a time when I lost my dad when I was 11. It’s my
response to seeing him die, and how my faith changed as a
consequence. I’ve always wanted to write a song about it but
couldn’t ever find the right words or feel. We used a lot of JHS
pedals panther cub analogue delay, and deliberately at times
twisted the settings to make a slight off tune sound.
The Voice (track 11) is a long grower which I absolutely loved
playing guitars on. We cranked the amp loud, and let rip with
uncontrolled and unplanned guitar solo lines (again using the
Pantha Cub). The hardest part on this song was waiting until the
right moment to really let rip. You’ll hear at the end of the track
an extended ambient instrumental with guitars, me singing into
the pickups, basing the guitar up a little…all good fun that’s got
to be had in the studio! I was privileged to have Samuel Lane (a
great artist in his own right) sing BV’s on this track, and his raspy
vocals complemented me well.

Tell us about your guitar gear?
“So my acoustic set up is a 2001 Gibson J45 which I bought
second hand. It’s the kind of guitar that sounds better as it gets
older, and I love playing it clean with no effects. I also have a
Simon & Patrick acoustic, which I’ve had for over ten years. It’s
real woody in tone and far less brighter than the J45. This is
used a lot for songs I detune that need a quieter duller tone.
Really love song writing on this guitar.
I use a black Custom Fender Telecaster for most of my electric
work, into a Fender Hotrod or at home a Fender Junior.
My board begins with a pedal which was made by a guy called
Neil Grimes of NRG effects. It’s an AC EC pedal which takes the
feed from both electric and acoustic. The electric pedal train
goes like this:
Walrus Audio - Deep Six (Compressor)
Emerson Effects - Em Drive (transparent overdrive)
Mojo Hand Effects - The Rook (overdrive)
Earnie Ball Volume Pedal Jr, which goes to my tuner
JHS Pedals - Pantha Cub (this is the analogue delay pedal)
Strymon Time Line (digital delay)
Strymon Blue Sky (reverb)
The acoustic goes into the AC/EC
To the Volume pedal, Patha Cub and Strymon pedals before
going to a DI under the board.”

You can find out more about the brilliant Pyramid Park,
Website Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
You can catch them out on tour,
2nd December - GloWorm Recording. Glasgow.
27th January 2018 - Festival One. Hamilton. New Zealand.
10th August 2018 - KingsStock Festival. Bedfordshire.

Learn to Play:
Pink Floyd
B
Y now you have probably worked out that these lessons
are aimed at making sure that I, at least, have a few songs
under my belt that I can impress any passing trade with,
even if (as I’m not) I’m not the world’s finest guitar playing chap.
So ‘Wish You Were Here’ from those Pink Floyd fellas seems as
good a track as there is. It is pretty easy, recognisable and
sounds good on any passing acoustic or electric.
Sweet as funk.
Plus it is a good excuse for a few of their videos while we are at
it.

Learn to Play:
Suede
I
f God exists I’ve always thought that he looks like Bernard
Butler on that first headline Suede tour, flying, electrically
charged across the stage like some acid-guided marionette
and sounding like the craziest, coolest guitar player ever known
whilst his cherry Gibson exploded in sparks and his hair swirled
like demons.
Might just be me though, that.
Regardless of his divinity, Mr Butler is still one of the finest and
most unique guitarists out there and so learning some of his
guitar playing is the eleventh commandment. Thou shalt play
Animal Nitrate, so help me. Amen.

Indigo Sixteen
A
nother great new band that we’ve been enjoying this
week are Broxburn’s Indigo Sixteen who are seemingly
channelling the best of New Wave, in the shape of
Blondie, Joy Division and Elvis Costello at their finest, and giving
it a modern twist that definitely puts them in the centre of all
that is cool right now.
Speaking about their new single, ‘Bring on the Rain’, Stephen
from the band said,
“Basically it means instead of fearing the hard times you should
embrace them and face them full on. i.e "Bring on the Rain"
sometimes it's what needs to be done if you want to get the best
out of life. And ultimately not to let troubles you face hold you
back or stop you doing what you want to do”
Find out more,
Facebook Twitter Instagram Spotify

Lee Ranaldo
A
ny excuse to play a bit more of Lee Ranaldo’s genius
album, ‘Electric Trim’ is plenty much of an excuse in my
book, but seeing that Lee is to play a one-off date in
February next year as part of his European Tour, and that tickets
are now available, it becomes a definite.
Lee is playing the Hoxton
Square Bar & Kitchen on
the 27 th of February.
Tickets are no available
HERE (so be quick.)
‘Electric Trim’ is available
HERE

John Stamp
O
ne of my own heroes, musically, has always been Boo
Hewerdine, ever since I happened across the Bible’s
single ‘Graceland’ back in 1986 and then bought
‘Walking The Ghost Back Home’, which for me along with Talk
Talk’s ‘Spirit of Eden’ defined a big chunk of my life.
I only mention this as listening to John Stamp’s new album,
‘Franklin54’ sends goosebumps down my back in the same way
Graceland, and Mahalia did 30 years ago, and realising that John
has been writing and playing with Mr Hewerdine only made it
more intriguing.
Ahead of the album, John has released a single, ‘Blowing Me
Kisses’, of which he says about recording it with Leigh Nash from
Sixpence None The Richer,
"It's a great moment when you get to have the singer of the
mega hit "Kiss Me" sing your song and duet with you. She's a
sweet, sweet woman. I almost had the nerve to ask her to finish
the track with the line ..."so kiss me.." but I bottled out!”
Find out more, I fully intend to.
Facebook
Twitter

La Contessa Presents…
A
nd here we go again with another monster selection of
all that was good and great from the last few decades
from the beatified bonce of our very own La Contessa.
This week sees her even further down memory lane with Amen
Corner opening for us, before Robert Palmer takes over with
aplomb. Billy Idol gives us his best plastic Punk impression
before it gets all emotional Chez 452 as Beth Orton reminds us
of when we were, if not quite young, at least about to give up on
the free and the single *sigh*.
Doves remind us why we are here before Lana Del Rey turns the
world mean and moody shaped.
Enjoy!

1960s: Amen Corner

1970s: Robert Palmer

1980s: Billy Idol

1990s: Beth Orton

2000s: Doves

2010s: Lana Del Rey