#001 Tape Hiss and Sparkle

So I was retrenched a little while ago (I am employed again) and landed up with a lot of free time. So I started doing a few lo-fi recordings. And all this got me thinking. So I locked myself in my study and started the Tape Hiss and Sparkle Demos. With the help of shareware program Audacity and the free downloadable VST Plug-ins I started recording.

Most of you know me as the lead singer of the band The Sleepers, some of you don't, that's ok (you can check out our tracks here: but you'll know us as quite a heavy band. The music that came out of these sessions is largely acoustic twisted folk, some of it poppy, some a bit more obscure. Nicolai Roos - band mate and left-handed guitarist from The Sleepers - gave me a few tips on how to eq the tracks properly. I pitch-shifted my acoustic (with some eq tweaking) to act as a bass guitar. Percussion was a bit more rough, I used a collection of box lids, tea pots, cupboards, vases, wind chimes and hand claps to keep the beat going.

I'll be releasing a whole series of "discs" as I go along - hopefully one released every month or two. Thanks to Soundcloud you can dload the 4 of the 6 below.

I aim to document 2 years worth of songwriting, with no budget. Just me and my Emac. I've always enjoyed the charm of lo-fi recordings and hopefully this makes sense to everyone who takes a listen.

I'll post lyrics and more info about the songs themselves and the recording process. If you have any questions feel free to ask, otherwise I hope you enjoy the free downloads.

Keep safe.

04 Red Wine by Simon Tamblyn

03 Grixelda by Simon Tamblyn

02 Middlesex by Simon Tamblyn

01 Nineteen by Simon Tamblyn