Those of you who watched my recent BitChute video will know that this latest number is another TMML Productions collaboration with Gerard Menuhin.
After receiving the first version from Gerard in 2017, I did have a go, but wasn’t quite ready. Some ideas are best shut in the bottom drawer then dug out again after a few years. Five years. Hard to believe.
One of my issues with the words at the time, if I remember rightly, was the fact that the character in the song has transitioned from male to female. How could I perform such a role convincingly? Nor was I able to find a solution for the rhythm and phrasing, until about a fortnight ago, when I came up with a bossa nova theme, one that I feel fits perfectly with the incongruous, the unnatural and the unauthentic. Almost six minutes of bewildering musical loveliness – at least that’s my own impression.
This number follows on nicely from two other recent satirical songs, Mission Photo-op and Anything Goes, – the latter to be re-released as a “live” vocal version. One more swing number and I will have a second E.P; both produced in under four months, since October.
It is not currently in my interest, legally speaking, to rake in donations – although if you wish to contribute a small sum I would be very grateful. (I need to make sure that my websites are up-to-date, possibly offering some form of subscription.) It would be great to hear your suggestions regarding what kind of music or topic you would like to hear more of, within reason of course. And if you would like to help in other ways, then please like, follow and share if you can.
Music & lyrics by Alison Chabloz and Gerard Menuhin © tmml productions 2021
Alison Chabloz
Prohibition Mission
A fourth and final Covid-19 ditty, featuring a live vocal performance to a backing track that was created after much deliberation with lyricist Gerard Menuhin on the choice of music.
Gerard’s first suggestion was to use the Dave Clarke Five’s ‘Glad All Over’, in particular for the bass drum that is part of the hook line: ‘Because I’m BOOM BOOM glad all over’.
In the end, I adapted that idea to a composition of my own, that nevertheless pays tribute to DC5 in the middle eight.
The sound is decent this time round, but the lighting could be better. Composition of some songs – e.g. my previous number ‘Caught Covid From The Cat’ – can be completed within a day, although there may be some minor changes whilst recording, etc.
Prohibition Mission was supposed to be the third number of a Covid EP. I wanted a catchy melody without the restrictions of a repetitive chord structure, as with blues or rock n roll. Here’s the final result.
Caught Covid from the Cat!
Original musical satire, courtesy of Chabloz & Menuhin.
For some reason, my audio editing software failed to capture a L/R stereo track with separate channels for vocal and keys.
The audio is therefore mono, meaning less possibilities to edit and remove, for example, plosives and other parasitical noises.
My performance is 100% live, to camera, with the absolute minimum of post-production trickery.
The theme is humorous. No offence is intended towards pet owners or their pets or indeed anyone else. Enjoy!
Vaccination Nation
Have you had your jab?
Here’s TMML Productions latest jab – at the jab, and at the obedient masses, living in hope that their jab will enable them to get back to “normal”.
A back-to-the-old-days live demo. Quality is now better than it was few years ago, although my means for such a production are limited to what you see in the video: my Yamaha arranger-keyboard, my 30-year old Shure SM58 (easy to see that my Sony headphones have lasted only a fraction of the time) and the Zoom H4n Pro device, partially seen, in the lower left-hand corner. This piece of kit is ideal for home-studio recording, as well as for capturing audio outside. It can be used as a condenser mic, as a four-track mixer and – my favourite setting – as an audio-interface, once connected to a laptop via USB.
For such a live demo, using the Zoom H4n Pro as my audio interface, it’s only possible to record one stereo track (left/vocals, right/keys). This track then has to be mixed and rendered to two separate mono tracks, and then re-mixed, in order to get a decent balance.
The musical inspiration (excepting the middle eight) – as well as the lyrics – comes once again from Gerard Menuhin, who proposed the famous blues number Work Song. For years, as a classroom music teacher, I used the Monty Alexander Live in Montreux version for music & movement exercises. My students were kept on their toes.
Meanwhile, Gerard and I are on a covid roll. Watch this space.
Lockdown Covid Blues
Lyrics by Gerard Menuhin. Adaptation (of Blue Suede Shoes), arrangement, performance and production by me.
This is the latest collaboration between Gerard and I, the first of what will hopefully turn out to be a trio of blues numbers. Please let us know what you think in the comments and please share widely.
Alison. x
Protected: Chabloz trial raises more concern over “right to offend”
Alison Chabloz Legal Update December 2020
This update concerns a new case against me, which first began with a request from Special Branch to attend an interview under caution exactly one year ago – which I refused – and for which I was then arrested outside Derby Crown Crown, January 10th.
Continue readingProtected:
Q: When is a criminal prosecution not a criminal prosecution?
A: When it’s a photo-op!
With gratitude to Gerard Menuhin for the lyrics, for the photo-op idea and for the inspiration to use Schubert’s adaptation of Goethe’s Der Erlkoenig.
© 2020 TMML Productions
