Recently I fired up GarageBand for the first time, after a decade or more of ignoring the pre-installed app that was sitting on my hard-drive. A few hours and half a dozen Apple Loops later, I had a song, the first I’d created (“composed” doesn’t sound quite right when it’s all loops) since an abortive attempt in my teens to become a guitarist to rival Mike Oldfield. And you know what, it doesn’t sound half bad: the effect is like some of the loungey jazz electronica I used to listen to a decade ago. A few weeks later, it still doesn’t make me cringe with embarrassment, unlike my attempt to sing “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” at karaoke with colleagues last month.

So here it is, a Christmas gift for you loyal readers of Speedysnail (n < 12). The musical motifs reminded me of something I saw at Abu Dhabi airport on my way to Australia in the middle of the year, which gave it a name and inspired the additional touches in the final mix. I’ve included the first mix for good measure, to make a digital single worthy of the iTunes Store (which I briefly considered adding it to, but can’t be bothered going through all the steps for the sake of n x £0.99 where n < 12). Watch out for the album in 2023.

Smokin’ Booth

Smokin’ Booth [mp3]

Smokin’ Booth (Non-Smokin’ Mix) [mp3]

28 December 2015 · Music