repeat2fade
Modern Day Angel – repeat2fade (Lyric Video)
updated
The Acoustic Version: Laid back, reflective, and intimate
youtube.com/watch?v=ini8In4AqZI
The Electric Version: Energetic, exciting, and raw
youtu.be/8FTVOMdPQtA
Please leave a comment and let me know which one you preferred. I’m curious to see which production style captures the "feeling" of this story better for you.
Every song has a story, and this track is deeply personal—it’s an autobiographical look back at the time I was thinking about getting married.
It touches on that euphoric "click" when you meet someone who fills the empty spaces you didn’t even know you had. But then, it’s also about the weight of change. Transitioning from a single life to a "couple" life felt like a massive, daunting choice at the time... yet, looking back, I fully realise the choice had already been made by my heart. Yep, it was a foregone conclusion!!
Acoustic vs. Alt-Rock Electric - drop a comment below and let me know which one you prefer.
Credits & Gear Songwriting:
As always 100% self-written, self-performed and self-produced in my HomeStudio.
Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Yamaha Revstar
Drums: Toontrack EZ Drummer 3 (using the Linn drum kit pack).
DAW: Recorded and mixed in Cubase 14.
Visuals: Lyric video created in Microsoft Clipchamp. Background imagery assisted by Gemini/Nano Banana and Picsart.
The Acoustic Version: Laid back, reflective, and intimate
youtu.be/ini8In4AqZI
The Electric Version: Energetic, exciting, and raw
youtu.be/8FTVOMdPQtA
Please leave a comment and let me know which one you preferred. I’m curious to see which production style captures the "feeling" of this story better for you.
Every song has a story, and this track is deeply personal—it’s an autobiographical look back at the time I was thinking about getting married.
It touches on that euphoric "click" when you meet someone who fills the empty spaces you didn’t even know you had. But then, it’s also about the weight of change. Transitioning from a single life to a "couple" life felt like a massive, daunting choice at the time... yet, looking back, I fully realise the choice had already been made by my heart. Yep, it was a foregone conclusion!!
Acoustic vs. Electric Alt-Rock - drop a comment below, and let me know which one you prefer.
Credits & Gear Songwriting:
As always 100% self-written, self-performed and self-produced in my HomeStudio.
Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Yamaha Revstar
Drums: Toontrack EZ Drummer 3 (using the Linn drum kit pack).
DAW: Recorded and mixed in Cubase 14.
Visuals: Lyric video created in Microsoft Clipchamp. Background imagery assisted by Gemini/Nano Banana and Picsart.
The recording process was somewhat frustrating, a journey of trial and error. After several false starts, I found my direction in the spacious, melancholic sounds of 1980s British alt-rock/post-punk — think The Cure or Echo & the Bunnymen. The track is anchored by the driving guitar riff and bassline, underpinned by a classic LinnDrum-inspired beat, layered with delay-drenched, chiming guitars to capture that vintage 80s aesthetic.
Lyrically, the song explores the weight of self-doubt and the trap of over-analyzing one’s own identity. The chorus image of "Staring into the Sun" suggests that this level of introspection is ultimately blinding and futile. In the bridge, I’ve included a (not so) subtle nod to Oasis / Noel Gallagher’s Don’t Look Back in Anger, introducing the character of Sally. Unlike the narrator, she breaks the loop—choosing agency and self-belief over endless searching.
Credits & Gear
Songwriting: As always 100% self-written, self-performed and self-produced in my HomeStudio.
Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Yamaha Revstar
Drums: Toontrack EZ Drummer 3 (using the Linn drum kit pack).
DAW: Recorded and mixed in Cubase 14.
Visuals: Lyric video created in Microsoft Clipchamp. Background imagery assisted by Gemini/Nano Banana and Picsart.
Support the Channel
If you enjoyed the track, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell ln! It really helps an independent creator out. Cheers! #AltRock #80sVibes #PostPunk #YamahaRevstar #HomeStudio #IndieMusic
Inspiration
This came from Noel Gallagher´s The Dying of the Light, which is an absolutely tremendous song. Although Walk into the Storm shares similar/themes, it is really a very different song, with different context and a different feel -- I'm very happy with the final result.
Song Structure
This song was written in a very classic verse/pre-chorus/chorus structure, with an emphasis on the multiple sections.
Verses : a syncopated rhythm style, using a chord progression in Am, where the protagonist takes affirmative action.
Pre-Chorus : the verses fold into a much more flowing pre-chorus (based in the relative major, C major) with the lyrics taking a self reflective stance that is pretty much doubting the affirmative action.
Chorus : the chorus eventually arrives (over 2mins in!!), with a clean, confident musical style and an acknowledgement that, although some form of inner strength has been found, the struggle is far from over.
If that all sounds a bit negative(!) the final verse offers a glimmer of hope, and suggests a turning point with a decision and a new source of strength from a new alliance! Nice!!
Side-Note
Interesting songwriting side note (for those who care about such things), the chorus continues with chords from the C major key established in the pre-chorus, however the chorus starts with a G chord and follows a I V vi IV progression, as if its in G major .... a key change of sorts!!!
Credit & Gear
As always 100% self-written, self-performed and self-produced in my HomeStudio.
Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Yamaha Revstar
EZ Drummer 3, provided the percussion (I really do like this plugin!)
Recorded, produced and mixed using Cubase 14
Lyric video produced using Microsoft Clipchamp
Images in the video are AI created using Imagen, and the moving parts by LTX
Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share if you enjoyed the music! cheers!!
#repeat2fade #homestudio #songwriting
Inspiration for the music came from building simple triad chords around a descending chromatic line. This formed a melancholy basis for the verses, and the rest of the song fell into place around that, and building to the chorus that is very much in the major key. And for those who care about such things, the descending line is D C# C B and the triad-chords are D Dmaj7 D7sus2 Em.
100% self-written, self-performed and self-produced in my HomeStudio.
Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Sire Larry Carlton S7
EZ Drummer 3, provided the percussion (I really do like this plugin!)
Recorded, produced and mixed using Cubase 13
Lyric video produced using Microsoft Clipchamp
Images in the video are AI created using Imagen
#repeat2fade #homestudio #songwriting
This track started life as a simple riff over an Am chord on an acoustic guitar. The riff got transferred over to the bass, which is what you hear in the intro, joined by various guitars that build the riff into a crescendo. And then the rest of the recording was about dynamics; a sparse verse, building tension in the pre-chorus, then transforming into a major key with an upbeat chorus, before finally resolving back to the Am riff.
Lyrically, the song uses the imagery of a car journey to explore how seemingly innocuous everyday boring events can easily spark inspiration for a much more profound hidden meaning. All it takes is a little optimism, plus an open attitude to discovery and life can be re-imagined!
All performed and recorded by myself in my HomeStudio
Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Sire Larry Carlton S7
EZ Drummer 3, provided the percussion (I really do like this plugin!)
Recorded, produced and mixed using Cubase 12
Lyric video produced using Microsoft Clipchamp
Images in the video are AI created using DALL-E
#repeat2fade #homestudio #songwriting
For the lyrics, the song explores some of the complexities and emotions of the human experience, especially concentrating on the loneliness or isolation that we all feel from time to time. But it's not all bad, the track includes an element of hope!! The bridge section suggests that if we embrace life’s ups and downs, we can find equilibrium, and in the end, it's all just part of the beautiful journey we call life!
All performed and recorded by myself in my HomeStudio
All guitar parts played on a Taylor 214CE
The guitar parts were recorded on two tracks, one via the line out from the Taylor's onboard preamp, the other via a Lewitt LCT 140 Air microphone. This allows for a different equalisation on each track, and then with left and right panning, the combined sound seems a richer, more accurate tone, and more spacious.
Bass tones provided by an Ibanez GSR200 played through a Behringer BDI21
EZ Drummer 2, provided the percussion
Recorded, produced and mixed using Cubase 12
Lyric video produced using Veed.io
#repeat2fade #homestudio #songwriting
Original song written, performed and produced in my Home Studio.
This song started out with the 'I believe in changes' concept and the verse melody came quite quickly, and once the accompanying chords were in place (D A Bm G), it felt really natural .... which was all good .... until I realised I'd managed to 'come up with' a 1 5 6 4 chord progression, which must be one of THE most commonly used chord progression EVER!!!
But hey, if it works, it works!! So I thought, embrace this, let's stay classic. Next was the chorus (a vamp on D G and A) which I wanted to be punchy and memorable, separating it stylistically from the more flowing melodies used elsewhere in the song. The last part was the pre-chorus, which is a simple climb up the chords of the key to the A chord (Em Fm G A), so there would be the classic 5 to 1 tension/resolution leading into the initial D of the chorus.
The instrumental break in the middle turned out quite interesting. It was recorded using two separate guitar lines that meander separately and then gradually merge together until they are in unison for a repeat of the main motif of the song. Quite proud of that!!
As for the lyrics, this is actually a reworking of the song. Originally it was a protest song in tribute to what happened to Mahsa Amini in Iran, but some of the lyrics didn't sit well with me, especially considering the subject matter. I didn't feel I did it justice. So I rewrote the lyrics and re-recorded the vocal parts. Much happier with this version.
That's not to say I dropped the cause of Mahsa Amini and the protests. I also worked on a separate project with my friend Bill McGill. He wrote a song dedicated to her called Little Bird, and asked me to produce and record a version of his original demo. Here is a link to the fruits of that project:
soundcloud.com/billmagill/sets/little-bird-tribute-to-mahsa?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
All performed and recorded by myself in my HomeStudio
Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Yamaha Revstar guitar with P90 pickups
EZ Drummer 3, provided the percussion (I really do like this plugin!)
Recorded, produced and mixed using Cubase 12
Lyric video produced using Veed.io
#repeat2fade #homestudio #songwriting
Original song written, performed and produced in my Home Studio. And my very first attempt at making a video, I used veed.io which was surprisingly simple and intuitive to use, especially for a video novice like me!
I wrote the song with the idea of making the verses work on a short syllable rapid-fire basis to contrast with a more open and flowing sing-song styled chorus. During the writing process, the verses morphed into a kind of 'talking in-tune' style, so I ran with that and produced the verses with a megaphone sound. Talking of production, I recorded and mixed the song using the Alabama Shakes sound as a starting reference. Not sure it ended up there, but at least you know where it started!!
As for the subject matter, the song is written about those emotional 'bullies' who keep repeating their narrative over and over, and then after it's been repeated so often, it starts to stick as some distorted version of the truth. You see these people in all walks of life, from politics to the workplace, to relationships. It's a version of psychological control, I suppose.
All performed and recorded by myself in my HomeStudio
All the Guitar and Bass tones provided by a Valeton GP-200LT multi-effects processor
All guitar parts played on a Yamaha Revstar with P90 pickups
EZ Drummer 3, provided the percussion (oh how I love this plugin!)
Recorded, produced and mixed using Cubase 12
#repeat2fade #homestudio #songwriting


