Line of Fire - Behind the Song

The Writing Process

This song was written when I was living in Winchester, in the last year of my degree studying Creative Writing. I was living with my then-girlfriend in a small four bedroom house near the centre of the city.

It took me a couple of weeks to finish. I can remember writing the three chord progression and walking around the tiny kitchen, singing the chorus melody.

I was writing a lot in those days, and the song reflects the feelings and anxieties that I had at the time.

We were in a period of our lives where things were about to change a great deal. I had grand plans of moving to London to pursue music and my partner was planning to move away to do a masters degree, so the song talks about that.

Talk

To me

You lonely sea

About your future plans

That press you like a stone

And the closeness that we shared.

I strive

To find

The light

Sometimes

Yea, but if you’ll hold my hand

I’ll make it through the night.

The chorus expands on this theme. I talk about the feeling of being under fire from the world, the future, the large expanse of possibility and the knowledge of our own inexperience and inadequacy.

In the line

Of fire

You and I will both get hit

Till we stand

Bring in a new day

The second half is about my own struggles with depression and ennui.

All my life

I’ve retired

Sit alone and watch TV

Now I’m sick

Now I’m loosing faith.

In the second verse I talk about a fictional future, where I’ve given up the only chance of love I could have and I’m nearing death. Other songwriters I’ve known have told me that their songs can prophesise the future, I heartily hope this is not the case for me!

Falling feet

I’m breaking beat

And now my chest rattles

Everytime I breathe

I spent my loan

Being alone

And now my time has come

I wish I’d been with you.

To finish the song I repeat the last two lines of the chorus, mainly because it had a nice ring to it, but also because it’s always good to drill home a truly depressing message.

Production

Line of Fire was the first song I recorded in my little studio, The Clock House, and as such was something of an experiment.

Over the pandemic, I found myself with a little money in the bank and a lot of time on my hands. I was living at my parents house in Hertfordshire, and they had an unused space above the garage which had been used for storage. I cleaned it out and took the desk from my room into this new space.

With the money I had saved I bought some better equipment, some professional microphones (an AKG 414 and SM7B for those in the know). As well as some cheap instruments from people who were decluttering.

I was wrestling with the challenge of creating professional recordings without a huge price tag, and I thought this might offer a solution.

I wanted to go for a classic rock n’ roll sound for this track, but with a modern mix and master. References for the sound included The Arctic Monkeys’ album AM, Queens of the Stone Age’s …Like Clockwork and the soundtrack for the film Only Lovers Left Alive, the guitar sound of which has been hugely influential on me.

I laid down the drums and rhythm guitar myself, then sent it away to bass superstar George Bunting, who sent me back four excellent bass takes. I then got Joe Chipperfield in to session on lead guitar. I’d laid down some distorted electric guitar parts myself and mixed the two versions. These single strummed chords in the chorus were the same on the original demo, and I think they really push the song forward.

With the solo in the middle 8 Joe originally played the part I’d written on the demo, but I told him to just let loose and play what he felt was right, I wanted him to be inspired by the track to create something that would tear up the ear. We did about 80 takes but eventually we got something wonderfully fruity and rich!

After this I re-recorded the vocals, the track then sat for about 8 months while the world opened back up and I went forth and lived my life.

I came back to it and decided to see if I could get it to a releasable quality. I recorded some Hammond organ and backing harmonies in the choruses to give it some lift and added a clap in the outro, then took it to Elliot Richardson of Highfield Studio and we worked on the mix together.

I wanted a really present vocal and we set the guitar quite back in the mix. I wanted the solo to have a ‘dusty’ quality to it, so it’s set a little low in the mix. We then added distortion and tape delay to give the whole track a “crunchy” feel.

A few weeks after finishing the mix I decided I wanted to get it professionally mastered, Elliot put me onto Audio Animals and they did a fantastic job.

When I got the master back I listened to it in my car. It sounded like a commercial track that could be played alongside any established artist. I truly felt like the past 10 years of my life had been leading to that moment.

Line of Fire is released 04/02/22

Pre-save Line of Fire on Spotify HERE: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tomdulieu/line-of-fire

Artist of the Week: Fruit Bats

Album: Absolute Loser
Genre: Folk Rock
For fans of: The Foals, The Shins, The War on Drugs

This week I thought I'd share with you an artist that I've been really enjoying for the past two months. Absolute Loser is the latest studio album from American singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson, who performs under the name 'Fruit Bats'.

It's one of those albums that work well as background music but which also warrant a good sitting-down to, with upbeat power songs like From a Soon-to-Be-Ghost Town that introduce you to Eric's unflinchingly honest and silky voice, to Baby Bluebird, an acoustic ballad that paints a picture of a relationship on the verge of collapse, 'if you'd given me most of you/I'd have handed over all of me.' And finally Good Will Come to You, an ultimately optimistic and uplifting song that helps to pair off the record with a sense of catharsis.

It's an album that at times may be forgiven for verging into the outright depressing, but which always brings itself back from the brink with an uplifting final message. The song Absolute Loser I think simply but effectively brings this across, with its chorus, 'an absolute loser/on the verge of something new'.

It is an album about hard times, about finding yourself in impossible situations, but ultimately, it's about finding a sense of redemption.

Listen to Humbug Mountain Song below:

Recipe: Basic Chicken Curry

For a long time I didn't really see the point in sharing my various kitchen concoctions. I thought, if I came up with them on my own, surely others can too? 

Apparently this is not the case, and my girlfriend convinced me to jot a few down. With that in mind, I thought what better than my favourite every-day dinner dish - chicken curry.

It's something I think everyone can cook, it requires very few specialist ingredients and tastes great considering the amount of time and effort it requires.

It originated from a cutting my grandma gave from her local newspaper, and has been slowly adapted to produce what you see before you.

Step One: Ingredients

For this recipe I've tried to keep the ingredients as simple as possible. Hopefully all of these items will be readily available in most kitchens, with maybe some of the spices requiring a trip to the local corner shop.

NOTE: In terms of spices, you can really experiment and just use this recipie as a basis for your own creations. If you don't have one or some of the spices used here, feel free to use whatever you yourself have in the cupboard.

Serves two:

• 1 or 2 chicken breasts

• Half a cup of rice

• Two tomatoes

• Two onions

• One medium sized garlic clove

• Milk

• Spices (oregano, chives, paprika, chillies, ginger, cumin)

• A good, sharp knife

• Salt and pepper

Step Two: Chop Onions and Tomato

The onions in this dish are really best chopped as finely as possible. Use a sharp knife to cut them into squares then just go to town on them rolling the blade along the board.

Remember to keep your fingers out of the way though!

When the onions are done, put them in a saucepan on a high heat, then while they fry, chop the tomatoes and garlic.

Step Three: Mix

When the onions are just turning golden, turn the heat down to about half and add the garlic (this is so it doesn't burn). leave for roughly a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes.

Mix and turn the heat back up, if you have a lid, add this now. The tomatoes should soften and create a creamy texture.

At this point you can add boiling water to your rice pot. Make sure it's boiling and on the heat before adding the half a cup of rice.

Step Four: Add Chicken and Spices

Dice your chicken breast(s) into roughly equal squares.

It's up to you how small you make them, I tend to do mine a little larger as this is how they come in curry houses. Going smaller, however, will make your meat stretch further.

I also add spices at this stage as they get a chance to 'fry in'. I find it helps add depth to the flavour later on.

In terms of spices, add:

• A lot of paprika. This is a light tasting spice that adds depth and helps give the curry it's red colour. You can afford to use it liberally.

• A small amount of ginger and cumin. These are strong spices that can easily overpower the curry and make it taste horrible. Add small amounts at this stage, you can always add more later.

• A medium amount of oregano and chives. These herbs will add a floral note and help lighten the curry. Oregano works great with the chicken and the chives help to add a light onion flavour.

• Chillies depending on your taste. With crushed chillies like I use here, a little goes a long way.

Step Five: Mix Together, Add Milk

When adding milk, be sure to only fill to just under the line of the meat. Too much will make a watery curry. 

Turn to a low heat and leave the curry to simmer while the rice cooks.

These two images were taken roughly 10-15mins apart.

Step Six: Dishing Up

Once the rice has finished and is fluffy, with very little bite, drain the sauce-pan into a colander, pouring hot water over it if it's sticky, and add to plates. 

Spoon the curry over the rice and voila, chicken curry. 

Artist of the Week: Esme Patterson

Genre: Post-Folk, Feminist Rock

I discovered Miss Patterson a few weeks ago while doing a bit of browsing on Spotify's 'Discover' section. There's something about an outspokenly feminist female singer/songwriter with a backing rock band that gets me every time.

The songs that I really love from her debut album Woman to Woman are Never Chase a Man, a short but enjoyable offering with wailing slide guitars and passionate cries from our eponymous singer. Oh Lets Dance is, predictably, a foot-tapping body-swayer, sultry and silky vocals combine with a nuovo-salsa beat to create the sort of song you can imagine slow dancing to in some obscure and smoky American speak-easy. The Glow sounds almost like it could have been plucked out of the set of an English Cambridge-based folk band, if it weren't for the clear open vowels of an American vocalist.

The crowning jewel in this album in my opinion, however, is What Do You Call a Woman? a rock song reminiscent almost of more recent Arctic Monkeys. It's beats along with an undercurrent of passion that I've come to love about Esme. Strong, yet openly venerable.

Woman to Woman would make perfect listening for a hungover Saturday afternoon, or a relaxing companion for a long drive. 

Listen to The Glow below:

Get the new album Woman to Woman here: http://smarturl.it/EsmeWoman Directed by: Isaac Ravishankara

Update: 'Knock' Script Gets Produced.

I few months ago I was commissioned to write a script for a third year film student. Over the summer it was produced and has recently been edited and released.

A young man with crushing social anxiety finds a way to communicate via Morse code.

When a young girl moves into his apartment complex Patrick is initially very shy, but when he sees a documentary on the television showing how people once communicated without speech, he sees an opportunity to overcome his disability and develop a relationship with the girl of his dreams.

You can read the script here.

The full film is available to watch below:

Uploaded by Luke on 2016-04-28.