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On this page you can find mp3s of some of the Fortyfours' tracks and a video made by Steve Naish at Sumo Bar, Leicester.

An adventure in sound - the evolution of the 44s.

There isn't much recorded output of the 44s so far, just 5 songs. But they show how far I've come in terms of understanding how the technology and style can help me achieve the sound I'm looking for.

Right from the beginning I had some big ideas about how analogue effects could help me create an impressive and detailed live sound even though we were only two. It's taken me a little while to collect the effects which work best, and learn to 'play' them live.

Far more important, though, is the actual feel of the track as we play. I'm indebted to Mr. Paul for reminding me of this again and again! The blues we like is very much about feel, and the final ingredient in the 44s sound is the Mississippi beat that underpins the delta and north hills blues music.

The next step is to try and tape where we are now. This should happen over the summer, so keep checking back!

Contemplation Blues Recorded at Memphis Studios, above the train station in Leicester on 11/07/06. I think at one point you can hear the trains. Engineered by Kev Reverb. This is the earliest 44s composition, laid down in quite an unproductive 2 day session. We recorded a ton of material, worked out painstaking arrangements, and nearly all of it was rubbish. Anyway, we learnt a lot about what we could and couldn't do as a 2 piece. All the tracks are recorded separately. It's notable probably for the vocals recorded through a Fender guitar amp.	EvilRecorded at Memphis Studios in the same session as Contemplation Blues, but this one just came out all by itself while I had the fuzz box cranked up. The dub feel is provided by a Watkins Mk11 Copicat, the tape loop delay effect. The song is recorded in one take. I trapped guitar loops on a phrase recorder to make the 'bass' line, and then played over the top. The lyrics of Evil are based on Howlin' Wolf's rather jaunty song of the same name. I always loved the sound of Spanish, and often leak a little when I get really charged up.
Friday Girls Recorded at Memphis Studios, Leicester on 01/02/07. Engineered by Kev Reverb. Not a bad days' work really, three tracks and obverdubs completed, compared to 2 days for very little in the previous session. Music and words by the 44s. This was my attempt to write a pop song, based on Travelling Riverside Blues. By this session we new much more what we were about. We knew we wanted to record what we played, rather than construct a track and then edit out what we didn't like, so we spent a lot of time getting a good sound out of the live room. The two guitar tracks are recorded at the same time using my 'stereo' guitar and two Fender Blues Juniors. Then I put on the little slide break and the vocals. My Dad always said I'd amount to no good.	Shiver Recorded at Memphis Studios, in the Friday Girls session. Music and words by Hooley/ Vortex. Initially the 44s performed quite a few songs that Tristram Crowfoot and I composed in our previous band, Pigiron Joe. This song about the Highfields area of Leicester is based on a Bo Diddley beat and a Latin trumpet figure. It was hard to record, with the rhumba bass line on the phrase recorder and manipulating the guitar amos in real time using the pick up selector on the guitar. I'd just received my 'Truly Beautiful Disaster' guitar effect, which gives the endless feedback of the second theme and the theramin tone of the feedback theme at the end. The excellent live sound of the drums really makes this track. The tom-tom work at the end is outstanding.
Ventilator Blues Recorded at Memphis Studios, Leicester on 01/02/07. Engineered by Kev Reverb, in the Friday Girls session again. Words and music by Nanker Phelge. Exile on Main Street is my favourite non-blues record, basically I guess because I think it sounds and feels exactly like a blues record should, bar the 12 bar progressions. Live, I play the three tracks by layering them into the phrase recorder, but here they are recorded separately. I'm using an octave generator to create a sub-octave note on the second guitar, although I haven't figured out at this stage how to make this prominent.	Friday Girls video Recorded at Club Beaux Yeux, Sumo Bar, Leicester, 22.04.07. Edited by Steve Naish. At one point, we seemed to be playing every night with the Dirty Backbeats. When Grant of the Dirty Backbeats started promoting at the Sumo Bar on Braunstone Gate, Leicester, he invited us to play at one of the early Club Beaux Yeux nights. One part of the set up is that during soundcheck the bands get recorded on video for posting at www.braunstonegate.com. It's a pretty good attempt to do an old style video, and I like the close up of the Watkins Copicat. Perhaps we needn't have played it quite so fast!

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An adventure in sound - the evolution of the 44s.