"He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)"

Hi gang,

Hope you're all fighting fit! I certainly am... considering that I'm now boxing every week!

Yes you heard right, I'M A BOXER and I'm loving it!! It's so much more fun than other exercise as it's more intellectually stimulating in a way - I love how focused it makes me... so wish me luck. :)

Monday and Tuesday this week I was in a London rehearsal room with Mark, Mathis and new Temposhark keyboard player Leila MacFie.

Leila is SO cool - you're going to love her. She's a mean keyboard-player and has wicked style to boot! She's already brought a big ray of sunshine to the rehearsals.

Sean joined us to guide us musically and help set up the computer side of it. We're going to perform 6 brand new songs at the forthcoming London gigs, along with 'Blame' from the last album. So it's an exciting time, and really refreshing to perform the new songs for the first time.

I've also been preparing clothes and ideas for the Album 2 photoshoot. Tom Lardner and I are heading into a studio early next week to do all the new shots with Morten Laursen (the photographer who did 'The Invisible Line' b&w photos). Plus keep an eye on www.temposhark.com as a new holding page will be going live in the coming week. I've decided to re-launch the whole website with help from my friends at Eskimopush. Hopefully it won't take too long to build... I reckon it'll be done by mid-May at the latest.

I've already built a new online shop. I'm very proud of it right now as I made it all by myself! That's right, I'm a shop-keeper now too. ;) Check it now, this is a little exclusive for y'all! http://temposhark.bigcartel.com

I bought loads of new music this week - the new albums by Bat For Lashes, PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Antony & The Johnsons, Majiker and even Ciara's new single to name a few things... there is a lot of great music out there... so don't let anyone tell you otherwise! :)

So that's pretty much my week so far. I'll write very soon. If you use Twitter then you can follow me there... I've started regularly updating it, so it's the best way to find out what's new.

Kisses to you all from the boxing shop-keeper... night night... :)
R.xx

"I've Seen The Future, Baby"

Hello gang!

Wow. So I haven't updated the blog in what seems like forever.

Here's a quick catch up. Sean and I have finished the recording and mixing of 11 new songs for my new album... Temposhark album 2!

We spent a few days at the end of last week tweaking everything and went to Andy Bradfield's studio in West London for a few days to give our feedback on his mixes and edit them to make them all sound perfect. 

It's got to that funny point at the end of an album when both Sean and I can hardly tell what we think anymore of the record as we've heard it so many times now! But fear not - we know it's great and that you're going to love it! But we can't work out what track order to choose yet... so I decided to get out of the UK for a few days and am currently enjoying a short break in the sun, well not exactly sun - some sun, some rain and mainly lots of chilly breeze! But it's been a big relief for me to get away from both London and the songs for a few days. :)

We had loads of meetings over the past couple of weeks with all kinds of cool music industry people; it's been great to hear people's thoughts, see their reactions as we play songs and find out which ones they think are singles, the strongest tracks and all that!

I also hung out with my long-term design collaborator Tom Lardner and artist Julie Verhoeven who are both hard at work coming up with ideas for the album art work... and I've been in discussions again with my mate Ben Charles Edwards who is a great new film-maker about possible videos ideas. We were originally going to make a video to a song 'Joy' from my last album but we ended up deciding to wait and to make a few for this new album instead... we already have some great ideas! Ben made a film recently which was screened on MySpace called The Town That Boars Me - it features the acting talents of some of his mates like Kelly Osborne, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Sadie Frost to name a few... it really caught my eye when I saw it at the Notting Hill Film Festival last year, so I'm excited to collaborate with Ben.

Anyway, I had better get back to my 'holiday'... :)

I'll write soon...

R.xx

"Fashion, Turn To The Left"

I met up with Tom today who is art directing the new album sleeve.

We had a long, animated chat which lasted a good hour or so, looking at some boards of images he'd put together for me, and working out what what we both want to do........ and the exciting news is that we're hoping to do the main photo shoot before the end of February. Cool!!!

It was really exciting to see how enthusiastic he is about the new songs... he's one of the only people who has heard any of the new songs so far! It was also an amazing feeling to realise that soon there will be a front cover, a finished product which will become the roof over these 11 new songs... it's exciting knowing the time will soon come when we're able to share all these tracks.

The mixes are all coming together now, it's sounding really sharp and fresh and thrilling to know we're almost there......................

Night night.
R.xxx

"Say I'm Sorry"

Twitter!!

Hi gang,

I've spent the past few days singing, very gently, on the penultimate track for the second album... I can't believe there's only one more song left to sing now! We're so almost there!!!! WOOHOO!!!

And try again... ;)

I just revealed to the followers on Twitter that the song we're doing today is called 'Say I'm Sorry'... it's one the most chilled out tracks on this album; I love the electronic beats Sean made for it. They're pretty much the same as the original demo version we did during the song writing process, something magical happened that day. When Sophie Solomon was over a few weeks ago, she played some beautiful violin parts too which have made it even more special.

This morning Sean was singing some backing vocals which sound absolutely amazing, spellbinding. Since then he's been tinkling on the keyboard and also got his guitar off the wall to play... I've just filmed a bit for my next post, but for now here's a photo.

Sean playing guitar on 'Say I'm Sorry'.

Back to the subject of Twitter, I've been a member of it for ages, but have only just started to update it more regularly... it's fun! You can sign up and follow us at: http://twitter.com/temposhark

More soon,

R.xx

"You And Me Are Irresistable"

Last night, Sean and I listened back to our new song 'Irresistable' and suddenly decided we'd like to get some female voices to sing with me in the choruses.

Considering we have to finish this track by Monday at the latest, we were a little like "AHHH!!".

To top it all off, I broke my iPhone last week so am waiting for it to arrive back. I therefore had hardly any numbers in this old phone I'm using; plus the battery decided to die just at the exact moment I wanted to start calling some friends...

So Facebook it was. I posted a message on my Facebook profile and what do you know? This morning we had 3 friends of mine: Gemma, Jana and Susanna!

The trio arrived bright and early on this Saturday morning to sing loudly - a bit like football team hooligan supporters!

THEN at 2pm, another four friends arrived: Lea, Jasmin, Bonnie and Ilana! It was brilliant!

Some of you may recognise Jasmin as she was actually a member of Temposhark in 2005, back when it was all beginning! We've stayed friends and I've been to see her band Zoot Woman perform live recently which was awesome. She rules! So it was a pleasure to have her back to sing on this song. :)

Today was AMAZING, so much fun. Here are two videos we filmed for you today!

Part one:


Part two:

More soon...

LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!!

R.xx

"And now, the end is near"

This week has been productive, the album is getting closer and closer to completion. Paul Stroud, who did some of the string and orchestral arrangements on the first Temposhark album, came over. He played trumpet and trombone onto one of the faster tracks, which has added an extra depth... plus we all stood around a stereo microphone set up to sing and scream the chorus! It sounds wicked.

That same day we went over to Simon from The Gadsden's house and ran through the final track for the album, which is a piano and voice track. I've loved The Gadsdens music for well over a year now, and saw them play live last week in London which really lifted my spirits.

I love the way Simon plays piano; he has such a unique way of playing... I can always tell its him as soon as one of their songs starts. It's amazing to be working with him for this song; it's a sad track about a friend that died and the piano arrangment Simon has come up with is perfectly suited.

Sean and I also realised that this new album is a bit more full-on than the first album in many ways, so it's good to have this one at the end to give a sense of space.

Yesterday we returned to Cookham and GOOD NEWS! The first 4 tracks for this album are now finished, we have final mixes! WOOHOO!! They sound beautiful. I'm thrilled... and it's beginning to feel really exciting; at long last we're going to have a new album! I can't wait to share it with you.

Here's a clip from yesterday:

More soon,
R.xx

"I don't think you understand, I'm your biggest fan"

We've had an amazing 3 days in Cookham, mixing at Tufty's. A song a day, and the first three are sounding AMAZING, I'm very very excited... the finish line is getting closer and closer.

Next up is going back to London (tonight) and then singing tomorrow. I have a few more vocals to complete in the coming weeks.

We will have one more song for Tufty to mix and three more for Andy Bradfield to mix! And Sean is mixing the remaining ones. I can't believe we're almost there, album two!!!!!

I can't wait to start sharing clips with you on MySpace............

Here's a little video I shot for you this afternoon, and check out the world's two biggest Temposhark fans at the end of the clip! Plus we've reveal two more song titles from the new album, one is called 'Threads' and the other is the last song we wrote for the album, 'Frames':



More soon.......
R.xxx

"It's The End Of The Party, And The Morning Seems So Grey"

Happy new year everyone.

We start recording again tomorrow! I'll be singing my heart out all day. :)

R.xx

"I wrapped it up and sent it with a note"

Hi gang,

We've begun our Christmas break as of today... it's been a mad few weeks - go go go go go!!! So we're now taking a short time off to rest up and re-energise out batteries in time for Jan, which is when we finish all the vocals and mixing! The new songs are sounding AMAZING and I know you are going to love it. I was listening to all the work we've done this far on my tube journey and it's very exciting... :)

As a little farewell until January, we made this little video clip for you at lunch today! I will try my best to update the blog over the coming week too, but otherwise we are officially back in the studio early January! Thank you for listening in 2008, it was another wicked year for Temposhark and I can't wait to share this new music with you!!!



Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and holiday season... and all the best for 2009. It's going to be an exciting year for all of us!!! Love to you all,
Rob.xx

"I'm s s s sorry"

Sean and I are so so so so sorry!!!! We've been working so hard in the studio that we've not even had a spare second to write the blog... I have been singing my heart out over the past few days. Today we did loads of backing vocals which was fun too, they sound immense!

Anyhow... to prove there's been lots going on in Temposhark-land, check out this video clip from ITN music news in the UK, that I filmed with Mark the other day in London! Hopefully this will make up for our not blogging of late...



Also we want to send a very HAPPY HOLIDAY wish to all of you.... may all your dreams and hopes come true in 2009....

Love loads, Rob.xx

"Once Again I Made It Back"

We're back... hello hello!

Sorry there's been no updates, I've been singing most days which meant we were unable to film because Sean is focused on recording my voice, while I sing... but I hope we'll get some vocal footage soon... ;)

To catch up on where we're at watch this video which I made earlier for you:



More soon...

R.xx

"Green Lights Up Ahead"

We had an amazing day at the studio yesterday with Sophie Solomon, the genius violinist!

Soph plays violin solos on two tracks on our new Temposhark album as well as singing some backing vocals with me and Sean! All sounding GREAT!

Check out this video to hear a sneak preview of her violin parts and also to discover the name of one of our new album tracks, as leaked by Ms. Solomon mid-interview, ha!:



In other album news - I have begun singing vocals for all the album tracks... going well so far... more news soon!!!

R.xx

"Nobody Knows Me Like You Know Me"

Thursday and Friday were brilliant. We marched ahead with the first single, which now has all kinds of wonderful noises, it's really bouncy and I can't help but laugh because the lyrics are so bitchy, but in a nice way, if that's possible. :) I'm really excited for you all to hear it!

You may wonder why no blog updates. Well I'm currently in bed with a stinking cold, so I'm fighting it off in order to begin singing next week. I blame it on the underground, I think traveling daily on London tubes right now is like inviting all germs to come and stay, with big open arms like 'Come on cold, come hang out with me!'.

Anyway, it's not all bad. Check out this painting which was emailed to the blog on Friday by a very talented Temposhark fan in China. Yes China! So a big thank you to Sicibom! Your painting has really lifted my spirits, and it's really cool to know that you're listening to my music all the way on the other side of the world. :) Life is good.

Check it out! It's me via the very colourful eyes of Sicibom!

Have a good Sunday everyone, and with a little luck, Sean and I will be back to work tomorrow. R.xx

"Hit Me With One Of Those Funky Basslines!"

Hello gang, we're back...

Yesterday we were working on the first single for the album, it's a really catchy, fun song - I'm really happy with the new sonic additions.

And today Mark's been here at the studio to play bass on that track, and also another slower one. Hadn't seen Mark for a while as he's been in Israel touring. Good Mark!

Oh and I've somehow managed to get my cold back having just recovered last week, argh! But as I start singing on Monday for most of the album tracks, I'm doing my best to recover quickly. All in all, I'm feeling particularly cranky today.

Anyway, check out this video we just filmed, sorry if it's a bit darker than usual but it is quite late now and the lights were dim:

"It's, Oh, So Quiet"

It's strangely quiet in the studio today while Sean edits the drums recordings from earlier this week! Although it's a pretty silent process, it's luckily still very colourful...

"We Missed You Hissed The Lovecats"

Sean and I are back in the London studio now, with Sean hard at work editing all the drum recordings from the past 3 days spent in Cookham.

Here's one final clip from Cookham, this is me yesterday morning with the coolest cat in the universe, Newbie. Oh and listen out for a sneak preview of one of our new album tracks at the end of this clip:



In response to a number of emails about the previous blog dated November 5th titled "Music Can Be Such A Revelation", yes you are all correct... the fish in the studio screen-saver are in fact Clown Fish, not Gold Fish nor Angel Fish as Sean so smugly corrected me during the video clip! Ha! Just like Finding Nemo!

R.xx

"Pack Your S**t And Get The Hell Out"

Our final drum recording day is over in Cookham, but here's one more clip for you:

"If You Believed They Put A Man On The Moon"

Exclusive: I have landed on the moon!

Er... OK, so I'm actually in the Cookham studio garden, with two chickens, but I'm not that far off as the chickens are from space. Durr.

This is the proof - filmed for you earlier this morning:

"Music Can Be Such A Revelation"

As promised, here's a little video from the recording we're doing here in Cookham.

This is Mathis warming up before recording his drum parts for the title song from our new album... Good Mathis!!! :)

Check it out:



And our Cookham progress update so far: we've now recorded drums for 3 whole tracks! Woohoo! Two more songs to complete tomorrow, then all done for Mr Richet's magic drum kit.

I'll write tomorrow, hopefully with a fascinating video clip of me on the moon, well almost... you'll see!

R.xx

"Eric B For President"

Hello, we're in a different studio for 3 days!

We've driven down to Berkshire. We're in a place called Cookham which is really near to where I grew up when I was a kid funnily enough! It feels lovely to be back here.

We're lucky to be working with a great mixer and producer called Tufty and it's been so much fun so far! He has a great spirit, and always have a very joke to tell us. Mathis has been playing like the demon that he is! The first two tracks are completed now, so three more to do over the next two remaining days... woohoo! The real drums are SO incredible on these songs, they've giving the tracks a breath of new life. Really lifting them up. Sean and I are getting very over excited. I'm filming lots today, so look out for a video coming up next!

Ooh, I'm loving the screen saver!

I'm also particularly happy for the USA today. Great news that Obama won the election. I stayed up as long as I could last night, finally went to bed at 3.30am UK time just after he had won Ohio... it was clear by then that he would be the 44th president. Congratulations to all our friends in the USA for this historic change. The future is bright.