New album '2020' by Long Tall J - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Hi everybody!

Hope you are well during these special days. Days of being more at home then we often want to and no possibilities to see live music. I just saw the Hackett tour being announced for next summer and I would say it is a must as nowadays we never know what happens next.

A few words about myself: I am 61 and work in aviation and my great love next to flying aeroplanes is putting music together. I was born in the Netherlands but left my country in 1998 and came to the UK in 2010. Some years ago I decided to pick up the guitar again and nose dived in all the modern technology that comes with music nowadays. I started writing music, recording and producing just on my own and it led to the release of the first album by Long Tall J called Albatross. i introduced it here and it is on all major streaming services.

This year, because of learning to fly a different aeroplane for work and Covid, I had a lot of time off while being at home and I kept writing and recording making me realise that hey I can release another album this year. So it all started to accelerate and led to the release this week of my new Album 2020. Eleven tracks of which three are with a cooperation. Two feature a vocalist: "Got a Loving Fire" features a female vocalist from Ukraine. Her name is Amariia and I think she is quite a talent. The other track that features vocals is "White Lightning". That singer is from The Netherlands and his name is Stan Verbraak. He used to sing in a band called Helloise and now sings in the reincarnation of Highway Chile, all Dutch hardrock bands. The third and last cooperation is with a a violinist from California. Her name is Emily V and she is really good. She uses a wah wah pedal on the track as she is a Hendrix fan.

My musical background is both Prog and Melodic Rock. I like fusion as well. For me, melody and atmosphere in music are really important. All the 11 tracks on the album follow this principle. I do everything my self usually starting with creating drum patterns. Next I jam to it and start to put the core music together with guitar and/or keyboards. Next comes bass guitar and then creating either solos or guitar melodies. A fascinating process. I do a lot of mixing on the go as I call it. So once everything is recorded I already have a partial mix. Then comes the big job with more effects and rounds and rounds of mixing and fine tuning.

The instrumental tracks that i write I try to connect to a theme. On the new album there is a tribute to Jeff Beck. Not in Beck style but to honour his amazing playing and the inspiration that he provides. Further more the opening track is called Lockdown. On You Tube you will find the video that comes with it. No need to explain I would say. There are further tracks about the demonstrations after the death of George Floyd (But it matters), the miracles on our planets (Wonders of the World), the cycles of life (Life as it is), the climate crisis (The Thunberg Effect) and animal suffering (Star). More jolly tracks are for instance Groovy and Beat the Logic. So to a certain extend it is a concept album. On my website you will find that each track has a so called Project Page explaining in much more detail the ideas behind a particular project.

Obviously I do all this for the love of music. But i do try to share my music with Prog people like here and others who can appreciate it. Please feel free to comment on it or give it a review if you think it is worth the trouble and people might be interested.

My web address is https://www.longtallj.com/

The link to Spotify is https://open.spotify.com/album/6npVzlUiWe8m89Xf7QEDAl?si=KEKYocNCQoSGevblXImOiQ

The link to Apple Music is https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/long-tall-j/1500029880

The link to Bandcamp is https://longtallj.bandcamp.com/album/2020

For a small amount I also send people a physical disk. More information on the website.

Thanks for your attention and stay safe. And let's hope that by this summer we can attend a small festival and live gigs. It would be amazing.

Cheers, Long Tall J. Smile

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Long Tall J Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: April 16 2020 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 22	Post Options Post Reply Quote Long Tall J Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: New album '2020' by Long Tall J Posted: December 20 2020 at 15:31
	Hi! That is a very interesting comment about the production. I guess when you self produce you are more in it and part of it but you have less distance while a producer hired for the job has maybe more distant overview over all the material. I produce most tracks “track by track” and once I am ready to send it for mastering I go over them but don’t go into major changes. It is like that by then you already have taken a certain distance and have moved on. And you don’t want to distort it too much. Again thank you for your interest and happy music listening with Christmas!

tigerfeet Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: October 16 2017 Location: Happy Hollow Status: Offline Points: 556	Post Options Post Reply Quote tigerfeet Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 19 2020 at 17:21
	Hey there. I really enjoyed listening to your album. I especially liked these 3 tracks. 1. Jeff Are You Beck 2. Wonders of the World 3. life as It is I could hear your musical appreciation as an artist and your natural bond with harmony and melody. It was strange as it sounded like two different people producing a few of the tracks. Maybe it was different ways of you recording? I can't put my finger on it. I have that same thing happen to me, when I self-produce, and certain songs I have produced sound so different, perhaps to do with my with mood, or how I felt, or just what I wanted to hear at the time. Anyhow, over all really good and will add those 3 tracks to my Spotify playlist. Edited by tigerfeet - December 19 2020 at 18:39
	I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you. Robin Williams.

Long Tall J Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: April 16 2020 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 22	Post Options Post Reply Quote Long Tall J Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 10 2020 at 15:08
	Hi everybody! Hope you are well during these special days. Days of being more at home then we often want to and no possibilities to see live music. I just saw the Hackett tour being announced for next summer and I would say it is a must as nowadays we never know what happens next. A few words about myself: I am 61 and work in aviation and my great love next to flying aeroplanes is putting music together. I was born in the Netherlands but left my country in 1998 and came to the UK in 2010. Some years ago I decided to pick up the guitar again and nose dived in all the modern technology that comes with music nowadays. I started writing music, recording and producing just on my own and it led to the release of the first album by Long Tall J called Albatross. i introduced it here and it is on all major streaming services. This year, because of learning to fly a different aeroplane for work and Covid, I had a lot of time off while being at home and I kept writing and recording making me realise that hey I can release another album this year. So it all started to accelerate and led to the release this week of my new Album 2020. Eleven tracks of which three are with a cooperation. Two feature a vocalist: "Got a Loving Fire" features a female vocalist from Ukraine. Her name is Amariia and I think she is quite a talent. The other track that features vocals is "White Lightning". That singer is from The Netherlands and his name is Stan Verbraak. He used to sing in a band called Helloise and now sings in the reincarnation of Highway Chile, all Dutch hardrock bands. The third and last cooperation is with a a violinist from California. Her name is Emily V and she is really good. She uses a wah wah pedal on the track as she is a Hendrix fan. My musical background is both Prog and Melodic Rock. I like fusion as well. For me, melody and atmosphere in music are really important. All the 11 tracks on the album follow this principle. I do everything my self usually starting with creating drum patterns. Next I jam to it and start to put the core music together with guitar and/or keyboards. Next comes bass guitar and then creating either solos or guitar melodies. A fascinating process. I do a lot of mixing on the go as I call it. So once everything is recorded I already have a partial mix. Then comes the big job with more effects and rounds and rounds of mixing and fine tuning. The instrumental tracks that i write I try to connect to a theme. On the new album there is a tribute to Jeff Beck. Not in Beck style but to honour his amazing playing and the inspiration that he provides. Further more the opening track is called Lockdown. On You Tube you will find the video that comes with it. No need to explain I would say. There are further tracks about the demonstrations after the death of George Floyd (But it matters), the miracles on our planets (Wonders of the World), the cycles of life (Life as it is), the climate crisis (The Thunberg Effect) and animal suffering (Star). More jolly tracks are for instance Groovy and Beat the Logic. So to a certain extend it is a concept album. On my website you will find that each track has a so called Project Page explaining in much more detail the ideas behind a particular project. Obviously I do all this for the love of music. But i do try to share my music with Prog people like here and others who can appreciate it. Please feel free to comment on it or give it a review if you think it is worth the trouble and people might be interested. My web address is https://www.longtallj.com/ The link to Spotify is https://open.spotify.com/album/6npVzlUiWe8m89Xf7QEDAl?si=KEKYocNCQoSGevblXImOiQ The link to Apple Music is https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/long-tall-j/1500029880 The link to Bandcamp is https://longtallj.bandcamp.com/album/2020 For a small amount I also send people a physical disk. More information on the website. Thanks for your attention and stay safe. And let's hope that by this summer we can attend a small festival and live gigs. It would be amazing. Cheers, Long Tall J.