New version of Earl Grey, sung by Spanish singer, Nuria Fergó. Click here to listen.
This is my first solo album; written and recorded over 9 days last year. Below you can watch the videos I made for each song, and if you fancy a digital download, or a limited, personalised CD of the album, please visit the shop for more info.
A review of The Lie by Tim Donderevo, from Owl Climax Monitor
“In The Lie, Dogs Die In Hot Cars frontman Craig Macintosh has achieved an exceptional level of emotional authenticity. There’s a serene resonance of soulfulness here, that permeates the psyche like a cup of Earl Grey with Morgan Freeman. Songs like The Magical Labyrinth… and The Lie expose a (pre-suicidal) Nick Drake vulnerability, but also evoke the spirit of a post-Clash damaged Strummer. But true to form, Macintosh manages to wrestle the diverse instrumentation and experimental structures into curiously catchy hooks and melodies. The Lie is the honest and heartfelt Crie de Coeur that DDIHC hinted at, but artfully sidestepped. For all it’s unconventional personality, The Lie is nonetheless a great pop album – the anthemic opening track Black Snow and single-worthy Just A Kiss, are the kind of single any band would be proud of. The Lie is a dose of bi-polar psychosis, melancholy and euphoria, administered by a skillful head-messer. 5/5”
Track 1 – Black Snow
I remember when we were about 18, rehearsing in Ross Bald’s (bassist at the time) parent’s basement and a DJ from Radio Tay, called Sean Ray, came over to listen to us. We were well excited. He said some encouraging things and something that has always stuck with me – if you can write a decent tune with three chords then you’re on to something. Black Snow has two but I like it.
The leading cat is Richard Parker, my son.
Track 2 – Don’t Turn Back
I’ve always been confused about how best to start the process of composing. It seems to me there has been no specific way that I’ve previously followed, but I’m starting to realise the method I used to make this track probably gives me the greatest satisfaction. I started out instrumentally, with the guitar plucky part, structuring the progressions, getting it sounding interesting on its own. Then I basically jammed over it with various guitar tracks, kept in the bits that I liked, deleted the rest and put a few of them in reverse to see how that sounded too – I love reverse guitar – massively inspired by John Frusciante, especially his first solo album “Niandra La Des and Usually just a T-shirt”. (this, by the by, was exactly the same way I made the Boots advert song – Nobody Teaches Life Anything) So out of those guitar sounds, the vocal melodies really just wrote themselves. Then I played around with Logic – For the past 10 years I’ve used the digital audio workstation, Cubase, but I never had the attention span to get my head around its technical side and as a result never felt I could get the most out of it. Logic, in contrast, reminds me of playdoh. This song is my first proper outing on the program, experimenting with what it can do, its sounds and samples.
Track 3 – Earl Grey
In the silent love life. In the corners of my wheels, I hear you.
Like a distant sound of wind upon the trees. Blinks of life. Blind eyes see.
Maybe I am calling, calling, running like I’m running free.
But I don’t know if it’s here.
But it feels like something out there satisfies.
I can see myself falling, falling, running by.
Colours all in one direction, so it seems
Bad dreams to me are you.
Bad dreams to me are you.
But I don’t know how much sugar you take in your Earl Grey.
Track 4 – Just A Kiss
When I was 15, my first love stayed over at my house and we did nothing but kiss throughout the whole night. Maybe it wasn’t quite 10 hours solid petting but definitely at least 6. I never felt I was a particularly nostalgic person but this song and the accompanying video reek of the stuff. Musically it was inspired by things M.I.A. Unfortunately, I bit off more than I could chew in the mixing process, but if you listen to it in headphones you can almost get there.
Track 5 – If You Don’t Take Responsibility For The Errors That You Make Then All The Good You Do Is A Fraud
How can one be bored when ants do this?
Written using the same method I used for “Don’t Turn Back” . The flute is inspired by the beautiful flutage on the songs “All good things (come to an end)” by Nelly Furtado and “Breaking the girl” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Track 6 – Forget Yourself
Terrence Trent D’Arby adopted the name Sananda Maitreya, following a series of dreams and he legally changed his name to Sananda Maitreya on October 4, 2001. He proclaimed in an interview that “Terence Trent D’Arby was dead…he watched his suffering as he died a noble death”, in what was perceived as an attempt to reinvent himself artistically and free himself from what he believed to be the oppressive nature of the record business
Maitreya currently lives in Milan, Italy where he continues to create music. Since the early stages of his music career he has always written, composed, arranged and produced all his tracks. In his later albums such as Angels & Vampires and Nigor Mortis he also played all instruments. He is also currently touring with his band ‘The Nudge Nudge’ around Europe to present his new music called ‘Post Millennium Rock’.
Track 7 . The Magical Labyrinth Is Guiding Me To You
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel is one of my favourite songs and this is an attempt of mine at trying to capture some of its bittersweet journey feel.
More kissing – I know this video could have been a bit more appealing on the eye but to have done that it would have meant editing and I wanted it to be one long take. I love long takes. To me that’s cinematic immersion. frigg 3d. If you love long takes also – here’s a great site that shows some classics.
Track 8 – Sangrar Mi Conrazón
I love the piano ballet in this song. I wish I could have played it. I usually don’t like being too dependent on samples as I find it limits the way I like to work but with this track I didn’t have that problem, probably thanks to having to write and record it on the conditions of the album.
The thing I love about this video is that usually when you film in public, people in the background look on at what you are doing with suspicion, or even worse, murder in their eyes. I do. But with this, everyone is loving it. It was great.
Track 9 – The Lie
Love is like a game of twister.
Big big thanks to
Andy Colborne
Silvia Garcia
Alex Kuckuk
Sabrina Siddeki Longeat
Dean Maber
Kerry McCullagh
Bex McDonald
Meaghan McDowell
Duncan Nutt
Ian Woodward-Nutt
Sonia Paul
Monica Quitian
Sanna Raistakka
Iván Sánchez
Christain Starmer
Jono Starmer
Willem Timmers
and
Joan and his wife from Barcelona for taking part in the videos.
Contact – moy@madebymoy.com