I chose these demos especially to include as part of this release. I’d love to share with you a little about each one. Happy reading! Love, Harriet xx
Pieces Of Me
‘Pieces of Me’ is a song I wrote with Steve Anderson who produced my debut album. We went on a writing trip a couple of years ago to Norfolk and hid away for a week to make music, with no plans of what to write. We had just finished scrapping about 3 ideas and I was in a bad mood (writers block 😁✌🏼). Steve disappeared to make a long phone call (very wise haha), and a couple of hours later, after a lot of digging, something that loosely resembled a song had started to form. I probably shouted something like “oh my god Steve, FINALLY! I’ve got something!” We then wrote the rest of the song together and recorded the demo there and then in the living room of the little cottage we were staying in. I often hold back a little when I’m writing – it’s hard to be completely candid when you want to put something strong and positive out there – this song is probably the most honest lyric I’ve ever written and I’m really proud of it. Can’t wait for you all to hear it! Xx
Goodbye To Love
This is something I’ve always been nervous about doing and have avoided, despite the Carpenters being so important to me. ❤️However, when Steve presented me with a new arrangement idea for ‘Goodbye To Love’, I agreed that we try it and at the end of another session we had, I recorded a quick vocal. After we finished recording, we never really spoke about it again and it’s not something that was ever mean’t to be heard by anyone but us. But when I started looking through old demos to include on this CD and considered the nature of this release, I thought now was the right time to share it ❤️🤗
Nothing Until
‘Nothing Until’ is a song I wrote with the incredible Mr Mick Talbot, who founded The Style Council with Paul Weller. Mick came to my tiny flat in Fitzrovia in August 2012 with his Nord and we recorded a handful of song ideas on my 8-track digital recorder! He is the kindest man and the most incredible musician; wonderful to watch. It was such a privilege to work with him. A few days later, I put the vocal down on the track at about 2’o’clock in the morning and distinctly remember having to sing so quietly into the mic so as not to wake any of my flat mates! I decided never to re-record the vocal as these circumstances made the recording feel so rich and intimate. The song is about addiction and feeling alone with your suffering; a place I’m sure that we have all been at some point in our lives. It’s something quite different from my other material, so I’m excited for you to hear! Xx
Thank You For The Music
ABBA are one of my favourite bands and ‘Thank You For The Music’ happened about 7 years ago when I was working with a very talented friend of mine, Jonas at his studio in London. We decided to experiment with some different versions of songs we both loved and thought we would give this one a go. I found it intriguing that despite the original version of the song being so ‘singalong’ and uplifting, to me the lyric had always had a touch of sadness about it… I really wanted to explore this in our arrangement. We recorded it live in the room together, in one take and I remember thinking the whole way through the recording how odd it was to be singing sat down on a swivel chair and that I must move in case it made a sound!! 😃 We never found the original session file for it, so this one is exactly as it was when Jonas first sent me the demo. It was such a moment, and I thought it would be a lovely addition to the other tracks on this album ❤️ Xx
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