Marty
Van Wells

I have been trying my hardest to be as professional as possible but i don't know if it will be that clear with 'Send.Some of these damn songs I've had some kind of working version for years, if not closer to a decade. though, they change over time the fundamentals are the same.It's a bit more upbeat, a bit more polished and a bit more layered than what i've done before.

My favorite song from 'Send, is a tough choice. I suppose i would rather have a song that i would always be in the mood for more often, rather than a song i might only be in the mood for sometimes.Songbirds is probably the one. i didn't think much of it going in and it surprised me a little when it all came together so well.

I wanted to make something that felt like it was just something more than safe folk songs.I bought real recording equipment and had to spend a lot of time to understand how i had even managed to record anything previously. Then I used software that wasn't crashing and corrupting every other take. A huge learning curve, but it was all worth it.I was able to mess around with vocal harmonies and rounds to add more to my voice.

As much as I love to write songs about flowers, the ocean and whatever hippy-dippy themes i can think of on a given day. I wanted something deeper.I was reading a lot about Greek mythology, Ancient Empires and Philosophy. Obviously some are simply in the song tittles like Pontus and Iceni. But others like Chiron, Jung and Buddhism i didn't want to make it too spelled out.

All very easy to access and easy to get drawn into way these writings that have stood the test of time. It is difficult to ignore thinking about the irony and tragedies of these these things that you've been reading while working on the next song.Since recording this one, It is all starting to drift away from any form of classic folk/folksy songs and is becoming something more integrated and complex and i ain't complaining.

My favourite song from 'Sacrifice is a real though one to chose.'Oh, Too' is only the same four chords as i couldn't think of a chorus or whatever, so just worked best with what i had while reading about Socrates.Which was an old keyboard that was lying around and figuring out how to make vocal round sound good without sounding muddy.

An impromptu recording. I didn't really know what i was even doing. I suppose i was just wingin' it, Sitting in bed, holding an old phone up as a mic and just hoping for the best.The kinda sound i was going for was like an early 1960's folksy vibration because that was the best i could really do.I'd written some of these songs years ago, but never really had any drive or notion to ever attempt to capture the sound I could hear in my head. So becoming bedbound for a summer, there was really nothing else to do.

It all feels rather nostalgic.I recorded 'Songs To Share' and mixed it until i was happy and then spent like 3 or 4 months understanding what the hell all the rights were about for each song.I really had no clue what to do after I had something i was happy to share. Like all the publishing and the complicated legal side to things.

There's just some many damn acronyms to remember, which is something no-one ever tells you about. And don't even get me started on the subject of music promotion without looking real desperate. Very fickle.The only thing i did know was that i wanted to avoid relinquishing any creative control whatsoever. I guess that could probably makes me a little selfish to some extend.

'If'n You'd Ask'd' is probably my favorite song from 'Share.It was effortless to write on a bus ride home from a weekend of adventuring and wandering through marshes and vineyards. Though, I struggled with some embellishment timings, it all worked out alright.Even i'm not 100% what i was singing about but it all kinda just felt like end of something amazing

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