Could've Seen It All

Album: Searching For The Hows And Whys (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Sam Duckworth, who is Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, told I Like Music that he particularly enjoyed laying down this track: "I remember just watching the orchestra play that five minute string arrangement and just thinking, 'yeah, this is going to be a good track'. I'd never watched an orchestra play one of my songs all the way through, so to witness that was definitely an amazing experience."

    He added: "It's a bit weird and unnerving because you know how much an orchestra is going to cost and although you know how talented they are and that it's not going to be a problem, just watching it there's a sense of knowing it's got to be done in one take. We were incredibly nervous, because me and Nitin (Sawnhey, co-producer) didn't know we were going to record with the orchestra until the day before, so a lot of the scoring was done all night making sure everything came together musically. So it was nerve-wracking and an experience that I've never had before. You spend a lot of time doing basic scores on the computer or watching Nitin play with orchestras and see how he operates, for that to be involving one of my songs was something I was really proud of."
  • I Like Music asked Duckworth what he learned from his revered Indian co-producer Nitin Sawnhey. He replied: "I learned a lot of specifics rather than one overall lesson, which was a better thing. From Dean the guy who was mixing with us and the engineer I picked up a lot of just how to use reverbs and compression on my voice to make it work. And, for Nitin, just less is more, and that's a lesson I could've done with learning a little bit sooner to be honest. When he's scoring strings it's all in the build, it's all in where you're going to get to, it's not about having 200 things going on and getting more complicated, it's about building tension. It's all about holding back and making sure that the moments you do want things to kick and you do want that pay off, that you've spend the time building it."

    Duckworth added in an interview with Clickmusic: "I mean, (Nitin Sawnhey album) Beyond Skin is pretty much my favorite album. The first time before we worked together I was incredibly scared - very nervous. But we clicked very quickly in terms of ideas - he instantly understood. It was good to work with someone different to myself, yet with a similar attitude towards production."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."

Prince

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Jello Biafra

Jello BiafraSongwriter Interviews

The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donny Osmond

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.