Sabadell Sound

Last year, 2022, I composed a song, part of a larger collection to go onto my upcoming album. The album shall be called ‘Rescue Me’, after the song I released in the Easter of the same year. For those new to the blog, I am a singer/songwriter called James Hardiment, who is based near Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. This track I worked on I decided to call ‘Sounds of Sabadell’.

Sabadell is a town in Spain, where a certain sound was created in dance music, back in the 1980s. Fast synthesizer riffs, lots of melody, and harmony. It was a Spanish branch of the Italo Disco style, which began in Italy, and branched out across mainland Europe. It replaced ‘70s disco, and featured synthesizers, drum machines, with the occasional sax, or guitar. The vocals were usually sung in English, sometimes mixed with other languages too. Artists such as David Lyme (real name Jordi Cubino) pioneered the sound, which dominated the dance music in Spain back then. He tended to sing the verses in English, and then throw in some Italian words for the choruses. Check out songs such as ‘Bambina’, and ‘Bye Bye Mi Amor’ are examples of this. Great songs by the way, and you can find some a pretty cool, lip synced TV performances from back then. There’s an awesome one, on a Japanese television program, that features a whole team of backup dancers, dressed in fun costumes. Jordi is dancing on the stage in an awesome black tuxedo, paired with a white dress shirt and bow tie. I love how classy dance music was back then sometimes, romantic too. Today it’s all rude and crude party songs, or so it seems anyways!

The sound, as I mentioned, has been a big influence on me. I find myself listening to Spanish Italo Disco the most, I love to dance to it. Other artists I should note include, Daydream, Squash Gang, Marce, and some next generation artists which I enjoy, as Italo has made a comeback, include Vincent International, and Stylove. The English is typically sung with a thick accent, which I find adds to the charm, and makes it more European in flavour.

I’ve written a few songs in the style, which have been so much fun, ‘Mistletoe Lady’ a Christmas track, ‘Rescue Me’, and ‘Sounds of Sabadell’. There are a few more in the works too, I look forward to releasing them all soon enough, I want to get the album out by the end of the year, hopefully anyways. ‘Sounds of Sabadell’ is all about dancing in the monsoon rain, wishing I was with the girl of my dreams, dancing together all night in Spain to the sounds of Sabadell.

I shot the music video on a smart phone, my filmmaker friend Jake Adamson helped me record it. Jake is also based in Cornwall. We teamed up with actor, and model Marianne Laver in the video, which features her, and I, strolling along the Rideau Canal together in Ottawa. It was a very fun shoot, so grateful for all the help from my friends. I added a VHS filter to the footage to make it appear like an old music video from the 1980s. Then I had my friend Duncan Fyffe, record a sax solo as well. Very retro, which is what I was going for, and romantic!

The song was mixed and mastered by audio engineer, Josh Hart, who is Ottawa based. If you need a song mixed, or recorded check out his website, to get in touch:

https://www.joshhartrecordings.com

I had such a blast with the project, I just released it to YouTube this evening. Hope everyone enjoys the tune, I’m so happy with how it turned out in the end!

Thanks for reading, that’s all for now!

James

Rewinding and Finding Records

I moved to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, at the end of 2015, I wanted to be closer to my friend, and audio engineer, Josh Hart. The pair of us had been working on creating music together, so it just made sense. I wanted to record a full album, which I would do later in the years that followed. I am a singer/songwriter by the way, originally born in the UK, called James Hardiment, who has lived in Canada since 2007.

During my stay in the nations capital city, I would explore on my weekends off. On the weekdays, I would work in various jobs, retail, car rental, warehouse, whilst I worked on the songwriting. Music is always what I’ve been most passionate about in my life, my ultimate escape from the craziness of living in the modern world. We carry in our pocket a device which tracks our every move, and rumours and gossip spread like wildfire in a split second. You can spread information, to somebody 1000s of miles away, by sending them a simple message on your smart device, so long as you have an internet connection.

I’ve always had a love for the old technology, some of it I grew up using as a child. I’m rather fond of the cassette decks of the ‘70s and ‘80s, especially the ones with wood panelling sides. I also love the way an old record spins on an old player. It’s satisfying to watch, the sound is so warm, if you have the right speakers, and player.

I would hit up all the used records stores across the city, digging out the old “45s singles, mostly from the ‘80s, my favourite decade. In my collection that I built, of LP albums, includes some rather great movie soundtracks, which I have since framed on the wall. I found it a cheaper method than buying official posters. I own Lethal Weapon, Jewel of the Nile, and some other great films too. I was able to pick up a pack of 3 frames, from Michaels, a craft store chain here in Canada.

Most of the records weren’t too expensive, even picked up a few cassettes too, as those have made a comeback too. I think I paid between $5-10 back then, it’s been a long time so that might not be accurate information. A lot less costly than buying brand new, which I do as well. My favourite dance music from the ‘80s Italo Disco I can buy from my favourite Spanish record label Blanco y Negro off their official website. I’ve collected many different rarities that way, but it’s a little more costly, plus you have to factor in the shipping from Europe. Collecting isn’t cheap, but what is these days? Even groceries are insane right now, rent is too high, I don’t even want to get into it, just focus on the positive.

I picked up some great old casette decks and players from Value Village, a Canadian thrift store chain. I even got my hands on some old Sony casette Walkmans too. There is also a great chain called Sunrise records, which pretty much opened up in the malls around Ottawa, replacing HMV. They even sell DVDs and CDs too!

Anyways I had a lot of fun collecting music, despite the hectic life I was leading, good times.

James

Pictured: An old Technics cassette deck, and a CD player, that I picked up from Value Village.

An Epic Ride

Ever since I moved to Canada, there have been two things I’ve wanted to do. First thing, was to rent a boat and travel the entire Rideau Canal, which goes from Ottawa, all the way to Kingston. The canal was originally built by the British back in 1832. They wanted a supply line connecting the cities, in case the Americans would ever attack again, but it never happened. It connected the Ottawa River, with the St. Lawrence.

It’s no longer used for supplies, or freight, just pleasure craft these days. It’s the longest continuously operated canal in the world, and also an UNESCO World Heritage Site. I would love to explore it, in its entirety, 202km in length, on a nice pleasure boat. Going through the 46 locks would be an interesting experience, one that takes me back to growing up in a small town in the UK, called Smithy Bridge. Beside us was the Rochdale Canal (pronounced “Rotch-dale”) which was filled with garbage for many years until it was restored again for the tourist narrowboat owners. Narrowboats, for those not familiar, are a sort of house boat, that can fit in a narrow waterway, typically very long in length. They are usually painted colourful, with nice flower designs on them.

A trip like that would be really amazing, but not a cheap experience, I did get my pleasure craft license though back in 2018, so at least I have that for now! The other thing I’ve wanted to do, is explore the Waterfront Trail in its entirety. It’s a trail that spans from Sault Ste. Marie, in Northern Ontario, all the way to the Quebec border, a whopping 3600km in length. I probably wouldn’t do the whole span, especially the mountainous parts. My main focus would be closer to Cornwall, Ontario, and the surrounding towns. Perhaps I would even document the experience, especially now that I have the blog up and running.

I bought a new cruiser bike last summer, from Sport Chek, a matte black colour, a very sweet ride, with that classic retro style. I miss riding my bike, I would hit up all the trails throughout Ottawa, and Gatineau, back when I lived there in 2016-2018. I snapped so many pictures with my semi-pro Nikon camera D5100. I mostly shot nature, and architecture of the buildings of the city. I must have close to 1000 photos from those days, I’d spend my weekends out, for 8 hours at a time.

I have so many ideas, it’s just a question of getting those plans achieved. I’m always creating something, whether it be music, trips, dream big or go home! The world is what you make of it, life is short, some people don’t make it past childhood, every day alive is a blessing. I try not to let people get me down, I’m so content when I’m out exploring new places, meeting new faces. I’m loyal to my friends, and if you are good to me, I will try to help you in return.

Anyways it’s time for me to head to bed, I have to work in the morning…

James

Pictured: The Rideau Canal locks near the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Ottawa, formerly the Grand Trunk Railway Hotel.

Pictured: The Waterfront Trail in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, beside the old canal, no longer in use and closed off from the St. Lawrence River.