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.

South African Sound Safari

Ever since I heard the Paul Simon album “Graceland”, released in August 1986, I have been obsessed with that South African guitar, and choir singing, famous from the country. Simon teamed up with musicians from the African nation to blend his folky sound with their traditional melodies, and a type of street music know as “mbaqanga”. It was a truly breathtaking album, one in which I honestly enjoy every track, from the super hit “You Can Call Me Al”, to more soothing songs, such as “Diamonds On the Souls of Her Shoes”. Simons voice is very distinctive to the ear, soft, and higher in octave. He is a musical genius, and a masterful lyricist of his time.

Flashforward to 2011/12 and I would discover another songwriting legend, Johnny Clegg, who grew up in South Africa. He would form 2 mixed race bands, Juluka, and Savuka between the 1970s and ‘80s. The mix of races was significant at that point, because during that time period, as the country was divided by race by a system put in place, by the then white government, known as apartheid. A song that really inspired me, was a song called “Great Heart”, it’s a very uplifting tune set in nature. It was featured in the South African film, “Jock of the Bushveld”, based on the novel of the same name. A literary classic in the country from the early 1900s. The story of a Hunter, and his dog called Jock, and their adventures together across the savanna.

2021 rolls around, I knew I wanted to do something with that kind of sound. I could play the chords used on my synthesizer keyboard, to create something that had that South African flavour. However I couldn’t play guitar in an African style. I asked around Cornwall, and Ottawa, if any of my friends could play like that. Unfortunately they would all say no, however that did not deter me. I decided to search Facebook, for South African guitarist groups.

A video would appear on this one page I stumbled onto, where a guitar instructor from Cape Town, South Africa, played some tunes. His finger work was incredible, so fast, and nimble, it was a breathtaking performance. I decided to shoot him a message, to see what would happen. Doesn’t hurt to ask right?

The guitarists name was Shawn Timba, he was thrilled at the opportunity, to collaborate with me on original music. We would send each other sound files over the internet, then I would prepare a rough mix, which I released onto SoundCloud. We also shot a video, he took clips of himself playing his guitar, with Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, behind him. Truly spectacular, caked in clouds, and mist. I had some shots of myself wandering nature, mixed with some vacation shots of Kakabeka Falls, near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. My friend, filmmaker Jake Adamson, shot the video for me in Cornwall, Ontario. (I am a singer/songwriter based near there.)

Shawn Timba has a YouTube channel where he reacts to different genres of music, if you’d like to check it out! Link below:

https://www.facebook.com/ShawnTimbaOfficial?mibextid=LQQJ4d

https://shawntimbaofficial.com/

I will be posting the music video onto YouTube soon, in the meantime you can listen to the rough mix on SoundCloud here:

https://on.soundcloud.com/33qa6XhmrsXhwmeLA

That’s all for now folks, sorry I’ve been a bit behind on the articles. Just finished work, so it’s a good time to catch up!

James

Pictured: The single cover art for the song, which I created blending 2 photos together.