Here's one for the techheads
Don't know if anyone saw this when first published in 1996 but Pete is interviewed about the recording of Bilingual, some bloke called George Michael and programming in general.
You can read it here
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_ar ... ?print=yes
He's also featured in the September '07 issue of Future Music mag http://www.futuremusic.co.uk/
Quite an interesting little read if this is your bag
TTFN
TG
Pete Gleadell Interview fom Sound on Sound Magazine 1996
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TG
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Young Offender
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joe stalin
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I like this bit...
THE PET SHOP PARTNERSHIP
"When the Pet Shop Boys are writing, it's generally just myself, Neil and Chris. Both Chris and Neil have got Logic at home, but they just put down the barest ideas; Chris a bit more than Neil, because Neil likes to write a lot on his guitar. That explains why their chords are often so nice, because Neil voices his keyboard chords exactly like the guitar inversion -- so because they're not played from a keyboardist's point of view, you get these very interesting chords. Neil is also very good at structure and melody, while Chris is more aware of rhythmic elements. That's not to suggest that Chris isn't aware of chords, but his priority is rhythm. He's a mine of ideas, and the hard thing with him is keeping up with his output; he can put a track together in minutes. That's also why I record everything he does. He'll often say 'just let me rehearse this', but the first couple of times he tries something, he'll come up with something brilliant that you wouldn't get again if you didn't record. All it takes is a tap on a space bar with Logic, and you can always get rid of it if it's no good.
"On the track 'It Always Comes As A Surprise', the weird chord at the beginning and end of this track came about when Chris was looking for a way to end the song on his keyboard, and said 'oh, this needs something like this' -- and spread his fingers and just hit as many keys as he could. I was in record as usual, and so it was captured. Neil thought this was a great idea, and rewrote the chords at the end of the song so that they flowed properly into the chord Chris had played. In the end, Neil was so fascinated by the strange sound that he put it at the start of the song as well.
"When I record Chris, I cycle everything around eight or 16 bars in Logic Audio, and he'll play stuff in over the top, say percussion, drums, bassline and some chords -- until he's finished a section. At this point, Neil will listen to what Chris has done, and maybe ask to hear the chords in a different order to the way Chris has played them, so I'll do that for him; or he might re-voice the chords. That might then inspire Neil to write another new section... Their songwriting partnership is very collaborative.
Published in SOS December 1996
THE PET SHOP PARTNERSHIP
"When the Pet Shop Boys are writing, it's generally just myself, Neil and Chris. Both Chris and Neil have got Logic at home, but they just put down the barest ideas; Chris a bit more than Neil, because Neil likes to write a lot on his guitar. That explains why their chords are often so nice, because Neil voices his keyboard chords exactly like the guitar inversion -- so because they're not played from a keyboardist's point of view, you get these very interesting chords. Neil is also very good at structure and melody, while Chris is more aware of rhythmic elements. That's not to suggest that Chris isn't aware of chords, but his priority is rhythm. He's a mine of ideas, and the hard thing with him is keeping up with his output; he can put a track together in minutes. That's also why I record everything he does. He'll often say 'just let me rehearse this', but the first couple of times he tries something, he'll come up with something brilliant that you wouldn't get again if you didn't record. All it takes is a tap on a space bar with Logic, and you can always get rid of it if it's no good.
"On the track 'It Always Comes As A Surprise', the weird chord at the beginning and end of this track came about when Chris was looking for a way to end the song on his keyboard, and said 'oh, this needs something like this' -- and spread his fingers and just hit as many keys as he could. I was in record as usual, and so it was captured. Neil thought this was a great idea, and rewrote the chords at the end of the song so that they flowed properly into the chord Chris had played. In the end, Neil was so fascinated by the strange sound that he put it at the start of the song as well.
"When I record Chris, I cycle everything around eight or 16 bars in Logic Audio, and he'll play stuff in over the top, say percussion, drums, bassline and some chords -- until he's finished a section. At this point, Neil will listen to what Chris has done, and maybe ask to hear the chords in a different order to the way Chris has played them, so I'll do that for him; or he might re-voice the chords. That might then inspire Neil to write another new section... Their songwriting partnership is very collaborative.
Published in SOS December 1996
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joe stalin
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TG
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Js said
Don't think it's available on line - it was just a pointer to the article although I did find this little spoiler on http://www.greatwesternstudios.com/news/sep07.htm
"The mysterious figure of Pete Gleadall has also surfaced in a recent article in Future Music. Pete is widely cited (in the world of the internet) as the 3rd Pet Shop Boy; having worked with them for well over 10 years. Pete's interview with the magazine states that the main reason that he chose Great Western Studios as his base was the parking - he makes no mention at all of the scintillating, inspirational company of his fellow studio holders, or for that matter the wondrous, tasty and nutritious food served up in the café!"
Someone will have to buy the mag to get the full article
TG
sorry but cannot find the futuremusic piece...
any chance of a c&p please ?
tia, js
Don't think it's available on line - it was just a pointer to the article although I did find this little spoiler on http://www.greatwesternstudios.com/news/sep07.htm
"The mysterious figure of Pete Gleadall has also surfaced in a recent article in Future Music. Pete is widely cited (in the world of the internet) as the 3rd Pet Shop Boy; having worked with them for well over 10 years. Pete's interview with the magazine states that the main reason that he chose Great Western Studios as his base was the parking - he makes no mention at all of the scintillating, inspirational company of his fellow studio holders, or for that matter the wondrous, tasty and nutritious food served up in the café!"
Someone will have to buy the mag to get the full article
TG