I was in San Francisco, October 2017 during the wildfires, the fear, the tragedy, the smoky air, watching it live on the news. Unprecedented destruction. I wanted to capture quickening, the forces of nature…I never forget the burning..thoughts and prayers and healing.
I currently working on my new instrumental album ‘Candle Gardeners’ which will be released on my Birthday, May 30th 2018.
How did this turn into such horror….???? After playing a gig at The DH Lawrence Festival with dry ice. We ended up back our ours talking people’s dark secrets, conspiracies, truths over a few bottles of “d d d d d d d d d..Prosecco” and kebabs. With our imminant debut Strange Currencies album about to be released. We discussed why we are the monsters… ‘Making Monsters‘
… I was descending down a hill on a bus with fog surrounding the trees. It was so vivid and white. Quite beautiful, I took a photo.
A rabid monkey thing suddenly jumped on the bus and started attacking us all. I was grabbing and flinging them off.
Then this world around us changed. So began the decimation.
This was the beginning of the apocalypse. We were holed up in a house. I was summoned outside. Just me…. A tribe/gang were waiting.
I discovered they were after Ange. Will Robinson (music promoter from I’m Not From London) held them off by delaying then.
We initially escaped. Travelled north and ate tapas. Finding the label of something lovely in a jar stating Sainsbury’s. I made a mental note to get some.
For some idiotic reason we ended up back at that house. They came back. With fishing rods this time. Surrounding us, trying to blend in. I ran to the room where she sat. Defeated. I said “Fill your pockets with crystals”
Even thought they wanted to kill Ange. (As she owed them and hadn’t paid up) They didn’t know what she looked like though. We escaped via a lilo and got dragged through the sea grasping onto another boat.
Driven by some form of terminator robot thing. We ended up beached on a sand bank with washed up ships full of live fish..
I woke gasping, then counting my blessings. This is all in an average nights dream session. I could live these lives and if I never woke. That would be my eternal reality. A mind sponge that the subconscious goes rabid with! #howmydreamsgetmade dry ice = fog. The monkeys things must have mutated from watching ‘Men In Black’ last night had lunch yesterday at The Full Moon Pub in Morton. Eating a really tasty starter of olives, bread, balsamic vinegar and (the red jar in dream I suspect) sundried tomatoes mixed up with olive oil. Commenting how lush it was and we should make at home. With me also watching a lot of hurricane footage (stranded ships) my constant need to escape. (lots of career changing/concentration of music making discussions and action taken lately a big need for change and day job motivation) The clarity is rewl. Even though my eyes now are adjusting in my 40 from short vision to long vision. I’m not ready for bifocals or seperate reading glasses yet. So suffer a sligh blurr. Ange calls me ‘Old Bitch!’ We chorle as my hair greys a little more. As the need for adventure and escape to the country grows. Action is taken towards this… With a little help from the universe and law of attraction ofcourse…I find it incredibly draining and at times soul destroying doing day job and my passion and calling. But the bills have to be paid and I’m lucky to work in a decent job where I get looked after.
With all other dream fuel drip fed, blended and spat out… I now need to record more meditation music to calm my arse!
The dark secrets.. well you know your truth.. don’t you.
Enjoy
I own a beautiful old Sitar from India. I recorded this track ‘Namaste.’ As an Improvisational piece. Its really quite challenging, but also fun to capture and video the multi-track recording process. Camera tripod collapses and cups of Chai tea. I indulge, meditate and drift in to my Earth Tree Healing music. Each track leave me (and I hope my listeners with a sense of wellbeing) – Enjoy
5th track from the 2017 album ‘Becoming Moons’ By Claudine West
Becoming Moons is the new album by Multi-Instrumentalist & Songwriter Claudine West. From the debris from a galactic collision.. Comes something whole. Alternative rock with acoustic colours. Avante garde explorations, therapy, spillings, worries, dreams and meanings. Album cover comes from a guitar art piece.
This project; It’s an evolving beast. Songs will be added each month until completion.
claudinewestmusic.com/
MIDLANDER BLUES
Divas wept
They Talk about convention
Fake news under a microscope
Born in a heatwave
Declared renegade
Reptilian holograms
Wasps in my hair
I’m at the end of this leather
nag a ram an anagram
No one’s gonna mess with my big red moon cup
The noises in the bedroom
Making up with fucks
In an anorak
Is a razor back
Don’t look back
Panic attack
But I still love you
and I want you to unwind
I broke the mirror
But reflected over time
And my head banging
Come on pour me some more wine
I followed through when i went to the zoo
That’s what you get for queuing
It’s not so crazy believe in Tena lady
To catch your poo in
There’s menopause around the corner
Spa weekends and breath taking saunas
4th track from the 2017 album ‘Becoming Moons’ By Claudine West
Becoming Moons is the new album by Multi-Instrumentalist & Songwriter Claudine West. From the debris from a galactic collision.. Comes something whole. Alternative rock with acoustic colours. Avante garde explorations, therapy, spillings, worries, dreams and meanings. Album cover comes from a guitar art piece.
This project; It’s an evolving beast. Songs will be added each month until completion.
To swear on air. That was a bloody good ‘straight after work’ vocals recording sesh. After leaving to breathe… The McGuigan coated throats just enough for a velvet vintage performance. Now for Rugby (and a big well done to England Yesterday winning the Six Nations) & Pizza with Wifey. Well done Mr Paul Phillip Johnson.
With a pretty great music ‘information gathering’ week in the bag. Networking a go go. We all feel a refreshed reiteration on how to move the music of Strange Currencies into the universe a little better. With a Nusic Academy Q&A hosted by Mark Del at Nottingham Trent Student Union. Featuring on the panel John Kennedy from Radio X, Kate Holder, Producer for Huw Stephens for the BBC, Eleanor Goodman, currently features Editor at Metal Hammer from and Jamz Supernova from BBC Radio 1Xtra. Being a musician and not a savvy Radio Plugger, promoter. Well not yet… In this day and age. Listening to some valuable tips via iTunes podcasts on the bus to work has been enlightening. Some things are obvious. Some are ‘Aha’ moments. Some are well ‘why do that as I would not..?’ But play guitar with the suggested chord formations. You might just have a tune. With stalls, advice and networking with local promoters I’m Not From London. It was a productive meet and greet.
One of the funniest moments from the Nusic sesh involved as question about visual media eg band photos. Eleanor Goodmans sound advice.. Don’t do photos of bands in front of walls or forests. As its ‘soooooo very unoriginal’ had us laughing out loud. You had to be there! ‘Wanky Cocks’ against depressing backdrops in a nutshell. Its quite possibly 50 shades of grey with arrogance and unoriginality.
A few pre mastered CD promos featuring a few songs were handed out. Some more seed planted from out underground greenhouse.
After finding Bridget Jones’s Baby funnier than expected. Pissing at the one liner “It’s a big wanking bomb Viv” in No Offence, a heart stopping episode of The Walking Dead, season 7 this week. When we thought Rick Grimes was zombie pate. Some really weird dreams followed by milking squids. The question begs… Is it better to gain musical success from your own talent and creating what you love. Thank pulling in favours in Whoreland?
Then at the weekend… a band injury.. I’m recovering with a sore upper bingo wing, being burned by an oven tray full of bacon, I’m still not sure how i managed it at that angle. Maybe….(for album pre release publicity) A unicorn self combusted its horn. Then decided to compete in the winter Olympics while applying lippy. Bought a Moped and then travelled Thelma and Louise style to Balmoral. Later recording an album likened to ‘Rumours.’ Shagged a pony. Had an affair with and antelope. Found an ice pop. Snorted Kryptonite. Went on a cruise with Jane McDonald, burst into song, with a distinct blurred lens. Then trained as a butcher, opened a shop. Decided to become vegan. Discovered that vegetables have feelings too. Went batshit crazy apeshit. Read up on mind control and possession. Did a bit of hocus pocus. Found out the Reptilians wanted to recruit. Found me and did this in the night. Ok ED and James. Your beautiful oh little scar scar.
Recording the album ‘Making Monsters’
It was PP Johnson lead vocals and Claudine West backing vocals of something very beautiful for the album tonight. Take this one to your church. This Girl is understanding.
Album is coming together pretty good. It eclectic! Grunge, country, ballad, Blues, Dance, Pop and more.
So as we depart into the weekend between the day jobs. We are happy. Excited and content and a little tipsy. Rehearsals with the full band commence next week. Good times for Strange Currencies. Great year ahead.
This one goes out to the little people..The door mats, The trodden upon. We’re meeting at the Left Lion….Track 3 in the month of March from Claudine West’s album ‘Becoming Moons’
‘Seeking solace from mind chatter. Music heals. In these moments I sit a protective circle of inner peace on a beautiful prairie. Where cotton floats in the breeze under a metallic blue sky. An emerald forest, where ferns caress as I pass. I reach the beach. This place is golden and blissful. The waves gently tantalise the shoreline. The air I breathe is fresh, it revitalises me. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. I am grateful for amazing during this alive time in this body in this life.’
When I close my eyes and channel energies. A comfort blanket of darkness envelops me and I drift. I drift to pure relaxation. Upon waking body and mind are calm. I feel good. Coping with everyday stresses I now tolerate. Coping with the other things.. It gives me comfort and strength. I regularly speak to Angels. I ask for help, advice and sunshine.’ Enjoy.
Close your eyes, get comfortable, focus on your breathing and let this music help you connect, travel, relax, vision quest, explore, communicate…
‘The album is relaxation sustenance for the soul. Great for Yoga, meditation and chilling out. From the opening track ‘Guardian Angel’ to the deep and cosmic ‘Metatron.’ I listen to this when I travel, can’t sleep and practice Reiki. Connecting with the angels is a journey to embrace. I’ve found a deeper inner peace. Reassurance that we can ask for help, guidance, protection. This is the sounds of blue skies that break through dark clouds and show the sunshine. The smell of freshly mown grass after the rain. The crystal clarity of visions during meditations. The signs. The calm. There is also the first album to try. P.S. Also good while doing the housework!’
The tracks Guardian Angel, Ariel and Metatron are tuned to 432HZ. Some say this frequency vibrates with the Universe I personally, (during the mixing and mastering process) compared these 3 tracks to the usual 440HZ tuning and found the experiences to be more relaxing at 432HZ.
Released digitally 25th February 2017. This follows ‘The Journey’ a collaboration with Sally Wathen at Rainbow Bridge, who always makes me feel better everytime we visit. She helps confirm that making music is my path, ignoring that path is not an option. Which is why once I invested in new studio equipment after my old Fostex machine retired by both effectively ‘dying’ on me after 20 years. I’ve invested in Logic Pro X and am learning its use step by step by watching Youtube videos as lack a good attention span with I worked mostly evening and weekends around my day job. Inspired and indulging in blissful musical quiet times making these albums.
Becoming Moons is the new album by Multi-Instrumentalist & Songwriter Claudine West. From the debris from a galactic collision.. Comes something whole. Alternative rock with acoustic colours. Avante garde explorations, therapy, spillings, worries, dreams and meanings. Album cover comes from a guitar art piece.
This project; It’s an evolving beast. A song will be added each month until completion. Track 1. January 2017 saw the release of single and first song ‘Mantaray.’
Joanna Thompson“Mind-blowing harmonies, the most beautifuliest of lyrics constructed so perfectly. really impressive work, you’ve real skill, keep it up and i know you’ll soar!”
A video by Claudine West accompanies this:
A strong believer in recycling. A rejected song ‘Automatic’ from band Strange Currencies Claudine had recorded the music for, was edited, with new lyrics and Claudine’s vocals.
THE FEAR THE FEAR THE FEAR. Skirts lyrically around anxiety, paranoia and anger. Backed by a rock alternative musical core. A reflection lyrically of feeling felt during the day of writing and recording it.
“If you never try, you’ll never know what you are capable of.” John Barrow
Stranger things have happened. things nearly didn’t happen… but…I’m an improv inspired kind of bird. Go with the flow. This ideal is not shared by all. Which is why…..
12th Feb 2017 was the day Strange Currencies shot a the music video for ‘American Saviour.’ Paralleled with a pseudo documentary of ‘the making of’ to rival others .. should be released in the summer. With a story line and undertones of Cuprinol. This dip into politics may cause ripples with nipples. A few conti pad giggles.
With a self financed tiny budget, (500 x 50p and a mars bar mini) the kindness of The Acacia Centre volunteers fancy dressed to impress, sausage and chip cobs(naps, buns, rolls to non locals), orange face paint, raspberry sauce and more wigs that Donald’s closet. Began a day of filming. After ditching his initial script in comparison to The Cure For Insomnia running length of 87– 10 mins in ‘cat years’ ;-0. A barrage of hissy fits ensued the day before. (A lesson about better communication, planning, prepping and making sure minutes are written in future with things!) PP Johnson (band vocalist) overcame what can only be described as…. a fucking flid and directed. #evidence below. Yet again I’ll quote this sunshine… “If you never try, you’ll never know what you are capable of.” John Barrow
A word from Director PP Johnson:
“I feel at this stage that I might have to go into more of an explanation as to why I didn’t want to make this video initially. In light of a pretty damning blog, it’s now become important to me that people understand my side of this particular issue. I guess I’d have to say that I was the architect of my own downfall on this one. Basically, I pitched the idea for the video a couple of months back and we all agreed that we should do it. We’d been looking for a concept to hang a music video on for a while and so this seemed as good an idea as any. So we greenlit the project and everyone was happy. Fast forward a few weeks and new jobs for both myself and the band manager plus an album recording that was well under way meant that I started doubting our ability to produce a quality piece of work in such a short space of time. So… I went to my bandmate and the manager with my concerns and suggested that we either postpone the project or shelve it altogether. This suggestion was met with a fair amount of resistance and I was told that we were definitely going ahead and “I shouldn’t pitch projects if I had no intention of going ahead with them”. Suddenly one person was less happy. 😉 Anyway, life and work began to take priority, as they tend to do. Production meetings didn’t happen and communication on all sides became almost non-existent (due to individuals not replying to messages and various important sporting events). During that time a script was written and some pre production work had been carried out (admittedly not as much as I’d had liked but that’s on me). Come the eve of the shoot and I was a very frustrated bunny indeed. We were on a ship which seemed rudderless and heading for stormy waters, and I seemed to be the only one that saw it. After numerous tense phonecalls and a (now very public) meltdown from your’s truly, it was decided that we would change the project in order to try and turn the project’s weaknesses into a strength. Ultimately a new concept was born and the shoot went ahead. Upon reflection, I still feel that I was right to feel the way I did but I am grateful that we were able to turn potential tragedy into (fingers crossed) triumph. My actions in the build up to the shoot were those of a man who was being forced to do something against his will and it garnered the appropriate response. So there it is, the story from my side. Hopefully to be concluded in the summer with the release of American Saviour: A Cautionary Tale.”
So….after a winter of ‘Toblerones’ and turkey. With pre menstrual bloat, some virus illness shite that the flu jab possibly caused. You can imagine my surprise and horror at being directed with speaking parts! Bear in mind.. an E in ‘A Level’ Drama happened for a reason with me! I mumble and can’t remember lines or prompts, or act.I can barely function as a non musician at times. So genuine uncomfortable madness.. Fanks!
With the sort of pre match bitch diva fits that potentially split bands up and ruin friendships and prompt the band manager to consider leading a meditation with monks tour with backing band ‘Satans Minions.’ By the power of Greyskull.. no one died. A punch up did occur. Filming completed.
What won this Shoot was : Wait for it…Team work, yes where no ‘i’ belongs. Resilience, imagination, ripping off others ideas and persevering seeking the bigger picture. What one watches in hindsight though the looking glass in years to come. Becoming a coffin dodger is a daily Pac man challenge.
Big thanks for last minute leads, Angela Barker, who is also the manager who fortunately for some only used the boxing gloves ‘acting.’ Stepping in to the Trumpalumpa ‘Ronald Gump’ character. Notts Drag Queen, Madam Tesstickles (Steven Newbury) for the ‘Vanessa Theresamay’ hilarity. Talented true divas and excellent hilarious performances. The DJ’s, friends and families atAcacia Radio for giving us their time, featuring and letting us use their building and props. Kendal Louise Turley, who I first met in 2009 while recording an Idolins album at Confetti Studios, Nottingham. Joe our cameraman. Both very cool and talented folks.
Claudine West Music 