We'll all be dreaming 7/8 rhythm tonight. Colin's song with the 10 piece orchestra was a great finish to a fantastic day of recording at the Bangkok school of music. First we recorded Gecko, a lovely piece that Morris finished at the hotel last night.  We're getting into the flow of recording at this place and today's Thai conductor was a great help for the second session. Colin, Morris and his girl Marlies all played in this part that had that explosive feel to it. Colin spoke about a Lord Of The Rings IV vibe. Tomorrow will be the final and most exciting day of recording with 45 piece symphonic orchestra!!

Crazy times! Bankcards swallowed by ATM machines, 15000 baht stolen from a hotel room, 24 hour traffic jams. Yes we have left the relatively quiet streets of Chiang Mai for the bustling 10 million plus metropolis that is Bangkok. On saturday we met the first Thai musicians and recorded two songs with a string quintet at the repetition room of the international school of music. The first session proved an interesting test for the next few days, but we managed to get a few great takes in the end. On tuesday there's the big finale with the 45 piece orchestra!

What day is this? Sunday? Half of the crew took off on the mopeds and headed towards the mountains to shoot some elephants. On camera. Unfortunately the elephant park was closed, but during a fantastic downhill ride we spotted some in the woods. Joost set up the camera quick and they didn't seem to mind. We also recorded some moped sounds and some wet ones at the waterfalls for Colin to sample. He and Morris were interviewed and worked on tracks with nicknames like Barry White and Shirley. It's gonna be a weird album Morris said today. Weird is good! Spirit's are high, they are writing like mad men. For dinner we did an all you can eat sample on the bustling Chiang Mai nightmarket but decided to skip the cicada's. We stopped at a bar where a band was playing Santan-like grooves with a few traditional instruments added to the mix. Morris and Colin hooked up with the guys after the show. There will probably be a jam session at a jazz cafe this tuesday with some more local cats! The first chance to see Morris and Colin freaking out the horn and trumpet out here in Thailand.

Day 4, what an adventure.

We took off a bit with the camera and recording equipment in the taxi, and the rest of the crew on five motorbikes for a day of sample hunting. After an exciting ride uphill with Maarten's uncle as our personal tourguide (the smoking hot taxi almost didn't make it) Colin bought three bowls that make incredible sounds that are sure to end up on the record somewhere. A wet ride later we arrived at the biggest and most famous temple op Chiang Mai where Jesse and Maarten recorded the 'bells'. Exciting stuff for sure, but Morris and Colin were glad to be back at the Rama in time for another long night of recording and writing. Colin set up the mic and mini recording studio and started banging away on the found objects of the past few days. First the bowls (assisted by Jesse, Maarten and Morris), then the wooden frogs you can buy from the lovely ladies (yes ladies) on the streets here, and playing around with ping pong bats and balls. And in the end we could hear him banging the door. (which upset the guard quite a bit). One of the great magical musical moments of the week so far.

Night 3

After a day of hard work (Morris & Kyteman writing, Maarten and me cruising through the mountains on our mopeds) we decided to go out with the whole (cabin+film) crew. A night to remember: Hassled by prostitutes/kareoke singers, spotted an elephant in the street, taking chuck-chucks through town. everybody having fun and drinking, playing pool with again, prostitutes, Colin having fun with talk powder (!?!), Both Morris and me lost our phones which was a bummer on a very fun night. Tomorrow we're gonna act serious again. This country is so much fun. The food, the people, the mopeds, the ridiculously hot and moist weather.
PS: The writing is going great. It kind of strange for us to see Colin and Morris scribbling dots and lines on big stacks of paper. To think that a huge symphonic orchestra is going to play their music, written in a small steaming hot hotel room in just 9 days is hard to fathom.... but it's really going to happen!
Can't wait!
JB