Greetings, indie music enthusiasts! Today, we have a special tale to tell — a story of collaboration, creativity, and camaraderie. This narrative revolves around four innovative musicians: Hartshorn, Jackson, Jackson, and Warren, and the album they submitted to the second annual Album Writing Club hosted by Lights and Lines.
The story begins a year ago during the voting phase of the first Album Writing Club playlist. Three of the competitors, Andrew Hartshorn, Cosmic Bos (Nick and Andy Jackson), and Al Warren (ASeaWarren), were eagerly awaiting the results.
During this period, they built a warm and supportive community, much akin to a summer camp, bonding over shared experiences and mutual encouragement. Despite their tracks not winning the competition, connections were established, conversations were sparked, and an idea to collaborate was born.
Andrew Hartshorn took the initiative to gather musicians linked to his label, forming the Monochrome Assembly. This collective released the album 'Poseidon’s Realm', featuring numerous talented artists and collaborations with Cosmic Bos and Al Warren.
It's worth noting that Cosmic Bos also runs the Monthly Music Challenge podcast, which encourages musicians to create a song around a theme each month. Both Andrew Hartshorn and Al Warren participate, along with other members from the Album Writing Club. The podcast offers a platform for wild and unique indie music creativity. Visit the podcast here.
With the announcement of the second Album Writing Club, Hartshorn, Cosmic Bos, and Al Warren leapt at the opportunity to collaborate. Using BandLab as a collaborative platform, they shared musical ideas, song sketches, and lots of Office memes.
The project quickly took shape. Their album's theme emerged naturally from their group name, which sounded like a solicitor’s firm. They joked about being a business, leading to a collection of songs exploring the modern working life of musicians. These tracks, while dealing with serious themes, are balanced with catchy choruses and significant orchestral gestures, taking listeners on a journey through the contemporary office life.
The album opens and closes with a jingle for their fictional company, adding a touch of humor and light-heartedness to the collection. These pieces, titled "Radio Promotional Material no.23" and "Radio Promotional Material no.42," provide the perfect bookends to an album rich with diverse tracks.
Their collaborative journey, although intense and compressed into just a month, resulted in an album they are all extremely proud of. Plans for music videos are already underway, and the team is looking forward to their next collaborative endeavor.
Regardless of the outcome at the Album Writing Club, the experience has fostered new friendships and collaborations that will undoubtedly shape their musical journeys moving forward.
While we wait for the album, We'll be listening to playing office Playing Office on Sound Cloud
Andy Jackson (from Cosmic Bos) was kind enough to bring me this #Albumwritingclub story to share. If you have a story to share, Send an Email
You can hear all the singles from album writing club on Soundcloud