"Strange Orchestra" was spawned from my musing about people being a little like songs. I mean, some hold a special place in our hearts and we cling to them, while others can easily drive us up the wall and so we shut them out. Then there are those who instantly lift our spirits while others can bring us down as soon as they’re within earshot. Collectively, we make this big beautiful, sometimes discordant noise.
While it began its life as a loose, sort of Stones-influenced chugger, the song evolved as both Ed Woltil and Dave Gregory got their paws on it. Ed proceeded to mangle the bridge section, tossing in a couple of extra chords and sent it back to me with what to my ears sounded like a sprinkling of magical mystery tour-era fairy dust, which pleased me to no end. Funnily enough, when Dave heard it, he said it made him think a little of The Who’s “Join Together” for some reason, and decided to go the Townshendian guitar tone route, reaching for one of his trusty Rickenbackers. On top of that, he threw in some spacey slide guitar accents that mirrored the vibe of some of Ed’s kaleidoscopic/psychedelic adornments, and things got decidedly trippy. Happy? Yeah, chuffed to buggery, as my dad used to say.
These collaborations are little magical mysteries to me. Whether a song is great, or simply average; whether it picks you up or ultimately lets you down, it’s still something that would never have been born without the input, interpretation and collaboration of the parties involved. I just love the process, and I really feel so lucky to have a group of quirky, wickedly talented people from disparate backgrounds and artistic leanings to do this with.
We're a strange orchestra, alright...
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