Songwriting UK — Winter 2017

(Axel Boer) #1
FRANK’S NEW BEST OF ALBUM SONGBOOK IS OUT NOW. MORE INFO AT FRANK-TURNER.COM


  1. GIBSON COUNTRY
    & WESTERN 1957
    ACOUSTIC GUITAR
    I bought this guitar a few years ago, it
    didn’t come cheap, but it’s in absolutely
    mint condition, and I absolutely love old
    Gibsons. Something about a guitar that
    plays easy, that has a great sound, and
    has age and wisdom, helps my fingers
    find the right places for new songs.

  2. MY MUM’S UPRIGHT
    PIANO
    My mother got an upright piano from
    her parents for her 21st birthday, and it
    was in the house when I was growing
    up. My sisters and I used to argue about
    who would inherit it, but one day my
    mum was moving house and just decided
    she didn’t need it in the new place, so I
    snaffled it.
    “It’s not the best piano, but it has
    charm and memories. I’m also not the
    best pianist, but when I get stuck in a rut
    musically, shifting to a different physical
    layout often helps me find my way
    through to where I’m going.
    3. NOTEPADS
    I have quite a complicated and arcane
    system of notepads. Currently I’m
    running about 5. I have a couple of small
    Moleskins and some larger, cheaper
    ones. Some of them were gifts - from my
    partner, from a friend. Different types of
    words go into different notebooks, it’s
    difficult to explain what the breakdown
    is, it’s instinctive. A few years ago I
    ditched computers and typing for writing
    lyrics, apart from for final drafts. I find
    the physical act of writing much more
    satisfying, and I like being able to look
    back through my crossed-out edits.
    4. MACBOOK
    “I carry my MacBook and my audio
    interface with me pretty much
    everywhere I go. I use a simple SM58 for
    vocals and DI my guitars, and use Logic
    to put together demos of new songs.
    They’re very rough sketches, structural
    mostly, with basic arrangement ideas,
    which I then take to my band, The
    Sleeping Souls, to work up. It’s good for
    me to get my basic arrangement ideas
    down first so the others can see where
    I’m heading.


Technology has made all this so
insanely easy these days. I used to have a
Tascam 4-track, and I don’t miss it.”


  1. BOOKS
    I read voraciously, and that helps keep
    my mind ticking over when it comes to
    writing. I read a lot of poetry, novels,
    literary and artistic criticism (especially
    Clive James). I don’t regard myself as
    a poet - lyrics are a separate discipline,
    to me - but keeping a steady diet of
    interesting words and ideas coming in
    pushes me to be more ambitious in my
    own wordsmithery.

  2. NONE OF THE ABOVE
    Actually, songwriting remains an entirely
    ephemeral act for me. Some of the best
    stuff I’ve written has been jotted down on
    a supermarket receipt, hammered out on a
    broken ukulele at a friend’s house. I don’t
    get much say over how and when the good
    stuff comes, you just have to be ready for
    it. Afterwards, you sit down and build
    songs from the nuggets of inspiration,
    but that central moment, when things
    just arrive, is delightfully ineluctable, and
    always will be.


SW SURVIVAL KIT


#songwritingsurvivalkit


S


haring is caring, which is why we’ve been encouraging you all to share
your #songwritingsurvivalkit with us on social media. Whether it’s the tatty
notebook that’s attached to you or your trusty old guitar and amp, we want
to see those pieces of kit that are essential to your songwriting life and will be
re-posting all of the images that you hashtag.

For this issue, singer-songwriter Frank Turner talks us through the items
which make up HIS #songwritingsurvivalkit. from HIS beloved GIBSON acoustic to
hIS CLIVE JAMES BOOKS, these are things that he can’t do without...

FRANK


TURNER


42

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