Cover Series 1 : Dreaming Up Schemes (The Police)

First installment in the Cover Series, that is, my series of cover EPs of artists and bands that influenced me most.

Tonight's Episode : "Dreaming Up Schemes", 4 songs from The Police.

Dreaming Up Schemes (zip file with 4 songs, cover artwork and iPod icon)

I'm a long time fan of that band, ever since middle school, actually, when I stumbled upon the "Every Breath You Take" compilation, and quickly gathered the whole discography.

The opening track:

Darkness  by  khoral

Track list :

1 - Darkness : a beautiful and haunting synthpop tune from the "Ghosts in the Machine" album, written by drummer Stewart Copeland. My own cover is a vintage synth fest, a dense, intricate wall of analogue sounds.

2 - Invisible Sun : the well-known hit song, off the same album, famously banned by the BBC for its subdued political content (Ireland). I went for a grittier, more electric sound on this one.

3 - Secret Journey : again on "Ghost in the Machine", an atmospheric, spiritual song, which I treated in a somewhat funkier, spacier way, with relentless groove and plenty of 70's-like string machines.

4 - Walking on the Moon : I played this one as a low-key ballad, with crunchy beats and a very open sound.

Gear:

I extensively used the Moog Little Phatty, the Prophet 08 and Gforce's Virtual String Machine on "Darkness" and "Secret Journey", to give that deep, vintage, analogue atmosphere. The colder-sounding "Invisible Sun" relies more on the digital Roland D550 and a fair amount of guitars.

Next stop : april 1st (and probably Queen).