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James Higgins
Soul Continuum
Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 88
Location: Australia
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 Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 05:40 |
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Wow... its hard to pinpoint really important moments like that. I would definitely have to say meeting Lija (Freesia) and discovering Jamiroquai were pivotal moments.
I do actually the remember the exact moment when I decided to become a musician though. It was when I was 7 or 8, and my parents took me along to a gig that my cousin's band "Reckoning" had in Adelaide. They were a bit of an underground rock band with a cult following. Because the pit was full of drugged-out teenagers and 20-somethings, my parents and my uncle and auntie and us kids were up in the balcony above, looking down on the stage. I watched the way Seamus (my cousin) interacted with the audience... I remember his performance being really intense, like a Jim Morrison meets Roger Daltry approach. He even smashed his guitar at the end and had pyrotechnics go off above the stage. The power he had over the audience and the passion of the music really amazed me, and I wrote him a letter later that week telling him that I wanted to be a "music man" just like him.
And now I am! Stylisitically we're on a totally different path, but music is music and his performance that night definitely made me realise what I was. I picked up the trumpet that year at school, and about 2 years later started to notate my favourite horn parts (as well as I could as a 10 year old!). I remember the songs that I notated in full were Simply Red's "Turn it Up", the Blow Monkeys' "Some Kind of Wonderful" (coincidental anecdote: Lija used to date Dr. Robert's nephew) and The Style Council's "Shout to the Top" (there aren't any horns in that, so I just made my own part up). Isn't it funny that they were all UK bands? This was 1996 now, and I still hadn't heard Jamiroquai (at least not that I was aware of).
Two years later I heard Cosmic Girl on the radio, and that was a special moment too. My mum and I spent the rest of that afternoon trying to pronounce "Jamiroquai" properly, and guessing how it would be spelt (we hadn't seen it in writing yet). A few weeks later my mum brought Travelling Without Moving home from the college library, and that was where I truly discovered the style of music that I wanted to make.
It took a long time for me to understand how to make that sort of music, but those events definitely led me to where I am now as a musician.
Thanks for the great question Maxud 
Love and respect to you my friend.
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I think I'll go for a wander yonder, find a place to play... |
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Vivienne
Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 34
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 08:15 |
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What's your favourite song(s) from your album? |
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James Higgins
Soul Continuum
Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 88
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 08:23 |
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Mine is definitely "Don't Stop the Beat", because I'm chuffed with the song, and so proud to have people as awesome as Punk Pappa, Derrick and Katisse Buckingham feature on it.
I also love the first track "People We Should Try", because I feel its gutsy and powerful, both musically and lyrically, but its also good to shake your booty to.
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FRA
Jamily Coach & Correspondent
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Posts: 5477
Location: London don
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:57 |
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"It doesn't matter what you call it -- nature, instinct, higher power. It's the ability to understand the difference between what your heart is saying and what your head is saying. I now always go with the heart. Even when my head is saying, 'Oh, but this is the rational thing; this is really what you should do.' I always go with that little... feeling. The feeling. I am where I am today because I have allowed myself to listen to my feelings".
Do u agree with this guys?
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http://www.myspace.com/frajamiroquaiaddicted
www.jamitaly.altervista.org |
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James Higgins
Soul Continuum
Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 88
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 03:48 |
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| FRA wrote: |
"It doesn't matter what you call it -- nature, instinct, higher power. It's the ability to understand the difference between what your heart is saying and what your head is saying. I now always go with the heart. Even when my head is saying, 'Oh, but this is the rational thing; this is really what you should do.' I always go with that little... feeling. The feeling. I am where I am today because I have allowed myself to listen to my feelings".
Do u agree with this guys? |
Wow - really interesting quote - who said that?
I agree partly. I believe that your heart (that little feeling) can tell you things that your head can't, but I believe its the same the other way around. This human experience is about striking the delicate balance between acting with your head, and acting with your heart. Neither one is always right, but they need each other. That's what I believe. 
A very philosophical question indeed! I like it
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Princess Freesia
Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Posts: 32
Location: The Continuum
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 13:37 |
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Basically.............what he said.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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You're flippin' about like a sunnybeam stretch
Keepin' me dry when I shouldha been wet... |
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 00:52 |
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| James Higgins wrote: |
Go fix your connection!!!
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My connection is fixed and I'm surfing through nudecontinuum.com... I love your music, I really do. My fellow jamirotalk friends were not wrong, and I can see why so much fuzz about it!
I'm still listening 
D!
ps: my dad will love you guys |
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James Higgins
Soul Continuum
Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 88
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 13:19 |
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Thanks D!
Glad you dig it.
Good news everyone - we just got back from the mastering suite in Brisbane, and we have officially finished mastering the album! So only one more step before it is in hand and ready to post out to those who have pre-ordered and those who want to buy it later
Pressing should happen within the next few weeks!
And we're very pleased with the finished product. We mastered today using "Synkronized" as our point of reference. I got some video footage of the process and of our rehearsal last night with the full band (live drums and bass etc.) so I will put those up on youtube soon to share with the Jamily
Love and much respect to all
James
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Dye
Correspondent & Expert
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 5146
Location: Planet Home; Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 14:17 |
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Congrats!
D! |
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jgrizz
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 1049
Location: Claremont/Southern California/USA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 15:36 |
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  Thanks for the MAD MONGOS link Freesia!!!!
Great stuff!!!!! it's like Late Night Tales - Part 2!!!!
I love that era of music, so smooth and funky at the same time, plus did you see the Chaka Khan video of her playing the drums?!! that's cool as hell!!!
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SweDanFunk
Joined: 03 Apr 2006
Posts: 455
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 22:40 |
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Hey
First i want to congratulate you, i cant imagne how it feels to reach that kind of goal.
My second questions is also about the production.
How do you guys write the lyrics.
Is it one of you or both?
How do you get inspiration and what are your thoughts about what you want to reach out to your audience (Enviroment, love, peace and so on...)?
I hope the question is clear.
Peace
/Daniel |
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Princess Freesia
Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Posts: 32
Location: The Continuum
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 23:29 |
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| jgrizz wrote: |
Thanks for the MAD MONGOS link Freesia!!!!
Great stuff!!!!! it's like Late Night Tales - Part 2!!!!
I love that era of music, so smooth and funky at the same time, plus did you see the Chaka Khan video of her playing the drums?!! that's cool as hell!!!
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Ahhhh, so glad ya dig it brotherman!!!!! Yes, that man is surely a supersonic collector and collator of badass grooves. I can never EVER get enough of the very first track by the gorgeous Phyllis Hyman "Livin' Inside Your Love" - so damn soulful and sexy and a bit mysterious......and of course I have other favourites throughout for various reasons.....another is Sylvia's "Next Time That I See You" (VERY cheeky!) and there's a latin-inspired tune preceding that....TOO HOT BABAY!!!!
Yes yes YES sir, I'd found that Chaka drumming vid a while back and was glad to see it again - she really is one mama funker, ain't it sweet???!!?!!?
oxo
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Keepin' me dry when I shouldha been wet... |
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jgrizz
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 1049
Location: Claremont/Southern California/USA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 23:41 |
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Phyllis Hyman "Livin' Inside Your Love"
(in my head right now) such a great track!
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Sandriche
Officer & Jamily Coach
Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 5564
Location: Austraria
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 23:45 |
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okay..another question 
How did your family react on your plan earning money by making music ( some parents don´t really like this idea...thinking it doesn´t work out )
Did your family and also friends support the kind of music u are making?
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"Here it is...there is no way to make it better " |
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Princess Freesia
Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Posts: 32
Location: The Continuum
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 23:47 |
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| SweDanFunk wrote: |
Hey
First i want to congratulate you, i cant imagne how it feels to reach that kind of goal.
My second questions is also about the production.
How do you guys write the lyrics.
Is it one of you or both?
How do you get inspiration and what are your thoughts about what you want to reach out to your audience (Enviroment, love, peace and so on...)?
I hope the question is clear.
Peace
/Daniel |
For Nude Continuum, James writes a couple here and there where he feels it, and for the bulk of it I do most of the lyricising. It's pretty much the manner in which this particular collaboration works (although I do come up with extra melodic synth parts, co-arrange and sometimes suggest certain chord changes). I love lyricising; it's poetry in motion! The way it usually works is James will come up with a groove, I might help him structure it out and then he'll hand it over to me for the lyrics and vocal arrangement. I then come into my humble studio (which could be ALOT tidier and less chaotically charged, hehe), sit down with it either on Reason (if still in the pre production stage) or as a bounced audio file, open up a word document, give it the temp title and begin singing riffs and melodic/rhythmic ideas into my hand held tape recorder. It generally flows pretty nicely and naturally.....I often have a habit of singing what appears to be a "nonsense" lyric as I'm gathering melodies and thematic concepts and sometimes they make it to the final version, but that generally happens on a crazier scale with the Princess freesia material - god, wait'll ya hear THAT whack!!!
When I am writing, I try to go with whatever the music is communicating to me - for instance, when I heard the demo of "Don't Stop The Beat", it seemed to scream "horny Barbarella seducing space drifting robot", (hahahaha) and in the case of "People We Should Try", James had communicated that he thought it would be pivotal to have a "social conscience reaching" tune for the first album track (seeing as issues such as these are integral to our artistic vision), and the ideas flowed from there. My favourite themes are sex (so many colourful metaphors!!!), love, consciousness/awakening, nature, and anything quirky/offbeat that stimulates the imagination! I thoroughly enjoyed writing to this album and come the next album hope to have my own portable mac book so I can take my work wherever I go - I want to hear the universe whisper more and MORE magical things to me wherever I may be so that I can translate and commune with that knowledge and wisdom and inspiration through precious words!
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Keepin' me dry when I shouldha been wet... |
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