This is what Darren has to say about the different tracks on the Australian version of their debut album.
Track by Track - by Darren Hayes
The making of this record was truly a journey. From pre-production to final mixing it took over a year to complete. We went into the studio in Sydney in March 1995 and finished recording in October. Later that year bass and drum tracks were recorded and we waited over the Christmas period for Chris Lord Alge to be available to mix the record in early 1996. June 31st saw the release of "I Want You" our first single. And the journey still continues...
Here is a brief track by track description of the songs on the album. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.TO THE MOON AND BACK
This was one of the first songs Daniel and I wrote together. It was a beautiful space-like instrumental that Daniel had been working on for quite a while. He showed it to me and I took it away to work on melody and lyrics. The song came together very quickly. The next day I brought the song back to the studio and sang it to Daniel in front of a few people and we all had 'goose bumps'. We recorded the song and included it on our first demo tape as we already had four songs and were about to ship them out. When we realised how special the song was we quickly added it to the package. Thank God we did because it is probably the reason we got a record deal. Most people seemed to zero in on this song. It is inspired by the life of a mutual friend and is one of our favourites. Recording the track for the album was a real challenge as we had become so attached to the original version that it was hard to be objective. Although we chased around in circles for a while, it turned out that the simple solution was the best. When Terapie nailed the clean, simple drum track, the rest of the song seemed to just fall into place. The album version features members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the outro sections.
CARRY ON DANCING
The scene is just before midnight...a full moon at a masquerade ball...Avant- garde strings, tipani and even castanets create the Gothic feel of this song. Inspired by Anne Rice's vampire chronicles. The feel is grandiose and theatrical. When we were writing this song we were just getting into using loops and strings. We feel that this song has a definite sound that we like to think of as our own. We see this feel creeping up a lot in our new work.
TEARS OF PEARLS
A bittersweet take on the masks and illusions within relationships. The games we play and the emotions we hide. This track went through many different incarnations during production. The Eastern guitar sounds and vibed mix from Mike Pela in London brought the song closer to its original goals. Originally the song was influenced by Seal....but the sound soon changed during the recording process. Now it is a hybrid of influences. If you listen closely you will hear string arrangements like old Diana Ross and The Supremes records - all in unison and layered amidst the throbbing bass and anchored by the almost dance beat.
TRULY MADLY DEEPLY
A love song in its purest essence. This track was actually written in the last few weeks of recording and was originally intended to be a subtle low key ending to the album. Charles Fisher's producing and Chris Lord Algae's mix really made the song a much stronger statement. Definitely a pleasant surprise for us. When the album was finished we were very proud of this song. One of the few songs that ended up exactly how we imagined it would.
I WANT YOU
This song was always a wild card. It began as an entirely different song and eventually inspired the writing of at least two other tunes. The original idea was very simple: to use the voice as a rhythm instrument - cramming in as many syllables as possible into one phrase. There was a catchy chorus and a simple vocal arrangement. Prior to recording the album we had about 40 songs to choose from. We narrowed down the list to record and came up with 15 tracks. I Want You was on that list but because it existed in a very simple rough demo, it was not considered to be an obvious choice.
The recording process really brought the song alive. The simple vocal in the chorus became a bed of 12 voices. Six of Darren and six session singers that we sank very low in the mix to give the chorus the thick layer of vocals that you hear. The pulsing synths and melodic guitar hooks really seemed to make the song seem urgent and fast. When we finished recording this song just jumped out and we had to release it as our debut single.
Lyrically one of the more frantic and nonsensical things we have ever written, this song is actually based on a recurring dream.
VIOLET
A track which took on another identity during the recording process. The thick doubled fuzz base throughout combined with Rex Goh's funk/blues guitars give the song an almost Prince-like vibe. Lyrically a trance like ranting describing a state of mind we would all like to get to at some point... the disco inside your head!
ALL AROUND ME
Possible the most obscure track on the record. A quirky fantasy inspired by Daniel's obsession with Meg Ryan. Features a high camp rap overflowing with designer references and Absolutely Fabulous overtones. Definitely the shock track on the album. We will have a lot of fun doing this one live.
UNIVERSE
During the writing process this song was originally an instrumental track possibly suited to guitar. We tinkered with it and added a motown influence melody and the track seems to have taken on a Smokey Robinson feel, worlds away from where it began, but firmly rooted in the original structure. A slow sexy groove cemented by a fantastic mix by Mike Pela.
A THOUSAND WORDS
One of two songs about conflict in relationships. This track is a very personal snap shot of a real life argument and a play on linguistics and twisted meanings. The rhythm section of Terapie Richmond and Alex Hewitson take the track beyond its original Manchester feel and make it alive, grunting and believable.
BREAK ME SHAKE ME
Once again dealing with conflict, this track is schizophrenic. The slick moody bass line and held back vocal in the verses are in direct opposition to the intense anger and release of the chorus. Turbulent mood swings and angry guitar hooks dominate throughout. When Rex Goh played the solo we were jumping out of our skins. Even though it goes all over the place we felt that the solo was perfect. It was a single take and was just so angry we just had to keep it.
MINE
This is also one of the first tracks we ever wrote. this song is all about delay. Every instrument in cycling through a delay in its own time, creating a swirling continuos swell that culminates in the instruments finally locking together. Lyrically based around the notion of desire so strong and yet completely unobtainable.
SANTA MONICA
This is a track that we originally recorded as a B-side. It appeared as a bonus track on the "To The Moon And Back" single. When we released the Moon single we all sort of felt that the song had more potential than we had at first thought. Then when we went to America, the record company fell in love with the track. We talked about re-recording the track and making it bigger and better. Yet in some strange way, because the song was so raw , it said something that the rest of the album didn't. We decided to put it on the record in the original form because it shows our song writing in a much more revealing way. there is no production, no fancy tinkering. Just a voice and a couple of instruments. It really was written about Santa Monica and is quite a melancholy mood...talking about feeling so out of place in a new city...but seeking comfort behind the mask of a telephone. Becoming anything you want to be. At the time of writing we were just getting into internet chat lines and we found it interesting how in cyberspace you are only as interesting as your mind. You can be anything you want to be because there are no images, no fashion, no history. Just your language. So sitting in a cafe in Santa Monica one day, this strange thought came into being.
The song was written very quickly. It began as mutterings into my tape recorder and ended a few days later with Daniel's beautifully simple chord progression and single vocal take.All songs written by Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones