Karl Morgan is in an enviable position. The 20-year-old singer songwriter is in studio recording his first album. Like the best rock idols, he has holed himself up in a studio in West Wales to lay down seven tracks that he hopes will catch the ear of the big names in the business.
Karl’s been gigging live for nearly two years and has used the time to develop his own style and he admits he is now ready to set his talent in stone (or at least on CD). I pop into Sonic-One Studio half way through a continuous eight-day stint where Karl and producer Tim Hamill have been working with a whole series of musicians on the album – working title “Unpredictable”
Karl said, “This is the first major session on the album. We could have recorded it over three weeks but you lose the momentum and the enthusiasm. I have been having a great time working with everyone. “ Karl’s energy is infectious and you cannot help smiling at his beaming face. It is obvious that he is enjoying his time in the studio.
But how does Karl translate his songs into multi-layered, professionally produced tracks?
“Everyone gets a demo of the song by me before we get into studio so they can learn their part. But this doesn’t mean it’s set in stone; everyone brings a CD of the bands and producers that have influenced them and they also have their own interpretation of the songs. We may try out a track in different ways and everyone has their own ideas to contribute.”
So far, this week Karl has managed to lay down the guide vocals, which is a raw one take recording of his songs so that the band can play along to it. After that they added keyboard and synths, acoustic and electric guitars and today they are working on drums and bass with session drummer Ryan Aston. Karl added, “I have had a great time – Ryan is the funniest guy I have worked with. I have worked with him before and we have the same influences which makes it easy to understand each other when we suggest different styles.”
Tim Hamill is the man charged with turning the layers of instruments into a fully formed track. Tim says the final product is very much a team effort. “I produce each track as we go along. Karl brings his ideas as well as the others and we develop it on a daily basis.”
To prove a point he plays “Seven Wishes” a guitar heavy upbeat track that gets everyone tapping. It sounds impressive but then Karl tells me that it is far from the finished product, as it still needs the proper vocals, electric guitars and solos.
Karl is not starry eyed about his work he knows exactly his market and is eager to capture it. “This is aimed at Radio 1 and Capitol with the view to going onto play lists at Radio 2. I have tried to keep it commercial pop/rock as this is the only thing that sells. If I want to keep making music that is what I will have to do.”
Karl professional approach is reflected in the working day. Forget any images of musicians rolling in late afternoon for a few hours; Karl and his band regularly put in nine-hour days. “We get in at ten, have a cup of tea and a chat then we are straight down to it and we’ll keep going til 7pm – with an hour off for lunch.”
The seven tracks being recorded at Sonic One will form the basis of the finished album but, as Karl explains, this will still be very much a taster for those in the industry. “John (Waller, Karl’s agent) will take this to his contacts to give them a flavour of the album and get feedback. If that goes well we’ll be back here to record the final tracks.”
Karl is not just relying on the more traditional side of promotion to give his music an airing. Like many musicians he has his own My Space site, which he says provides him with great feedback.
“I put an updated version of ‘Blame’ on my site a few months ago and it had 10,000 plays – which is just brilliant. You can pay a lot of money for a group of people in an office to give their opinion but if you can get a sample of what you do out there and get feedback like that, that’s great.”
As well as writing all the tracks on the album and playing numerous gigs all over the UK, Karl has managed appearances in BBC dramas including Holby and Belonging. But his heart is most certainly with his music.
With the album tantalizingly within his grasp, Karl is now looking forward to the New Year when he will start the job of promoting his debut album and getting valuable radio airtime.
You can hear some of Karl’s tracks on karlmorgan.net and myspace.com/karlmorgan1.
For more information about sonic-one studio visit sonic-one.co.uk.
