I have fulfilled a dream and it is something so wonderful, that I just had to share this with you all.

For those who don’t know me, I’m a literary editor with my own business, but in my other life, I write poetry and song lyrics.

Quick background, I’ve been writing for around 43 years. I’ve enjoyed lots of lovely achievements, including winning awards, writing lyrics for solo artists, school plays and musical theater projects.

In 2019, after five years in the making, I published a poetry book called Poetic Wonders, which is something I am also extremely proud of. From very early on, when I started writing, my one big ambition and dream was to write lyrics for an original album. It was something I always strived towards and now, I can happily tell you, that I’ve done it. Not only have I co-written it with the most amazingly talented composer/arranger and vocalist, but we produced the album ourselves as well.

How It Began...

We were introduced to each other by a mutual friend and got together in early 2020 during the first lockdown. We started writing together and released a song called One Day Soon, which is an anthem that acknowledged the crisis. We carried on writing together, building up ideas and demos, and eventually found we had enough basic demos to warrant making an album. It was three years in the making and almost every moment was pure joy and excitement.

That’s not to say it wasn’t difficult at times and that there were no obstacles along the way, of course there were, but we persevered, found ways to get around the problems and by working together, everything turned out so beautifully. There is something magical about collaboration. I have tried producing songs on my own and I’ve done an ‘okay’ job with some of them, but when you can bounce ideas with another person and revel in each other’s different talents, it’s an amazing thing.

For me, it was all about learning. I had absolutely no idea what it takes to write, produce, and release an album. It’s a lot of hard work. For A.J. it was hours and hours of painstakingly trying to find the right notes, chords, and melodies. It’s a lot of layering and experimenting with different elements, such as what instruments to include. He has splashed the songs with combinations of electric, bass, acoustic, and nylon string guitars. Drums, pianos, percussion, flute, oboe, saxophone, horns, and much more.

Another Direction

The album is called ANOTHER DIRECTION. It contains 12 amazing songs, and honestly, there isn’t a note, a beat, or a vocal phrase out of place. If something wasn’t working, whether that was within the music, vocals or lyrics in a song, we went all out to get it right.

The other most incredible thing about this is that A.J. and I have never actually met in person, because we live too far apart to be able to get together, so everything has been done through contact on WhatsApp. He would send me MP3s of the music as he developed the songs and I would send him copious amounts of word documents as I wrote the lyrics. Listening to the songs now, you would think they’d been recorded in professional recording studios with very experienced engineers and producers, but A.J. recorded them himself in his own home studio. A lot of the songs were partly recorded in his cabin on a cruise ship where he worked as an entertainer.

We did seek the help of a mastering company to give the songs that final professional sound and feel. The songs are all different styles, which makes it interesting and the reviews that are coming in are glowing. We designed the cover ourselves and with the help of a graphic designer, it looks amazing.

Don't Cry Because It's Over...

Now that it’s done and finished that old cliché that says. ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened’, comes into play. For me, it’s about the actual writing of a lyric, coming up with ideas, and building on it so that it becomes the best it can possibly be. Then, seeing them turned into beautiful songs is more than I could ever ask for.

A.J. is a genius composer/arranger and I really had to step up, so that the lyrics were worthy of his talents. With A.J.'s encouragement, I pushed myself to the utmost limits, way beyond what I ever thought I could be capable of and I have no idea where some of the lines I wrote came from. When A.J. wrote the lead sheets for the live musicians we hired to play on the album, it was an incredible thing to see my words written against his musical notations.

Smile Because It Happened

Sometimes, it can take days, weeks, and pages and pages of notes to get just one line right. I absolutely love the challenge.

I believe that something has been lost in the last few years where songwriting is concerned. Good storytelling, great melodies, and driving arrangements are what this album is all about.

Sometimes, opportunities hover around you. They scream, ‘TAKE IT’, but then the fear of having to make choices comes into play. That little voice that tells you can’t, or shouldn’t. Ignore that. Grab it with both hands and see where it takes you. Of course, it might not work out, but at least you can say you tried.

Making this album was a huge undertaking, more than we ever imagined, but the challenges it brought made everything better because we didn’t just settle for the easy way out. It was really intense at times, because there were time-sensitive moments, so there was pressure. In fact, one of the songs on the album nearly didn’t make the cut, because A.J was finding it too difficult to get the musical arrangement right. But he persevered, he didn’t give up and the song made it onto the album.

Now that the album has been released, the feedback we are receiving makes it all worthwhile. I love it when people say things like. ‘This song makes me want to dance around and sing along’, or, ‘this song really means something to me and I can connect to it in a personal way’. The moment the CDs arrived and I could actually hold three years of work in my hand, was just such an incredible feeling and I could tell myself. ‘WE DID IT’. That sense of achievement is something else again.

It's Never Too Late

Whatever your dream or ambition is, DO IT. Take that first step. Everyone has to start somewhere. It’s never too late.

Take every opportunity that taps you on the shoulder, you don’t know where it can lead. Talk about it enthusiastically to anyone and everyone. You don’t know if the person you’re speaking to might know someone in your field they can put you in touch with.

You ‘CAN’ do things that you don’t think you’re capable of. Keep going and don’t give up.

The album ANOTHER DIRECTION can be found at ajclarkemusic.net/store. There are short snippets of all the songs on the website you can listen to. It is available as a digital download and physical CD. The CD comes with an immediate, free download. Downloads are available on a computer only.

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