So we had this idea, right, that we could work on a set of tunes which would be based around acoustic instruments. Err, go on, yeah...

So we had this really good idea that we could make an album that was removed from a lot of the electric things that had occupied us so much when we worked with other musicians. So we set off down that particular leafy lane not really knowing whether we would find a gorgeous meadow at the bottom of the hill..or a council tip. That's a lie inserted to make MDR seem like particularly lovable, self effacing people. We knew all along that by the time we got there the meadow lark would be in full song and the wild basil approaching flower. We knew that we would like the finished product.

Cut the flowery stuff. Right. Here is the truth at long last. MDR found themselves without a full band and in a constant state of auditions - electric songs were out until such time as the right people were at hand to assist, so the obvious response to the desire to create new studio material was to slip away as a two piece band and start strumming in the depths of winter. We did.

And in the early part of 2003 MDR set about the painstaking work of recording the skeletons of a baker's dozen worth of songs, some partly worked out in the comfort of a back room, some reworked from an earlier time, and most of them written on the spot. The early moments of the album were like sitting in on the rehearsal of a street skiffle album, the barest of guitar parts, the simplest of hand percussion shaping the songs. Spring came and the sound was fleshed out....naive and innocent. No, that's not the names of the two pre-Raphaelite beauties who came to play flute and piano. And in the early and late summer things finally began to take finished shape and other musicians came in to colour in the sound. That big bluff, tough Marina Del Ray with a mandolin and a dulcimer and a flute? And piano and organ? And tabla and congas? Blimey, they must be on drugs. Too true. Strung out on caffeine. Cheers, Jim.
No drums on the album? Thought about it and then dismissed the idea on a number of grounds. No good reason to go back and use the sounds we had used in the past, and at the same time it seemed a very good idea to avoid bringing in other musicians to participate in something that belonged only to MDR. It's our ball and you can't play with it? Precisely that. Congas were the drums that shaped the rhythm tracks, tablas and dholak were the embellishments. Thank you to the drum choir who sweated profusely to shape the sound of our songs!

And the vocals? A little more dramatic than usual, it is very fair to say. A few of the tunes feature the usual MDR choral characters but a significant number are beautifully coloured by that nice Emma. You know her? You do? Oh, what is he like? We joke, as usual. Stick to the story. Right. Well, she sang on a few and,boy, do they sound good. They sound very good. One of the joys of the whole thing has been the use of the expanded palette, new instruments to MDR, new combinations, the new landscape. Get the drift? Emma's contributions to our stuff have been....lovely. No hint of glibness, it's the truth. You'll like her work, too.

And now we come to the point where other people are going to hear it and pass their verdict. The brides leave the church and toss their CD to the little, waiting crowd. A few people jump up and try to catch it. We hope that you love it, but if you don't...