Carla Diratz is a French singer with a rich and extensive back catalogue. When my fellow Das Rad Martin Archer said he was looking for some input to an album project, I jumped aboard and Martin and I provided the initial compositions along with guide rhythm parts, then flew the tracks over the Channel for Carla to add her vocals. The process took a lot long than we’d hoped, due to lockdown restrictions, but eventually we managed to get Dave Sturt and Adam Fairclough together in a studio to replace all the midi bass & drums with “real” performances, in the process elevating the songs to new levels. Other musicians were brought in to the mix, resulting in a line-up as follows
Carla Diratz – vocal
Martin Archer – saxophones, keyboards, electronics
Nick Robinson – guitars
Dave Sturt – bass guitar
Adam Fairclough – drums
Charlotte Keeffe – trumpet
Jan Todd – backing vocals
Julie Archer – backing vocals
The tracks represent a real mix of sounds, with Martin’s avant-garde sensibilities meshing beautifully with my more traditional influences. The project was a delight to work on, since Martin encouraged me to do exactly what I wanted and whatever I did, he raised to new heights both in terms of arrangement and his own performances. The Discus Music label is rightly lauded for presenting challenging music that would struggle to find an outlet, but I think in recent years this has been balanced with material that could easily cross over into more commercial markets, if people gave it a chance. I put together a video of one of the songs, featuring images of Carla as a child.
Getting some great reviews and nice comments about the guitar work ” Nick Robinson’s guitars are everywhere; slicing power chords then intricate filigree followed by ‘surf’ guitar – as much Lenny Kaye as anything coming out of fusion, often sonic yet sensuous Left Bank scratching at leftfield.”
