Mothboxer - Time Capsule Volume 1

I think that those who have been paying attention, (See Me Later those that haven't), will know how highly we rate Mothboxer. On the "Why The Hell Isn't This Artist Bigger?" List, Dave Ody features very near the top.

Time Capsule Volume 1 was born out of a re-discovery of many archived mixes and recordings dating back to way back when, specifically 1995 - 2003. The original recordings were pretty varied in quality so, as far as Ody was concerned, not really in a releasable state as they were, but worth a revisit in 2019.

Bearing in mind the nature of the project, I felt it would be great to get Dave to talk us through the ten songs and thankfully he agreed. You can read his thoughts below :


01. Pleased To Meet Ya

Written and demoed : 1997
Re-Recorded : 2019

"This began as an acoustic demo recorded to 4 track cassette. In my mind it was always meant to be a kind of tribute to the Revolver sound so this new re-recorded version is more what was intended. None of the original elements are included here, this is a complete re-record. Lyrically a little obtuse. but clearly I’m writing from the perspective of a screwed up 20 something!"







02. Sing To Me

Written and demoed : 1999
Re-Recorded : 2019, contains elements of the original ’99 mix.

"Another one from a basic acoustic demo, re-arranged and re-recorded but it does have the original track running in the background subtly. Always thought this was a great chorus but kind of gave up on it for 20 years!"


03. Ball And Chain

Written : 2001
Added Vocal, bass synth and other stuff : 2019

"One of the first songs I demo’d on my new Mac setup I got in 2001, so I managed to find the original files from the backup disc. Was listening to a lot of Beck at the time. as it has that feel to it. This was intended for the old band, Kid Galahad, but it didn’t make it onto the debut album for one reason or another."


04. New Satellite

Written : 1998

"One of my favourites and a song that’s resided in the back of my mind for 21 years. This is a totally brand new recording of the original song. No demo elements in this as they were recorded on tape, broken tape, so the tempo varied way too much to get it to sit properly. Turned out nice in the end."






05. Song For Everyone

Written : 2000

"Re-recorded pretty much all of this, although the original drum loop from the demo is sat nicely at the back in the intro. It’s come out a little groovier than the original, thanks in part to the newly written guitar lick at the start. This was one of those tracks that I wasn’t sure about. but is now one of my favourites on this volume."


06. See The Light

Written : 2001

"From the same period as Ball And Chain, so tracked digitally. This is the only one on this volume with the original vocal, somehow managed to get the old rubbish mic sounding good! I was playing around with a lot of the old synth plugins and effects that came with the new tech I got in 2000!.

Might be seen as a little self indulgent but, hey.. If you have a new phaser effect, why not use it! Recorded drums, extra piano and this track benefits from a beautiful orchestral arrangement by Patrick Martyn."


07. What You Do Today

Written : 1995
Re-Recorded : 2019

"Oldest song on this collection, original was hilarious (in a bad way). It will never be heard while I’m walking this earth. But hidden deep down, was a good song, albeit 24 years old. Some crazy chord changes in the middle 8 but it was one of those early songs that managed to write itself once I got going.

 I can remember vividly writing and recording this back in ’95. Same can’t be said for a lot of the tracks from that period, so I figured it must have something going for it. Probably the bluesiest thing I’ve done."






08. White Out

Written : 2001
Re-recorded : 2019

"This is a full re-record again, inspired by 2 different demos from 2001/2. One totally acoustic, one way too electric! Clearly couldn’t make up my mind. This version is a blend of both ideas. On this I used a bit of recording trickery to slow down some of the tracking and then record the vocal as it was written in a key, way too high for me! Intended for Ash Bull, the singer for Kid Galahad."


09. Down Break

Written : 2003
Additional recording : 2019

"This is another that has been rattling around for 19 years! The “newest” of these old songs in fact. Was considered for the Geen album in 2007, but didn’t get included. Re-recorded drums, vocals, some lead guitar and keys this year."






10. Standing In The Sunshine

Written : 2002
Additional recording : 2019

"This started life as an instrumental, again learning what I could do with a computer based recording set up and going a bit crazy with the arpeggiated synth sounds! Managed to find the original stereo mix of the instrumental and went from there!

The lyrics / vocals were written back in 2002, but this is a new take. Added drums and all manner of stuff to it but the original version is pretty much the backbone."

You can listen to and buy the album here.  Whilst there, you can also discover the superb Mothboxer Back Catalogue.


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