Struggling for inspiration in December having hit a bout of writer’s block, I found myself in a familiar situation – deeply invested in a new game of Championship Manager 01/02. Football manager games have always appealed to me, Premier Manager 98 is the first game I really loved, and it went on like that for a number of years.
Often these days when I burn out, I turn to a football manager game from my youth and it gives me senses of comfort, nostalgia, excitement and control. I’m sure anyone who plays or has played these games will understand, as will their long-suffering partners who are well-practiced at scratching their heads and feigning interest as they see their loved one gleefully whiling away hours and wonder how we can possibly enjoy the reams of information, green bars, numbers and stats etc. without ever actually kicking a ball.
So anyway as I was wrapped up in my warm blanket of managing Newcastle United in 2002, imagine my horror as the team kept losing. Then at around 1am the message came that the board of directors had decided to sack me. I was gutted, I’d planned on playing for another couple of hours at least. I couldn’t stomach it so I turned to writing to vent my rage and frantically smashed out the quickest set of lyrics I’ve ever written.
A few weeks before, me and Connor had been having a play on Logic pro and started a beat which I loved and later finished. The beat was perfect for this track with it being quite emotive and punchy so I got to work. Also a few weeks earlier I’d won a raffle held by Andres Guazzelli on New Artist Spotlight for people who donated to the surgery he required to save his shoulder, the prize being to have a song mixed and mastered by this music master for no cost! I couldn’t wait to use the prize so that also quickened up the process of this track.
Nine days after I started typing the lyrics, this song was finished and ready to go and I’m buzzing with how it sounds. I know it’s a bit niche but I know it will resonate with many people who’ve been through a similar relationship with these beautiful yet cruel games, and hopefully even people who don’t have a clue what I’m on about will still enjoy the passion, the obsessive fury and the music! It’s also a lot more light-hearted than my last few releases, nice to change it up a bit, but in the same vein it’s a passion project writing about things that I know.
I’m proud of this one being the first track I’ve released where I’ve made the beat. Shoutout to the people who’ve been involved to get me to this point like Stu Herring, Hashfinger, Connor, Dad and everyone at NAS. I’ve still got a lot to learn when it comes to music production but I’ve been steadily putting together the pieces for a couple of years, enjoying the process and learning little bits here and there, which now is adding up and starting to bear fruits. I’m a lot more confident in using a Digital Audio Workstation now and I enjoy it more than I get stressed by it (most of the time!). It’s a steep learning curve but I’ve got a handle on the basics now and it’ll stand me in good stead to keep creating my art for years to come.
Let me know what you think of the track, I love to hear feedback good or bad, it all helps me to be self-aware and improve.
As always a massive thanks to everyone who’s showing an interest, playing my music, telling people about it, helping me out, watching from afar, coming to gigs, egging me on etc etc. I always wish I had more time to spend with every one of you and hope to see you soon. Big love and respect to you all!
Wilko Wilkes Music 