Hi everyone. This post is the complete collection of Vine videos posted by Tom on his Twitter account, covering the In Dream sessions that took place in Scotland throughout October 2014. There was a temptation when I was updating this post with new links to actually go back and rewrite some history. Contextually, we were more in the dark than we usually are as Editors fans when it came to what was going on in Crear. For a start, we didn't actually know that they were in Crear at all, just "somewhere in Scotland". So I had an opportunity to revisit everything I wrote 4 years ago, and inject some hindsight given my more enlightened vantage point here in 2018. But I decided to simply update the links and leave the text as it was, because it's a more accurate representation of the time that way.
It's obvious now having heard In Dream just what it is you're listening to throughout these tiny clips from inside the studio, but at that time it was all parts exciting, intriguing and utterly baffling. The "eyeball segment" was, of course, No Harm which would be released covertly as the first new song in April of 2015 as part of an infuriating treasure hunt. Thanks to the sleuthing skills of friend to the Archive, Erik, we were put out of our frustrated misery and then transferred into a more familiar state of blissful misery by actually hearing the full song. We also learned that even the band have trouble doing the hand-claps during Ocean of Night. I guess the point I'm making is that there's no way we could have seen any of that coming, which is what made these little electronic gifts from Mr Smith so exciting. Even more so looking back on them now.
So this is the entire collection of vine videos that Tom posted in October, all merged into one single file and available to stream right down at the bottom of the page. Also to consider is that Tom's Twitter account doesn't even exist any more, with him having taken the leap onto the greener pastures of Instagram instead. The footage is in the order of release, and all the relevant write-ups I did at the time they came out are just as they were in October 2014. There's also a zip file containing all the single videos and photos from around that time available to download too. Enjoy the show, all 1 minute and 7 seconds of it, and have fun matching the sounds to the finished articles ;)
October 2014 - From the limited information we were drip-fed by our inside man, Mr Smith, it seems that the sessions were productive and, most importantly, enjoyable for the band. I think that this is the first time that we've had such regular updates, that we've been able to be actually receive snapshots as things progress.
3rd October 2014
Here's a 7 second video clip posted by Mr Smith on his twitter feed of Editors in rehearsal. "So what?", you might say. Well, there's an awful lot to deduce from this clip if you look really hard:-
- There's a setlist on the wall, indicating a collection of (new?) songs
- Mr Williams is back on board
- Mr Lockey is in the room
- We can hear Ed's drums playing
- Russell is present
This means that the unit that came together for TWOYL is back together once more. I'm thrilled to see Mr Williams back in the fold, and I'm excited to hear what he brings to the new songs. His work on making Papillon, already a great song, into something even better was remarkable. Exciting stuff :)
6th October 2014
Another short burst from the rehearsal room courtesy of the man with the best vocal range in the UK. This is the second in an ongoing series of vine videos leaking out of Editors' current songwriting and practice room labours.
So we have another 6 seconds of teasing from Mr Smith, only this time there's some sound. Posted on his twitter account, there's an eyeball and some electronics. What does it all mean? Is this a new song? Have they ditched the guitars and gone keyboard-heavy again?
We don't know!
Welcome to the crazy world of between-album shenanigans and head messing from your favourite band.
7th October 2014
Mr Williams takes centre stage as we get another clip from Editors' ongoing rehearsal/recording session. As with all the videos we've had so far, they were filmed by the man with possibly the best vantage point to give us insights into the process as it unfolds, Mr Smith. We'll need to get a few more of these clips before we can even begin to speculate on what any of the new songs will sound like. It's fun getting these clues, though, and they're arriving at a very brisk pace indeed. Nice !
9th October 2014
I hear guitars........... The latest in the ongoing rehearsal room footage contains something other than the keyboards we've heard so far. As a fanboy, this regular drip-feed of stuff is just making my day. Hope you're loving it too.
11th October 2014
Another Vine from Mr Smith. We're essentially getting the limbs of songs as they're being assembled, here. This time around it's a rather sinister sounding drumbeat in a darkened studio, while the fairy lights twinkle. It actually sounds very much like a heartbeat. Spooky, but interesting stuff.
13th October 2014
The latest installment of Tom's dispatches from inside the creative womb that Editors are currently occupying, as they prepare album 5. This time it's a brief glimpse of Mr Lockey as he plays guitar, followed by the camera panning right to look at the amazing Scottish scenery. Enjoy :)
14th October 1014
For me, this is the most significant twitter post Tom's done so far. 2 vine videos and the above text message that appeared yesterday say an awful lot about how things seem to be going up there in Scotland. After all, they find themselves in a very different spot to the one they were in prior to TWOYL being released. They almost split during the recording process, their trigger-happy paymasters at Sony pulled the plug at the demo stages and Chris not being an Editor any more was still very much fresh in the public mind. There was always a sense of "Prove yourself" coupled with the often excruciating "Explain yourself" that went along with that. At times the promotional campaign for album 4 seemed to be a juggling act of performance, public grieving and maintaining a solid defence against the bombardment of "Chris Questions". In terms of extraneous stress and worry, not to mention the instability of changing labels and personnel, The Weight of Your Love had it all.
But now, the band find themselves with a clean slate and very little of the baggage that hungover from Editors #1. The songs that are being written now are purely a product of the unit of 5 that were effectively cemented during Werchter in 2012, and that means there's a certain purity to all the new material that perhaps wasn't there with the last record. Most importantly, if Tom's posts are anything to go by, the band actually seem to be enjoying writing and recording music again. How cool is that? I don't know about you but that fact makes me very happy indeed, and I hope it continues.
For now, here's the two videos that Mr Smith posted yesterday. We have Mr Lay shaking the maracas and holding down the beat, and we get to post the question "What's the sound of four hands clapping?", and just how amusing is it to Mr Lockey when it's screwed up by King Leetch?
21st October 2014
If you'd only ever heard Distance from The Back Room, you could also assume that the entire record would sound that way. Drum machines and layers of synths and piano.
The reality was that the electronic elements were far fewer on the finished album, and it was in fact heavily guitar based thanks to the interplay between Mr Smith and Mr Urbanowicz.
So we still don't really know anything, in spite of the videos we've seen and heard from the month spent in Scotland. But it's still very exciting to see that something, anything is happening after the extended wait for "TWOYL". I can't wait to see what album 5 will eventually become.
22nd October 2014
26th October 2014
This was the final Vine video to be posted by Tom during the month long studio session, somewhere in a very beautiful part of Scotland. We've heard Ed sing before, most notably with his heartfelt rendition of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel during the Nashville clips, and a first glance at this clip suggests that we're about to get an encore. But as is often the case with this band, you never know exactly what you'll be getting next.
1 Month in Scotland (Vine Videos Complete)
Download Videos/Photos
brought to you with lots of lemming-love :) x
