21 children from Cumbria’s Harmonic Minor choir have recorded a cover of Sir Paul McCartney’s ‘Love Song To The Earth’ in their homes to help raise funds for the NHS.
It all started with a phone call…
The Harmonic Minor Choir is a youth choir based in North Cumbria. Gill Wadeson (on the photo), their director contacted Naik Media to – as Gill would say- “do the impossible”. She wanted to give the children a project to work on from their homes to inspire and reconnect them during the lock down and use this project to create a fundraiser and support our NHS heroes during the everyday fight with COVID-19. Based on years of experience working together, Naik Media contacted Heavy Rain Sound Studio to see how we can make Gill’s dream come true.
Behind the scenes:
After hearing the full idea during our call with Gill, I had nothing else to say then “it’s easily possible”. As always my brain started to work and not long after our phone call, I messaged Gill with a plan.
Gill sent me a piano and vocal track recorded with her phone in her home so I could get a better understanding of their version of the song. I then created a basic guide backing track from her recording for the children.
Me and Gill created an instruction for the children to make sure we get the best out of this situation. Everyone was asked to listen to the guide track through earphones, while another member of their family filmed them with a second device. This was our DIY solution to get the vocal recordings. Thanks to the hard working children and their families, it all worked.
The production:
These videos were then sent back to me and my good friend & business associate, Adrian Naik, director at naikmedia.com (on the photo). I used the the audio of these videos for the song. After getting all 21 of them and talking with Gill, it was time to produce. My idea was to recreate the song in a way, that we’re making this cover theirs. I also wanted a storyline where the song gives the audience a sonic experience and and emotional journey. We went with classic, but simple solutions to make sure every moment is enjoyable. Along with the brilliant 21 singers, we have chosen piano, guitars, drums and bass as instruments. The song has very different moments.
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- soft intro
- build up of the choir
- rocky message to say thanks for our NHS
- a quiet and beautiful bridge
- the big finale
- a soft outro with a final message
It was challenging to recreate a Sir Paul McCartney song from scratch remotely during a pandemic, but also one of the most honourable; especially to raise funds for the NHS. I am very proud of what we have achieved together and it was satisfying to work on this project as a producer, musician and songwriter.
Andris Kiss – Record Producer
Heavy Rain Sound Studio
The choir aims to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together. Please click on the image to read more.
Heavy Rain Sound Studio By Andris Kiss 