New Album - One Deep River

[ds1984]

Pavel wonder if you are not over interpretating what Mark is writing.

Mark is using a band that he is working with and somewhat extensively touring with for nearly 25 years and they are all confirmed pro.
And he has money to use studio time (BG is a professionnaly run company so Mark has to pay to use it even if he is the owner).
So this the way Mark has chosen to do it and he explain it,
I don't see criticism over the young artist but a critical view about how things are different now.

[Robson]

Pavel wonder if you are not over interpretating what Mark is writing.

Mark is using a band that he is working with and somewhat extensively touring with for nearly 25 years and they are all confirmed pro.
And he has money to use studio time (BG is a professionnaly run company so Mark has to pay to use it even if he is the owner).
So this the way Mark has chosen to do it and he explain it,
I don't see criticism over the young artist but a critical view about how things are different now.

I understood the same.

[Mossguitar]

Pavel wonder if you are not over interpretating what Mark is writing.

Mark is using a band that he is working with and somewhat extensively touring with for nearly 25 years and they are all confirmed pro.
And he has money to use studio time (BG is a professionnaly run company so Mark has to pay to use it even if he is the owner).
So this the way Mark has chosen to do it and he explain it,
I don't see criticism over the young artist but a critical view about how things are different now.

I understood the same.

Me too

[dustyvalentino]

Here's about the new album:

it was back to the old-fashioned idea of a band making a record together in the room, which maybe in the more youth-oriented side of the industry has become quite rare, because everyone uses loads of technology. we do too, but what we do is we combine the old and the new. if it works, i use it.

"with these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly, with a band like this.  you're in a game where you're making the thing and it's happening whether you like it or  not. you could push the pace, but i try and give myself a little bit more breathing room. the fatal thing a lot of the time would be to want to rush everything. something creative  always happens by not panicking

MK

I don't think I can entirely agree with Mark here. I tried to learn a bunch of new songs from Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, John Mayer and all the usual suspects who may be called "youth-oriented", and what do you know? Good musicians, good production, good arrangements, and not any of the things MK mentioned. Music is still music and while yes, you can just play a scale and then combine it into a Rachmaninoff's piano concerto, however, people are also people and they simply don't like when something's fake, overly produced and falls into the uncanny valley of music. Everything he likes is still there in spades, it's NOT rare.

I'm not a fan of when people or brands compare themselves with anyone else. Just do your thing man, stop yelling at clouds.

It’s actually quite a skill to take such an innocuous comment and turn it into something to bash MK with. Impressive.

All he said was that he recorded this album with all musicians together, which is rare these days. Given that he owns a recording studio he is qualified to opine on the matter. He doesn’t say that doing it this way is better or worse.

Somehow you manage to turn this into him complaining about Taylor Swift despite him being an old man yelling at, um, nothing.

Bravo my friend. Bravo.

[quizzaciously]

It’s actually quite a skill to take such an innocuous comment and turn it into something to bash MK with. Impressive.

All he said was that he recorded this album with all musicians together, which is rare these days. Given that he owns a recording studio he is qualified to opine on the matter. He doesn’t say that doing it this way is better or worse.

Somehow you manage to turn this into him complaining about Taylor Swift despite him being an old man yelling at, um, nothing.

Bravo my friend. Bravo.

Guys, we are discussing Marks's liner notes, that can be written with ChatGPT at this point. The sheer act of discussing it already makes you overthink it. Allow me to have some fun and poke Mr Knopfler analysing this rather general and rather predictable text.

"With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly", — says the man and proceeds to make an album for 6 years. Don't panic, for sure.

[Matchstickman]

"With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly", — says the man and proceeds to make an album for 6 years.

Haha! 

[wakeywakey]

"With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly", — says the man and proceeds to make an album for 6 years.

The 6 years is rubbish though because all these new songs were recorded in the past 2 years.

[quizzaciously]

"With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly", — says the man and proceeds to make an album for 6 years.

The 6 years is rubbish though because all these new songs were recorded in the past 2 years.

2 years? More like 2 months. With this band, you can record Mark's entire discography in a single day, all in one-takes.

[wakeywakey]

Well the sessions were in 2022 and 23 so.....
I doubt MK could record the solos from the early solo albums in one take,especially as he has more mics nowadays!

[KnopfleRick]

Pavel wonder if you are not over interpretating what Mark is writing.

Mark is using a band that he is working with and somewhat extensively touring with for nearly 25 years and they are all confirmed pro.
And he has money to use studio time (BG is a professionnaly run company so Mark has to pay to use it even if he is the owner).
So this the way Mark has chosen to do it and he explain it,
I don't see criticism over the young artist but a critical view about how things are different now.

I understood the same.

Me too

Same here!

[quizzaciously]

Just stumbled across this set of photos on Facebook accidentally. Taken in Redcar Beach, 50 miles south of Newcastle. I wonder how Tyne Bridge would look with an atmosphere like this, probably something akin to the cover picture. Source: https://www.facebook.com/simplypictures1/posts/pfbid02GrdJVt7nezbKAWpZ8dfAXvTDnTugCv4HJchkTYqkiLEt7GyxsvepzkpRFFBYHzE6l

Also, the author says it's sunrise, not sunset. So you can apply this mentality to Mark's cover picture as well. It's not sunset, it's sunrise

[Jules]

"With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly", — says the man and proceeds to make an album for 6 years.

The 6 years is rubbish though because all these new songs were recorded in the past 2 years.

2 years? More like 2 months. With this band, you can record Mark's entire discography in a single day, all in one-takes.

The thing is he built the songs slowly with Guy, starting from a main idea with just guitar chords, then they start thinking about the arrangements, usually doing demos with bass and drums lines programmed by MK, trying different guitars and amps very slowly...

What it takes very little time is when the band is in the studio to play the songs live all in the room, as everything is pretty planned and althought there is a room for improvisation, they all know the guidelines before they even start so with a bunch of proffesional musicians from Nashville, that is going to be fast, but the preparation work with MK and Guy alone, that takes a lot of time as they are not in a hurry and have a lot of different brands of Tea to try as well.

[quizzaciously]

The thing is he built the songs slowly with Guy, starting from a main idea with just guitar chords, then they start thinking about the arrangements, usually doing demos with bass and drums lines programmed by MK, trying different guitars and amps very slowly...

What it takes very little time is when the band is in the studio to play the songs live all in the room, as everything is pretty planned and althought there is a room for improvisation, they all know the guidelines before they even start so with a bunch of proffesional musicians from Nashville, that is going to be fast, but the preparation work with MK and Guy alone, that takes a lot of time as they are not in a hurry and have a lot of different brands of Tea to try as well.

And how then does it differ from over-production and overly long post-production Mark was complaining basically from the beginning of his solo career? Instead of long post-production, let's have a long pre-production then but rush everything else. Is this how it works now?

It's quite remarkable how Mark steps in the same water so many times. Dire Straits ended with a long exhausting tour, 9 people on stage, overly produced albums or whatever. Mark's solo career has its sunset (judging by 2 cover pictures in a row) with 11 (!) people on stage, a long exhausting tour, and overly pre-produced albums.

We all love Mark and it's a fan forum, I know, just want to remind people to lower their expectations and never take anything for face value.

[Silvertown]

Official video of Ahead of the game coming this evening to MK's YouTube channel.

[Jules]

The thing is he built the songs slowly with Guy, starting from a main idea with just guitar chords, then they start thinking about the arrangements, usually doing demos with bass and drums lines programmed by MK, trying different guitars and amps very slowly...

What it takes very little time is when the band is in the studio to play the songs live all in the room, as everything is pretty planned and althought there is a room for improvisation, they all know the guidelines before they even start so with a bunch of proffesional musicians from Nashville, that is going to be fast, but the preparation work with MK and Guy alone, that takes a lot of time as they are not in a hurry and have a lot of different brands of Tea to try as well.

And how then does it differ from over-production and overly long post-production Mark was complaining basically from the beginning of his solo career? Instead of long post-production, let's have a long pre-production then but rush everything else. Is this how it works now?

It's quite remarkable how Mark steps in the same water so many times. Dire Straits ended with a long exhausting tour, 9 people on stage, overly produced albums or whatever. Mark's solo career has its sunset (judging by 2 cover pictures in a row) with 11 (!) people on stage, a long exhausting tour, and overly pre-produced albums.

We all love Mark and it's a fan forum, I know, just want to remind people to lower their expectations and never take anything for face value.

Because they are not over producing anything, they are just composing and arranging, they are not producing anything until the band arrives and record the song in full, and after that they add whatever other things they need if any.