Exclusive: Romeo Walker Shares Studio Diary From The Making Of His Debut LP, ‘The Shape Up’
Perth indie songwriter, Romeo Walker recently unveiled his debut album, The Shape Up. It’s honestly one of the best albums you’ll hear this year, eight tracks of experimental rock, psych, Afro-Cuban inspired percussions and all round good times.
The Shape Up was recorded with close friend and producer, Sam Ford (Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, POND, Abbe May) at Tone City Recordings and today we have a behind the scenes photo diary of that studio time.
“The record was composed and the demos were recorded whilst I was living alone in Dawesville, about 90km south of Perth. I didn’t really know anyone nearby, so I was free from distraction. My nights consisted of cooking, & recording. I then re-recorded the songs at Tone City with one of my best buds, Sam Ford (engineer/co-producer), over a two week party. We then caught up when we could to finish off the mixes etc, this epoch is known as “the slog”. It’s a record made without any purpose other than satisfying the impulse to create. We only had one disagreement over the entire process.” Romeo Walker
GUITAR
Some think wearing sunglasses inside makes one an asshole. Some don’t think so. Some think so and do it anyway.
SHAKER
I like to think that the earth is God’s shaker and he looks at it like this, waiting for his time to join the music.
MICRO KORG
This is me drinking Sprite from a MicroKorg synthesiser before a very emotional take.
GUITAR 3
Notice the absence of a guitar cable? A wise man once said “it’s what you don’t record that is equally important.”
SYNTH
I cut all the synth sounds out on the patio. I was struggling inside the confines of the studio but as soon as I stepped outside, my muse found me. At first I thought it was internal bleeding due to an allergic reaction to my Moderna booster, but no…. it was the sharp strike of inspiration.
TAMBOURINE
The tambourine was the first instrument I ever learnt. My uncle was an Jamaican bodybuilder who dabbled in tambo on the side, he was a brutal teacher. He made me stand barefoot, in my underwear, on top of an ant’s nest. I couldn’t jump off the nest until I nailed 24 bars of perfect time to a metronome at 54bpm. Questionable methods but he got results.
BASS
Here I am, enjoying myself, laying down some bass lines. If I needed to play any slap, I would dunk my thumb in a tub of vaseline prior. Please admire my socks.
GUITAR 2
Here I am, playing a Dmaj29#14 in 7/8 with an ever so slight swing feel. You can tell I felt good on this day because I always feel good.
LIGHT BULB
Hey! What’s up?
The Shape Up is an epic body of work that highlights Romeo Walkers top shelf talent. It’s available now, everywhere.
