Official Shineback thread (Simon Godfrey)

[obscure]

Everyone should hear this!!!! I mean EVERYONE ... This is a masterpiece from start to finish....
Shineback- Rise up Forgotten, Return Destroyed

And wait for it....... --> It's a concept album!!!! and a great one at that!

Shineback is a new project from Tinyfish songwriter and frontman, Simon Godfrey, who joined forces with musicians from a mixture of genres and styles to create the truly unique and musically progressive album, Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed.   

The album fuses elements of pop, rock, electronica, cinematic music, and dance into a story of abuse, betrayal and madness. The story centres on a girl called Dora who undertakes a journey into her own dream world where she encounters dark revelations about her past buried in memory.

Musicians who contributed to the Shineback project include Matt Stevens (The Fierce And The Dead), Dec Burke (Frost*, Brave New Sky), Henry Rogers (Touchstone, DeeExpus), Andy Ditchfield (DeeExpus), Hywel Benett (Dec Burke Band), Paul Worwood (Tinyfish) and Danny Claire (Ion Blue, Michael Angelo). Lyrics were written by Robert Ramsay (Tinyfish) and Simon.

Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed is the first release on Bad Elephant Music.

*Shineback album preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3kg56MtbKE
 **Free download of single “Passengers” https://badelephant.bandcamp.com

About Simon Godfrey
Simon Godfrey is a songwriter, vocalist and producer with a deep and abiding passion for all forms of progressive music. The son of BBC radio announcer Peter Godfrey, Simon was born in the UK but spent the first years of his life growing up in South Africa, before returning to his native West London to complete his education.

Simon's first love was for the drums and studied at the DrumTech institute in the UK, notching up countless sessions and several tours as a sticks-man over his first 8 years as an active musician. A chance encounter with the underground acoustic scene in London however had a profound impact and Simon decided to lay his sticks to one side and to become a songwriter instead.

“It was as if a light bulb had switched itself on inside my head. From that day on, writing songs was the only reason I got up in the morning,” says Simon.

Over the next 5 years, Simon played guitar in several small time groups and solo projects before forming the band Tinyfish in 2005 with guitarist Jim Sanders, bass player Paul Worwood and lyricist Robert Ramsay. Tinyfish have released three albums to date and gone on to sell thousands of records worldwide, playing shows in the UK, Europe and America. In 2011, Simon was diagnosed with Tinnitus and has since retired from full time touring to concentrate on songwriting and production.

Gotta run now... I'll be back with some more info and my thoughts about it...
I am hooked guys... Can't stop listening!

Have at it!!!!!

[lonestar]

Funny thing about this one. Nem mentioned it to me as being awesome, and I saw the description of electronic on it, and my prejudices jumped in. But I'm always willing to give anything a shot, and I trust her opinions implicitly when it comes to music.

I don't regret it one bit. I spun the album straight through, and again, and again, and am still spinning it. This is easily one of the best constructed albums I have ever listened to. Seriously guys, check this one out. It's straight up fucking brilliant. As I told Nem, open up the pantheon of the masterpieces, we have a new addition.

[obscure]

Right!


Well first off, to be able to properly appreciate the beauty here, you should consume all the offerings of this making simultaneously…So go through all the material on the website (the brilliantly penned story, back-stories and lyrics) and listen to the tunes .. I swear it’s a completely different experience than listening to an album. I am overwhelmed by the amount of effort went into this phenomenal work.

I don’t want to spoil it .. so no info about the concept… But let me tell you this…. I got constant goose-bumps all throughout, without having the slightest connection to the concept, except for the images I have seen in films and the scary stories I’ve heard…  I don’t even dare to imagine what this album can do to someone who could relate to the story told to any extent… Scary!

They are letting you choose though….if you have lived through horrendous traumas you are not ready to tackle, you are safe and can just enjoy the music as I don’t expect anyone to understand the details of the whole story just by listening to the songs. If you want to know more, just go and read the story… Robert Ramsay did a great job in penning it!

Music- wise, get ready for something fresh, what you will hear is very different from what Simon Godfrey has done with Tinyfish … and be as open-minded as possible..  oh I love electronic music .. so it was love at first sight for me… 

It’s very experimental, innovative and ‘progressive’ in literal terms .. that’s why I love side projects… They let the musicians think outside the box…

Anyways … to sum it up… Rise Up Forgotten Return Destroyed is a unique brand of pop, prog and electronica in heavy, mellow, melodic, emotionally powerful and some oriental vibes.. It's energetic, upbeat, fast and strong at places and very slow, disturbing, freakish at some... yet it’s still very coherent and accessible despite the number of the irrelevant genres incorporated..
   
I went WTF?!! when I heard Godfrey say… “I put my guitar away and started on the album”  Seriously... what was he up to? And the result is just brilliant…  Don’t think you won’t hear any solos though.. you will actually hear them in abundance...delivered by Dec Burke, Matt Stevens, Hywel Bennett and Andy Ditchfield.. and some tight drum work by Henry Roger....

Speaking of Dec Burke… oh man his solo in Fears Aren’t Toys
DAT SONG!!!!!!

Another aspect I adore is the sample treatment.. the way Simon puts everything together makes the outcome so organic …  you will see….

It’s important to stamp your own mark upon them otherwise you’re simply arranging noises rather than creating something original. As a result, I tried to employ some level of sonic manipulation as often as possible. -Simon Godfrey

Ok.. I can go on and on.. song-writing–  production all very masterful!  SOUND IS HUGE!!!! I mean HUGE! (Kudos to co-producer Tim Lawrie too)

If you’re Frost* fan, do not even hesitate.. I see similarities in Godfrey bros’ approach to music… So friggin modern dammit!

Thought you’d like to know!

[lonestar]

The whole album has been made available for streaming on Bandcamp...
https://music.badelephant.co.uk/album/rise-up-forgotten-return-destroyed