Today we welcome a band I’ve known since their very first time playing in front of anyone. It was a crowd of one person in room 303 at the Conservatoire… that one person, for all you non math people out there, was me. Back then there were three, including Chris, who mysteriously disappeared months ago, suspected to have joined a secretive guild back in his home village. Very rock and roll! Since then, they’ve had Maks and George join them on stage, but today came as the dynamic duo - Ruari and Nick.

Now for you historians, you may recognise Nick as my right hand man last year, helping me mix and in some instances record the first 16 Lo-fi Demos. What a treat to have him back in the studio and back on the drums, after all it was Nick who helped shape the drum techniques I use today. However, on this occasion, we chose to close mic the kick pedal and forget about a room mic (I know! It doesn’t sound like me, but when Nick walks into the studio, you listen to his suggestions). Now this track might not be what you expect to hear if you’ve seen Janata live, starting with the drums. Light rolls and tentative hi-hat playing, but the same precision you come to know from Nick Meek. Groovy beyond belief.

Now Ruari usually plays bass in Janata, so I was surprised when he chose to omit the instrument - straight to acoustic guitar. For all you Contact Buzz Acoustic fans, you know what happened next, but I made sure to get the second guitar recorded with that extra bit of low-end to fill that bottom end of the track on occasion. I really love the guitar playing in Janata, well rooted in Prog Rock, those plucked riffs in the refrains are something special. The cohesion between Nick's drums and Ruari’s guitar really signify the bond these guys have.

During this session, I tried to get every passer by to look at the set up. Harrison from Gravy, Alice , my old singing teacher, popping back up from London. I just love to show off the 424. Once I was done showing off, we got Ruari on the mic for a vocal take. He reminds me a bit of Stu from KGLW, I’m pretty sure he's a big influence on them, but also really breathy and a little Scottish twang seeping through, so a really unique vocal style.

Then came the box of percussion. I’m a sucker for a box of percussion. Brings me back to being in primary school and fighting for the wooden frog with the ridges on its back. Shakers, cowbells and claves - nothing funner. Something so playful about hearing random percussion at random parts of the song, just feels so improvised and free. Reminds me of the Troutflies session a bit, just a little less premeditated. Lovely to see these guys as always, I think we’ve got something really enjoyable and interesting here. The lack of bass gives it this floating feel, not tied down by any frequency - just grooving whilst bending your mind a little.

For fans of Elliott Smith, King Gizzard and The Smile