I’m extremely grateful to the wonderful musicians at www.kompoz.com who have helped bring some of my lyrics to life as songs. Here are a few that I hope you enjoy listening to. If you want to, you can even buy them for a price that’s probably less than you would pay for a cola!
All That Matters
Song: https://www.soundblend.com/store/release/955961
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/920220/file/920221
What I was trying to do with this lyric was to write a song about the importance of friendship when you’re going through tough times. Ettepai, from Estonia, came in with a musical idea, and then superseded it with a fresh take that incorporated a reggae beat. That was inspired and probably helped attract the attention of singer Markus Palsson, from Sweden, who then added his gorgeous vocals. I think we’re all really proud of the end result, and I’d love people to check it out and enjoy it!
Top Tip: Sometimes it’s worth taking an initial good musical idea and trying a different angle with it. The addition of the reggae vibe lifted this track from good to great.
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
Ettepai: All Music and Musical Composition
Markus Palsson: Vocals
Comeback Kid
Song: https://www.soundblend.com/store/release/854808
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/839924/file/839925
I wrote this to be an anthem about never giving up. Initially, I had it in mind that it would feature male vocals but Alice Minguez came in and did an amazing job on the vocals. Canadian musician Pascal Vanier provided the excellent music. This song should really be the anthem to accompany any great sporting comeback, whether in boxing, tennis, football, or whatever!
TopTip: Don’t be closed minded on whether vocals should be male or female!
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
Alice Minguez: Vocals
Pascal Vanier: All music, production, and song arrangement
The Underdog
Song: http://www.soundblend.com/store/release/697011
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/688004/file/688005
This was one of the first of my lyrics to be turned into a song. George Schiessl did a great job, providing instruments, song arrangement and vocals. And James Fraser added some lovely Dobro guitar. The song is about a prize fighter who is scrapping to earn a living.
TopTip: Be open to alterations to your lyrics. George pruned my original lyrics to create a more compact and great sounding song.
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
George Schiessl: Vocals, production, instruments
James Fraser: Dobro guitar
Six Foot Six Jimi
Song: https://www.soundblend.com/store/release/796446
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/698703/file/698707
This is a song about a homeless man who spends his days trying to stay warm and get some food. But it points out that he was once a baby who was adored by his parents.
I was blown away when I heard the vocal demo that Rakan Ayyoub did for this song. He has a beautiful voice. And then we were extremely lucky to have the superbly talented Markus Lammarsch come in to add the music and production.
Top Tip: Persevere! Rakan’s study commitments meant that this song took many months to complete but I think it was definitely worth the wait!
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
Markus Lammarsch: All music and production
Rakan Ayyoub: Vocals
Ghosts
Song: https://www.soundblend.com/store/release/801909
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/719512/file/719513
Ghosts is a song about ethnic cleansing and justice catching up with the perpetrators. I started writing this in 2006 and it was influenced by the aftermath of the Balkans War. A decade later, I revisited it and 2017 saw it finally come to life!
BillyLeCoq-Mauvais put the musical structure to the song, including some lovely flourishes such as the gentle intro before it kicks into a metal track. Billy also did a rough vocal demo and then Andrea Spaziali added some great drums. We had a long search for a vocalist but in stepped Doug Schlimmer. In the 90s, Doug’s old band XLR8 opened for the likes of Warrant, Great White and Dio!
Top Tip: Go back and rework old material. There may be a gem that you can polish up!
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
Billy LeCoq-Mauvais: Guitars, Bass, Orchestral sounds, Mixing and Mastering
Doug Schlimmer: Vocals
Andrea Spaziali: Drums
Portraits of War
Song: https://www.soundblend.com/store/release/782872
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/773039/file/779914
I wrote this with the trench warfare of the First World War in mind and my lyric won a Lyric contest on the www.musesongwriters.com website. J
I then posted it on the Kompoz website where it was picked up and worked on by Justin Serrano and James Fraser. Justin suggested some tweaks to the lyrics which I feel further improved it and the track progressed really nicely. Getting Susan’s lovely vocals in to support the song was the icing on the cake.
Top Tip: Even if your lyric has won accolades, be open to suggestions that can further improve the song.
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
Justin Serrano: Vocals, Music, Production and Lyrics
James Fraser: Guitar and Production
Susan (Fidler Songs): Backing Vocals
Always in my arms
Song: http://www.soundblend.com/store/release/747492
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/715092/file/715093
This was one of my first efforts at writing lyrics to a set piece of music. If I recall correctly, Nicola had created the music and then Christine hummed the melody to indicate where the lyrics should be placed. That was really helpful and I was delighted when my suggested lyric was accepted.
The song is about the pain of losing someone but how they will always be held in our memories.
Top Tip: If you a words-only lyricist, branching out to writing lyrics to pre-set music is a challenge that you should accept. It can be extremely rewarding and further hone your skills.
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
Christine Linge: Vocals
Nicola Offidani: All music
Die another day
Song: http://www.soundblend.com/store/release/748650
Lyrics: https://www.kompoz.com/music/collaboration/714089/file/714495
Die another day is a metal track and was GREAT fun to work on with Ian Cube and Ronaldo Massa. The song itself is big and fun but I think another reason why I enjoyed the process of making it so much was how collaborative we were as a team. Ian suggested some good additions to the lyrics and we consulted each other closely as each element of the song took shape.
I also enjoyed Ronaldo’s enthusiasm. My favourite quote from him was when he said that our song was one of the top 5 metal tracks of all time! J And, at the end, he suggested that the song’s protagonist should live to feature in a follow up track. More about that another day …
Top Tip: Make the most of collabs where you can all learn from each other and try to be democratic about the decision-making process.
Credits:
Simon Wright: Lyrics
Ian Cube: Vocals and Lyrics
Ronaldo Massa: Guitar, Bass, Drums, Production
If you’ve enjoyed listening to these songs, then please buy them on my Soundblend page. The cost tends to just be $0.99 which is less than you’d pay for a cola. Drinking cola is unhealthy, listening to music is good. 🙂