FAWM: @davidtaro / davidtaro

davidtaro

@davidtaro

Songs

Joined

2020

London UK
davidtaromusic.com

David Taro spends most of his life in a box room in South London either doing his day job in publishing (boo!) or writing and producing music (yay!).

Genres: #indie #pop #rock & #blues

Influences: the Beatles, Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Elton John, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Fleetwood Mac, The Band, Aimee Mann, that kind of thing.

Over the years, I've come to the realisation that all I really want to make is something that sounds like it was done in the 1970s. The impossible dream continues... 😅

Boring technical bit

For anyone who’s interested, here’s a rundown of the current contents of the aforementioned box room in South London:

Interface: UAD Apollo Twin X

DAW: Logic Pro

Mics: Warm Audio WA-47; Shure SM7B, SM57 and SM58

Instruments: An ancient Roland digital piano; PRS Silver Sky; Gibson SG ’61 reissue and J45; Fender Japan Tele ’62 reissue and American Pro II P-bass; Gretsch electromatic lap steel; Cordoba C7 classical; Strymon Iridium amp sim and a load of other fun pedals

VSTs and plugins: Mainly UAD stuff; Ozone for mastering; Toontrack Superior Drummer 3*. But genuinely too many to mention (I have a problem)

*This is the only part of my recordings that I don’t technically ‘play’, everything else is 100% me.

Songs

It Never Rains In Manchester by @davidtaro + @jonmeta 2d #indiepop #mancpop #collab

Olivia by @davidtaro 1w #fingerpicking #acoustic #characterportrait

Sanctuary by @davidtaro 2w #bluesrock #ballad #possiblyabitcheesy

Treasure Hunter by @davidtaro + @nadine 20h #loud #dirty #bluesrock

On Valentine's Day by @davidtaro 4d #acousticonetake #meta #lovesong

I Gave Up On Fair Long Ago by @davidtaro + @coolparadisoMod 5d #countryrock #bluesrock #indierock

Angelina Jolie by @davidtaro 1w #folkpop #dream #kazoosolo

Wobbadabadobbie by @richaaaay +4 more 1w

Photo Books And Empty Rooms by @davidtaro 1w #experiment #synths #parenting

Dominoes by @nahlej381 +5 more 1w #bedroom #lofi #altpop

Summer Thang by @nahlej381 +2 more 1w #altpop #indie #lofi

Another Boring Love Song by @davidtaro 2w #lovesong #meta #indiepop

Soundboard

Messages left for you by other fawmers.

@billwhite51 14h

thank you for your comments on the five years of tides. i dont find those phrases, I make them up. in the case of the bells of pluto, it was simply a matter of finding a better word for the bells of hell..and since pluto is the roman god of the underworld, yet is lesser known than the greek hades, "the bells of pluto chime" seemed an improvment over the cliched " ringing the bells of hell" ,,,and so it goes.

@davidtaro 13h

Ah apologies, I meant you find them in your head, that was a clumsy way of putting it! Pluto/Hell makes perfect sense - it’s a great line! And, indeed, so it goes…

@jacobeverettwallace 1d

Thanks for the comment about On The Run! I've been working on tweaking my vocal chain, esp for the 47. I love it but it's also very sibilant prone with my voice. Still finding that sweet spot. I probably went through 10 different de-essers til I found one I liked. I prob need to get an SM7B for the louder songs. But what do you typically do for the 47?

@davidtaro 1d

For the louder songs? I use an SM7B 😆. And I just use a Fabfilter de-esser for both tbh. We should talk vocal chains though! I’d love to know what you’re using as your vocals always sound pro!

@jacobeverettwallace 1d

I go 47/mic->Scarlett 2i2 (since my nice Audient interface crapped out, maybe I should send it to you to get fixed since it's a British company haha). Using mostly Steven Slate/Logic plugins. Lead Vocal chain: Logic Noise Gate (if needed) -> 902 De-esser -> FG-73 Pre (bit of drive turned up, output up 1dbish) -> "London" (euro) tube preamp (fairly clean, turned up "mix" for color) -> Logic compressor (Opto/2A) -> Logic Channel EQ (pretty basic) -> Slate Opto/2A compressor -> Logic de-esser to catch any last sibilance -> reverb send(s), usually various instances of Space Designer.

I typically have a centered Lead, with a parallel center lead double with tons of extra compression and grit labeled "SMASH" underneath. (I like to actually double my parallels instead of just copy the original track) And then a similar track centered underneath for my low baritone melody/harmony with a little less grit and softer compression. Then I usually do a pair of lead doubles panned hard left and right (with added delay/echo) with softer compression and much more reverb. If I have additional high/soft harmonies, I'll use the softer panned vocal chains for those. Then I'll usually throw an instance of Abbey Road vinyl on the vocal buss with the crackles and extra noise turned off just for some extra warmth to tie it together. I think that's it 😆

@davidtaro 8h

I love this reply! And will reply in kind when I have enough time to write something equally as epic 🤣

@tamsnumber4 2d

Thank you for commenting on my song "The Quiet Cold", I really Appreciate it!

@greengrassgirl 2d

I'm with you...@ayeahmur's opening organ bit really captured the sense of loss I had in mind with He's Country, She's City. I liked his choice of instrumentation and how he presented the story. Glad you found my page and took the time to listen and comment. Thank you.

@nathanjoelong 5d

I love how this builds into the chorus and the production has such a clean grit, which is not as oxymoronic as it sounds. Lovely vocal saturation depth that pulls you in as the reverb tails fade out and just the right amount of delay supporting lines where you dig in. Such enviable vocal control. "either fire or frost" is an epic line, like the opening to Dicken's a Tale of Two Cities.

@nadine 1w

Short update: Can't play instruments for a longer while. If you want to do a ping pong collab we should postpone after FAWM. If my lyrics inspired you to write the whole song, feel free to finish and tag me. I think that the only realistic thing I can do this FAWM is mix whatever I receive... in slow motion.

@davidtaro 1w

Ah no worries. It’s on my to do list. I think I’ll try and finish it from your lyrics then. Although when that happens is a bit tbc (work stress this week!). Hope your tendons feel better soon, and take it easy with faders!

@nadine 1w

No worries take your time :) right now its hard for me to take things easy...

@jonmeta 1w

Would you be up for a collab (finally) this year? Sadly I have almost no time this Feb to put into music, so mostly just bits and pieces of songs. Tonight I came up with (full?) lyrics and the start of a groove / melodic idea that would, I think, fit you well, and give you lots of freedom to develop however you want.

@davidtaro 1w

Hi Jon! Of course, I'd love to get a collab in - think my email is on my profile if you want to send what you have through? Sounds like fun! Hope you and the family are all doing well :)

@jonmeta 1w

Cool! I’ll send something this afternoon. Really looking forward to this! No hurry though as I don’t expect to hit 14 this year. Meanwhile do you know the song by Amsterdam called “Does this Train stop on Merseyside?” That’s the feel i’m going for and why I think this is for you! We’ll talk soon.

@nadine 1w

I found the video:

@davidtaro 1w

Well, now I feel very judged :D

@nahlej381 1w

Hmmmmm….id say Monday would be most ideal but Wednesday would also work if you’d prefer 🤷🏻‍♂️

@davidtaro 1w

Monday works dude, see you on Discord at the usual time?

@nahlej381 1w

Yes please!

@midwayfair 1w

So yeah, speedruns: The speedrun of Ultima Underworld is like mainlining nostalgia for me. It was one of the first PC games we had (I mostly played games on the Commodore before that), and the game was a marvel of engineering but the whole series has a really solid ethical underpinning that deeply influenced me as a person. But the CD copy of the game was bugged, and it was often impossible to make it to the end of the game without all of your items disappearing, and I could never quite figure out exactly what I needed to do at the very very very end of the game. The same thing happened in Ultima Underworld II: I couldn't quite figure out exactly how to accomplish in game one of the last things, so it took me years to finish (which I finally managed to do by buying a book of old rpg walkthroughs).

Anyway, I've also seen the Zelda speedruns. I think the funniest speedrun, though, is Morrowind. It's a 40-plus hour main quest if you just play it. They do it in mere minutes, and it involves jumping really, really high, like some sort of pre-war Superman. It's absolutely hilarious.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. And I'm always thrilled to hear your music up here. Your music really Does The Thing (tm)!

@billwhite51 1w

i was going to respond to your comment on just as good as dylan, but it occurred to me to use my response to your comment (which I hope you wont mind, but i included) as liner notes for the song. let me know if you object and i will remove it,

@davidtaro 1w

That’s fine, I enjoyed reading your response too. Cheers!

@cts 1w

Ok, for a part of my life I could've sworn I stopped by for some listens. I shall now rectify this inequity.

@nancycunning 2w

Emailed the lyric idea....

@nancycunning 2w

Hey, David - it’s not really a party til you show up. I did finally write a “third in our trilogy” lyric. Maybe @richaaaay is up for getting the band back together.

@davidtaro 2w

I mean… how could he not be?! Send us the lyrics, sounds fun. Cheers Nancy!

@crisp1 2w

Looking forward to hearing your songs this month, David. Cheers!

@davidtaro 2w

Cheers Doug! Will look out for your awesome lyrics :)

@nadine 2w

David, I got some lyrics that might be a good fit for a blues or blues rock tune. But when I tried to write the song, I accidentally ripped off one of my own songs. Would you like to give it a try, or maybe ping pong some?

@davidtaro 2w

I'm happy to try if you show me what you've got - just drop me an email (not sure how quick I'll be as I'm already massively behind!). I do hate it when you write something and then realise you've stolen from yourself :D

@nadine 2w

Thank you! I've sent you a mail with the lyrics. I really like the words I used this time, but I just can't unhear my melody and chords :( Maybe the lyrics spark an idea that is completely different from mine. Or maybe you're hit by a thunder and hear the full song...

@coolparadisoMod 2w

Hi there always good to see you here. Memory test. Last year at the end of feb you played a song for a friend who had passed. I said to you Life isnt always fair and you said good song title. I diarised it and then wrote it yesterday - i will send it to you - see if it fits for you - its called "I gave up on fair a long time ago"

@davidtaro 2w

Oh wow, that sounds amazing, very touched you remembered that and can’t wait to read the words :)

@coolparadisoMod 2w

just sent

@billwhite51 2w

thank you for your comments on rogue administration. funny you should mention the name Spaghetti Esposo, as I woke up this morning with that name on my lips and the song came out of that name. Your reference to 1940 blues reminds me of a friend whose daughter gaver a pile of CD's and when she came to dylan's Love and Theft, she took it for some lost album from the 1930s by somebody she had never heard of. I told her who he was and she went through his whole discography and became a lifetime fan.

@sweetsandsoda 2w

Just took a listen to Judy - wow great stuff!! Happy FAWM!

@spazsquatch 2w

Hey David, Happy FAWM!

@davidtaro 2w

You too dude, have a great month!!

@eas3637 2w

Happy FAWM! Excited to hear your new batch of songs.

@davidtaro 2w

Yay, great to hear from you Erin, looking forward to hearing your new stuff too 🙌

@oddbod 2w

Hi David, I’m limiting myself to a very few collabs this year if anyone will have me, so if you have something suitable that I can’t mess up too much, give me a shout.

@davidtaro 2w

Honoured, and if there’s something suitable then of course I will. Currently having some rather annoying and boring technical problems (note to self: don’t run Mac updates a week before FAWM), so that may limit things somewhat.

@nadine 2w

Hey David! Any big plans this year or more write whatever comes? I was actually shocked that our last collab was already 2 years ago whaaaa!

@davidtaro 2w

Hey! Ummm, might depend if I can get Logic to work (lost most of today with huge technical issues) 🥲 could be quite an acoustic/one-take heavy month…

@nadine 2w

Oh no! Fingers crossed, maybe somebody in the forums can help!

@seemanski 2w

Hey David, Can't wait to here what you come up with. I was well chuffed when I saw you decided to dip your toes into the SpinTune world. That is by far my favourite song writing competition and I knew you would do well in it.

@damschen 2w

Happy FAWM, David! Can't wait to see what epic songs you come up with this year!

@danvaillancourt 2w

We find ourselves in another go-around of music-making. Looking forward to every bit of it. 😃🎶

@davidtaro 2w

Best time of the year 😀 btw might have an idea. Need to think about it, will let you know if it could be a thing…

@paul_pedersen 2w

I'm here to hear more David Taro songs!

@nahlej381 2w

Disagree dude, you’re a friggin dream boat

@nahlej381 2w

Whoaaaa dude…your new pic has me feeling things…far too attractive…i look like Tor Johnson…Jesus 🫣🤓😘

@davidtaro 2w

🤣🤣🤣 it’s a vastly overly-flattering pic that bears only a passing resemblance to me in real life (as you well know). Also you look nothing like Tor Johnson, you beautiful human you x

@paulotteson 2w

Happy FAWM David!! Looking forward to hearing you again!!

@jeff9 2w

Great to see you, David, and excited to hear some new stuff from you.

@davidtaro 2w

Right back at you, Jeff! Looking forward to hearing your dulcet tones again :)

@johnstaples 2w

Hi David! Happy FAWMing!!

@nancyrostMod 2w

Welcome back! Glad to have gotten to know your music better during SpinTunes, and looking forward to checking out your FAWM stuff.

@davidtaro 2w

Thanks Nancy! I was really on the fence about giving Spintunes a go, but SO glad I did, both from a meeting new people and improving my songwriting point-of-view. You did a great job judging the last one! Looking forward to hearing what you do in the coming weeks :)

@sunnymae 2w

Hey David!!!! Here we go again!!! Can't wait to hear some of your outrageously amazing music!!!

@tjeff 2w

Hi David, have a great Fawm!

@davidtaro 2w

Likewise, you too Jeff, have a super month!

@mikeskliar 2w

welcome back, good to see ya here!

@davidtaro 2w

You too Mike - I'm imagining you have plenty to write about this year ;)

@musicsongwriter 2w

Happy FAWM, David. Can't wait to hear your new songs, singing and playing.

@quoththellama 2w

Daveed! Happy FAWM :)

@anthonykapfer 2w

David! happy fawm! i can’t wait to hear you new stuff this year

@celineellis 2w

Glad to see your back for some more adventures in sound, David!

@mctown 2w

Onward.

@davidtaro 2w

Always onward :)

@billwhite51 2w

Hi David. Its been a long year but im glad to be back. Looking forward to all the music that is about to spill out of your heart mind, and soul.

@tamsnumber4 2w

Have a Great FAWM!

@kc_ 2w

David! have a great FAWM! Looking forward to your new music!

@max 2w

🍻𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀! 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆. 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗙𝗔𝗪𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗴!

@davidtaro 2w

Thanks Max, have another fabulous February - I'm sure you will!

@wobbiewobbit 2w

Hey David! Have a great FAWM whoopieeee!

@mattwdunn 2w

Happy FAWM. I’m looking forward to hearing your contributions this year. Always a highlight

@davidtaro 2w

Cheers mate! How's that Martin acoustic been working out for you? Can't wait to hear what you come up with this year.

@mattwdunn 2w

It recently had a set up so plays like butter. It may not get much use this year though. I’m thinking of going a bit heavier. Maybe a nice Whitesnakesque ballad could get it out of the case though

@davidtaro 2w

Yes please to heavy. Yes please to a Whitesnakesque ballad.

@nadine 2w

Happy FAWM, David!