Its been sometime since I’ve posted on here.
So the reason to write today is to mark the fifth anniversary of the second LostAlone record I’m A UFO In This City and to give you a version of a song which you wont have heard Get it here before and which hugely important to the band. The song AWOL Sunkissed featured on the European version of our debut record Say No To The World (more on the anniversary of that record coming next week!) and along with a selection of other demos this is the song that upon hearing it compelled the late, much missed and beautiful man Craig Aaronson to sign us to Warner Brothers Records.
If you were to ask the three of us “Whats the best time in the bands career?” I know the answer would be the seven weeks we spent making our second record in Los Angeles. I had total creative control over the record, the only thing that Craig asked of us was to re record AWOL Sunkissed because he felt it was a huge song and the US market had not had a chance to hear it. We discussed between the three of us and agreed. AWOL was to be recorded along with Love Will Eat You Alive and Paradox On Earth with Jacknife Lee at NRG studios in Hollywood. (Side note: the rest of the record was recorded with the fabulous Greg Wells at his studio a little deeper into Hollywood)
Looking back is not something I like to do at all, mainly because through the incredible experiences I will inevitably reach moments of such frustration, the why’s and the “what if that choice had not been made” Allowing 5 years to pass between our first and second records (when I had about 5 albums worth of material)due to various business and management problems. In my wisdom now this would never have been allowed to happen but I digress…..this is a happy memory!
By the time the UFO record came out two years had passed since we recorded, we had been forced to leave WB due to the entire team working on us in the US leaving the label and a new regime coming in. We decided that AWOL had already been out in Europe, the new deal we had at that time (we signed to another US label a little later) was UK / Euro centric and so felt it was strange to include what even at that point felt a very old song on our new record and which had already been out in that territory. So this song which we loved and was recorded by one of the worlds best producers and mixed by a legend was put on the metaphorical shelf (my hard drive)
Writing this has provoked many memories of how we came to be signed to Warner and the incredible dream like two weeks in which myself and Mark went from losing everything (including our first bass player) to having a worldwide record deal and ALAN! But thats for another time or maybe a book one day!
On another slight off centre side note. In a crime of the industry we are (one of us in – me – 2 of us out – Alan and Mark!) We, the band do not own the rights to UFO or SOS records and so are unable at this point to anything more than celebrate the anniversary. HOWEVER we do own the rights to our debut so look out here in the next weeks for a very special anniversary release.
So right now here’s where we are.
Mark is working in his (other than music) dream job, restoring classic Aston Martin cars.
Alan is working and succeeding in being an amazing dad to his beautiful baby daughter Skye.
Me, well I’m over here StevenBattelle.co.uk writing songs all day every day, making and releasing music.
Enjoy Awol Sunkissed and listen to I’m A UFO In This City LOUD today!
Steven Battelle
UFO on Spotify
AWOL Sunkissed – Get it here
Written by Steven Battelle
Produced by Jacknife Lee at NRG studios Los Angeles
Mixed by Alan Moulder at Assault and Battery London.
With Craig Aaronson outside Warner Brothers in Burbank
