I just found the original sketch and lyrics for a song from the Ocean Sessions EP (2007).
It's Never Gonna Be Perfect, sketches/lyrics (2006).
Back in 2006 when I was writing for a follow-up EP to my eponymous debut album, I was thinking of doing a duet with someone. Going through different demos and songs that I had laying around I came by a recording of the song “It’s Never Gonna Be Perfect” that I had done the basic tracks for in a studio outside Bergen, Norway.
I actually helped build this studio back in the days when I was recording albums with Sissy Dogfish. We recorded the single “Win This Race” (2000) and “What Happens Next?” (2002) there.
Then, recording the EP at Ocean Sound Recordings (the original boat house studio), I thought why not include this song and get a female singer to do parts on it. Since I had already gotten my management to ask Marit Larsen’s people whether she’d sing with me on the A-side, Message, and without any luck on that (she was probably too busy or not keen) decided to think of someone else for the B-side.
FILMING FINAL MIXDOWN OF MESSAGE
In 2005 I toured with Aimee Mann on shows in the UK, Ireland and France. We got along well. She gave me some well advised “things-to-think-about” and look out for, me being signed to a major label, and she told me about the ways of being independent and how to run my own little business. Anyways, I sent an email to my management asking them to contact Aimee.
It was a good idea, they said, but decided that they had a better plan. One of the bands on the Nettwerk label called Sixpence None The Richer had a lead singer who was a big fan of my debut album and they thought she would be the perfect match for the song – so they asked her.
I knew of Leigh and her beautiful and cool voice from Sixpence’s hit-single Kiss Me and was instantly keen on working with her. She replied with “I’ll literally eat shit to do this” and from that moment on we didn’t look back. My engineer put down a rough mix of the song, sent an mp3 over the Atlantic, Leigh recorded her lead with two harmony tracks and I got it back by no time to put it in the final mix. Fantastic!
KISS ME (SHE’S ALL THAT OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
That was my first and, to this day, only transatlantic collaboration. I have ever since been tremendously thankful to Leigh for her help on making this song so much better and that’s why I now, after finding the original hand-written lyric, had to tell you the story behind the recording of my first duet.
The song was released digitally on the Ocean Sessions EP worldwide on April 29, 2007 through Nettwerk Music and distributed in Norway on CD through my own label Bobfloat Music and Playground Music on May 15, 2007.
Here’s the song:
You can hear the whole EP on SoundCloud. If a physical copy is what you like, send an email to Bobfloat Music and they’ll give you the details on how to go forward.
Peace and Love, and thank you LEIGH NASH!!!
-robert
