C-Beem
The C-Beem handle (altered spelling for search purposes) is from Roy Batty’s great line in my favourite sci-fi film, Blade Runner:
“I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.”
It’s an intriguing line because it’s never explained what a C-Beam actually is! A terrible weapon or something else? I love the enigma of it. It’s also significant from my first name, Chris, not to mention my keyboard workstation which features something quirky called a D-Beam. It hangs together for me in my love for sci-fi and electro-orientated pop.
My music ventures go all the way back to my childhood in Leicester, when my two brothers and I formed a punk-ish rock band called The Foils in the early 80s, well-displayed by Tim’s tinfoil covered drum kit! Jon wielded the axe while I hammered away at the keyboard, and when I say keyboard, I mean a ‘Bontempi Playsound’ with severely limited capabilities, though it did kick out a decent organ sound. I’d say that John Lord of Deep Purple and Dave Greenfield of the Stranglers were my demi-gods at this time. Through the decades, I’ve weaved through various bands and projects, either as vocalist or keyboard player. Now as C-Beem I solo-record my own stuff like a studio-rat, combining my singing and keyboards.
My influences are defiantly post-punk 80s: New Order, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Tears for Fears, Psychedelic Furs e.t.c … all artists with a kind of underground futurism in their sound … layers, textures and soundscapes which appeals to my art background (I graduated with Liverpool University in Art and English, 1990).
‘Little Jet Angel’ is my first serious recording project - a two-year labour of love thanks to my Roland FA08 workstation’s ability to deliver a highly fluid song-building process. The best part was receiving the final tracks from mastering-maestro Pete Maher (U2, The Killers, Depeche Mode, Katy Perry). He’s really glued it together and has been so encouraging about the album. I’m an unsigned artist using Distrokid and Soundcloud to get some material out there, but I’ve never used serious promo until now. I feel that a full album deserves more than just an upload and hope for the best.
Every song is a journey. Each one a spark from some strange elemental space. The album title ‘Little Jet Angel’ is inspired by a blackbird (likely more than one) which I often see outside the window of my studio space. Contrary to the negative press blackbirds get in some folklores, they can represent muse-like, inspirational energy. I much prefer to go with that interpretation! Coming up with lyrics is like unravelling the tune, and like many songwriters it usually starts with a riff - something hooky and interesting which then instils a certain state of mind, then hopefully come the words that make things tangible. Abstract feelings and mind-states are a starting point, but it’s the everyday world and real experiences that articulate them, like magical realism.
I also write fiction, have been involved in visual art, and I don’t sense much distinction between the canvas, the page, or what I tweeze out the speakers. It’s all creativity to me. All the same spirit. The Little Jet Angel.