During the 1980s, there was little grateful audience for this form of music in the UK, and the big players in the genre were all American. The pioneering sound of two duelling acoustic guitars - Simon James on nylon and Nick Webb on steel - was a fresh touch on the genre, and hence the immediate success of the band, backed up by a double bass, percussion, and occasionally string quartet The Violettes. In the mid-1980s, James left the band; he would go on to form Kymaera, a similar, albeit more Latin oriented band. Webb then went on to discover Greg Carmichael, who became James' immediate successor.
The new pair got work playing as an in-flight band on Virgin Atlantic flights to and from the United States - after sending some demo material to Nashville-based label MCA, the band was called six weeks later to record their first album. The pair had literally played their way to America, and in 1987 released their debut album, "Red Dust and Spanish Lace". The project saw them joining forces with other like-minded musicians such as Mario Argandoña on percussion and Bert Smaak on drums. The album was recorded at the Hansa Haus Studios, in Bonn, Germany. This was where they met sound engineer Klaus Genuit, who has worked on many of the band's albums.
"Red Dust and Spanish Lace" was an instant hit - the first single, "Mr. Chow", fused aspects of Chinese music with reggae. Other songs, such as "The Stone Circle" still stand out as some of the band's finest work. Two more albums followed with MCA — "Natural Elements" (1988) and the poppier "Blue Chip" (1989).
Acoustic Alchemy were soon tempted away from MCA to the world's biggest jazz label, GRP Records. Six more albums followed, starting with the 9-track "Reference Point" (1990), featuring a cover of Dave Brubeck's classic, "Take Five". The track was the band's only cover to this day. The critically acclaimed "Back On The Case" (1991) followed, a ten-track collection which rivaled the innocent brilliance of the band's debut four years previous.
Webb also uncovered fourteen early tracks from 1982 - 1987, featuring Simon James, which were released as a compilation called "Early Alchemy" (1992). "The New Edge" (1993) and "Against The Grain" (1994) came next, to mixed reviews.
For their eighth album, "Arcanum" (1996), the band decided to take a retrospective look back by re-recording some of the band's most popular tracks. The album was recorded in London's Pinewood Studios, along with the string section of the London Metropolitan Orchestra. The collection included three new tracks, "Columbia", "Something She Said" and "Chance Meeting", along with recreations of nine classics.
"Positive Thinking" (1998) was to be Acoustic Alchemy's last album with original frontman Nick Webb. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer prior to starting work on it, and sadly got progressively worse throughout the project. In the end, he could only offer inspiration, as he was too weak to play at recording sessions. Nick Webb died on February 5, 1998. However, the album was perceived as one of the band's best.
After Nick Webb's passing, Greg Carmichael decided to keep the band alive, but with big changes. He brought in understudy Miles Gilderdale as his playing partner, and the band moved label to EMI's Higher Octave, home of fellow guitarist Craig Chaquico, and popular synth trio 3rd Force. The debut album on the label, "The Beautiful Game" (2000) was dramatically different. New, stronger influences came from all sorts of genres, and it soon became clear that experimentation and diversity were to be a key element to the new band.
"AArt" (2001) was released a year after, and was their biggest and best release to date. Containing fourteen tracks, and with assistance from saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Acoustic Alchemy's third album with Higher Octave, "Radio Contact" (2003), featured the band's first ever track to include a vocal, "Little Laughter". The vocal was performed by Jo Harrup, a backing vocalist found by Gilderdale whilst doing a session with Latin singer, Enrique Iglesias.
The band's latest release, "American/English" (2005), is an eleven track collection which further explores a wide range of varying genres, all with the signature Acoustic Alchemy feel.
Early in 2006, bassist Frank Felix left the band, to concentrate on other projects. The band's manager, Stewart Coxhead, plans to keep the bassist's position fluid for the time being, although the band's British concerts this year have been taken on by former Incognito and Down to the Bone bassist, Julian Crampton.
GRP decided to re-release a video of Acoustic Alchemy, originally on VHS, entitled "Best Kept Secret", on the 25th July 2006. It was re-released in Region 1 DVD format, and contained archived live performance and documentary footage, featuring Nick Webb. The Region 2 version is currently scheduled for release 7th August 2006.
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DAYBREAK
Acoustic Alchemy Lyrics
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And we say who knows what the day will bring
We learn to survive 'cause that's the only way
It's kinda nice to talk about the good times
Like the feelin' we all know when the summer comes
That's the reason we all know we are as one
Yesterday is over let's live for today
So come into the sunshine step out of the rain
A new day is arising at daybreak
Everybody together people come into our world
People everybody together
People come into our world
I think it's time to have a celebration
It is time to find another way
To keep movin' on toward a better day, yeah
Yesterday is over let's live for today
Good mornin' to the blue skies
Good-bye to the grey
So come into the sunshine
Step out of the rain
A new way is arising at daybreak
People
Everybody together people come into the world
People everybody together
People come into our world
Whoa our world
Uh huh our world
Whoa people come into our world!!!
At daybreak we can live
We can love come on people
We can get it on
We can live together lets come together
We can live together lets come together
We can live together lets come together
Together at daybreak
Come together
We can live together lets come together
Together at daybreak
Come together
We can live together lets come together
Together at daybreak
Come together
The lyrics of Acoustic Alchemy's song "Daybreak" share a message of hope and unity in the face of difficult times. The song recognizes that life presents us with many hardships, but encourages us to look forward to brighter days ahead. The beauty of the summer season is mentioned as a symbol of the positive experiences that we can all share as a community. The song also acknowledges that, despite our differences and disagreements, we are all part of the same world and have a shared destiny.
The chorus repeats the phrase "yesterday is over, let's live for today" which urges the listener to let go of past troubles and focus on enjoying the present moment. The lines "good morning to the blue skies, goodbye to the grey" further emphasize the idea of leaving negativity behind and embracing positivity. The song concludes by calling for togetherness, with the repeated phrase "we can live together, let's come together". The message of the song is that while life can be difficult and uncertain, we can find comfort and support in each other, and that love, unity and hope are essential to building a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
In this life we go through lots of hard times
Life is full of hardships
And we say who knows what the day will bring
We can't predict the future
We learn to survive 'cause that's the only way
We learn to adapt to survive
It's kinda nice to talk about the good times
We like to reminisce about happy moments
Like the feelin' we all know when the summer comes
The happy feeling that comes with summertime
That's the reason we all know we are as one
We share common experiences and emotions
Yesterday is over let's live for today
Let's focus on the present
Good mornin' to the blue skies good-bye to the grey
Welcoming a new day with optimism
So come into the sunshine step out of the rain
Leave behind negative experiences
A new day is arising at daybreak
The start of a new day brings new opportunities
Everybody together people come into our world
Inviting others to join our community
I think it's time to have a celebration
It's time to celebrate good times
It is time to find another way
We need to find alternative solutions
To keep movin' on toward a better day, yeah
We should keep striving for a better future
At daybreak we can live
The start of a new day symbolizes new beginnings
We can love come on people
We should be open to love
We can get it on
We can enjoy ourselves
We can live together lets come together
We should unite and live in harmony
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDREW LEVY, SIMON BARTHOLOMEW, N'DEA R DAVENPORT, JAN KINCAID
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind