Category: Butterfly Decal

Butterfly Decal: Berlin Suite

8th February 2023

Cover photo by Harald Ansorge

The new EP by Butterfly Decal, available for download on our Bandcamp webpage: https://butterflydecal.bandcamp.com/album/berlin-suite-2

Butterfly Decal are Niall Keohane, in Birmingham, UK, and Paul Pacifico, living in Saigon, Vietnam.

Berlin Suite is a collection of 13 short instrumental pieces inspired by the German capital. A sonic portrait of the city’s history and geography, the music ranging from ambient to klezmer, modern classical to modern dance, evoking memories and images of this enigmatic city.

The suite starts with a Prelude influenced by the raucous cabaret music of the 1920s, then changes to an eastern European style reflecting Berlin’s Jewish population. The famous Kaiser Wilhelm church is depicted in Track 5, ‘Bombed Church’ while Track 11, ‘Memorials’ is a tribute to people of all nations who were killed in the city in the Twentieth Century.

Track 9 ‘Kina Imbiss’ mixes electronic and Asian instruments, and the penultimate Track, ‘Return to Rigaer’ is a Blues Rock portrait of the squatter’s street Rigaer Strasse.

The Suite ends with a slow, melancholic piece, ‘Berlin Requiem.’

Our EP may be downloaded in its entirety for £2

Some videos may be viewed on YouTube:

Thank you for your time. Please feel free to share this with any friends, or on social media.

Happy year of the rabbit (or cat)

Butterfly Decal: ‘When in Rome’

22nd December 2022

Peter Townsend and Princess Margaret

Butterfly Decal have a Bandcamp page: https://butterflydecal.bandcamp.com/

The demo version is available on YouTube:

Viewers of ‘The Crown’ will know the story of Princess Margaret falling in love with war hero Peter Townsend, and how the establishment forbade the marriage.

Niall wrote this song based on a doomed love affair, two people from different worlds who can never be together.

As the band Butterfly Decal, Niall and I try to do something a little different, often using spoken word and sound effects as opposed to conventional singing.

The first demo has the narrative too low in the mix, so we will be re-recording the song. Additionally, we decided to add a female voice in some sections. Here are the lyrics:

When In Rome

Well, it was never likely to work, was it?

He was a famous musician, a guitarist of some renown,

American, he had settled over here to escape the petty prejudices of his own country.

As if we have none.

Still, better here at least; some acceptance.

He was loaded, money meaningless with so many noughts in his account,

Far richer than she, despite her royal blood.

A princess, only a short hop, skip and abdication from the throne.

She’d always been the flighty one,

A little rebellious,

Safe in the security of her family, her position, her fame, her history.

They met at a charity gala,

The classic ‘eyes across a crowded room’ deal.

They knew of each other, naturally,

And had each secretly fantasised and fetishised the other.

Unbeknownst; hidden; covert.

They had made a big play of outbidding each other in their bizarre mating ritual.

The charity being the clear winner in this elaborate and ostentatious courtship.

A secret rendezvous was arranged that night,

When their imaginations gave way to wonderful reality.

Love – real and deep love – followed.

The fires burned brightly until an indiscrete confession to an ambitious maid

Forced a decision.

Well, it was never likely to work, was it?

A scene from ‘La Dolce Vita’ (1960) by Federico Fellini. The film, which shows the decadence of the rich and famous in Rome, was a forerunner of the ‘Swinging Sixties.’

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Butterfly Decal – now on Bandcamp

5th December 2022

Finally ! finalement ! endlich ! cuối cùng ! finalmente !

최종적으로 ! 终于 ! 遂に !

Butterfly Decal have a Bandcamp page where people can go and listen to our music and, if they so wish, download.

The address is: https://butterflydecal.bandcamp.com/

So far we have our Jazz-inspired EP ‘Red Ribbon in Long Hair.’ The EP has four tracks, two spoken word with Jazz background, and two instrumental pieces.

The tracks are:

1) Red Ribbon – A Short Story

2) Red Ribbon Suite

3) Swing, Princess, Swing

4) Miles et Juliette

The final track tells the story of the doomed love affair between Jazz legend Miles Davis and French singer Juliette Greco, while the opening cut is a narrative about a man down on his luck who falls for a mysterious lady who wears a red ribbon in her hair …

The EP is for sale at 3 GBP, or you can buy individual tracks for 1 GBP each.

Videos for all four tracks are available on YouTube, and here is a link to ‘Miles et Juliette’:

Thank you all for listening

Niall & Paul

Butterfly Decal: ‘Roses for Daisy, daisies for Rosie’ – demo version.

1st December 2022

Butterfly Decal is our band’s name, and the members are Niall Keohane, in Birmingham, UK, and Paul Pacifico in Sai Gon, Vietnam although we are hoping to have a guest vocalist soon.

Here’s a new demo, guitar and clip track only, of a new track with the working title ‘Roses for Daisy, daisies for Rosie.’

The demo was recorded on Apple’s Garageband app, on an iPhone 7, so it’s very low-fi.

The purpose of a demo is to show other band members a possible song structure, and to allow the lyricist to fit words to the chords, and create a melody.

Once the song has been written, we arrange the instrumentation, and Niall makes a professional production in his home studio.

Niall also has an online radio show, ‘Flatwound Sounds.’ In his most recent broadcast, he played a track by Butterfly Decal, and I introduced the concept behind the band. The broadcast may be accessed here:

https://www.mixcloud.com/RachelMayfieldArts/the-family-man-that-can-truth-to-material-takeover-pete-flatwound/

And now, without further ado, the video:

Thank you all for listening.

Shortly we shall be setting up a Bandcamp account where the completed songs may be downloaded.

Butterfly Decal: an introduction

18th November 2022

Niall, my musical partner in Butterfly Decal, will be hosting a radio show in the UK, and playing some of our music. He asked me to write a short introduction, so here is a brief history of Butterfly Decal.

Hello, I’m Paul. Niall and I are in a band called Butterfly Decal. Only, this band is a little different because we live several thousand miles apart; Niall’s in the UK and I’m based in Sai Gon, Viet Nam.

Thanks to modern technology, we are able to make music, create videos and upload online.

Niall and I met in the 80s, played in a few bands, played a few gigs and made a few demos but neither fame nor fortune came knocking.

However, Niall kept playing, I kept moving around yet we always stayed in touch. And we always said that one day, we would play together again. And now we are.

So the band’s name … this is a bit of an in-joke; I love jangly Rickenbackers, and I once made Niall watch ‘The One I Love’ video by R.E.M. over and over, just to see and hear the guitar, so we took the name from an R.E.M. song.

Musically, we both love Jazz and Blues, Classic 60s bands, Bowie and 80s Indie music, but we’re also looking to do something a little different, Post-Rock and Maths Rock … yes, we’re British, we call it Maths Rock. We like playing around with different time signatures, using non-traditional song structures … and mixing spoken word with music, making a musical collage.

We hope you like the track Niall’s going to play … now, I’ll say tạm biệt from Sai Gon.

Butterfly Decal: Cupid’s Arrow (low-fi demo version)

13th August 2022

Apple’s Garageband

A very basic, low-fi demo of a future Butterfly Decal song, recorded at home on an iPhone 7, using the Garageband app.

The acoustic guitar is a cheap model I picked up for 1 million VND (35 GBP or 42 USD). At first I played it through a processed Chorus Shimmer amp, using the default settings. In the second track, I used a clean Cool Jazz Combo amp setting, with extra reverb and mids and bass.

I got to use my new custom-made electric guitar on two tracks, both through a Fifties Rock & Roll amp.

Custom built Strat-style guitar, made in Viet Nam, because I play left-handed

Remember, this is merely a demo. The tempo is possibly too slow, and it desperately needs Niall’s magic touch on bass, drums and keys, not to mention making a proper audio mix.

If you like the track, feel free to forward it to your friends. Niall (my partner in Butterfly Decal) and I would really appreciate if you click the ‘Like’ button.

Thank you for listening.

Butterfly Decal: ‘Red Ribbon in Long Hair’ EP Part 2

5th July 2022

On June 12th, I blogged about the ‘release’ of our first set of recordings, a Jazz-influenced quartet of tracks called ‘Red Ribbon in Long Hair’. That blog may be accessed here: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/06/12/butterfly-decal-red-ribbon-in-long-hair-ep/

I previously linked two tracks, ‘Red Ribbon: A Short Story‘ & ‘Miles et Juliette.’ Today I have the YouTube links for the two remaining instrumental tracks. The full EP listing:

1) Red Ribbon: A Short Story

2) Red Ribbon Suite

3) Swing, Princess, Swing

4) Miles et Juliette

First, track 2, ‘Red Ribbon Suite’ a piece in three distinct movements:

Photography by Niall Keohane & Paul Pacifico

Track 3 is based around a simple guitar pattern, with Niall adding piano, strings and harmonies:

All music written by Keohane & Pacifico.

Production by Niall Keohane.

Copyright ⓒ 2022

Thank you for visiting this blog page. If you like the music, we would really appreciate it if you could give us a ‘Like’, and pass on to your friends. The ‘visits’ and ‘likes’ really help new bands to get attention.

Butterfly Decal: ‘Red Ribbon in Long Hair’ EP

12th June 2022

A still from Niall’s Red Ribbon: A Short Story video

Butterfly Decal, the band I am in along with my dear friend Niall Keohane, are finishing the final mix on our debut EP.

The Jazz-inspired EP, entitled ‘Red Ribbon in Long Hair’, has four tracks:

1) Red Ribbon: A Short Story

2) Red Ribbon Suite

3) Swing, Princess, Swing

4) Miles et Juliette

Track 1 is a piece of first-person prose over a Jazz background and sound effects, a collage of film, music and poetry.

The video features Niall’s stunning B&W photography, (from the UK), while I add some shots from Sai Gon, Viet Nam. As the track nears the end, a theme from the next cut appears, low in the mix, leading to …

Track 2, an instrumental piece in three movements. Parts 1 and 2 share a melody but have a tempo change, whereas Part 3 leads to a melodic resolution.

Track 3, ‘Swing, Princess, Swing’, is based around a two-chord guitar structure. I’m only playing a $40 acoustic guitar here but Niall’s production makes it sound (almost) professional. Niall also adds backing vocals.

Track 4 is another story set to music. In the late 1940s, Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis travelled to Paris where he met, and fell in love with, singer Juliette Greco. As with Track 1, this cut features narrative, music and effects.

We plan, once we have enough material, to make our music available online on Bandcamp or SoundCloud, as well as posting more videos on YouTube.

The production was by Niall at his home studio in Birmingham, UK

Thank you so much for visiting this site. If you have time and interest, please view the videos and share them with your friends. The ‘Likes’ and views really help.