Original Content London

So, Ed pointed out to me that after all of my waffling I had neglected to actually outline what the devil this little song/storybook project is actually all about. I agreed that it might be a good idea to fill in that rather large gap.

Ed approached me with the concept at one of his parties and, as I felt like being rather drunkenly enthusiastic at the time, I agreed to be a part of the project.

The Concept

In this day and age there is no longer the need to physically purchase a CD to get hold of the musical content, photographs or lyrics of the bands we love (the internet rules w00t!), but I for one still miss having that undiscovered precious something to open up and flick through when I visit iTunes or Spotify to get my musical thrills.

With the release of their first batch of songs, the Clockwork Quartet will also be publishing a limited edition, carefully illustrated pocketbook of lyrics, with the wish to fill this void left by those horrible cardboard limited addition box sets, all whilst fulfilling the curious obsession of Steampunk fanatics with beautifully made, tactile and aesthetically pleasing objects.

There’s a lot of storytelling that goes on within the songs of the Clockwork Quartet and so, in my book, releasing such an object seemed a fairly apt and genial idea from Master Saperia in my book (See what I did there?).

The Content

So, what will be in it exactly?

If you don’t know already the Clockwork Quartet (in character) are a band of travelling musicians who entertain the passengers aboard a train that travels back and forth between London and Dover. It is the individual stories of passengers they meet that the Quartet bring to life in song form.

Each of these songs will feature in the book, much like chapters, with their own title pages, lyrics and illustrations, showing the characters in situ on the train and scenes from the story. The lyrics will be annotated by the conductor with chords and music, so a reader can recreate the songs their self.

Why a pocket book?

What else would people carry with them on a short journey from London to Dover?

The Aesthetic

In line with Steampunk tradition we aim to create a high quality object, bound, embossed, litho printed and of a good weight. Pocket books of the late Victorian period and their methods of manufacture are being studied…