Words and music by Transfer Point

I can feel the change before I see it
Way down deep in my bones — you know I believe it

And the chill Norse wind is blowing
And the tide creeps up on me
And the storm is coming soon
Upon the cold North Sea

I can hear the rain before I see it
Rushing over the waves — and now I can feel it!

And the cold north wind is howling
And the tide is chasing me
And the rain is falling down
Into the cold North Sea

But my feet are firmly planted
I’m gonna hold my ground
Yeah my feet are firmly planted
I’m gonna stand my ground

My anchor’s firmly planted
I won’t drift away

No sign of letting up
The waves keep crashing in
Let them come because I’m stronger now
I’m stronger now!

And the wind rips through my jacket
And the tide is hunting me
And the rain is streaking down
Into the cold North Sea

My anchor’s firmly planted
My feet are firmly planted
My anchor’s firmly planted
To the place that I call home

Tom Sanderson: keyboards and synths, drums and percussion, recording
Alan Sanderson: vocals, guitars, bass, slide guitar, synths, recording, mixing, mastering

Tom’s Notes

I was vacationing last summer with Lori and half of my immediate family in Thailand. My work has become increasingly more challenging this year and has stifled some of my creative energy but I did have some moments on that vacation that I felt totally relaxed and some musical thoughts escaped. I was walking with my mom and dad along the Andaman Sea and something about the angry tropical clouds in Monsoon season might have stirred some creative ideas. I recorded a brief snippet of a riff idea while walking on the beach which would eventually become part of the verses of this song. But this idea was forgotten for a few months.

Alan and I had purposed months before that to write a song called “North Sea” but never got traction with the idea (I wrote the the title on a blank page of paper and that was about it). I revisited this riff idea and made a quick demo around New Years in 2024 that added a melody idea and a second segment and shared this with Alan with “North Sea” as the working title. In March, I started a sequence with piano as the placeholder instrument and some drums. In this recording I introduced what became the chorus, with only a melody idea and no words.

I passed what I had along to Alan, intending for him to add guitar as the main instrument. He added guitars and bass and greatly improved the song. A nice addition that Alan brought to this song was some variations on the riff idea. Alan also decided to add his high-school era guitar instrumental as the bridge to this song and I thought it a perfect fit to the existing structure. When we finally established the framework of the song, I added some more keyboards and percussion.

I got hung up on the lyrics initially and had some throwaway lines to start with. We thought the narrative might go a few different ways. One thought was this might be a ballad about a sea merchant or a fisherman. The North Sea is a cold body of water. I think as it stands now this sea might be a metaphor for adversity, it being not as friendly and inviting as more equatorial waters. Other interpretations welcomed/accepted. Alan eventually came up with most of the words.

Alan’s Notes

The middle section of the song, which I call “The Storm at Sea,” is based on an old guitar riff from my high school days. Here is a vintage recording from about 1995, done in my bedroom with the built-in microphone on a cassette tape player:

I love the horns, synth, and percussion that Tom added to this part of the song. The sound effects are done with a vintage Electro lap steel guitar owned by my friend Marty Warburton, which is also played in the final chorus. I now appreciate the skill of those masters who can get good sounds from a steel guitar or dobro.

One of the acoustic guitars I played on the recording belongs to my dad. It is the first guitar that I have any memory of. He used to play it for us kids in the evenings and we would sing together. Using this guitar on a recording was like going back to my roots. Thanks for letting me borrow your guitar, Dad!

The voice samples are from an old audiobook recording of Isaiah:

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee” (Isaiah 43:2).

That promise has been true in my experience.

As always, I enjoyed the collaboration with Tom. I am blessed to have such a wonderful and creative friend.

While we were wrapping up this project I proposed compiling some of our songs from the last few years into an album, which we plan to post in the next few days. The Battle of Bull Run and The Fight Within needed some remastering, and while I was at it I redid the guitar solo and backing vocals for the latter. I think these tracks sound better than ever now. This new album has some of our best work ever, so I am excited to release it soon!

Info and Stats

• Production Dates: January — September 2024
• Equipment:
  • Interfaces: Behringer Xenyx 1204USB, Behringer Ultra-DI DI400P, Tascam DSP24SD
  • Synths: Roland FA-06
  • Guitars and Basses: Gretsch G5120, Takamine G-330, Aria LW15MS, Ibanez ASB140 bass, Electro lap steel guitar
  • Amplifiers and Speakers: Crate GX-30M, Fender 12×2 cabinet
  • Microphones: DIY condenser by Michael Willis, Shure SM-57
• Software:
  • Linux Mint 20.2
  • Ardour 8.6.0
  • Dragonfly Reverb: Room, Hall, Plate
  • x42-plugins: parametric equalizer, dynamic compressor, digital peak limiter
  • Calf Studio Gear: vintage delay, stereo tools, flanger
  • ACE: Delay
  • SWH Plugins: AM Pitchshifter
  • Yoshimi software synthesizer
• Total Tracks: 25
  • Vocal: 5
  • Guitars and Basses: 8
  • Keyboards and synths: 7
  • Drums and Percussion: 3
  • Sample: 1
  • Effects: 1 (shimmer reverb on the slide guitar)

---