FINAL 500 RECORDS (final500records.nl) asked me to create an inlay for the record sleeve of their 7th release,
Stuart Conroy 1974-1978 by THE ME IN YOU from Belgium. Just listening to the music without any information of the story behind this album, this idea popped into my head immediately. “Like a well cast heroine she did not look back...” The music feels really melancholic, love it so much! While finishing this illustration I found out the story behind
this record.
Six photographs, a notebook, a cassette tape and a bit of luck. All that was needed to revive the musical legacy of a long forgotten poet/musician from Glasgow. In the mid 70s Stuart Conroy came from Scotland to the continent to study and work. In the midst of the economic crisis, there was little perspective for young people not belonging to the baby boom generation to find a decent job.
Stuart Conroy threw himself into his two passions: poetry and music. From an old acquaintance The Me in You got hold
Stuart Conroy threw himself into his two passions: poetry and music. From an old acquaintance The Me in You got hold
of a box full of photographs, a notebook and an orange cassette tape (of the legendary brand BASF), all from the period 1974-1978. After listening to the ideas for songs, the band decided to use this material and turn it into new songs, respecting the original approach and atmosphere. A process that has lead to this album. A combination of old and new. Analogue and digital. Acoustic and programmed. In honour of a musician who left almost no traces, but whose material was sufficient to make it something new.
Check out that beautiful album/soundtrack !
Or/and check the documentary A Dream within a Dream - The Story of Stuart Conroy 1974-1978 here.
Like a well cast heroine she did not look back
When she said "Do you think it would be best if we didn't see each other again?"
I said "Yes... I think it would be best..."
My voice rang like a half-full of false coins
( 'A Well Cast Heroine' by The Me In You from the album 'Stuart Conroy - 1974-1978' / Sample from movie 'Reuben Reuben' )
