DESCRIPTION:
Thomas Dolby (vocal, keyboards):
A moody atmospheric song about my uncle Stephen who drowned in a British sub in WW2.
The intro consists of multiple samples and loops played on my M-Audio Trigger Finger pads. I can sneak different loops in and out using the knobs, and trigger odd whale-like calls in Omnisphere, along with some bizarre unpredictable radio tuning sounds. At a given point I can send a click to Mat's ears so he knows where to start the drum fill into the groove.
During the song I'm playing lots of different sounds in several registers of the keyboard. None are very tricky, but it's easy to forget what I've assigned where—especially after a few months away from my rig! Sometimes I play this with no drums, a sort of ambient version which lets you hear all the sounds more clearly.
I've got two of the TriggerFinger boxes, and they're great but unfortunately they sometimes freak out and jumble up their memories. The product has been discontinued, so I guess I'm in the market for some new pads!

Mat Hector (drums):
One of my favorite tunes in the set. I think this is partially anthemic and expansive. Playing this track thorough a large PA is always a huge pleasure, it sounds so massive and engulfs the venue! The main goal for me on this tune is consistency. I'm essentially replicating a drum machine for this track so I'm aiming for an even dynamic throughout, machine like even. To help in creating this vibe I'm triggering an electronic bass drum and snare drum sounds via my acoustic bass drum and snare drum. Our sound engineer turns my acoustic drums down in the PA and turns the samples up so the audience really gets the electronic vibe. The sounds are actually the original drum sounds from submarines that Thomas gave me, so completely authentic. As you can see from the video I also trigger the initial fill via my spd-30 sample pad. Again these are actual samples from the original track.

Kevin Armstrong (guitar):
I love hitting the first ringing chord of this song (0:33) It's just a 3 note chord on the top strings D, F# and G on top. I put a capo on the 3rd fret to catch the G note and make it easy to play so it's like a Dsus4 but with the third still played. Again a signature Dolby voicing. Other people just don't do this often so the harmony sounds simple but has a unique flavour. Add some delay and a little compression and drive and just makes audiences whoop when they hear it slam out. The middle of the song has a great riff too that is fun to mash into.