How to make The Cure 'Close To You' in DRC
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There can’t be very many songs written about chicken pox. The 1985 hit ‘Close To Me’ by the somewhat ironically titled English band ‘The Cure’, is indeed one such song, written by frontman Robert Smith, inspired by his childhood bout of the infection and memories of visual distortions, seen from his bedside.
At night, with the lights off, the slightly ajar bedroom door would let in a shard of light, illuminating the wallpaper in such a way that Smith saw visions of a floating head, leaving him with a sense of impending doom. This is also where the band’s album title ‘The Head On The Door’ comes from, which includes Close To You as one of its tracks.
The music video for Close To You was conceptualized and directed by The Cure’s frequent collaborator Tim Pope, and centered around a main theme of the group performing inside of a wardrobe, perilously close to the edge of a cliff. Smith sings while appearing to play with finger puppets of the group in a voodoo doll fashion, as his movements become wilder, the band members are flung around, causing the wardrobe to move and shake. The inevitable happens of course, as the wardrobe tips over the cliff edge and plummets down into the sea below.
Filming the stunt involved shooting the band in studio with a massive water tank for them to fall into, a less than enjoyable process for Smith, who stated “all I could think about was dying a slow, painful death.”
In this week’s DRC Sound Design Tutorial, Lucas breaks down the track’s bass, organ and two lead sounds.
Click here to download the Ableton project file.
Close to the original sounds,
Team Imaginando