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After an initial period of getting the measure of each other, it was time to actually start doing what they had come down here for. Andy led Leo into the booth while Kai sat on the sofa behind Carl at the desk, sipping his coffee and making the most of it all until it was his turn to be in the spotlight.
Kai was pretty terrified of jumping in the booth. Leo knew he was embarrassed about not being able to sing, but he knew Carl and Andy would talk him through the auto-tuning process and they all knew that Kai’s role wasn’t meant to be polished, but more of a catalyst for Leo to play off.
Leo could sense that he still had a slight feeling of intimidation dealing with these guys, who clearly knew their stuff on a much higher level, but Carl and Andy were both professional enough to deal with him and Kai kindly, explaining everything that they were doing as they went along. They had obviously been in this position thousands of times before.
Dealing with idiots like us,Leo thought, then immediately cast that negativity from his head. He had as much right to be in this studio as anyone else, and he had worked damn hard to get here. He gave his ego a well-deserved break and was ushered into the vocal booth by Carl to prepare for his first take.
After balancing the headphone mix to Leo’s liking, they decided to just go for one and see what happened. Andy started rolling the beats, then gave Leo the cue light, which was when he went for it.
Maybe it was because Kai was here with him, but Leo connected with the music like nothing before. He completely lost himself inside of it and was so comfortable and relaxed in that booth that he was adding magical ingredients to the lyrics that Carl was frantically noting down as Andy sat nodding in time with the tune, occasionally smiling back to Kai.
When Leo finished, Kai stood and grinned over before offering a round of applause. But deep down, Leo knew he had done good. “Was that okay, then?” The studio speakers reverbed, giving his voice a warm, ethereal feel.
“Take the rest of the day off,” joked Carl.
Leo choked a smile, but he didn’t understand the tear, or why it felt like someone wasn’t here that should be. He scrubbed the wetness away quickly. “Christ. I’m sorry, lads, I don’t know what’s come over me.”
Andy nodded his way. “I think we need to take a break after that.” He came over to let him out of the booth.
As Leo entered the control room, Carl stood up to offer him a handshake, which turned into a hug. Then Kai came over, waiting patiently. When he hugged Leo, Leo felt the weight of the world ease a little.
“So great,” whispered Kai in his ear.
“They were your lyrics, man.”
Kai chuckled. “My idea, you mean. You tweaked them into something you could do…thatwith.” He got a wink. “Ciggie break?”
“You don’t smoke,” said Leo.
"Yeah, but you do. I think you deserve one after that.”
Leo smiled. “Guys, we’re just gonna pop out for a cig, is that ok?”
Andy and Carl both nodded, and they agreed to meet back in the studio in ten minutes.
“I’m just gonna take a quick leak. I’ll meet you out in the courtyard bit in a sec. Well done again,’ said Kai.
Leo carried on down the corridor and bumped into Will, who was on his way into the studio to say hello to them both.
“So sorry I couldn’t make it down any earlier. I was just on my way to meet you guys. Everything going okay? You happy with the set-up?” asked Will.
“Oh, absolutely. I’m literally in heaven. Carl and Andy are great. I think we’re gonna have a great day of it.”
Will nodded, then started to look around them. “Where’s Kai? He made it down this time, right?”
“Oh, yeah, he’s just taking a leak. I’m just popping out for a quick ciggie, then we’ll get back to it.”
Will looked at his watch, then patted Leo on the shoulder. “Tell you what, I’ll try and make it into the studio this afternoon and say hello to him. I’ve gotta run now. I’ve got another bloody meeting to attend. It never ends, I’m telling you.”
“No worries, catch you later.” Leo watched him break into a light jog and disappear round the corner, then he shrugged and started to make his way to the courtyard. AWhatsAppnotification pinged up on his phone screen, sending a good shiver down his spine.
Quint.
Hope the session’s going great. Really looking forward to meeting up later. You still ok for 8?
Leo smiled to himself and typed out a reply, excited about seeing the man he was now considering calling his lover.
As he slowed to a stop whilst he was texting, Kai came up behind him, making him jump by grabbing his shoulders.
