Charmed Manor Discovered on Google Earth 5:

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Dido Updates: Brief Album Info.

Did you deliberately decide to make this album hark back to your electronic roots, or did it just turn out that way?
As with everything I've done, it just turned out that way. I'm not good at planning these things out or thinking too far ahead. I never have been. Part of it is I just make the music I want to listen to at that particular time and the other part is that I'd put a new logic program on my computer last year and was really enjoying playing with it at home and the record just grew out of that and all the inspiring sounds I could find or create. The difference now to before is that making the last album taught me so much about playing and arranging and engineering and production etc.. That I can really enjoy just being self sufficient and making records wherever I am on my own. It feels really good to get lost completely in my own world and create a new sound that way. Then on top of that, when I do get into a studio with Rollo or Sister Bliss it just feels amazing to have their extra inspiration and input at that point and watch the tracks transform. I'm having a lot of fun making this record.

When you're in this stage of the process, do you find yourself thinking about nothing else but recording? Or are you good at leaving it behind when you shut the studio door?
I'm not great at leaving it behind properly if I'm in a proper studio situation and I've always got songs and ideas going round in my head at all times. It's how I see the world around me I suppose. But I have good periods of time when I don't think too much about it as there's so many other things I like doing or learning about and people I want to see. I also get my best ideas when I just forget about it all for a minute and let my brain relax!

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and written lyrics?
I've dreamt a few lyrics and I've learnt that you have to write them down. I always think I'll remember them in the morning and never do.

Finally, what was your favourite book of 2009?
My favourite by far of last year was BROOKLYN by Colm Toibin. Really moving and engaging. I was gutted to finish it as I wanted to stay in that world for longer.

A View From The 124th Floor Of The Burj Khalifa:

About a couple of days ago, I went to visit the Burj Khalifa. When I went there, the enterance was temporarily closed as it was still under construction, so the "Temporary" enterance is located in the Lower Ground floor of the Dubai Mall. The Burj Khalifa is actually still under construction, even the Armani Hotel isn't even finished yet, not to mention the 160th floor is still needing some work done (the scaffolding is still there from what my sources mentioned). So here I am sitting on top of the world (Literally speaking), since the Burj Dubai Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. If you go to the Dubai Mall and get yourself a ticket, it only costs about a 100Dhs for the walk-in tour and 440Dhs for the private tour. The walk-in tour is way better because now there is simply NO tickets left for the private tour :/ .
As soon as I got my ticket, I just went into the elevator and started from the Ground floor and it took me about less than a minute to get up on to the 124th floor as the Burj Khalifa. The speed was like the airplane taking off (it was that fast). By the time I reached up to the 124th floor, the Burj had some type of telescopes where you can view the entire city, you can even view it as the following: Day, Live and Night.

Day: View the city in daylight (it's like Google Earth - Not in Live traffic)

Live: View the city in Live Traffic (cars moving, planes flying, etc..)

Night: View the city in night time (again it's like Google Earth. It's not in Live Traffic)

Also when you get upstairs on the 124th floor, you have the option of going outside on the patio, which is covered with a wooden plank floor and some metallic windows as well as some metallic Kiosks (which are closed) and you can put your hands out the metallic window and take pictures with your camera.
Other than that, when you are also upstairs, you will get to see some pictures of how they got the idea of making the Burj Khalifa and there are some models. There is also an expensive gift shop that is selling the exact things in the main gift shop downstairs but just a little more expensive. For example they are selling 700ml of water that is in a nice looking packaging and selling it for about 300Dhs. And it's only normal tap water that has been imported from London (I heard that from Gulf news).

To some it up, it was a really nice experience to go view the Burj Khalifa. So if you ever get a chance just go in and have a look at it. It costs a 100Dhs to enter. So far the Hotel of the Burj Dubai is not going to be opened till sometime on March 2010.

Dido Updates: 4th Album Info & Dido's Life

Hello Dido, did you have a good Christmas?
Hi there, happy new year to everyone! I had a great Christmas with my family. Very relaxing. A lot of snow, a lot of cake. All good.

You said in the last interview that you've been working in the countryside - do you think the surroundings of a studio can have an impact on the sounds you make in it?
Well there's a few sound effects that I could maybe do without. A lot of birds and cows and low flying air force planes... I'm not sure whether it has an effect or not. So much of what I write and produce is so internal that often it doesn't matter where I am. Most of the time I'm in a room with no windows when I write anyway. I do find it inspiring to go for an amazing walk in the country every morning though before we start work though. Makes me feel really lucky to be alive.

When you're writing new songs, do you listen back to your first three albums for inspiration?
Not very often. I do listen to them for fun occasionally, sometimes when I'm driving as they all bring back such amazing memories. Each record was borne out of such a specific era of my life, it's great to take myself back there.

What do you tend to eat and/or drink during an average day's recording?
Cereal. It's easy and quick and if I'm really focused on something I don't want to bother cooking anything. I could eat breakfast for every meal quite happily.

Who makes the best tea, you or Rollo?
Definitely me. :-) I think he might even agree.

My Tribute To Dubai And Dido:

Here is what I have done with Photoshop just before the Burj Khalifa had opened. Please feel free to comment down below!

Grand Opening In Dubai:

The Burj Dubai (which has now been renamed to Burj Khalifa) has finally opened in Dubai. It has opened on the 4th of January 2010. So many people just got out of their homes and some even ran up to sit on their roofs to watch the Burj Khalifa open with a massive set of fireworks coming all around the building and then it was followed by glittery lights sparkling like when the light refracts from a diamond.
As soon as the Burj Khalifa had opened, the media has written so many articles about the grand opening but it has come to my attention that the Western Media is being down right mean. They are literally bad mouthing my country and the NERVE of you illiterate, incompedant losers, don't you have anything better to do rather than bad mouthing Dubai and the rest of the Arabian places. I think it's time for all of the Western Media to get their act together. Now I also know why ALL the West is starting to hate Dubai, it's because we are getting ALL the tourists and we LOVE getting attention. Sorry Paris Hilton, Dubai is now the main center of attention!

Do you want to know more about the Burj Khalifa (aka Burj Dubai)?

Well visit Gulf News and Wikipedia for more information!