I recently held an audition in Brighton and heard five very good singers. I was glad to see that people actually turned up, as this was the first time I've organised one and I wasn't sure what to expect. I had a good experience with an audition I attended at Guildford's ACM a while ago, so I thought it would be easy to organise my own.

I got in touch with the local music college, Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM), and arranged for some posters to be put up around the student noticeboards, and heard three very talented female vocalists as a result. It was great to meet exactly the sort of people I'm after: singers looking for bands. I'm starting to think that maybe a girl would be better to front the band... who knows. I heard two good guy singers too. Maybe a massive-attack style group is the way forward?

I don't really know what I'm doing: and when I arrive two of my auditonees are already there. I hastily set-up the equipment and soon I'm trying to make our first candidate feel at ease. The auditions were held in dingy Scream Studios off Lewes road, contained in an ominous-looking building in a run-down back-street of Brighton. I lead our first singer down a long-corridor to our rehearsing room, which had the Bend's album cover painted on the door.

I was told by a singer friend of mine that it would be outright evil to insist on performing the demo first, so I offer the choice of singing 'Funeral for Democracy', or the cover/original they had also prepared. Some preferred the warm-up option, others dived right in. I sit by the P.A., trying not to show my ignorance for how it worked.

It’s a little unnatural to sit in a windowless room and sing to two strangers, but people seemed to handle it. At previous auditions, there has been at least one person who makes you squirm the entire time, but everyone who sang did so to a high standard. We chat a bit between the songs and the end. Everyone makes an effort, and says they like the song.

All seemed to go well, until we get out to the car park and find that we've been wheel-clamped. Apparently, a permit is needed to prevent this, but the studio guy forgot to mention it, and the fascist private security firm took no time to spring the trap and make a tidy £125 out of us. Curses.

But it’s worth it. A week or two later, and I'm in my makeshift-studio with a remarkable singer called Jess Garcia from Hove, who has just finished her vocal course at BIMM. I've spent awhile sorting out a spare room at a secret location for the studio, cobbling together just enough gear to make a basic recording. We're using SM58s rather than recording microphones, a laptop prone to stalling when it gets too hot and a mixing desk held-together with elastic bands.

Jess is going to a London singing college next year, at at the tender age of seventeen has barely begun on her career. She's interested in my song 'View from a mountain' as a pop-song that suits her style, so we've agreed to start with a recording of that. We run through the song a few times, myself at the piano, Jess reading lyrics from a sheet of paper duct-taped to the microphone stand, going over the melody, adjusting it for Jess' lower-to-midrange voice.

I am often too pedantic a person, but when it comes to recording I don't have the education to know what I'm asking for is right, achievable or even desirable. I left decisions to intuition, and found Jess to be receptive to new ideas and approaches, even when she's the one just finishing at a music college. We were up against time, in the end able to get about four clear takes of the song with which to make a basic comp. Fortunately, Jess is a doddle to work with; taking only one attempt to sing what is required, leaving room for some experiments with harmonies and melodies.

I wondered whether I come across as being too pedantic while I'm recording. On the one hand I want to be reasonably professional: dragging a singer a good way to make a record and make it worthwhile; but also to not come across like a cub-scout leader. Jess tells me its the most professional recording session she's done, which I take to mean I'm doing something right.

You can have a listen to what we came up with in that afternoon (with a little mixing afterwards!) by visiting my other blog.

If you are a singer, and would like to be involved on a hit record, don't be shy! I'm still on the look-out for talented singers, and I have bags of songs to produce and play to receptive ears in the music business. You can find out more about the project at dangarland.me.uk