Being deployed to occupied territory

This is a very exciting part of the IML process (which many of us have now been through five times already). Once we've all written and submitted our backing tracks, the commanding officer (Jules this time round) has a good old listen, and decides who to assign each track to. The decision making process involved with this is intriguing. I've had the privilege of calling the shots during this phase on two previous albums (Superheroes of Science, and, Ancien Greeks and Circus Freaks). The first time round, it being our first ever album and all, was largely a process of reuniting musicians who I felt should make more music together, or mixing up friends who hadn't necessarily worked with each other before. Subsequent albums coordinated by other people, I guess, followed different processes. Maybe people have assigned musical styles to vocalists they felt would suit the, or maybe the commanders have challenged lyricists with genres, picked to push them?

I wonder what Jules' tactic is going to be. As an artist working in this album rather than someone help run it, it's intriguing to wait and hear where I'm going to be deployed:

• The badlands of the avant garde, a lyrical warzone where, finding a melody, let alone writing lyrics can drive a soldier mad?
• A civil war where different musical styles have risen up to fight against their alterative musical style oppressors? In this land, would I side with the rebels (folk-rock) or the government (hippity-hop).
• An easy war, where the musical style, structure of the song, is very accommodating. A land where as vocalist/lyricist you are welcomed by the populous and encouraged to help achieve stability.

Jules will no doubt be looking at the psychological profiles of the soldiers in our squad and deciding which zones are a best fit. I just hope that wherever he deploys me, I get to see some action, and come back alive.