A choir – a choir! I woke up that morning like a kid at Christmas. Don’t care what kind of choir! Don’t even care if they’re good! Multiple voices raised in song will give me whole-body goosebumps every time.

A day before, the gorgeous soul singer Queen came in to sing some verses on Amazing Grace. She was a bit nervous to be recorded, and her first few tries were tentative, but when Pro-Tools wasn’t running, she really let loose – singing a hymn of her own with palpable religious rapture. We were stunned. When the final members of the choir arrived and started warming up in the studio I just couldn’t keep it together…. The sound was so beautiful and the words so simple and true – I was welling up. After our experiences thus far, it’s no wonder I’m a wee bit raw.

There are also a few geckos living behind the curtains in my room, so I’m a little sleep-deprived. Later that evening Damhnait and I added rich blankets of "Mmm"s and "Ooo"s to their chorus. My sleep that night under the mosquito net was deep and dreamless.

Jonny, my epidemiologist friend, arrived the next afternoon. Fate would have it that he was working in Congo, a three hour bus ride away. Isn’t it eerie how some people seem sent to you? And seemingly against all odds, they’ll reappear until the lesson of their presence is learned? It was so surreal to see him standing there, bearded and smiling, after almost three years. I tried to ask bluntly “How does one process all of this? How is it possible to return to life in the comfortable west?” but all I could muster was a discussion of the last novel I’d read – which, coincidentally, was the last novel he had read, Steinbeck’s East of Eden (crrrreeeepy). Something about discussing this novel answered the questions I wanted to ask him, in a way that no direct answer could have… He then proceeded to show me computer programs he has written for malnutrition and mortality statistics. (eyebrow raise) Yep. I know.

He quickly befriended the entire brood, thankfully, because I had to get back upstairs to the studio for some organ tracks. Could there be two more disparate professions in the universe? How are we pals? Strange…

After a long session six of us took a walk, under the twinkling stars, to a nearby restaurant. We ate delicious thin-crust pizza on the terrace with a spectacular view of Kigali. After only being able to stomach a banana for the last three days I had to restrain myself from moaning aloud with pleasure. In those hours I said millions, definitely millions, of thank yous – for the stars, the food, the life inside my cells, my precious companions and their clear, sincere eyes – each pair, an exquisite puzzle.

The next day I wanted to jump for joy. Oh health, never again shall you be invisible to me! I shall feel you, appreciate you, thank you!

Our producer and recording engineer David Bottrill and I have bonded over morning coffee. The man is working so extremely hard! He’s pooped, you can tell, but he’d never say so. When everyone is out of patience, he’s upstairs, headphones on, sifting through drum loops. And in Kigali, every day there are numerous power outages. We could be mid-way through a great take and – … out. The poor guy – this recording owes much to Rwandan cigarettes. David mixed my last record The Baroness, and I’ve a sneaking suspicion that his recommendation has landed me here in this incredible opportunity, but back then we didn’t really get to know each other. 14 days in Africa making music on a deadline between gut-churning, culture-shocking exposure to humanitarian projects? If that doesn’t make you fast friends, I don’t know what will. It’s a privilege to actually see behind a few layers of your fellow man… I’m starting to know and appreciate each shining, unique personality in the rest of the crew as well – the marvelous intellect behind Derek’s goofy, gregarious exterior, the vast knowledge and love of music behind Scott’s quiet poker face… Humans – at least from North American culture – kind of circle around each other in the beginning, slightly hidden, guarded and suspicious, until a few cards are laid and each player takes another little gamble…

I’m off to sing my verse of “Amazing Grace”…