Fed up with being annoyed. and fed up.

Its been weird coming back to Sweden after the Akaba tour. I generally feel a bit weird coming back. You have a short window when you have some kind of distance to everything you usually do. This has made me feel both really happy and slightly sullen.

Chernobyl 1985

There is a lot of things that Id like to get rid of. As a "member" in many bands I deal with everyday band things every day. And to be completely honest its wearing me down. Everything is friction. Everything is discussion. A lot of my energy is spent on doing other things rather than working with music.

Also People around me seem to think they know what Im supposed to do. A lot of people have suggestions. A classic one is that I should sell gear from the studio. Makes sense doesnt it.

Did a mix on the ...in these murky waters track Ophelia yesterday. A lot of fun. Im trying to pace the album now in a way to make it listenable. Not really sure on how Ill be releasing this. One possibility is to make a series of 7" singles. Would you buy one?

Anyways....tonight is the releaseparty for the Akaba album. Its at the studio you are very welcome to drop by if you are around. Three bands playing. Probably my last gig of the year.

A review of the Akaba album. They compare it to a cosy blanket which is just eerie because that was exactly was I was aiming for.

http://www.dt.se/noje/musik/dromskt-och-valproducerat

Now Playing:

I cant quit you baby - Led Zeppelin
This photograph is my proof - Paul Armfield

Now Reading:

No Logo - Naomi Klein
The Norm Chronicles - Stories and numbers about danger and death

Victoria Moralez and ...in these murky waters.

Victoria Moralez at the Pipeorgan

The day started with a visit from my old friend Victoria Moralez and Frank Sanderson. A great talk about first albums, sounds and general good times. And they had a chance to play with the bass Marimba and the Pipe Organ.

Ewik listening to the album so far.

Afterwards me and Ewik started taking apart the ...in these murky waters album and decided to push the release and releaseparty to November. If you havent heard any of it...its something extra. I wrote the songs using only my favorite instruments. The Optigan, the Mellotron, the Chamberlin, The Orchestron and the Chilton Talentmaker.

Here is a little taster....for you.

https://soundcloud.com/rothhandlestudios/in-these-murky-waters-berlin

It looks like we will be doing a pesky digital release on the album and then a sexy LP.

Today me and Ewik will continue working on all those extra things you have to do when you make an album. Pictures, videos etc.

Now playing: Mogwai & a bit of Depeche Mode

Ill shove my smile in your face

Yesterday I finished drumming and other bits on a new track for Tom Doncourt. I really like the track. I did a blend of the old stuff and the new trying to bridge it somewhat as the choruses were very straightforward. I have started stacking drumkit tambourines and using that instead of hihats or rides. I have almost stopped using cymbals on the kit. I overdub them later often using several different ones so that the person mixing can tune the kit using whatever colours they feel like.

I have gotten rid of clicks in the studio which feels great. Its interesting to work with something until you are done. Take a short break and then start with something. Things dont really go all that faster because you know how long they have taken.

One thing is that I often wrestle with ideas and I always lose. If I get an idea I have to do it. Otherwise I feel like I have shortchanged myself.A couple ideas I did yesterday for Tom that I lost to were....

The real thing isnt as out of focus as this is.

1. A Casio SK-1 sample of the kit starting on the 1s of every second bar.
2. A vinyl crackle that coincides with the Casio sample to give it more framing.
3. A modular white noise rhythm.
4. A Icebell on the every 4 bars in the verses. I pulled it thru the AKG reverb and reversed the reverb so there are these long reverse builds in the verses. Pretty tasty.

After working on the Doncourt stuff I moved on to do percussion overdubs for Ketil. On Ural #3 I did a sort of fake 12/8 african pattern in the choruses. So to emphasize that I did a lot of hand drumming. Two or three dubs on every drum in different pitches to widen it. Polyrhythmic cowbells chattering away.

Today Ill be working with In these murky waters and trying to tie up some loose ends.

Now Playing: Dizzy Gillespie - Salt Peanuts

Putting together the puzzle that is the Akaba album

Yesterday we mastered the Akaba album at Cutting Room in Stockholm with Björn Engelman. Björn was a delight to work with, very fast and extremely attentive. Its been a very long ride but its wonderful to hear the album in its completed form. Kjahart built the scenery and took the pictures for the cover. Henning Lindahl will (as usual) sort out everything with the cover. It feels great. We have been sweating over the liner notes for a while now but we think we have figured out who plays what on what track. The Akaba album is the only album to have been recorded in all five versions of the Roth Händle studio. 

The interesting thing is that there is already one track almost finished for the next one so hopefully we will be a bit snappier on the second one.

Today Ill be wrapping up the Tom Doncourt song Ive been working on as well as a night session with Carl Hasselrot. Its gonna be fun. I love doing different things and different styles of music. They cross polinate.

Now playing: John Coltrane - My Favorite things

Drumming for The shadow of Ketil Vestrum Einarsen

I think there is this Idea that all ones ideas should be these isolated Icebergs of immaculate beauty and artistic clarity. I wish it was like that. I am a lot simpler than that. Im more of a creative plumber than anything else. A lot of my computertime nowadays seems to be spent chatting away aimlessly with either Ketil (Vestrum Einarsen) or Jacob (Holm-lupo) in Norway. We bounce ideas and snippets of songs. Trying to figure out where we are going with his whole music thing. The other day Jacob sent me a link to the first UK album.

The dreaded 80s octoban

I hadnt heard it since the early 90s. I was surprised to hear how extremely dated it sounded. Bill Bruford was doing his early rototom stuff and it just had that weird feel and sound to it. Another thing that is really interesting about Rototoms is that sound pretty awful acoustically but record really well...When recording ideas for Ketils album Im letting all of these influences, sounds and ideas bleed in. Ive consciously broken up my playing using very few cymbals. I very seldom hit single hits on the snare drum and I avoid the 2 & 4. This opens up for using small tight drums that cut thru and are tonal and sharp....remembering my conversation with Jacob about UK I decided to get rid of the Hihat and throw in a 12" Rototom there instead. I do all the 8 note stuff with shakers and tambourines instead so that it can be edited sharper for effect.

A tambourine pile

Yesterday I recorded the drums for the third track on the album...weirdly enough called #3 for the timebeing. I started thinking about my childhood and the drummers I liked and as a kid I loved Duran Duran. Roger Taylor was my favorite drummer. He always looked like he was struggling. But always overdubbed these cool accents on rototoms.

One of my childhood heroes with a rototom.

The track starts with a really quiet opening section so I decided to do something extreme for a prog song....played brushes. I love the sound even though I am always struggling when recording. It has to have that feel. Then I started thinking of another of my favorite drummers Stewart Copeland and brought out one of my Octobans and built the 16th note rhythms around that configuration. As I am avoiding the snare on the 2 and 4 I built a sort of tambourine pile on the hihat stand that plays that part. 

So it all came from hearing a bit of UK and thinking about what drummers I liked as a kid. 

Today Ill be working on a new Tom Doncourt track and the Akaba album will be mastered at Cutting room.

NP: Björk - Biophilia

" We dont do Dancing Queen " - Marty & Elaine at the Dresden Bar

In a weak and slightly confused moment I told the barmanager at the Hotel I frequent that their music is sub par and they need to sharpen the game. They responded "sure thing....can you spin some records here on the 11th of October?"

And I said of course I can.

And now its turned into some kind of small monster that both entices and terrorizes me. Before I go to sleep I start thinking of the first song Ill be playing or the last one.

What should I play? Ill be bringing my 7" collection which is probably 4-500 singles now. I need a single roadie. That sounds weird.

People drink and mingle but it still needs to have that kind of hotel bar classiness to it. Modern and old. I love the fact that just playing vinyl limits a couple of things. What songs I play and also how long my pee breaks will be. Do you take requestes..."No we dont do Dancing Queen". The other day I looked at Alannah Myles Black velvet on 7" and a voice in my head kind of spluttered and said NO.

Åsa is getting closer to finishing the Akaba album which feels great. Yesterday she mastered 94 with Björn Engelman. This Picture means next to nothing but it breaks up the words in a way that makes my rambling easier to tolerate.

Here is another picture from the Akaba "finishing the album sessions" please note the difference.

Yes! You guessed it! Åsa is on the right side of the man in front of a computer.

We also received two mixes of Lifetimespenders from Giles Martin. This track features one of Swedens best guitarists, Einar Baldursson. I also apparently play the Cabasa on the track which is interesting as I despise the Cabasa just as much as it despises me. Its not a love-hate relationship. Its all hate. Problem is that it sounds really nice...So apart from my troublesome Cabasa playing things are moving forward rapidly. I think the idea is to have the album mastered and done next Friday. It is the only album that has had parts recorded in all 5 Roth Händle studios.

Now playing: John Coltrane - My Favorite Things

Im sorry but we have to let you go.

Yesterday I finished sorting out the final track for Ketil. Not that I dont have anymore Ideas. I just feel that I need to move on because I could probably spend a week on the track. Would it be better if I spent a week adding different sounds and textures? Probably not.

¨

One of my favorite things to do is to record multiple overdubs with triangles. You get a sort of weird pingy mosaic that can easily replace other 8th note stuff. I did that for Ketil yesterday. I also added african shakers, Maracas, chimes, finger cymbals, crickets (with the AKG reverb), tambourines, jingle sticks and bells, six snaredrums, castanets, gran cassas.

A picture from last nights cover shoot with Akaba.

Need to run....Ive got a 8 o clock mastering appointment with Akaba.

Now Playing: Mark Eitzel

Headlines

Yesterday I continued working on Ketils album adding more percussion and colours. I also edited in Roland TR-707 Handclaps on all of my Snaredrum hits for the first section. Why? Because Ketil is worth it. Today Ill be finishing the end Orchestral section multidubbing snaredrums, Becken etc. Hopefully Ill have time to add some Celestes and Glockenspiels as well.

Tonight Akaba will be in the studio taking pictures with Kjahart for her debut solo album. The cover is the first thing you see when you pick up an album. Tomorrow she will be mastering two tracks for radio release.

I heard the mastered version of the Anima Morte album and it is nothing less than stellar. The band has really evolved and outdone themselves this time. Really stoked about this release. Loads of great songs and sounds.

The secret pan-european project Ive been working with is slowly moving into place. I get mixes sent to me from a undisclosed location. Its also slightly terrifying. This morning I listened to a mix and I didnt recognize my drumming.....at all. So I went and checked the original files and it was all me.

Very exciting stuff indeed.

Now Playing: American Music Club

The reversed japanese man

Things are going according to plan which finds me both puzzled and worried. Yesterday I recorded drums on the final track on the Ural album (which is the working title for Ketils new project). I wish I could say that Im done but I messed up the order so there is one more track to go.
I think I recorded them in the order of 2,1 and 4.

My drumming on this album is different. I have approached it in a new way. Trying to break up normal patterns and loop it a bit more. The songs are massive with sheets of sounds and chords washing over the listener. Its better if the drums are there supporting in a weird way than chattering away in that traditional sense. Plus its far more interesting for me to do.

I also did three different modular noise patterns.

#1 The Electro Harmonix Random tone generator thru a delay and into the Prophet 5 filter controlled by a very slow LFO. Bleeps and squeaks abound. It ends in a spring reverb.

#2 The voice pattern..A japanese language record and the talking synth thru a tempo delay. Same general treatmenat but obviously more vocal and in tempo. Very odd. The talking synth is vomiting vowels in tempo as the japanes man is talking in reverse in the background.

#3 White noise and buddhist chanting. White Noise thru the delay and a original Buddha box (as in the ones you get at a temple) thru the filter and then out thru the delay. Loads of resonance for those Jet plane type sounds we all love.

The best thing about all of this is that I have already sent the files to Ketil so according to the new Fall of 2014 rules it has more or less left my table.

Today will be short as Im picking up the kids so Ill try to finish this....! Feels pretty spectacular.

Now playing: Thus Owls (because they are amazing)

Beating a horse to water.

In the middle of drumming again. This week will be mainly focused around two of my favorite artists. Ketil Vestrum Einarsen from Norway who is a softspoken volcano of creativity and ideas. I have played on two tracks so far and started to record on the final track on his new album. I wasnt in the studio for very long but I was really happy with the stuff that I did. Ketil is really great at programming drums in a kind of swingy, groovy loopy fashion. The kind of stuff that I cant play in a convincing manner.

So I started using my old Casio SK-1 and started sampling his rhythms. Its gonna sound great thru filters and echoes...I found a really good bell hit on a 7" single with african drumming which turned into a snare. I will be drumming on top of all of this but it just feels great to create an atmosphere with different elements.

Oh yeah...and the other legend Ill be working with is Tom Doncourt and his new album. Havent starting taking apart the track yet but Tom is one of those guys who will always surprise you. His music is smart, multilayered and frighteningly personal.

Had a weird dream last night. I dreamt that I was live producing the Doors onstage at a gig and was sort of conducting and building tracks infront of an audience. I was playing double drums with John Densmore and it constantly felt like I was rushing. Jim Morrison seemed happy though.

Its gonna be a great day. Ive made up my mind.

NP: Sufjan Stevens

ZZ Top, Akaba and Moog taurus pedals.

Its Saturday and a good one as well...Ive just spent the better part of the day at Riksmixningsverket with Mats Lundgren (Atlas/Pineforest Crunch) working on the edits on the Akaba album. I think we made it a bit leaner and faster. Radio apparently isnt too fond of the long noisy instrumental bits.

Its interesting bouncing between the tracks that we have been working on for so long. The album hasnt taken a long time to record its just been incredibly spread out but now it looks like we are done....and we might even have the first song for the next album ready.

Im really proud of the album. The songs are like postcards from where we were at the time. There are songs that are completely drenched with the Korg Ms-10 just because it was my favorite synth at the time. There is one track that is more or less based on Casio SK-5 sampled rhythms in octaves. The newer stuff is also interesting. The new Nord drum is getting used a fair bit as well as the Yamaha SK-10. We have tried to be smart about the Taurus pedals as we use them so much....But it shows up on a fair amount of tracks. The Taurus pedals have always been one of my favourite sounds as it makes everything on top sound amazing. I bought them in 1998 at a music store in Houston for 800 dollars. The music store was next door to a bar owned by one of the guys from ZZ top. I remember sitting in the bar drinking a beer sort of sweating afterwards because of the rush of finding them. I have used them with pretty much every band I have ever played with. Akaba uses them live. Together with Tobias guitar and loops and my stuff it becomes a really nice blend.

Im really happy that the album has retained the feel of what the band sounds like live. A lot of Baritone guitar, electronic rhythms and of course Åsas voice. Something tells me its gonna be surreal to see the cover and actually hold it in my hand.

Possible final mix for Akaba...

Its been going on for a while now but its seems like the Akaba album is finally done. I did a first mix on the final track yesterday (It has a working title to horrible to mention so Ill just call it Voldemort). Voldemort was very refreshing to mix as it is a track that has less than 24 tracks on it and it was recorded without a clicktrack. Its got that cool acoustic live feel that everybody likes.

Its a pianobased song with Tobias Ljungkvist playing the grand Piano and then there is the Roth Händle Pipe organ in the choruses and a splash of Mellotron at the end. Its really cool. Now we just need to figure out how to place it on the album...If you put at the end it sort of becomes "the quiet ending track". Voldemort is fairly depressing for being a first track...Its too different to just put in the middle. It sounds like theres going to be discussions.

We will be doing final editing tomorrow and then it is off to Abbey Road and Giles Martin for mastering.

There is also small Kaukasus mumblings going on as Im uploading files for a new track to the others. Its a 11 minute thing with the working title "Sliding Blue". Its gonna be great.

NP: Elliott Smith: No Name#3

The Utopia synth and the Waterphone

Yesterday was good....On and off I have been working on a secret album....adding drums and some synths and general havoc. I think I might have finished my work on the album and had a great time in doing so. Fall is slowly creeping onto Stockholm making it painfully beautiful.

I also did one of my favorite things which is to buy fresh vegetables and start the day by making a slow cooking soup....all the flavours just meshing together hour after hour. Making a lot of it so that I can eat it thruout the week.

The drumming was fairly simple using my Sonor kit and minimal amount of cymbals. Hihat, Crash and Ride. I have started using my 20" zildjian medium ride again which was my first "real" cymbal. I used it on the entire first Änglagård album and has been picked up from time to time. During the Pineforest years I put rivets in it.

After that I did some percussion overdubs just to glue the kit together. Its a fairly slow slong so I added cymbal swells to make it more dramatic and grand...I also did a Roth Händle classic. Since Nanook of the North I have always liked tremolos on cymbalswells...It gives them a kind of feverish shivering sound.

The guitarist in the band loves tremolo guitar so I decided to do a special and pull the cymbals thru a leslie....going from fast to slow to make it more dramatic....Its a cool effect. Try it...!

After that I did some modular stuff...the Utopia synth thru a Polivox filter thru a spring reverb thru a analog delay...One take of noise and then copied to another channel and reversed. Ended the day with some vinyl scratches added to the bassdrum to give it some framing and some bowed Waterphone.

A slow but creative day....and the soup was amazing.

NP:
Hauscka - Subconscious
Simon & Garfunkel - So long Frank Lloyd Wright

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Most things are impossible and unnecessary. Difficult and uncomfortable. Over the last couple of months Ive encountered situations where peoples faith has faltered. Situations that had endless potential fall apart due to lack of faith or capacity to see the bigger picture. I fully realize that there are crass realities that need to be considered but if I lived in crass reality I wouldnt be here today. And I definitely wouldnt be making the music that Im making.

If I stop believing in the next album, the next overdub, the next guitarchord, the next tour. Everything stops. And everything goes silence. Everything goes dark.

I listen all the time. Sometimes too much.

NP: Bon Iver - Re:Stacks

Creating space

Its odd being in the studio. Im walking around by myself and trying to sort of make new room. In the studio as well as inside my head for new things. Im a slow cleaner. The whole Necromonkey tour will cast a very long shadow for a long time. Im trying to piece together gigs and tours for next year to keep the ball rolling. If everything falls into place 2015 will be a very interesting year indeed.

Reading the last issue of Swedish magazine Gaffa and saw that Yes got 5/5 for their latest album. King Crimson are apparently playing Starless.

I have started reading Riders on the storm by Doors drummer John Densmore. David from Necromonkey is a huge Doors fan but I have always been turned off by Morrisons dodgy poetry. The book seems to be a good read though. Reading it makes me want to play in a band....which is weird considering thats pretty much all I do.

I bought a jacket at a fleamarket in North Carolina. Ill be wearing it until it gets too cold in Sweden to remind me that that there is a place where its still warm and humid.

NP: 

Stina Nordenstam - Something nice

David Byrne - Walk in the dark

Sufjan Stevens - Romulus

Time and how to fight back

Coming back from a tour like Necromonkeys latest US adventure it feels like there is a window where you have a chance to evaluate what you are up to and what you are doing. One of the things that I realized very quickly coming back was how little I missed having my phone charged and being "connected". I can generally get all my computer stuff done in maybe an hour a day. Very few things are that acute....I still have a phone...and no I still dont like it.

Also I want to simplify things. Focus more on one thing at a time....which isnt really like me at all. Atleast I can try.

So the latest plans for the studio are fairly simple. I need to start by cleaning the place up so that I can see the floor again. I remember it as being kind of nice.

When I have cleaned it up...Ill make a new fresh mess....because that is how I work.

I think Ill be drumming today. I think its gonna be great.

I also have some other Ideas.

We played with Akaba in Örebro on Friday night. A lot of fun. Good music and good conversation.

I get along without you very well. Of course I do.

Now Playing: Frank Sinatra - I get along without you very well
Now Reading: John Densmore - Riders of the storm

Home again

Home again

After a wonderful tour with Necromonkey in the US Im trying to get back into the swing of things at home. The gigs and people we met were fantastic...I have always loved touring and being on the road. It is a accelerated lifestyle to say the least but so much fun. 

We played New Jersey, New York, Baltimore and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The transition to home isnt all that easy. Every night I dream of the tour, about getting up to a new venue. Love being with the wife and kids again but the idea of Swedes and chirping mobiles everywhere has become a turnoff of momentous porportions. We are also in the middle of a election where everyone in the entire country seems to want to shove their opinion in your face. 

Im blocking people on facebook left right and center.

Tonight Ill be playing with Akaba in Örebro. 

Anyways Im back. Trying to figure it out.

Video of the day March 29th

Depeche Mode, Astral Projection, the Propellerheads and Moa.

David recording the Yamaha CS-10 for Necroplex

Studio Update #5

Studio Update #5

Things have been awfully quiet on the blogging front for a while....which isnt as weird as one might think. The reason why I have just been automatically posting stuff is because I have been terribly busy.

My wife left for the states two weeks ago mumbling around at SxSW and San Francisco which left me with three kids and an awful amount of mixing to do. So I tried to focus on eating, sleeping and working....a bit of reading not a lot of writing. This last month or so Ive finished reading Donna Tartts the secret history and a Biography about Roald Dahl.

So maybe I should do I slight bounce around the bands that are currently active.

Kaukasus. We are just about wrapping up the cover and are working on promo material. The first single "lift the memory" will be out on the 7th of march.

Anima Morte. Are bouncing in and out of the studio recording a lot of cool stuff...they have been in Örebro recording Guitars and bass so everything seems to be on the move. We will continue on Thursday.

Vak. Will enter the studio to start recording their debutalbum. A full band recording which I am really looking forward to. The stuff the studio was built for. 

Owl and a half: Im thinking of doing a fairly simple digital release of the debutalbum "the complete Johnny Cash discography". If there sufficient interest Ill make a small batch of real ones.

...in these murky waters: the Optigan/chamberlin/Mellotron/Orchestron album. So far I think I have mixed 8 tracks...which means that of the original batch I have two left...but in the meanwhile I have written and recorded four new tracks that I probably want on the album.

A first taste of the album

Necromonkey: We are currently rehearsing for our upcoming gigs. This last sunday we rehearsed with the remarkable guitarist Einar Baldursson who will be joining us for the next two gigs.

16th April at Stampen

3rd of May at Bryggarsalen

Akaba: Giles Martin is currently mixing the final tracks at Abbey Road. 

Now playing: ...In these murky waters - Ophelia

Video of the day 21st of March 2014

David recording Mellotrons for Vera Vinter. What a waste.

Mellotrons and Vera Vinter

Video of the day 18th of March

Little boxes with Chilton Talentmaker

Chilton to Introduce New Organ: The TalentMaker A new optical organ called the TalentMaker will be introduced at the NAMM Show according to F. Roy Chilton, president of the Chilton Corporation, Torrance, California. The new instrument has 24 chord buttons, 37 keys and has such features as instantaneous electronic speed and pitch change, slide balance control, 12′ speaker, 24 Watts of power and vinyl grain wood cabinet according to Chilton. Anticipated retail is about $395.00. “The TalentMaker is a quality musical instrument built by one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of electronic musical instruments, The Galanti Electronics Group, with eight factories located in Italy and Ireland”, said Chilton. The TalentMaker operates on special optical discs featuring a “Triple Track” (patent applied for) process which produces a clear, wide range tone according to Chilton. Chilton, a veteran in the music industry, was formerly president of Thomas Organ, Magna Electronics and Optigan Corporation. The Chilton Corporation is a subsidiary of General Electro Music and the new instrument will be displayed in Space 27A, B&H.

Video of the day 17th of March 2014

Oboelines for Vera Vinter

A great idea

Video of the day 11th of March 2014

Video of the day is from the 11th of March 2009.

Matti Bye recording the Yamaha GS-2

Video of the day March 9th 2014

How it all starts with smiles and laughter!

First Änglagård drumming session at Atlantis

Video of the day March 9th 2014

This was recorded at Gösta Berlings sagas rehearsalroom/studio in Vinsta. 

A very interesting but somewhat depressing period. 

Shep recording vocals on Almost Done

Video of the day March the 7th 2014

Acoustic guitar for vegas

Video of the day March 5th 2014

Recording Tuba on the new Änglagård album

Video of the day March 2nd 2014

Recording Baritone guitars for vegas

Can opener overdub

Video of the day February the 26th

The wonderful Finn Harrison in my kitchen.

Told you so. 

Finn Harrison in my kitchen

Studio Update #4

Me and Fredrik from the last session (Photo by Martin Gustafsson)

Today the sessions for the Anima Morte album will be continue. With a bit of luck there will be a fair amount of Mellotronrecording and weirdness. Last session we recorded the Roth Händle pipe Organ, Loads of Mellotron (Eight voice choir, String section, Black sabbath choirs, Pipe Organ, Tubular Bells and Timpani) 

More eight voice with Anima Morte

Its gonna be a lot of fun....and with a bit of luck some of it might end up on "tape" as well...

Studio update #3

Studio update #3

Apparently the first batch of Necromonkey CDs have reached the US shores which makes me very happy. Its taking alot longer than we hoped for to get the discs over there so we appreciate your patience. If you want to order one please drop us a line at Necromonkeyness@gmail.com

Today we recorded vocals on the Akaba track Riflegun. Åsa is very convinced the title is gonna stay...Im not too sure. It really is a pleasure working on this album. We have been at it for some time but it still feels very fresh and Im also under the illusion that we know what is going on thematically.

After Åsa left I started mixing track 6 for the ...in these murky waters album today. This track is based around the Optigan disc Banjo sing a long which is a weirder one. Not so much weird but I have very little in my life that connects to finger picking banjos.

Ripping apart Optigan Banjos

As I am working on the album I try really hard to make it as interesting as possible. Sometimes it is about breaking up the arrangement or shifting the focus. In this video Im doing a treatment on the Banjos...where Im pitching it down and puling it thru some effects. When its played at the right speed it sounds a lot more....interesting....I think.

The thing is by doing this I started getting other Ideas and added some Mellotron Timpanis and all of a sudden everything changed.

Book review : How music works - David Byrne

How Music Works - David Byrne

I have been a fan of David Byrne for pretty much as long as I can remember. As a kid I saw Talking Heads videos on MTV and was always impressed by how creative, strong and weird I thought he was. Also I liked the fact that he was smart, arty and funny. It was always inviting.

I bought my first David Byrne book in japan. It was a book of photos from his travels. On the same trip I bought a book with Freakshow posters. And who wrote the foreword in the book? David Byrne. A couple of years later I stumbled across his book on Bicycles (It really is the future, you know).

As I have started driving to work I usually turn on a ted talk that I can listen to in the car. Its a great format and I have the illusion that some of it might stick. When I saw that David Byrne had done one I was very happy indeed. He spoke about the architecture of the rooms were music is performed and how it effects the music that is played there. Or the other way around. Operahouses, punkclubs etc etc   

David Byrnes Ted talk

A couple of months later I stumbled across his new book and it wasnt a hard sell.

In this fairly lengthy book David Byrne is doing two things...From his own experiences and studies he wants to explain how Music, the Music business and how Music performance works....also he is trying to avoid an ageing rockstar biography. And he is a enthusiatic writer. He has read books and studies on the subject. He writes about music history, music architecture, resonances and acoustic phenomena (I had no idea all the planets had their own harmonic character...) and the finances of the modern recording industry.

David Byrne is a writer who feels strongly about his subject and he has a naturally inquisitive mind....but he looses me occasionally in the book. Especially the chapter about the economics of the Music Industry become lengthy and dare I say it....boring. It is very difficult to make ends meet in the modern music industry....I sort of had a clue about that. But Byrne is passionate about it. So in this case maybe it isn´t the writers fault but the readers...I cant muster up the energy to look at pie charts of record label finances. I probably should but it doesnt light my fire.

Now and then David Byrne writes from his own experiences with CBGBs, "world music", Brian Eno and the Talking Heads....and all of a sudden his language changes in the book. He is a lot more fluid and to the point. He is funny and witty and the words come easy. I love these sections and probably thats why I liked his book on bicycles too....Subjects that reside within him are simple for him to write about, stories and tales he knows and as a result...while Im reading I hear his voice in my head. In the rest of the book I sort of see him shuffling thru papers, post its and quotes from other sources.  

A good read....but bring sandwiches and coffee. It might take a while.

Video of the day 24th of February - Tobias recording the Stylophone 350s

One girl playing the Stylophone 350s and three obviously deaf people looking on.

....let me explain...The sound of the Stylophone isnt necessarily the smoothest sound you will ever hear. But it has a weird way of fitting in a mix. The most common one is a small toy-like instrument that is played with a pen. The 350s is a attempt to make something a bit more....professional. I have used it on recordings with Vera Vinter, Akaba, Vijaya, Andreas & jag and Necromonkey

Stylophone 350s.

...and here is what Wikipedia thinks of the 350s.

The more versatile 350s version of the instrument was used by UK experimentalists Camberwell Now, and appeared on their album All's Well. The 350s dual-stylus version was also extensively used as a lead instrument by British band Pulp from 1992 to 1994. Its glacial tones are particularly evident on their breakthrough album His 'n' Hers (most notably the songs "Happy Endings" and "Pink Glove") whilst the 1993 album, Intro – The Gift Recordings, features a track called "Styloroc (Nites of Surburbia)" which revolves around a riff played on the first model. Pop/rocker Richard Barone features the 350s prominently on his 2010 album "Glow" (Bar/None Records), particularly on the title track, its instrumental reprise, and cover of T.Rex's "Girl," on which it is played by producer Tony Visconti.

Video of the day 23rd of February - Fredrik from Anima Morte recording Mellotron 8 voice choir

Todays video is from last weeks Anima Morte sessions.

The Mellotron he is playing on is the first Mellotron I got I bought it from the bassplayer of Änglagård. Its been toured a fair amount and is in good working shape...I use it pretty much every day. On top of the Mellotron you can see Markus Reschs new creation. The digital Mellotron, the M4000D.

Fredrik at Mellotron #1517

Other people who have enjoyed the 8 voice choir include Genesis, Radiohead too mention but a few. 

Video of the day 22nd of February 2014....Akaba sessions.

Tobias Ljungkvist and the Vox String Thing

A great day in the studio yesterday. We started off listening to a Akaba track called Everything Matters to sort of close the book on the track but realized very quickly that it needed....lead vocals and drums (maybe).

So we moved on to another track with the horrible working title Rifle gun. Its a weird track and were are not completely sure wether it will make it on to the album. So we started by having Tobias recording his signature instrument, the baritone guitar. 

Tobias recording Baritone guitar

I think its very important to do stuff in productions that work as question marks. So we pulled out an old Vox String Thing and pulled it thru NecroDavids Peavey.

Recording the tremeloed Vox String Thing

This pushed the track in a completely new direction so we recorded two takes with the tremelo at different settings to create a weird fluttering effect. As bass we added the Stylophone 350s. To give the choruses more high end energy and movement we recorded two takes of Mono/poly arpeggios. By doing this we had changed the whole feel of the track making it much more electronic in a slight 80s fashion. The half tempo drums I had recorded sounded utterly out of place and probably wont be used. To get the drums more harmonic we used the Vocoder plus to make the electribe follow the chords....and then we ended it all by recording a Chamberlin Piano thru a rather dull sounding Boss Leslie pedal.

Video of the day February the 21st 2014

Pipeorgan for Andreas & Jag

Risberg & Stumm

Risberg & Stumm

Had a wonderful meeting last night with these two fine gentleman....and if it all works out like it should there should be listenables out before you know it. I might need to refreshen my gas can miking technique but apart from that its gonna be smooth sailing. 

Very Exciting. Indeed.

The Akai DPS-24

Video of the day 20th of February 2014

When I write my blogs I realize that its very hard to keep someones attention for a very long time while so by having pictures people find it easier to keep their attention as well as initially capturing it. It is also a great way of adding a layer of info.

Video of the day is of Martin von Bahr recording Oboe on Necromonkeys track Transteens. Its from the 20th of February last year.

So I went online and searched for vintage oboe picture and this is what I found.

I think I need to have a little chat with Mr.von Bahr.

The future of Rock as we know it.

Martin has payed on a bunch of tracks for Necromonkey and is a real trooper. He also played a Oboe quartet on Vera Vinters drömde om dig. 

Video of the day 19th of February 2014

Recording murfed Omnichord for my dear friend Ketil.

A Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument, introduced in 1981 and manufactured by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate, and buttons for major, minor, and diminished chords. The most basic method of playing the instrument is to press the chord buttons and swipe the touch plate with a finger or guitar pick in imitation of strumming a stringed instrument.

Omnichord thru the Moogerfooger Murf

Nowadays me and Ketil have a band together called Kaukasus together with british singer and multitalent Rhys Marsh. We will be releasing a single in March and

the album will explode onto the world..in April....

Studio Update #2

Studio update

Yesterday I did the final mx of the fourth track on the Optigan album. Its called November and its a really weird track with a blend of oddness. Really pleased with the outro which consists of Chamberlin piano thru a leslie and the Orchestron Piano.

I started working on the cover yesterday. I think Ill be listing he instruments used...my problem is that I cant remember whats used...Its also quite difficult to decipher.

You might wonder why I have a picture of a crime scene at the top...Well its fairly obvious when you think about it. Today Im recording with Anima Morte for their upcoming album. Im guessing there will be a fair amount of Mellotroning and synthing. Videos and pictures will follow..probably. Returning to the crime scene.

....and then tonight Ill be going to the Swedish grammy awards.

Video of the day February 18th 2014

Here is a bit of history...A stroll around Roth Händle before it became Roth Händle.

Roth Händle V before it became RH V

Book review : Daily Rituals - Mason Curry

This book is a collection or recollections of how different artists and writers work. Quite simply a description of their working day. When do they get up? What do they have for breakfast? For how long do they write or compose?

Every artist/writer/composer is awarded a page or two and this means that there isnt really time to get in deep but what emanates is a pattern of how similar people in general are. The wake up, have breakfast and work.

Stravinsky, Agatha Christie, Hemingway, Jackson Pollock are just a couple of the many artists featured in this fairly nerdy book. As somewhat of a fan I thought it was interesting to see how the Beatwriters werent in the book at all...perhaps because they had no rituals?

Also I find it kind of funny that when Im reading about someone I admire or I have read or listened to my attention perks up. The book has a tendency to fall into a slight rutt of men drinking coffee and eating eggs. Which obviously isnt the writers fault. Im a man and I drink coffee and I eat Eggs....so now you know my dirty secret.

Interesting bits that caught my attention.

Truman Capote couldnt begin or end anything on a Friday.

Kingsley Amis always stopped writing when he knew exactly what was to come next, just to simpilfy the next days work.

Truman Capote Writing

Throughout the book Im astonished of how drugs and alcohol see to be a vital part of most entrys daily regimen. I realize that this is part for chock effect. But I still find it very impressive that they get anything done at all. Gin, whiskey, wine, lunch martinis, amphetamines. One pattern is that appears is how the everyday life starts out fairly disciplined with a definite ratio of everything. 3 parts writing one part drinking....and then after a couple of years the scale starts tipping.

Also I realized while reading that I feel that Im envious of the lifestyle of some of the writers. Sleeping until 11 and the butler brings you coffee and the eggs. Beethoven apparently even had time to count his coffee beans everyday so its just right. I usually settle for black and as close to me as possible.

After I had read 74% of the book (I read it on my Kindle so I know exactly) I asked my wife. Isnt it weird how everyone in the book has their lunches, cocktails, breakfasts, exercises, cupboard gin down to a perfect science but noone in the book ever has sex. Not one mention of it.

Fast forward to 76%... George Simenon apparently had sex four times a day. Often with four different women. He estimated that he had had sex with 10 000 women in his life. His wife said it was an exaggeration....it probably was just 1200. 

One afterthought you get from the book is that it makes you think of your own idiosyncracies. What do I need to get my creative juices flowing? For how long can I work? What do I need to wear to by at my creative peak?

Anyways...Is it a good read? I would say so. Its interesting and fun but Its not the kind of book you should read in one sitting but hit a favorite artist now and then. 

Ill easily give it two of my halfassed pages in longhand and a lunch martini. 

Now Playing (As I wrote this):

Sufjan Stevens: No mans land

Eels - Railroad man

Pajama Club - From a friend to a friend

Reminder - So Gently (Not my choice....Spotify on Random)

Bowerbirds - La denegracion

PJ Harvey - The last living rose

Richard Moult - The five daughters I

Video of the day 17th of february 2014

A great day in the studio today even though slept. Was plagued by nightmares. I shot one person and stabbed another. The guy I shot was a politician and the other one was a painter that I stabbed due to poor quality of his art. I woke up in a really bad mood.

Todays video of the day is a fairly boring one...But it was recorded exactly 5 years ago. So there is some history going on here...sort of. This was recorded at Roth Händle III in Sundbyberg. Really cosy studio but it fell apart at the end.

Moogerfooger lowpass filter

And as usual I will end by presenting some other users of this fine piece of equipment include...Fatboy Slim, John Frusciante and The Crystal Method.