The embarrassement of the solitary handclap

At the start of every new year I think we all have some kind of Idea that we are going to make some big massive changes. Lose weight, stop smoking, stop eating roadkill, no more doubletracking Mellotrons etc. Im not really big on those massive commitments or resolutions because I dont think they really work. Roadkill is tasty in all its forms so why quit if you´re not getting sick.

My resolutions are kind of easy. Im going to record shitloads of music and release it and tour the world. It makes perfect sense. As everyone Im wrestling with the notion of a fairly indifferent world and a complete avalanche of new music every day but the thing is that when I mumble away loudly in Sollentuna. The outside world has very little to do with what I do. My ideas come from the inside.

A couple of weeks back I was at Deluxe Music in Stockholm and spoke to Jesper Skarin, the Bassplayer and singer of Vak and occasional Necromonkey Bassist, Vocalist and Percussionist. We both were complaining about bashing our heads against the wall concerning liveshows and indifferent or ineffective record labels. Jesper said "If I was 20 I would have been completely heartbroken by all of this but once you realize that you arent quitting anyway, that this is what you actually do, everything becomes simpler". I find that to be very true...that and a big chunk of "Ill show the bastards".

Ok, so what albums are coming out this year? Well we have Il Tempio delle Clessidre (ITA), White Willow (NOR), Pixie Ninja (NOR), Fredrik Klingwall (SWE), Nacht (SWE) Necromonkey (SWE), Weserbergland (NOR), Tom Doncourt (USA), ...in these murky waters (SWE), Molesome (SWE)...as far as I know...

Molesome is as you might know my own solo project and I think Ill start the year by printing a small batch of my second album Dial. If you want to hear it its on bandcampf.

https://roth-handle.bandcamp.com/album/dial

The goal is to put out two Molesome albums this year.

Song of the day is an experiment in a couple of different ways. For one thing it is the first track I recorded using an old Hoyer guitar that was donated to the studio by Björn Edholm. Its an old german 60s archtop with a questionable neck but a lot of fun to play.

But the "real" experiment was the miking in this case. On the track I used a little clip on microphone that is for Korg tuners and used that as the main microphone. And you cant really try a microphone without playing. And what is the use in playing if you are not playing a song or a small arrangement...so this track was done simply for that cause. Also I submitted it for a American TV.-series about an exconvict coming out of jail and facing freedom. Oddly enough I didnt get it as the track is perfect....right?

One of the weirdest things you have to do in the studio is to fake handclaps. Doing multiple sloppy takes and moving them around for suitable wideness. You feel like an idiot when you are doing it and it never really sounds really "real"...maybe it is because I know that it is. I seem to recall that there was a group in somewhere in America who only did handclaps. They would come in and just do handclaps...and you could choose how the handclaps should be... tight or sloppy, bright or mellow. Sounds like a perfect job.

https://soundcloud.com/rothhandlestudios/ribbons-and-lace