THE TUNNEL AND THE CLEARING: RADICAL SETUP

February 7, 2021 § Leave a comment

When I decided I would set up my studio at home again a couple of years ago, after 8 years of having a separate studio, I did not anticipate that the thing I would enjoy the most would be the ability to work late into the evening and at night. The more progress I made on the album, the more I spread the workload between afternoon and evening/night (to my cats’ utter dismay): it somehow just felt so right, making me reconnect with sensations I hadn’t felt since my early recordings in the 2000s.

I feel so fortunate that super talented photographer Luis Torroja has managed to capture the night atmosphere of my modest but beloved studio in such a brilliant way!!!

Colleen by Luis Torroja

I’ve been a fan of voluntarily restricted setups since my 5th album Captain of None, as I find that fewer parametres actually widen my creativity, and this album is the most radical thing I’ve ever done: all the sounds you’ll hear were produced with only 6 pieces of gear (not counting my Soundcraft mixing desk and Scarlett soundcard), 5 of them analog (Elka Drummer One, Roland RE-201 Space Echo – both from Soundgas – , Moog Grandmother, MF-104M Analog Delay, MF-101 Lowpass Filter), 1 digital (Yamaha Reface YC, the main sound source on all songs, manipulated through the analog gear) + my voice. No digital plugin whatsoever was used. Digital intervention is purely and strictly restricted to a few edits (could count them on the fingers of my 2 hands) where takes needed to be joined (with the exception of vocals for which I did have to do a bit more “Frankensteining” due to being particularly nervous when recording these sessions).

Case in point, single “Gazing at Taurus – Santa Eulalia”: Yamaha Reface YC into Moog MF-104M Analog Delay, Elka Drummer One into Roland RE-201 Space Echo for a tiny bit of spring reverb. Vocals double-tracked with no FX.

You can preorder the album on the Thrill Jockey shop or on Bandcamp. As always thank you!

THANK YOU!!! 🙏🙏

THE TUNNEL AND THE CLEARING. OUT 21 MAY 2021 + “GAZING AT TAURUS – SANTA EULALIA” SINGLE

February 3, 2021 § Leave a comment

I can’t even begin to tell you how much my 7th album means to me, so I’ll just invite you to listen to the first single, read the lyrics below at the same time, and read the press release here or here.

The album is released on Thrill Jockey Records on May 21st 2021, and preorders already available .IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING: my Bandcamp is run by Thrill Jockey who can only ship from the US on the Bandcamp platform. Please go to the THRILL JOCKEY SHOP TO CHOOSE SHIPPING FROM THE EU!

The single is also available on all streaming sites.

More about the album and that song on 5th February.

Artwork by Andrés Gomez Servín.

“Time has been dripping through my bones
In slow droplets of sadness
And I wanted to see Taurus again
Just like last year
Spreading across and above the
Cathedral spire

Santa Eulalia

O sweet Pleiades
I’ll grab your sky
Make it my own
Blanket around my soul
To
Travel through the tunnel
Make it through the tunnel

Santa Eulalia”

Where Am I?

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