ok, you've waited long enough and we've been teasing you a bit too much with our stupid pranks. so here's a clip from when we rehearsed a song called "outside their temple" (or at least that's what it is called at the moment) for the gig at the cave earlier this fall. the sound ain't that good, but you hear the important stuff and get to see at least three out of four cool guys (sorry 'bout that, patrik) somewhat rocking out.
oh, and don't forget to jump to 0:48 if you don't want to hear me ranting about pedal effects and anders lack of egoism.
//misha.
11/29/09
transmission
anders was the last one to join the band but the first ever to join a band i was in who was a complete stranger. we'd been posting adds around stockholm since we didn't know any bass players at all, or at least no real ones. all our friends were guitarists and even if they would have wanted the job we wouldn't have given it to them. we wanted someone who had chosen the bass for his/her instrument.
the first one to try out was a guy called fernando and we invited him to play with us and jam. it all ended after only one rehearsal. it seemed he had picked up depeche mode from our list of influences a lot more than anything else and maybe i should have left them out in the first place.
anyways, by the time anders called i'd learned my lesson and this time we decided to meet first and talk. if we clicked, we'd take it from there. we talked a lot but did not really like each other. i can't really remember what we talked about specifically, and to be honest i do not trust my judge of character skills from nine years ago, but we didn't share that much and anders seemed a bit too uninterested and unimpressed (i had an ego to please). so when we found a shared passion for the tea paty (this was by the time trip tych was relesed) i turned to my two favourite features, optimism and naiveté, and invited him to try out for the band.
he quickly found his place in the band and didn't care much for songs alredy written. he suggested his own material and didn't really listen to my suggestions for how to play his instrument. all this may seem like bad moves when trying to make the cut for a new band, but i wasn't out for a puppet i could tell what to play. i wanted someone who would see the faults in my songs and arrangements. or maybe i was looking for that, and anders revelation opened new subconcious doors. never the less, in anders i really found that guy. at times when i've been trying to come up with cool stuff for some parts but found nothing, he can just go "why don't you just shut that guitar up?" and be absoultely right about it too. in a band with me and thomas, who know no boundaries to the layers upon layers of bricks we add to create that wall of unstopable sound we want to be, you need a guy like anders to sometimes tap you on the shoulder and remind you that sometimes: "less is more."
the funny part about that first meeting is that, when talking about it a few years later, anders reveals that he felt exactly like me. he found me stiff and self-centered, but our common love for the tea party made him at least try out for the band. and for that, i thank him, and jeff martin.
with that said, i leave you with one of canadas finest:
the first one to try out was a guy called fernando and we invited him to play with us and jam. it all ended after only one rehearsal. it seemed he had picked up depeche mode from our list of influences a lot more than anything else and maybe i should have left them out in the first place.
anyways, by the time anders called i'd learned my lesson and this time we decided to meet first and talk. if we clicked, we'd take it from there. we talked a lot but did not really like each other. i can't really remember what we talked about specifically, and to be honest i do not trust my judge of character skills from nine years ago, but we didn't share that much and anders seemed a bit too uninterested and unimpressed (i had an ego to please). so when we found a shared passion for the tea paty (this was by the time trip tych was relesed) i turned to my two favourite features, optimism and naiveté, and invited him to try out for the band.
he quickly found his place in the band and didn't care much for songs alredy written. he suggested his own material and didn't really listen to my suggestions for how to play his instrument. all this may seem like bad moves when trying to make the cut for a new band, but i wasn't out for a puppet i could tell what to play. i wanted someone who would see the faults in my songs and arrangements. or maybe i was looking for that, and anders revelation opened new subconcious doors. never the less, in anders i really found that guy. at times when i've been trying to come up with cool stuff for some parts but found nothing, he can just go "why don't you just shut that guitar up?" and be absoultely right about it too. in a band with me and thomas, who know no boundaries to the layers upon layers of bricks we add to create that wall of unstopable sound we want to be, you need a guy like anders to sometimes tap you on the shoulder and remind you that sometimes: "less is more."
the funny part about that first meeting is that, when talking about it a few years later, anders reveals that he felt exactly like me. he found me stiff and self-centered, but our common love for the tea party made him at least try out for the band. and for that, i thank him, and jeff martin.
with that said, i leave you with one of canadas finest:
11/28/09
10/25/09
if only tonight we could sleep.
friday nights gig was good fun and intense, but it was also quite clear that it had been a while since we last stood on a stage. the scene at the cave was amaing and the place was great! it was as if debaser went hard rock and moved out to sundbyberg (that last comparasing scentence is not for everybody). we did a set with lingua songs and followed it up with a short and chaotic rövfitta gig. bergman, the fifth member of rövfitta, was there and got to sing a couple of songs as well as harrison reprising his version of 'obama a go go'. we filmed the gig and might put something up here if the quality is better than shite, but 'til then go check out some pics right here.
//misha (who else).
//misha (who else).
10/22/09
living after midnight.
i remember quite clearly the first time i met patrik, or at least the first time we jamed together. i'd been playing in arize for a month or two and we hosted yet another party at our rehearsal place a friday night. i even think it might have been an after party, but i'm not sure. why we never got kicked out of that place i cannot tell. anyways, there was quite some people there and patrik was one of them. we started talking about good music (as all musicians do on first date) and we connected at bands such as down and corrosion of conformity (among others) and after a few beers and some talk we decided to jam. as soon as we started playing i felt this instant connection with him. we built riff after riff and added layers to everthing we did. i can't really remember a single riff from the actual event, but i do remember it was magic. patrik must have felt the same because after an hour and a half thomas came in and said the neightbours were complainting about the noise and that was the only reason we stopped. we could have played for at lot longer and almost did after thomas admitted his little hoax to get us out of our intruments and back to the party. instead, we started a band. lifer was quickly joined by thomas and sounded a lot like stoner, except this was way before anyone used the term stoner. we just called it rock. we used to go out at night and record our songs on a four track tape recorder. sometimes i dust of my old collection and listen to the material. it was far from original, but we had some good fun making the songs.
lifer was put to sleep after only a year or so and when we started lingua i hadn't been playing with patrik for years. i wasn't even that keen on playing with him anymore because i was way, way, way deep into my tool-obsession at that time and patrik didn't play that kind of drums. in fact, one of patriks biggest idols is tommy lee and that guy play some mean straight forward drums, but not much else. it took me years to accept his style. we faught like hell over a lot of songs and even though i can't understand why we never just went separate ways i am glad we didn't. because it took me years to see that our strength was the straight forwardness in our songs and not the technical. or, to put it in better words, where i stray in weird beats and odd markings patrik keeps it toghether with a straight beat with litte or no over acting. today, it's what i want and expect from him and i am glad he never changed. i am glad he kept his style and put a very big part to the unique sound and style that is ours.
//misha.
lifer was put to sleep after only a year or so and when we started lingua i hadn't been playing with patrik for years. i wasn't even that keen on playing with him anymore because i was way, way, way deep into my tool-obsession at that time and patrik didn't play that kind of drums. in fact, one of patriks biggest idols is tommy lee and that guy play some mean straight forward drums, but not much else. it took me years to accept his style. we faught like hell over a lot of songs and even though i can't understand why we never just went separate ways i am glad we didn't. because it took me years to see that our strength was the straight forwardness in our songs and not the technical. or, to put it in better words, where i stray in weird beats and odd markings patrik keeps it toghether with a straight beat with litte or no over acting. today, it's what i want and expect from him and i am glad he never changed. i am glad he kept his style and put a very big part to the unique sound and style that is ours.
//misha.
10/17/09
on the road again.
well, it was time. it's been eleven months and, to be frank, that's just too long to stay away from what you love. we said that we would focus on the album and to not play any shows, but when our dear friend ludde called and asked us to play at his birthday party, we ran out of excuses not to say yes.
so for all of you who live in sweden and near its capitol city, this is where you want to be friday october 23rd:
the cave, landsvägen 49, sundbyberg.
it starts at eight and ends at one. i feel no need to point out where to put the am and the pm. you figure it out.
//misha.
so for all of you who live in sweden and near its capitol city, this is where you want to be friday october 23rd:
the cave, landsvägen 49, sundbyberg.
it starts at eight and ends at one. i feel no need to point out where to put the am and the pm. you figure it out.
//misha.
10/10/09
the meeting.
i was seventeen when i first met thomas. we stood in line for another lousy meal in the school cafeteia as i noticed this loud and cocky young man wearing a machine head t-shirt from the burn my eyes album. i absolutely loved that album (the only machine head album i ever really loved). and as we stand there i see some black ink on his t-shirt. fuck, i thought and had to ask:
- "don't tell me you've met them?"
thomas turns around, looks at me without blinking, making a face or anything and says:
- "i drank beer with 'em too."
i was envious as hell!
it was the beginning of a thirteen year long friendship. and from that day on we used to talk at recess and lunch breaks. i had my metal band called southgate and thomas had his arise (nope, not the famous arise. and after being spelled wrong on a compilation album we kept the misspelling and were named arize before arise released their debut) and shared a common interest in bands such as deftones, tool, korn, fear fctory and sepultura but also in eighties pop music such as depeche mode, ultravox and duran duran. thomas was a bit too loud and wild for me, i was used to geekier frieds, but his self confidence created a fascination i could not rub off.
in my other band i was the only songwriter, as i'd been in all my other bands before as well. so when thomas asked me to join arise and fill the vacant bass spot i quickly accepted his request. i was happy as hell to be playing in a band with so many good writers and innovative musicians. the first year was real good fun. erik (thyselius, now in scarpoint) banged the shit out of his drums. he tried using those drumsticks made of metal but kept breaking those too. he had a china cymbal that, after a year of beating, looked like the wu tang clan w logo. no joke! richard (dahlberg, now in construcdead) was the stiffest guitarist i'd ever seen. if he looked up from his hands to watch the rest of the band, it was enough to give him a stiff neck. but man could he play! i never play solos and never have, i'm a rythm guitar guy, so i was very impressed by richard's skills in both rythm and lead. thomas, he had the lungs from hell. that tiny chest he used to have (wheigting in at 65 kilos back in '96) had an enormous roar louder that anything i'd ever heard. still today when he yells, it hurts my ears. normal pepole yelling are annoying at the most, thomas hurts your ears. anyhow, i tried to keep up with the guys but soon it stood clear that i wasn't really that into metal anymore. so i left. i thought the band would carry on without me but soon they split up instead. after six months of rest from music and just talk about a new direction, thomas and i started lingua together with patrik. this was in july 2000 and that story is a whole other story in itself.
but inbetween bands we've done so much more. accoustic, trance, trip hop and what not to explore all we could in music. we used to take long walks (or drive far with the car as soon as thomas got his licence) and dream about a five record deal with sony. i can't remember how many times we've been drunk together and helped each other out of situations or gotten one another in them. we were kids when we met and grew up together. and now we're men with families, still in the same band, making music better than ever. thirteen years of music, friendship and good memories. for that i am thankful. it don't get much better than that.
//misha.
- "don't tell me you've met them?"
thomas turns around, looks at me without blinking, making a face or anything and says:
- "i drank beer with 'em too."
i was envious as hell!
it was the beginning of a thirteen year long friendship. and from that day on we used to talk at recess and lunch breaks. i had my metal band called southgate and thomas had his arise (nope, not the famous arise. and after being spelled wrong on a compilation album we kept the misspelling and were named arize before arise released their debut) and shared a common interest in bands such as deftones, tool, korn, fear fctory and sepultura but also in eighties pop music such as depeche mode, ultravox and duran duran. thomas was a bit too loud and wild for me, i was used to geekier frieds, but his self confidence created a fascination i could not rub off.
in my other band i was the only songwriter, as i'd been in all my other bands before as well. so when thomas asked me to join arise and fill the vacant bass spot i quickly accepted his request. i was happy as hell to be playing in a band with so many good writers and innovative musicians. the first year was real good fun. erik (thyselius, now in scarpoint) banged the shit out of his drums. he tried using those drumsticks made of metal but kept breaking those too. he had a china cymbal that, after a year of beating, looked like the wu tang clan w logo. no joke! richard (dahlberg, now in construcdead) was the stiffest guitarist i'd ever seen. if he looked up from his hands to watch the rest of the band, it was enough to give him a stiff neck. but man could he play! i never play solos and never have, i'm a rythm guitar guy, so i was very impressed by richard's skills in both rythm and lead. thomas, he had the lungs from hell. that tiny chest he used to have (wheigting in at 65 kilos back in '96) had an enormous roar louder that anything i'd ever heard. still today when he yells, it hurts my ears. normal pepole yelling are annoying at the most, thomas hurts your ears. anyhow, i tried to keep up with the guys but soon it stood clear that i wasn't really that into metal anymore. so i left. i thought the band would carry on without me but soon they split up instead. after six months of rest from music and just talk about a new direction, thomas and i started lingua together with patrik. this was in july 2000 and that story is a whole other story in itself.
but inbetween bands we've done so much more. accoustic, trance, trip hop and what not to explore all we could in music. we used to take long walks (or drive far with the car as soon as thomas got his licence) and dream about a five record deal with sony. i can't remember how many times we've been drunk together and helped each other out of situations or gotten one another in them. we were kids when we met and grew up together. and now we're men with families, still in the same band, making music better than ever. thirteen years of music, friendship and good memories. for that i am thankful. it don't get much better than that.
//misha.
10/4/09
just a tiny taste will do the trick.
i added some licks and tricks to a new song yesterday and here's how awesome thomas found my unique skills. i'm not anticipating them to pay my bills though.
///misha.
///misha.
9/30/09
billion dollar babies.
we did some promo pictures now that we are back in town as a group
(and thus in no need to use puppets).
here are a couple of results from that session.
(and thus in no need to use puppets).
here are a couple of results from that session.
all photos by jakob berglund. ask before you use.
9/22/09
no excuses.
my god, these last weeks have been so much work and none of if has been music. i hate when it's like that. i need to play with the band once a week at the least or i get really grumpy. but sometimes i don't run the show and sometimes there are other things to be done. so the best thing is to get them out of the way so you can focus on the important stuff. i'm not the kind of guy who shoves things under the carpet. anyways, come october i'll be rid all them obstacles and back on my main focus: the next lingua album. i know, this sounds a bit one sided. and i do assure you that the rest of the band have been hard at work whilst i've been gone. but they don't write this blog, even though they could at any time. the word is free, but it's my voice you hear.
and speaking about my voice, i thought it would be fun to tell you all how the band met in the first place and how we finally became lingua. i'll be going through all that in a near future. among putting up some videoclips from the studio and maybe even a sneak of some song yet to be heard outside of our studio walls.
//misha.
and speaking about my voice, i thought it would be fun to tell you all how the band met in the first place and how we finally became lingua. i'll be going through all that in a near future. among putting up some videoclips from the studio and maybe even a sneak of some song yet to be heard outside of our studio walls.
//misha.
8/24/09
kick out the jams.
it feels like ages ago i was going to rehearsals when in fact it was only last week i was there. but for the last three months we've been recording the new album and much of it has been done during vacations so we haven't been more than two guys at a time in the studio. today, we're not pressing rec, we're not being captured, we're not thinking. it's only a rehearsal and we're all going to be there. you se we realized the following the other day:
a. we're a bit shakey on some of the songs,
b. we haven't seen each other as a group in over three months and
c. we need a break from all the seriousness.
so tonight will feel a bit like a high school reunion, except no one will be wearing any home coming crowns. or maybe we all will. king for a day...
a. we're a bit shakey on some of the songs,
b. we haven't seen each other as a group in over three months and
c. we need a break from all the seriousness.
so tonight will feel a bit like a high school reunion, except no one will be wearing any home coming crowns. or maybe we all will. king for a day...
8/14/09
and you will know us by the curegarden dredgtone tool of a muse.
i got a comment from beardonaut about our working title 'cure lou' and it got me thinking of all the stupid working titles we've had throughout the years. actually, sometimes they've had those titles for so long that even when we do name them, we keep mentioning them by working title name.
i wrote 'cure lou' at home and it started with the bass line. the only bass i have at home is an old accoustic one i bought from a friend when he needed money to move out of town. when i played the line on an accoustic bass it really sounded like the cure. i recorded it on my 4-track zoom and started adding guitars and, while still accoustic, it started sounding a lot like tiger lou. you can figure out the title by now, but would i not have told you this story you would have wondered why a song that sounds like something muse could have done bares the name of two quite different artists. it goes to say without question that i named it before we started rehearsing it.
if song don't get lame working titles like 'the new', 'the new new' (depending on how many songs we are working on at the time) or 'the b-song' (reminding us of to tune our instruments way down) they often get titles refering to what other bands the songs sound like. we've had songs like 'the isis rip off', the deftones song', 'soundgardenish' and 'tool circle'. before 'prodigal son' got its new title it was called 'gossard' because i felt i moved like him whilst playing the song. trying to copy a riff by mouth gave 'dagadagá' its title. i don't know where we got the idea from but i guess they are funny remarks that reminds us that all music has been done and we're all just stelaing, borrowing and rearranging music. maybe every band have working titles like these? i also remember when i got my hands on one of faith no more's set list back in 1997 and found the title 'whitney' among a few titles i did not recognize. i started reading their faq's on the world wide web and found that they had these names for some of the songs for no apparent reason. 'whitney' was a remark that 'land of sunshine' had something to do with whitney huston. i never figured out what, but i still thought it was funny.
two other working titles right now are 'judgement day' (although we say 'domedagen' which is the swedish word for it) and 'the sound of inevitability'. well, i think you pretty much can figure out what those two songs sounds like without me adding any more words to this post.
///misha.
i wrote 'cure lou' at home and it started with the bass line. the only bass i have at home is an old accoustic one i bought from a friend when he needed money to move out of town. when i played the line on an accoustic bass it really sounded like the cure. i recorded it on my 4-track zoom and started adding guitars and, while still accoustic, it started sounding a lot like tiger lou. you can figure out the title by now, but would i not have told you this story you would have wondered why a song that sounds like something muse could have done bares the name of two quite different artists. it goes to say without question that i named it before we started rehearsing it.
if song don't get lame working titles like 'the new', 'the new new' (depending on how many songs we are working on at the time) or 'the b-song' (reminding us of to tune our instruments way down) they often get titles refering to what other bands the songs sound like. we've had songs like 'the isis rip off', the deftones song', 'soundgardenish' and 'tool circle'. before 'prodigal son' got its new title it was called 'gossard' because i felt i moved like him whilst playing the song. trying to copy a riff by mouth gave 'dagadagá' its title. i don't know where we got the idea from but i guess they are funny remarks that reminds us that all music has been done and we're all just stelaing, borrowing and rearranging music. maybe every band have working titles like these? i also remember when i got my hands on one of faith no more's set list back in 1997 and found the title 'whitney' among a few titles i did not recognize. i started reading their faq's on the world wide web and found that they had these names for some of the songs for no apparent reason. 'whitney' was a remark that 'land of sunshine' had something to do with whitney huston. i never figured out what, but i still thought it was funny.
two other working titles right now are 'judgement day' (although we say 'domedagen' which is the swedish word for it) and 'the sound of inevitability'. well, i think you pretty much can figure out what those two songs sounds like without me adding any more words to this post.
///misha.
8/12/09
brun utan soul.
yep, i know, a bit slow on the updates lately. but vacations are over and it's back to balancing work, kids, music and girlfriends. they all need their share of attention or else we'll lose touch, get dumped or fired. let's not go there.
but me and thomas were in the studio monday night and added some guitars to 'dejected' and last thursday we did 'uptempo' (yep, still untitled) so together with 'prodigal son', 'foment' and 'cure lou' (working title) we have five songs for thomas to add vocals on. 'foment' and 'prodigal son' already have his voice on them so tomorrow we are focusing on 'uptemo' and 'dejected'. the latter of those two got a brand new solo on top of the old one and i really hope it turns out good in the mix so we can keep it. only problem is i don't know how i will solve it live. but, we're treating this record as our last, so no need to think about that, right?
five songs! can you believe it? and we have more takes on drums to add guitars and bass to, but we figured we'd complete these five first. i wouldn't wanna leave thomas with fifteen songs to mix or add vocals to in a row.
but it's so damn fun recording the songs and since we havn't rehearsed in ages, it's like discovering them again. sometimes i find that i've forgotten how we play the songs and have to listen to old rehearsal takes to figure them out. i like that, it makes it less like work and i get a chance to rewrite parts i wasn't all that content with. like the solo on 'dejected'. or the solo on 'foment' that got a second guitar with harmonics. once again i've no idea what to do with it live, but with our history of touring i see no need to worry.
thomas is a happy camper as well. he's going out there alone at nights and adding so many vocal tracks it seems like a rock opera. but it's all good. and fun! as i told you before, we promised you a grand record armed to the teeth with layers and fireworks. so far we're keeping that promise.
later
///misha.
but me and thomas were in the studio monday night and added some guitars to 'dejected' and last thursday we did 'uptempo' (yep, still untitled) so together with 'prodigal son', 'foment' and 'cure lou' (working title) we have five songs for thomas to add vocals on. 'foment' and 'prodigal son' already have his voice on them so tomorrow we are focusing on 'uptemo' and 'dejected'. the latter of those two got a brand new solo on top of the old one and i really hope it turns out good in the mix so we can keep it. only problem is i don't know how i will solve it live. but, we're treating this record as our last, so no need to think about that, right?
five songs! can you believe it? and we have more takes on drums to add guitars and bass to, but we figured we'd complete these five first. i wouldn't wanna leave thomas with fifteen songs to mix or add vocals to in a row.
but it's so damn fun recording the songs and since we havn't rehearsed in ages, it's like discovering them again. sometimes i find that i've forgotten how we play the songs and have to listen to old rehearsal takes to figure them out. i like that, it makes it less like work and i get a chance to rewrite parts i wasn't all that content with. like the solo on 'dejected'. or the solo on 'foment' that got a second guitar with harmonics. once again i've no idea what to do with it live, but with our history of touring i see no need to worry.
thomas is a happy camper as well. he's going out there alone at nights and adding so many vocal tracks it seems like a rock opera. but it's all good. and fun! as i told you before, we promised you a grand record armed to the teeth with layers and fireworks. so far we're keeping that promise.
later
///misha.
7/30/09
signed, sealed, deliverance.
it is official! as of july 28th, aural music released the following statement on their website:
LINGUA SIGNS WITH AURAL MUSIC AND ENTER STUDIO - Lingua from sweden signed a new deal with Aural Music and are currently in the studio making the new and much anticipated follow up to their 2006 debut The Smell of a Life That Could Have Been. If The Smell... was a journey inwards and an ode to the angst of passed youth, the new album breathes heavily of growth and self esteem as most members of the band pushes 30. The music has the same tone as it always has, but the energy is far more intense. This time the music isn't as much searching as it is demanding. Expect nothing but grand landscapes, big productions and, of course, emotional rock when the album hits the shelves. Til then, be sure to check out the band s blog as they update continously from the studio with diaries, pictures and other treats. www.lingua.nu - www.linguamusic.blogspot.com
any questions?
*silence*
good, let's get to work then.
LINGUA SIGNS WITH AURAL MUSIC AND ENTER STUDIO - Lingua from sweden signed a new deal with Aural Music and are currently in the studio making the new and much anticipated follow up to their 2006 debut The Smell of a Life That Could Have Been. If The Smell... was a journey inwards and an ode to the angst of passed youth, the new album breathes heavily of growth and self esteem as most members of the band pushes 30. The music has the same tone as it always has, but the energy is far more intense. This time the music isn't as much searching as it is demanding. Expect nothing but grand landscapes, big productions and, of course, emotional rock when the album hits the shelves. Til then, be sure to check out the band s blog as they update continously from the studio with diaries, pictures and other treats. www.lingua.nu - www.linguamusic.blogspot.com
any questions?
*silence*
good, let's get to work then.
7/18/09
the world is our oyster.
i recieved a mail the other day saying we need to make new promo shots for the upcoming outing of the album on our new labels website. you'd figure it's not a big deal, but what do you do when everbody's on vacation and you can't even place the whole band in the same city for fifteen minutes for the next four weeks? you do the only thing you can do.
so i booked dates for single shoots with everybody and had my girlfriend photograph me. then i printed the best photos, glued them onto cardboard and cut out little figurines of each and every band member. it took a while, but now i have four linguistic mini me's on my coffe table ready to take on the world. they will climb sand dunes, pose by large trucks and do other things you wouldn't dream of little people doing. so, if you have any ideas of what kind of photos you'd like to see us in, now is the best time to make your voice heard.
//misha.
lingua getting ready for some action!
so i booked dates for single shoots with everybody and had my girlfriend photograph me. then i printed the best photos, glued them onto cardboard and cut out little figurines of each and every band member. it took a while, but now i have four linguistic mini me's on my coffe table ready to take on the world. they will climb sand dunes, pose by large trucks and do other things you wouldn't dream of little people doing. so, if you have any ideas of what kind of photos you'd like to see us in, now is the best time to make your voice heard.
//misha.
lingua getting ready for some action!7/14/09
black hole sun.
so, me and patrik were in the studio yesterday (we really need to name it one of these days) and it reminded me i had a story to tell you.
a couple of weeks ago we were recording an untitled song that might be one of the oldest ones to be on the record. you can listen to it on our myspace, it's called 'untitled'. it's a short, uptempo track. really powerful and i especially love the fact that it hits its first chorus at 17 seconds. as normal lingua songs has that happening at two minutes (exaggerating a bit), it makes it quite unique. anyways, it was me, thomas and patrik hanging in the studio. we were laying drum tracks and thomas recorded it while i was there to add the right feeling and guidance through the songs. we played it a couple of times as we set the right sound and as we finally settled for a good one we nailed it with a perfect take on the first try. great sucsess. all good in the neighbourhood.
a week later i get a phone call with thomas just saying "you're gonna have to re-record 'uptempo' ". i was just about to get mad as he started laughing. first i thought he was going to take it back but then he started telling me the story. apparently thomas and anders were in the studio adding bass to the takes me and patrik had made. as they were laying down 'uptempo' (or 'untitled' if you will) anders hit chorus too early. "sorry" he said, as they had another go at it. this time, as he once again hit chorus too early it stood clear that we had made the verse too long. the verse is a 3/6 tempo thing with a 4/4 patterned riff. that means we all repeat a 4/4 pattern thrice which makes it a 3/6 tempo (i think, we all suck at musical terms as no one is a schooled musician). but it turns out we had recorded it as a 4/4 completely, repeating the 4/4 pattern four times. so it was back to work and throwing away a (what seemed as) a perfect take.
now, queston, how in the hell did we miss this? we listened to the song a numerous of times, just as many times as we played it. thomas even tried to sing along to the chorus once, we tried to help him. we failed, and blamed the late hour and sleepy heads. what the hell?
well, even the sun has its spots and this story could have gone to the grave quietly and unheard, but do you really think i would let that happen?
//misha.
a couple of weeks ago we were recording an untitled song that might be one of the oldest ones to be on the record. you can listen to it on our myspace, it's called 'untitled'. it's a short, uptempo track. really powerful and i especially love the fact that it hits its first chorus at 17 seconds. as normal lingua songs has that happening at two minutes (exaggerating a bit), it makes it quite unique. anyways, it was me, thomas and patrik hanging in the studio. we were laying drum tracks and thomas recorded it while i was there to add the right feeling and guidance through the songs. we played it a couple of times as we set the right sound and as we finally settled for a good one we nailed it with a perfect take on the first try. great sucsess. all good in the neighbourhood.
a week later i get a phone call with thomas just saying "you're gonna have to re-record 'uptempo' ". i was just about to get mad as he started laughing. first i thought he was going to take it back but then he started telling me the story. apparently thomas and anders were in the studio adding bass to the takes me and patrik had made. as they were laying down 'uptempo' (or 'untitled' if you will) anders hit chorus too early. "sorry" he said, as they had another go at it. this time, as he once again hit chorus too early it stood clear that we had made the verse too long. the verse is a 3/6 tempo thing with a 4/4 patterned riff. that means we all repeat a 4/4 pattern thrice which makes it a 3/6 tempo (i think, we all suck at musical terms as no one is a schooled musician). but it turns out we had recorded it as a 4/4 completely, repeating the 4/4 pattern four times. so it was back to work and throwing away a (what seemed as) a perfect take.
now, queston, how in the hell did we miss this? we listened to the song a numerous of times, just as many times as we played it. thomas even tried to sing along to the chorus once, we tried to help him. we failed, and blamed the late hour and sleepy heads. what the hell?
well, even the sun has its spots and this story could have gone to the grave quietly and unheard, but do you really think i would let that happen?
//misha.
7/12/09
what happened?
so, a new album. if you ask me it's about time! we should be on our third. but when we released "the smell..." we were rookies and didn't make the most of what we were given. also, record sales were down worse than ever and that left us quite unprioritized. it was a bad combination. still, we're damn proud and glad we got to make an album, and even more so to be given the chance to make a second. not many bands are that lucky today.
when we made "the smell..." we recorded eight songs and all of those had to make the cut. in retrospect, we all wish we would have recorded a few more just to have an arsenal to choose from. all songs were good from start, but you never know how songs will translate themselves in the studio and there are songs didn't turn out the way we wanted them to. there always is. so when our first royalties came, we decided to buy our own gear and record the music ourselves. this way we can spend any amount of time on any song, wasting only our own time instead of our hard earned in a studio where time is money. the stress runs off, we make better songs. it's a total win. and since we haven't released anything except two pre-recorings on our myspace after our debut, we have loads of material to choose from. we've selected 16 out 28 songs that we hope to record before we sit down, listen to the material and (in worst case) make cuts.
with this new freedom in hand, we enjoy every moment we get in our twenty square meter excuse for a rehearsal room. so far, drums have been layed down for six tracks. three of them have bass and guitar, and we've just started recording some vocals to the songs that have lyrics. i'm not envious of thomas, he has another ten or so lyrics to write before the end of this summer. the rest of us are merley polishing the last details to our parts and adding strange noises and playing around with ideas that pop up. some are good, some are erased immediately. i'd say the attitude towards the whole process is playfull and open minded. everything is tried at least once. if it works it works. if it doesn't, move on.
we're looking at an exciting summer to come. we'll keep you posted.
when we made "the smell..." we recorded eight songs and all of those had to make the cut. in retrospect, we all wish we would have recorded a few more just to have an arsenal to choose from. all songs were good from start, but you never know how songs will translate themselves in the studio and there are songs didn't turn out the way we wanted them to. there always is. so when our first royalties came, we decided to buy our own gear and record the music ourselves. this way we can spend any amount of time on any song, wasting only our own time instead of our hard earned in a studio where time is money. the stress runs off, we make better songs. it's a total win. and since we haven't released anything except two pre-recorings on our myspace after our debut, we have loads of material to choose from. we've selected 16 out 28 songs that we hope to record before we sit down, listen to the material and (in worst case) make cuts.
with this new freedom in hand, we enjoy every moment we get in our twenty square meter excuse for a rehearsal room. so far, drums have been layed down for six tracks. three of them have bass and guitar, and we've just started recording some vocals to the songs that have lyrics. i'm not envious of thomas, he has another ten or so lyrics to write before the end of this summer. the rest of us are merley polishing the last details to our parts and adding strange noises and playing around with ideas that pop up. some are good, some are erased immediately. i'd say the attitude towards the whole process is playfull and open minded. everything is tried at least once. if it works it works. if it doesn't, move on.
we're looking at an exciting summer to come. we'll keep you posted.
7/10/09
signal to noise.
welcome to this blog which will be our new home for a couple of months or more as we record our second album! we figure you have some questions, but let us ask them for you.
a new album, seriously?
yes! we know it's taken a while (read: forever), but a cotract has been signed and equipment has been bought. this baby is going to be recorded in our rehearsal room and so far it sounds great!
why a blog?
it's a perfect tool for this mission, to shed some light over our work and to let you in on the process. we also hope it's a far more interactive way to keep in touch with fans and friends. our goal is be as open as possible, please ask questions.
why not the blog on myspace?
because it sucks.
what's the name of the album? who's producing it? what label is going to release it?
all those questions have answers but will be answered in due time. be patient, as you have been for the last three years.
for now, the blog remains white, as the blank sheet of paper the album still is. but as our wrk progresses, changes are going to be made as artwork and themes are set.
welcome to what is going to the journey to a new lingua album!
//misha.
a new album, seriously?
yes! we know it's taken a while (read: forever), but a cotract has been signed and equipment has been bought. this baby is going to be recorded in our rehearsal room and so far it sounds great!
why a blog?
it's a perfect tool for this mission, to shed some light over our work and to let you in on the process. we also hope it's a far more interactive way to keep in touch with fans and friends. our goal is be as open as possible, please ask questions.
why not the blog on myspace?
because it sucks.
what's the name of the album? who's producing it? what label is going to release it?
all those questions have answers but will be answered in due time. be patient, as you have been for the last three years.
for now, the blog remains white, as the blank sheet of paper the album still is. but as our wrk progresses, changes are going to be made as artwork and themes are set.
welcome to what is going to the journey to a new lingua album!
//misha.
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