LINGUA

famous last words.

2012-01-11T19:56:00.002+01:00

a month or so after breaking up we recieved a request for an interview with polish site rockoko. we hadn't gone official yet but once we did i checked to see if they still were interested, figuring i'd spill my guts for the band one last time. they were. read 'em and weep.

http://www.rockoko.pl/en/wywiad-misha-seidini-lingua

and i'm glad to announce that thomas, patrik and anders continue to make music ( and aparently lots of it) in a project called the isolation process. follow their facebook site here.

that's it for now.
/misha.

towel throwers.

2011-12-07T21:28:00.001+01:00

dear members of the world who make out the few percentage of it that is our listeners,

when we started this band it's main purpose was to be musical therapy for the four of us involved. within the walls of our rehearsal space we could do anything, and we did all that our minds could come up with. maybe not the most original stuff ever to come out of a band, but it was heartfelt and at the top of our performance. that was all we needed and all we ever wanted. during the ten year life span of this band we made eight demos and three cd's (including the alter egos come sleep and rövfitta) and we are glad we've had the chance to make and record so much music. we haven't travelled far or often, but some of the gigs we've done have been amazing and journeys on stage.

music is a very onesided relationship. you take, music gives. if music doesn't give, you listen to something else. when you are done with music, you sell it and buy new music. unless music keeps giving, then things stay the same until it doesn't. now, treat people like that and they will leave you. thankfully, music makes you feel but it doesn't feel. we like to talk about music as our lover, but we treat it like a whore. it sounds harsh, but it's the truth.

so what's the point to all this ranting? well, two months ago, misha decided to leave the band. music wasn't giving any more. the muse that had been lingua inspired no new material and was giving no theraputic value. in fact, he felt like he didn't need that kind of therapy anymore. anyone who listenes to the lyrics off the last album can clearly hear the direction things were going. we worked so hard making "all my rivals..", drained ourselves from ideas and threw everything we had in it. little did we know we were working on our swan song. but it became very clear to us as a year progressed after its release and we stood without new ideas, energy or inspiration. lingua had been drained and there was nothing we could do to bring it back to life again. when misha anounced his departure, all these issues surfaced and it stood clear that the band in fact had been dead for a long time. we just didn't want to se it. we had a great run, ten fucking years! but everything ends, and lingua (with all its alter egos) ends here.

so what now? thomas, anders and patrik has decided to keep playing music, but under a different name and with all new material. there was never any doubt not to bring in more people and keep lingua alive. lingua is a collective and it has four members. without any single one of us out, lingua is not. simple as that. misha has decided to leave music alone for a while in hope to find new inspiration. meanwhile he's going back to school in order to educate himself as school was one of his imaginary ghosts as a young man. but whatever we do musically, we promise you that we will keep you updated on this blog so you can follow us, if you feel it's hard to let go.

but we can't leave without a grand finale, right? so first off we will finnish what we've started, which is a new rövfitta demo. expect 13 tracks of hard hitting and utterly stupid thrash punk in swedish. we've also decided to upload everything we've ever done with lingua that isn't bound to legal restraints to our reverbnation site. all our demos, some from the albums, some rehearsals, pre-recordings from 2007 and a few live takes as well. it will all be up there in a little while (or a long while), we'll let you know when it's time. and after that, it's goodbye!

so long, and thanks for all the fish!

facts of life volume one.

2011-09-03T09:39:00.002+02:00

alex make lingua go dubstep!

2011-08-30T22:24:00.002+02:00

a few weeks ago we recieved an email from an italian who wanted to make a remix on one of our songs so we sent him some wav-files and told him to have a go at it and boy did we underestimate the outcome. go to his little soundcloud and listen to the result HERE. and don't forget to to turn the bass way up. thanks a million, alex, you really shed the skin off this sucker and showed the underlying monster. we're not worthy! /misha.

temple of love.

2010-12-15T21:09:00.002+01:00

a vivid clip from an eager photographer.
not the best sound, but quite fun to watch. / misha.

draw the line.

2010-12-13T10:40:00.005+01:00

earlier this year, an extreme right wing party was elected by 5.7% of the swedish voters to join the government. two days ago, sweden experienced an act of terrorism and it's first suicide bombing in central stockholm. the acts had no direct connection with each other, but indirectly they did.

these both events make me sad. i don't get angry about it, enough people are. it is anger, fear and ignorance that form these acts of insanity and their following rash and juvenile precausions. it reminds me how important it is that we think for ourselves and question everything, even ourselves. every single day.

as the world constantly learns more about itself, shouldn't we become more aware and less afraid?
and as the world constantly shrinks with all communicative possibilities handed, is it really that hard to see that we are not all that different as we sometimes believe?

it's all connected. we're all connected. no matter how many borders we draw or walls we build. isolation is devastating. borders are imaginary and only real in our heads.

LINGUA - TO ALL BORDERS

lingua | Myspace Video

No land's an island
No man's a country
I've never seen a civil
Civilization

In search of home
Some bury others
Yes, home is everything but
It's not a piece of land

Know what compels us
A vicious catalyst
All borders drawn in blood are
Drawn from our fears

Nothing's forever so why
Piss all these territories
They are not written in stone
They're pissed in snow

Own plot, won't travel
Own fear, will ravel
It builds no man or woman
To inherit pride

Can you speak freely?
Or do you freely sleep?
No land can set me free, no
No land can speak for me

In search of home
Just close your eyes

it's a massace.

2010-12-07T23:09:00.001+01:00

ok, fellow rockers. here it is, the ugly naked truth. enjoy the show! / misha.

we've got more coming..

2010-12-05T09:58:00.002+01:00

ok, so the tour diary was actually done, but then i figured out how to subtitle the film. so now i still have shitloads to do. give me a few more days on this one..

/misha.

diary of a mad band.

2010-12-01T19:56:00.002+01:00

well, not really. but i'm working on a tour diary video and so far we've packed our gear, driven the distance, soundchecked and warmed up with a little pre party at the hotel. next up is showtime, after party, continental breakfast and the long way home.

i'ma gonna get back to work then...

/misha.

come talk to me.

2010-11-21T13:12:00.001+01:00

i just did an interview for trebuchet magazine, read it here.

/misha.

the water glass

2010-11-19T21:31:00.002+01:00

getting ready for the gig..

apocalypse now and then.

2010-11-18T19:08:00.003+01:00

i put together a little clip from our gig at pub anchor last wednesday. tomorrow we head for karlstad in hope to rock some socks off of our fellow swedes. it'll be out first attempt at a video diary so keep your eyes open for updates of me tearing my hair in despair as i try to wrestle modern technology and mold my new found knowledge into something watchable. but first things first, here's us at pub anchor:

anchor steam.

2010-11-12T22:44:00.011+01:00

all photos by antonio ravina da silva.

tape.

2010-11-08T20:34:00.002+01:00

i went to the store and picked me up one of these. if it works like it says it does, you'll be updated with moving pictures a lot more frequently from the lingua camp.
press play on tape!
// misha.

where's me jumper?

2010-11-07T15:28:00.005+01:00

this is how good you look when you've been pimped by lingua! i just picked them up and we'll be selling these on gig1 and gig2, the rest will be sold on the world wide web in a near future. i'll tell you when.

/misha.

rock n roll psychosis.

2010-10-30T09:07:00.002+02:00

it only took a month 'cause we are the fastest children in the bunch, but here it finally is: a live clip with two songs from the releaseparty, recorded at lilla hotellbaren in stockholm, sweden, on spetember 27th 2o10. crank the wolume to eleven and play it fullscreen and it will almost feel like you were there (if you weren't there, if you were there this will feel like making a tiny steak from a whole cow).

word up.

2010-10-29T23:47:00.001+02:00

a review and another one. they can hear us!
/always misha.

jp is our guy.

2010-10-29T13:03:00.000+02:00

on stage in five!

2010-10-29T12:57:00.002+02:00

two gigs are booked. both in sweden.

on november 10th we'll be playing pub anchor in stockholm. check out this site and this one too.

on november 19th we're heading to karlstad with our good friends in caballero. we'll be playing at this place on this club.

see you there
/misha.

q's and a's.

2010-10-26T12:15:00.004+02:00

before i answer the few questions we got i'd just like to say i'm kinda glad you didn't ask more questions. it somewhat proves to me i'm not the only one in this world who listenes to the music and couldn't give a shit who the persons behind are. most times, bands are quite uninteresting outside of their soundscape. other times, it's their persona alone that is interesting. therfore i don't read much articles about bands, check out their websites or even read reviews. with all this internet lying around, who needs reviwes anymore? plus, i'm way to busy living to be reading about other people living theirs.

anyways, here goes.

jp wrote -
are you going to make any more albums? i find it sad and irritating that not very much people know of your awesome band.
anyway is there gonna be a new album?

we never know what we are going to do. we pretty much shoot every decision from the hip. right now though, we feel that lingua can go a long way so for now we keep going in that direction. on the other hand, our other bands rövfitta and come sleep came about because we grew tired of always doing lingua, so i definitley think we'll do other stuff as well. but to answer your question: right now we are focusing on promoting this album, but we are eager to get to work on the next.
and as for what our popularity goes, see it as your mission to spread our music to anyone you meet. word to mouth is still number one in our book. go tell the world!

thorsten wrote -
will you support metallica on their next world tour?

we'd love to, but i find it highly unlikely. on the other hand, wouldn't we feel a bit misplaced?

simone wrote -
why aren't you working on a videoclip? you really should do it, it's an amazing way to get attention.

you are absolutely right and we somewhat are. my plan is to make one for prodigal son but i need to come up with an idea that is good and cheap to visualize and then make it myself. something easier said than done when trying to maintain a fulltime work and raising a family. no complaints, i love my life, it just takes time doing some of the stuff. this is still a hobby to us since we don't teally make any money and the money we make go straight to making new records or merch. in shorter words: it's coming, have patience. :)

jp said -
well i did put a video up on youtube of "im not". i would just like to know if there is gonna be another album cuz you can never have enuff lingua.. well i cant anyway..

watch it here.

ian moone wrote -
does anyone know where i can find lyrics? i mean seriously you can find anything on google BUT Lingua lyrics..

for our fist album we didn't want to release them for some artistic reason i can't remeber. for this album we figured we would but forgot to. i have most on my lap top, so mail me at lingua (at) lingua . nu and i'll send all that i have. fair enough?

and that's the end of my lunch break so that's it for this time!
talk to you soon
//misha.

say it ain't so.

2010-10-10T18:27:00.003+02:00

if the questions don't come to the band the band comes to the questions, so here's what i'm thinking: you ask the questions and we'll answer them. so post you questions as comments to this blog post and i'll post a new blog with a bunch of answers. piece of cake! i'll give you a week to sharpen those pencils and formulate your questions and then we'll sit down and answer them. it'll be great.
talk to you soon
/misha.

i love europe.

2010-10-03T21:00:00.005+02:00

since i'm so found of myself i felt i had too google our latest album title and this is what i found.

*the italians keep digging what we do.
*the germans are starting to.
*this guy seem to have his heart into metal and still finds songs to like on our "friendliest" work to date. impressive!
*a swedish fella reminds us that this is indeed a different album than the things we have done before and should be given the benefit of a hearing without preconcieved oppinions.
*here's where to buy the album if you are dutch.
*and here's a polish dude who's grieving the loss of his favourite band, thine.

apparently, we're all over europe.

//misha.

party hard!

2010-09-28T09:55:00.002+02:00

we just wanna say thanks to everyone who showed up to the party yesterday, we had an amazing time! the gig went great, the sound was intense, lots of old and new friends showed up, we sold so many records we're gonna have to order new ones immidiately and the atmosphere was just loving and joyful. thanks a million for sharing this with us! i will try to get a hold of pictures or videos and stuff from this event and post it here. but first i'm gonna have to get through this day of work and then catch up on some sleep.

later
/misha.

today is the day we celebrate the day!

2010-09-27T06:31:00.002+02:00

wish us luck! and in case yuo can't make it: wish you were there!

the man who sold the world.

2010-09-26T09:45:00.002+02:00

and now we're on iTunes as well! a must for all fans new technology who wan't to support the album.

/misha.

ps. tomorrow we celebrate the release with a huge party! wanna come? ds.

today is the day!

2010-09-24T12:34:00.002+02:00

today is the official release date of our latest album 'all my rivals are imaginay ghosts'. i will celebrate that with a fine cigar and some single malt. how will you celebrate?

/misha.

simply irresistible.

2010-09-23T05:47:00.003+02:00

we've got a new website up and running! from there you can easily gain access to the most important lingua sites on the world wide web. you can also download a little press kit including two rather big photos so for all of you who lack lingua posters on your wall you can consider that kit as an invitation to make them yourselves.

and to make things really clear: the facebook group will let you tell other facebook users that you like our music and our myspace has some music and probably the best tour callendar. but this blog will still be the information highway bringing you your lingua truths faster than anyone else.

and do check out last fm. it's awesome!

now go check out new website out!

i bought the law!

2010-09-21T12:43:00.003+02:00

ok, so here are the places i know where you can find our NEW album:

www.megastore.se
www.auralmusic.com (in stock)
www.cdon.se

and here are some places where you can buy the OLD record:

www.versionstudio.com (in stock)
www.megastore.se (in stock)
www.cdon.se

if you have found other places that sell them, make a comment about it here! and if you need more options, check the comments to this post.

but the cheapset way to buy it is still at our release party so make sure you don't miss that!
/misha.

un giorno con lingua.

2010-09-20T19:05:00.001+02:00

and as a bonus for all you italian fellas, here's an interview.

Ciao Italia!

2010-09-20T12:40:00.001+02:00

and the italians just love us!

/misha.

55:22.

2010-09-20T12:32:00.001+02:00

hey swedes, buy the record at cdon.com! that is if you are not coming to our release party, then you buy it cheaper straight from us!

it's here, it's life!

2010-09-17T11:21:00.002+02:00

now go buy it!

loud love!

2010-09-14T22:55:00.002+02:00

now, i really shouldn't be writing this, but my hope is that anyone who will attend the release party does NOT follow the following advise. but since most you reading this probably aren't swedes, i'll write it anyway. you see, i just got a hold on some sweet information that our new album is already for sale on auralmusic.com! YES, it's true! go there, buy it, listen to it 'til it's all scratched and unplayable and then buy another copy! BUT, as i said, if you are coming to the party, we wil have sweet deals and you should give your money to us for maximum chance of world domination. now go buy my record!

/misha.

ps. BUY IT! ds.

stinkfist.

2010-09-12T12:55:00.002+02:00

i was sent this link, quite fun. me and a couple of friends made a birthday gig last winter and played three tool covers. this is one of them. enjoy!

world wide linguistics.

2010-09-06T20:43:00.002+02:00

if hungarian is what floats your boat right now then this is some good reading for you! judging from the only thing understandable for us on the page, the numbers "8/10", we've done good!

//misha.

refuge.

2010-08-30T21:55:00.002+02:00

our dear friends in a swarm of the sun release their full lenght album zenith today and playing bass on a few tracks is none other than our very own anders carlström. misha, anders and thomas have been part of their live band and it is erik of a swarm of the sun who is versionstudio that recorded and released come sleep and sells our merch. so do check them out on their website and listen to their older stuff on spotify.

in four weeks it's time for another release. good times!

misha.

release me.

2010-08-28T08:42:00.002+02:00

eye of the beholder.

2010-08-22T12:29:00.003+02:00

now, this is the undisputed truth: if you are ANYTHING like this guy, you will absolutely agree with his every word. in fact, if i had his taste in music, i would agree the shit out of his review. fortunately, i have not.

for a great reading experience for those who lack a german vocabulary i give to thee: altavista babelfish.

/misha, the uninspired guitarist. ;)

party hard!

2010-08-22T08:16:00.002+02:00

you can't release a cd without having a party, right? the plans are still quite vague but these few elements of facts can be considered truths: on september 27th we're having it here. basically, it will be dj's, a chance to be the first to lay your hands on the new cd and, of course, a live performance from the band. but stay tuned as we lay the exact facts down as soon as they are written in stone.

p, a, r, t. y? because we gotta!
//misha.

its complexity is everything but a handicap.

2010-08-18T12:27:00.001+02:00

first review found. looking good! read it here.

//misha.

true love waits.

2010-08-11T12:49:00.002+02:00

ladies and gentlemen, we have a release date!

yes, it's true, on september 24th you will be able to purchase your own copy of lingua's second album "all my rivals are imaginary ghosts". will be back with more info on where to purchase this phenomenal album.

and i've forgotten to tell you, as of july this year, we celebrate a decade as a band! not bad, eh?

//misha. old in the game, young at heart.

Duke Teasem!

2010-07-30T12:51:00.004+02:00

hey, kids!

wanna hear some new songs? as of today we've added an album teaser on our myspace! it's a five minute mix of what's to come on the 55 minutes released in september. we also chose to replace the demo versions of disperse! and dejected with the new and improved album versions. and if that ain't enough for you, check out the new designs, both here and on our myspace! smart kids could easily figure out they're teasers as well of what to expcet from the artwork.

today's a great day, can you feel it?

/misha.

message in a bottle.

2010-07-07T12:50:00.002+02:00

the master tape is in the mail and on its way to italy!

buon voyage!
//misha.

a vicious catalyst.

2010-06-18T20:41:00.002+02:00

i'm sitting at home listening to the new lingua album in my headphones as i write this. i just got my hands on the master tape that thomas sent me and i'm telling you, we've created something unbelievable here! when we started the recording of this album we had just bought our first recording gear and begun building our own studio: a 20 square meter rehearsalroom filled with moderate technology. enough to get started, enough to get something on tape. but then what? well, i'll let you all be the judge of the end result when it's out there. but i for one can't place the studio to the end result! it just couldn't have been created there, but i watched it happen!

i can't wait for you all to hear it! but both you and i will have to contain ourselves for another three months for that to happen. gah!!

//misha.

pennybridge pioneers.

2010-05-30T18:23:00.008+02:00

a shitload of pictures were taken this weekend at yeahfestivalen, here are a few of them.

all photos by madelene westling.

and the circus leave town.

2010-05-25T06:10:00.002+02:00

it's official. well, it has been for quite some time, but now it's on the internet. for you who don't understand swedish i suggest altavista babelfish or google language tools for a near understanding experience.

//misha.

i can't get no communication.

2010-05-23T10:41:00.002+02:00

ever since the release of "the smell..." we've been listed as latin music on allmusic.com. now, we've heard journalists describe us as goth and had people from the crowd come up after gigs and thankig us for some great emo, so i guess we float arund in different genres and are hard to categorize. and it should be said that i've enjoyed that impession of being hard to pu your thumb on. but even though i don't care much for genres and categories, i wouldn't want them latin lovers to get the wrong impression and mistakenly buy our album for their next salsa fiesta. unfortunately, emailing these guys is not working, so in the meantime i leave you something to giggle at. and, oh, i hope the irony of this is getting through, so you don't think that i'm under the impression of lingua being a big seller or search hit at allmusic.com. i'm not. still funny though.

//misha.

meantime.

2010-05-18T20:31:00.002+02:00

we're working on it. in the meantime, check out this really old video of us playing 'constant state of puttra' (yup, mascot records spelled it wrong) live at KGB bar in stockholm some five years ago or so. time flies. good times!

on the raod again.

2010-05-17T12:17:00.002+02:00

are you sitting at home, bored to your teeth and thinking "gosh, them new lingua tunes sure would be nice to hear, but how am i going to sneak a peak at them before they are released i september?" it's funny you should mention that because..

lingua have been booked for this years edition of yeahfestivalen in örebro, sweden, and will be playing a whole bunch of them steaming hot new tracks on may 29th. stay tuned on their website as they will soon release the full schedual for all 100 bands and 4 stages. and oh, it does get better, the festival is COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE! so come by, have a beer with us and see some good shows. the more the merrier! feel free to organize your carpooling here on our blog or on our facebook fansite. then grab your tent and come on by! you've really no reason not to.

get more info here.

/misha.

pictures of you.

2010-05-13T22:11:00.009+02:00

more photos! here are some from the photoshoot we did today. big thanks to our patient and endurant models john and madelene, you were great!

john is getting ready for the prom.

the crime scene.

make it work!

all play AND work.

ok, maybe not all play..

she made it happen, the great soile!

tightening the noose.

2010-05-13T08:00:00.004+02:00

everything is starting to fall into it's right place and we're tying the sack together. last friday we did a gig with come sleep and it felt good claiming and owning a stage again. soile siirtola was there and she took some photos and we talked a bit about the photoshoot she's doing with us today. click on the pic or go to her website and check them photos out.

we've also named all 14 tracks. they're no longer known as "dregd" or "thomas couldn't make it". nope, nowdays they've got cool names like "it's there, it's life" and "in mere defense". and yes, there's an album title, have i mentioned it yet? our next album is going to be called "all my rivals are imaginary ghosts". think about it.. (pun intended for thomas)

all tracks are reay for master. the artwork is set and most of it is done, at least in my head. the end of may doesn't seem that unrealistic to hold as a deadline worth relying on. yay for us!

god speed and good bless!
/misha.

i can see clearly.

2010-05-02T18:41:00.004+02:00

a brief update is the least we can offer you at this piont. thomas' ears are beyond repair right now and i am impressed with his hard work on the mixes. we are at a "final touches" stage after having been served only one set of mixes. as i've said before, we're a trimed machine on this record. focused like marathon runners and oiled like bearings. we're passing all checkpoints on schedual and come may we're officially in mastering.

we've also changed the entire direction of the artwork. earlier we were to work with mattia marchi again (as we did on "the smell..") and even though he's a great photographer, we felt that an album that has such a different vibe than the last should definitely mark that out in the layout. we also wanted to work with a more direct pictual language rather than the sublime artworks we've done before. for this, we've chosen to team up with soile siirtola. a great live photographer who's done a lot of artwork for many great swedish metal bands but who's nature photographing is way more interesting. we've had the meetings, put the ideas to paper and in mid may we'll try capturing them through a lens. my first direction of a photosession. everything is new on this record.

in may we're also hitting the stage twice. once with come sleep (in stockholm on may 7th) and once with lingua (at the yeah festival in örebro on may 29th, more on that as we get the information). for that we need to rehearse and as i wrote before, we haven't done much of that lately. so we're ignoring the fact that we sound like we've only just started and hope to reach the point of a well trimmed earcrusher before it's time to hit the stage. keep your fingers crossed..

//misha.

in search of the fourth chord.

2010-04-22T20:16:00.001+02:00

ever wondered how we write our songs?

my hero

2010-04-17T09:35:00.002+02:00

so, peter steele. another late hero. i remember when i discovered type o negative. i was at a party at some girls house and as always, i was too shy to even begin a conversation with a girl so i sat down by the stereo with the other shy guys and listened to metal insread. no girls arund us liked metal so this became a very good way of alienating oneself from them even more. anyways, my friend tommy showed me a new record he had found called "bloody kisses". the two girls kissing on the cover fueled my interest way more than any of the words he uttered about the record. i was sold right away, the provocating athiest in me responded well to songs like christian woman och the angry teen in me on the rest. i later discovered "slow, deep and hard" which spoke to my anger even more. it became a soundtrack for my last five years as a teen. i was and angry a disillusioned kid and the songs humor about all the dark feelings you have as one helped me laugh about it.

as i read that he ws dead i realized a lot of my hereos seem to die. jeff buckley wrote one of the best albums to come out of the 90's and drowned shortly thereafter before finishing its follow up. dimebag darrell was the doer of things impossible in panter but got shot onstage at a damage plan gig for being in the wrong band. another hero drowned in the swedish archipellago leaving wife and kids behind. when esbjörn svensson died, i didn't mourn much of the future music we'd lost as i did the fact that his kids lost their father.

so in retrospect, to all my fallen heroes, here's another videovaganza to feast your eyes

listen to the bassline to the coffe break, simply amazing stuff.

i've only love for drumsets made out of bricks.

one voice, a billion possibilities.

and to sum them up with another fine artist:

a whole river of derchi's to you all! well, except for dave, we hope to keep you everlong.

//misha.

another late hero.

2010-04-15T23:06:00.001+02:00

rest in peace, peter. we had some great times.

spare no instrument!

2010-04-03T09:34:00.003+02:00

last week we did some final touches to a couple of the songs. 'cobalt sky' got a new intro. we took harrisons vocals and added a distorted drumloop and some organs and it got quite epic. unusual huh? 'cure lou' (wroking title) got some tambourine and 'temle garden' was given a melodica at the end. my friend daniel from vaka is helping us out adding melotrone to a couple of songs as well. all in all most songs already sounded finished, but as we tried stuff out we noticed that some of the songs lifted enormously with the extra touches. other songs didn't really respond to it at all so we decided to let them be and speak for themselves. all in all a good week with great fun, and as of april 1st, we're officially mixing the album! not warp speed, but definitley forward! we also need to rehearse a couple of times for the upcoming come sleep gig we're doing with our friends switch opens, karpis and moloken on may 7th. it's been a while since we played together as a live entity and not just sat down one person at a time recroding.

i'll leave you with the video of the week and some crazy norwegians. their latest album has some real magic going on i tell you. check it out!

//misha

sleepwalk capsules.

2010-03-21T16:54:00.005+01:00

videoaganza time!

i ran across this video and got a flashback from the year me and thomas started lingua. fresh out of school we sat at his parents house and fell in love with at the drive-in's relationship of command. their album had a lot of influence on lingua's early stuff as well as tool, fireside, deftones and dredg. good times!

oh, and the music nerd in me needs to point out the three different verses in this song (or whatever they are). only the choruses are repetitive. pure genious!

tip of the next day.

2010-03-21T15:42:00.001+01:00

its a bit old, but it doesn't get old.

tip of the day

2010-03-20T07:56:00.000+01:00

crowds want blood.

2010-03-20T07:12:00.004+01:00

ok, so what have we been up to lately? well, i'll tell you. after some sickness we went out and NAILED the last vocals to this record. a most interesting track. the most pop we've ever done, and i don't mean pop as in "help" with the beatles. we also added some zulu to another track, coblat sky. our dear friend harrison from capetown, who is from south africa, came to the studio and added some african vocals and taught me how to so i could do it with him. having spent my youth with peter gabriel albums and the last two years listening to artists such as tinariwen and ali farka touré and also rediscovering paul simon's 80's through vampire weekend, it was an extraordinary experience working with harrison and his musical roots. the song, by the way, lifted itself a fifth notch and once this is fully arranged, edited and mixed it will be one of my absolute favourites on this album.

//misha.

a duche says what?

2010-03-03T06:31:00.004+01:00

so, last night i was trying to make a video tour on our studio/rehersal room about our gear and the conditions of the place we record at, just as i've been asked to do (one of the few requests we've actually gotten). but after two minutes of jibberish i heard the sound of my own stumbling voice and called it quits. it turns out my english is only this good when i write. as soon as i start speaking there's a lot of words thrown in to fill out the blanks and it sounds rediculous. it just doesn't sound cool (or educative for that matter) when a swedish guy says "y' know?", "n' shit" and can only reach for prhrases like "cool sounds" or "awesome noise" to describe what comes out of his speakers. so, if we are to blog about our gear, it needs to be written in words, not spoken in slang.

instead, i did what i do best and worked my stuff on a song we call "dredg" (and by now you should know why). it has a lot of pop elements to it and to enhance those i added accoustic guitars to all the background stuff. thomas has just bought a new fender telecaster with an emg pick-up and it made the key melody sound almost as if played with an e-bow, but without the tremolo touch. i also wrote an extra melody for the second part of the chorus and it worked perfect as a double for the vocals and gave the song a tad of darkness in the midst of all the pop and happy-joy-joy (remember to take that from someone who wrote our last album, anything you don't wan't to slit your wrists to is happy-joy-joy in my book. or it used to be anyways).

tomorrow, it's thomas' turn to work his tonsils. i will make them bleed.

//misha.

let my balalaika sing what my guitar wants to say.

2010-02-27T10:35:00.004+01:00

next week we'll do our very best to lay down the last bits to the last song. we were to start on it this week but i freezed my hands off trying to get to the studio by public transportation and lost my mood along the way (sweden is experiencing its coldest winter for 144 years and apparently i'm having problems finding the right gloves to go along with it). luckily i'd just written lyrics to another song and thomas read it, liked it and nailed it. all in two hours! i'm still a bit amazed that during this process, we haven't really left the studio more than once or twice feeling we'd done a poor job or even saved some work for the next session. and since we are no machines, it has to be inspiration that drives us. i don't think we're exeptional by any means, i'm just glad to experience what i've imagined so many other bands have experienced berfore me.

so, come early march and we have 14 complete songs. and since 14 songs are a bit much for an album we have a new and luxurious problem we've never had to deal with before: we have to pick out songs for the album. right now, since we've just put our souls into everyone of them, that might become a problem. but it's a cross i can bare, haha, making a killer album and all!

talk to you soon.
/misha.

bastard samurai.

2010-02-19T20:16:00.004+01:00

me and thomas were in the studio again yesterday. another one of those fantastic days armed to the teeth with creativity! we'd made plans to do the remaining parts to a song called cobalt sky. the drums were already there, and for the first time ever we've looped some of them, and so was anders' bass parts. thomas had already laid down the vocals for the first part of the song and it helped me alot to catch the feel of it. he'd created magic again. there are some high and distant volcals in the beginning of the song before the verse and to them he'd aded what sounded almost like a gospel choior and it just lifted that part to whole new levels. i'd brought my accoustic guitar and as my boss was late to work that day i sat in the hallway listening to old takes of the song and worked out some new ideas to back up the original guitars. we ended up rearranging most guitars to that part and also they added new dimentions to the very same song. as we came to the end of the session and i'd added all the ideas i could come up with thomas just had to lay the last of the vocals. we just couldn't stop working!

i did not get a rough mix of that song to take home with me, but i did get eleves of the songs we'd already done mixed to what thomas likes to refere as "85% done". i was too tired to listen to them after all that yesterday had to offer so instead i listened to them as i went to work today. i really must say, this is going to be something. it's a weird feeling when things finally fall to place because even if you follow every step of the process really carefully you still really have no clue how things are going to turn out. there are too many parameters to that equation. so when you hear the songs together, almost done, and they let you hear in what direction you are going you listen with big ears. and if you like the direction, like i did, and feels it is everything you wanted and then some, you get struck by a sudden burst of pride and joy.

is going to be swell, folks. just you wait and see. i've put thomas on the mission to make a two minute snippet of random (read: carefully chosen) parts from the songs. this way you can judge yourself if we are doing our job right, instead of me just telling you we are.

//misha.

too legit to quit!

2010-02-14T08:17:00.003+01:00

finally!

as of now you can become a fan of lingua at facebook and have your friends discover the greatess of our music too!

world wide domination via world wide web!

//misha.

just add voice.

2010-02-02T23:14:00.005+01:00

so, thomas called me up at four in the afternoon saying he'd written the lyrics for a song we call doomsday (but in swedish). it turns out he'd been having one of those clear vision things going on and wrote the thing in an hour or so. i downloaded the lyrics and not much to my surprise, it was real good. so we took care of that energy and met up in the studio to started recoring the song. some of the lyrics didn't really work out so we changed a few rows and words and then the whole thing grew naturaly. we had a real good wibe tnight and i think it shows in the end result.

as we record i usually only have one earphone and keep the the other ear free. i do it for two reasons: 1. i want to hear exactly how thomas sings and 2. i really like the way thomas sounds! i figured i'd let you in on the fun so i recorded this video on my cell inbetween pressing rec and stop. hope you all enjoy the uncut, unautotuned and truly naked sound of thomas and the italian gestures that come with the drama of the lyrics.

///misha.

all we need is a little patience.

2010-01-30T12:40:00.003+01:00

so, we have drums for all tracks. i still have two songs to add my guitar magic to and then rework some of the old magic that didn't seem all that magical after listening to it later on. anders is on his last song and then there is thomas and his five songs left to sing. some lyrics still need to be written, but in all fairness, if anyone dare think he might be a slow worker, he's in fact been engineering and mixing everything we've recorded and is 85% done with the mixes to the songs that are fully done. that's some amazing work that 1. i would have never pulled off and 2. deserves some serious acknowlegement! hail thomas, now let's work on them lyrics.

we have a good schedual mapped out and we're keeping it so far. as soon as all songs are recorded with the basic drums, bass, guitar and vocals, we're going to add other instrumentation. i'm really looking forward to that since it almost always takes the songs to whole new dimensions. then, in may, the rest of us wait impatiently while thomas finishes the mixes and we get to organize the songs into an album. then, there's more imaptient waiting as we send the album off for mastering. but when that is finally done and we have a complete record with artwork and all. we send it off to aural music and (yep, you should be able to guess this by now) we wait for september and its release.

so, wait is the disease and impatience our cure.

now what?

//misha.

bang your head to this.

2010-01-19T21:50:00.002+01:00

three very content guys.

a small victory.

2010-01-15T11:04:00.002+01:00

we're getting there. recently we've:

* recorded the last drum tracks.
* recruited mattia marchi and his photographies for the artwork.
* teamed up with erik svallingson again to make the artwork.
* added more x's to the recording scheme.

and next week we're shredding guitars.

baby steps, people, baby steps.

///misha.

been caught stealin'.

2010-01-03T23:24:00.002+01:00

we've been blogged!

i'd love to say i'm a real hacker, but this guy tipped himself off. he put us in his dowladable mp3-shuffle and got asked about our stuff so he put out a lot of old material on his site. so if there are songs you are missing from our catalogue that we are not giving away, this guys got them. check out this, this and this. he's got more on us than we do, and i love the dedication!

///misha.

so this is christmas?

2010-01-01T09:21:00.002+01:00

happy new year!

we're entering a new decade and 2010 is looking quite exciting already! yes, i know, i sound a bit like a salesman saying it. but i really am looking forward to it! were looking at a release of the album in september but before that, lingua celebrates ten years as a band in july! we really should throw a big party, any suggestions? before that we need to lay down all drum tracks before mid-january because there seems to be something weird going on with our presonus recording system and it needs to be returned for repairs before the warranty runs out. after that we can use another recording system with less pre-amops. so we start out a bit hectic, but that's quite alrigt.

meanwhile, stockholm is experiencing a classic winter with tons of snow for the first time in ages so me and my daughter are out hitting the snow covered hills with the sleigh.

talk to ya soon
///misha.

temple of the old soundgarden.

2009-11-29T10:45:00.009+01:00

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.

transmission

2009-11-29T09:28:00.005+01:00

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:

sneaky peaky

2009-11-28T21:21:00.003+01:00

from what's to come

music by lingua
photo by mattia marchi

if only tonight we could sleep.

2009-10-25T16:05:00.003+01:00

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).

living after midnight.

2009-10-22T15:25:00.002+02:00

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.

on the road again.

2009-10-17T18:43:00.002+02:00

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.

the meeting.

2009-10-10T20:50:00.003+02:00

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.

just a tiny taste will do the trick.

2009-10-04T18:47:00.002+02:00

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.

billion dollar babies.

2009-09-30T07:52:00.006+02:00

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.

all photos by jakob berglund. ask before you use.

no excuses.

2009-09-22T07:58:00.003+02:00

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.

kick out the jams.

2009-08-24T14:50:00.003+02:00

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...

and you will know us by the curegarden dredgtone tool of a muse.

2009-08-14T08:14:00.004+02:00

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.

brun utan soul.

2009-08-12T08:22:00.003+02:00

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.

big mutha truckin'.

2009-07-30T12:06:00.003+02:00

men at work.

signed, sealed, deliverance.

2009-07-30T11:53:00.003+02:00

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.

the world is our oyster.

2009-07-18T17:31:00.005+02:00

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!

black hole sun.

2009-07-14T10:28:00.003+02:00

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.

what happened?

2009-07-12T19:14:00.003+02:00

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.

signal to noise.

2009-07-10T21:36:00.005+02:00

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.