Extra credit
I thought I’d go a bit more into how the album was made, for those of you who may be curious. Not that we should reveal everything, because everyone likes a bit of mystery, but there are people who need credit, and the record would not be here without them.
I wrote most of the songs in the later part of 2008. Some songs already existed in early form, like ‘A certain affinity’, ‘december’ or ‘crush’, but they have evolved since the recording, and they became part of the narrative of the album quite naturally.
I started tracking the demo versions as I was recovering from my spine operation, and I realised i could go over the demos while lying down. Most of what you hear was still recorded at home.
“When you sleep’ was recorded at my home in Italy, thanks to my brother’s passion for drop-tuning. I’m not that adventurous when it comes to guitar playing, and he definitely expanded my knowledge and technical vocabulary. He’s only seventeen, which is the best part. Dante was sleeping next to me, so the song – and the title – came quite naturally.
The mixing was done with and by my friend Nick at Wallwork Studios. It was a new experience for the two of us, as he had never mixed a project he hadn’t recorded, and I hadn’t had the chance to let somebody else work on my material before. There are many details that are entirely his, throughout the record. And the time spent in the studio reminded me how it felt to work on a creative process with others.
In the studio, Tim Ngoh helped with drums, and ‘crush’ and ‘1994′ could not have sounded that completewithout him.
While we were at it, we re-recorded most guitar and bass parts too. And that took us to early July, when we mastered the whole thing, and sat through it and thought ‘ok, that’s it I guess’.
I am grateful to the friends who listened to the tracks at various stages and kept me going. Max, Lisa, Errol and Lesley were the best critics I could have. And I apologise to Jo, who had to go through many false starts…
Errol took care of the artwork, and the photographs are by Alvelyn Alko. You really should check out her flickr portfolio. If you lift the CD you’ll see a picture with a child and a grandfather. That’s me, and Nonno Giulio was probably the greatest influence in my life when it comes to music. The album is dedicated to his memory, and Nonna Antonia’s, who passed away last year.
As always, thank you for listening!
No comments yet.