Friday, December 21, 2012

Happy Holidays

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2013!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Recall

Today Clint Murphy, our recording and mixing engineer, did a recall of one of the songs and made some changes. Nothing major, but we thought it would make a difference.

He then sent the new mix over and we okayed it via e-mail. It was great before, now it's perfect. It was definitely worth it. We're very pleased indeed!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Days After

After the end of the recording session Friday night we took the week-end off. Half of us went to London and the other half went to Cardiff. Seems like we craved the city life after a week in the countryside.

Back home we're still very excited about the songs we've recorded. We can't wait to show them to you all! We are planning to release the first single early next year, and the follow-up in early spring. That's not too long from now. And there's so much more to do.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Fifth Day

Last night Clint started mixing - this morning we heard the first song. It sounds massive!! Our first single is in the can.

In the afternoon we dropped off Muso at the airport, because he had to leave early. Back in the studio we were about to watch Elvis' That's The Way It Is (once more), when I was called in to record some last-minute backing vocals. Clint and Greg had an idea for the second verse.

Before dinner we heard the second mix. It sounded even more massive!!

We'll get to hear the third song later tonight.



Thursday, October 25, 2012

Fourth Day

All vocals recorded! Clint has already started mixing the first song. Really happy with everything so far.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Second Day

Today Muso finished the remaining drum parts. Ben is still tracking bass - synths as well as the real deal.


Monday, October 22, 2012

Tracking Drums

Busy all day and evening recording guide tracks, drums and acoustic guitars. Sounding great!





















1 Day To Go

Last time when we were in the studio, our manager and newly appointed executive video producer, has bought a brand new, top-of-the range camcorder. He also bought a powerful Macbook Pro as well as a fine video editing suite (including an advanced user guide :-).

We were in the studio for a month and documented the whole process in HD-video. A hundred hours of video. It would have made a great making of...

But when we got home the hard drive crashed. Irreversibly. Highlights like Mike's bike tour through the Cotswolds and Muso's record breaking drumming marathon will forever be lost.

Anyway, we almost forgot until now. We thought it would be great to have some footage of the upcoming recordings. However, our camcorder also crashed and can't be repaired. Can anyone believe that?!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Marvin Photographer on Good Morning America

Photographer Sebastian Magnani, with whom we're currently collaborating on our forthcoming single and album releases, has been featured on abc news' Good Morning America.

Demand for his "underdogs" has skyrocketed since the show. He told us he's been extremely busy these last couple of days - he's been flooded with requests. Well that's pretty awesome!

The only downside of all this is that he probably won't be able to join us in the studio next week.


3 Days To Go


Thursday, October 18, 2012

4 Days To Go

Time flies by. Can't believe I've skipped a day. Did Wednesday really happen?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

6 Days To Go

Today I passed by a music shop for a few things. It's a fascinating place - and not just for the guitars and the recording gear in display. I could linger there all day and not be bored for a single minute.

When I was there, a customer called in and asked the salesperson where the headphone output was located on his new electro drum kit. He had bought it a mere half hour before.

Apparently the kid was so excited when he left the shop, he wasn't able to recall anything the salesperson had told him. And at home he must have become so frustrated for not being able to hear anything at all, that he called DRUMMER-911.

Wouldn't one expect a company to make their kits as user friendly and self-explanatory as possible? My guess is that the headphone out is probably the most used feature of all in an electro drum.

Now I can't tell you exactly where it is located. But as I understood it, you'd have to perform a mini triangle pose on your knees with a slight backbend, to reach it.

Monday, October 15, 2012

7 Days To Go

Here are 7 of our songs we have released as singles so far. There are a few more, but let's make it 7 for today. One omission, for example, is This Good Life, which I've recently heard while shopping at a nearby mall. It's quite a pleasing moment when you realize the sound you are hearing is not just strangely familiar, but actually your own.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

8 Days To Go

Another week before we're back in the studio. It will be the first time with the new line-up, so it's going to be exciting and fun.

As you can imagine, there are still a few things to do before the session. But it's also a good time to write completely new material.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

9 Days To Go

Recently I've listened to the entire Beatles catalogue in the order the songs were recorded. I've used Ian MacDonald and his fantastic Revolution In The Head as my tour guide. What a wonderful trip!

I remember buying my first Beatles record when I was about 10. I found a white (vinyl) album that had no title and no artwork whatsoever at a local yard sale. I hesitated for a bit, because it was in poor condition. The vinyl had scratches all over. But the four gorgeous portraits of the musicians finally won me over. I would frame them and hang them on the wall. Also, it had a number on the cover, as if it were a limited edition. I thought that was cool. That was radical.

It turned out that the sound was just as radical! Like nothing I had ever heard before, neither by them nor by anyone else. That's when I fell in love with the Beatles.

I hadn't noticed at the time that it was a double album, and that the first record was missing. So for some time sides 3 and 4 were all I knew of the White Album. Number nine, number nine, number nine...




Friday, October 12, 2012

10 Days To Go

A couple of months ago I gave our label the demos I had produced. Old-style CD-R. It's more convenient to listen to in a Porsche than audio files in Dropbox, Wuala, YouSendit, or e-mail.

Number 10 is our a&r's favorite song. From the moment he played it in his office, he knew we had to record it. It's a classic Marvin song with a touch of folk. Think Norwegian Wood with a chorus.

It's catchy. And I like catchy. A lot.

As usual with this kind of song, the band has had second thoughts. It may not be the hippest song in the world, but who knows? It may not represent a "new style", whatever that is. But isn't it a great little tune?

At the end of the day, I don't mind too much which songs we're going to record. I like them all. And I enjoy going into the studio without knowing the exact outcome.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

11 Days To Go



It's coming closer...there's only 11 days to go until we're back in the studio! Time to choose our favorite guitars and get a new haircut.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Recordings scheduled

After what feels like a lifetime, we'll finally be back in the studio this October. The dates are all confirmed - we're very excited!