Monday, January 23, 2012
The curse of Kastrup and some other bad vibes...
Yup, it's been a rough path since the drums were done.
Since then we've finished with the guitars and were supposed to start with bass recordings today - but didn't quite get there. Let's hope all starts to smoothen up tomorrow..
We are still on schedule, but tensions have been running high amongst Kvarforth and the rest. Hence the focus has been solely on work, and less on other aspects related to music - such as promotion or blogging.
However, today we will post a new video again, and will start on our daily routine of posting one every day - I have my hopes up that the tension will go down for a while and we'll see some genuinely relaxed faces here too, though it must always be kept in mind that studio sessions are always a very tiring experience.
Being locked up in a studio is not a glamorous good time party like some might think.. even when it is in such a good studio as the one Shining is in!
Sonic Train Studios is definitely a brilliant place to record and stay at, from staff to surroundings, a big thumbs up for Andy LaRocque for hosting such a magnificent place to record at! Without this place there'd definitely be a lot more tension and stress goin' round..
We also survived the SpineFeast at Sea 2012 at the Baltic Princess cruise ship - the trip to the ship was not an easy one, and that tired the band up even more. Here's hoping the winds will change and clearer waters lie ahead!
Stay tuned for more!
Since then we've finished with the guitars and were supposed to start with bass recordings today - but didn't quite get there. Let's hope all starts to smoothen up tomorrow..
We are still on schedule, but tensions have been running high amongst Kvarforth and the rest. Hence the focus has been solely on work, and less on other aspects related to music - such as promotion or blogging.
However, today we will post a new video again, and will start on our daily routine of posting one every day - I have my hopes up that the tension will go down for a while and we'll see some genuinely relaxed faces here too, though it must always be kept in mind that studio sessions are always a very tiring experience.
Being locked up in a studio is not a glamorous good time party like some might think.. even when it is in such a good studio as the one Shining is in!
Sonic Train Studios is definitely a brilliant place to record and stay at, from staff to surroundings, a big thumbs up for Andy LaRocque for hosting such a magnificent place to record at! Without this place there'd definitely be a lot more tension and stress goin' round..
We also survived the SpineFeast at Sea 2012 at the Baltic Princess cruise ship - the trip to the ship was not an easy one, and that tired the band up even more. Here's hoping the winds will change and clearer waters lie ahead!
Stay tuned for more!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
From drums to guitars and all...
It was one loooong weekend here, with Friday being a bankholiday and all.
Most went to their homes in Halmstad but Niklas and the undersigned had to stay at the studio, home is too far away to travel for just a few days.
However, everyone returned to the studio on Monday, unscathed, and so far the guitar sounds have been perfected, and even a few bits recorded.
We'll continue with the guitars tomorrow, and tomorrow I'll also post a collective video of the last three (somewhat monotonous) days. In the meanwhile I asked the guys to blog for a bit - it's so boring to read just my own words here..
So here goes, let's start with Niklas:
What are you skriving? Blogga? Kul? NEJ. We just started recording guitars today, Huss sucks. So does Christian, being the only "eye-candy" in the band. Andy Lakoks är bra han också. We had a band-meeting for the first time since Tuska. I dont like any of these fucking mongoloids in the band. And we have manager. That pleases me! I did an interview today, seemed to be quite a nice guy, and thats alot coming from me. I can't stop looking at this one picture that was sent to me a few days ago. Fan... Nelli is trying to give me my medication. I am still on some of them but will stop Zyprexa. That will be interesting, especially for the rest of the fuckers who have to bare with little ol'me here within these walls. Tack. "Fuck you, fuck me, fuck everyone, fuck ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" / K
...and ok. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. Niklas is in a jolly mood it seems...
Let's see if Christian is feeling any better:
I'm back and recovered from a throat virus, which was really fun... We have finished the drum-chapter of the album now, and I must say that Ludwig is without a single doubt one of, if not THE best, drummer I've been lucky enough to work with. You will surely understand this when you get to hear the album. So, today we moved on to doing guitars, so it's starting to get really interesting now, because the pieces are slowly starting to fall into place. Quite a few hours was spent on finding the right tone, trying out different mics and shit like that. I must say we ended up with a really good sound. I'll start doing my parts in a week or so. Bor for now, dra åt fan!
Most went to their homes in Halmstad but Niklas and the undersigned had to stay at the studio, home is too far away to travel for just a few days.
However, everyone returned to the studio on Monday, unscathed, and so far the guitar sounds have been perfected, and even a few bits recorded.
We'll continue with the guitars tomorrow, and tomorrow I'll also post a collective video of the last three (somewhat monotonous) days. In the meanwhile I asked the guys to blog for a bit - it's so boring to read just my own words here..
So here goes, let's start with Niklas:
What are you skriving? Blogga? Kul? NEJ. We just started recording guitars today, Huss sucks. So does Christian, being the only "eye-candy" in the band. Andy Lakoks är bra han också. We had a band-meeting for the first time since Tuska. I dont like any of these fucking mongoloids in the band. And we have manager. That pleases me! I did an interview today, seemed to be quite a nice guy, and thats alot coming from me. I can't stop looking at this one picture that was sent to me a few days ago. Fan... Nelli is trying to give me my medication. I am still on some of them but will stop Zyprexa. That will be interesting, especially for the rest of the fuckers who have to bare with little ol'me here within these walls. Tack. "Fuck you, fuck me, fuck everyone, fuck ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" / K
...and ok. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. Niklas is in a jolly mood it seems...
Let's see if Christian is feeling any better:
I'm back and recovered from a throat virus, which was really fun... We have finished the drum-chapter of the album now, and I must say that Ludwig is without a single doubt one of, if not THE best, drummer I've been lucky enough to work with. You will surely understand this when you get to hear the album. So, today we moved on to doing guitars, so it's starting to get really interesting now, because the pieces are slowly starting to fall into place. Quite a few hours was spent on finding the right tone, trying out different mics and shit like that. I must say we ended up with a really good sound. I'll start doing my parts in a week or so. Bor for now, dra åt fan!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Drums for all album tracks - check!
Yup, we have reached our first milestone - all album track drums have now been recorded!
Yesterday was a cheerful day compared to the somewhat gloomy Tuesday. The final drum recordings went extremely well (which was of course to be expected from a real pro such as Ludwig!), and once everything was in the can Niklas took Witt out for a well deserved dinner to celebrate.
It is not time for Ludwig to go home just yet though, Thursday will start the drum recordings for some extra tracks and surprises that Shining has in store for all...
On a slightly sadder note it seems that Shining's not-so-new-anymore bassist Christian has fallen victim to a throat virus that has been circling around in Sweden, which forced him to stay in bed whilst all others went to town. By the powers invested us by paracetamol and vitamin supplements, we wish that he would become a healthy young man very soon again...
Things were cheerful enough for all after the dinner though as the guys bought some new movies and all spent the evening watching such gloomy classics as "Get Him to the Greek" and "The Naked Gun".
I cannot emphasize enough how good "Get Him to the Greek" is - but you'll probably get the idea after I post up Wednesday's video blog today.
Until then, keep up the good work, you've been very busy watching and commenting the blog both in here and in Facebook!
All of the guys are eagerly looking forward to all contributions and questions you have made.
So, as always, keep watching this space, and "Does anyone remember the lyrics to "African Child"?!?"
Yesterday was a cheerful day compared to the somewhat gloomy Tuesday. The final drum recordings went extremely well (which was of course to be expected from a real pro such as Ludwig!), and once everything was in the can Niklas took Witt out for a well deserved dinner to celebrate.
It is not time for Ludwig to go home just yet though, Thursday will start the drum recordings for some extra tracks and surprises that Shining has in store for all...
On a slightly sadder note it seems that Shining's not-so-new-anymore bassist Christian has fallen victim to a throat virus that has been circling around in Sweden, which forced him to stay in bed whilst all others went to town. By the powers invested us by paracetamol and vitamin supplements, we wish that he would become a healthy young man very soon again...
Things were cheerful enough for all after the dinner though as the guys bought some new movies and all spent the evening watching such gloomy classics as "Get Him to the Greek" and "The Naked Gun".
I cannot emphasize enough how good "Get Him to the Greek" is - but you'll probably get the idea after I post up Wednesday's video blog today.
Until then, keep up the good work, you've been very busy watching and commenting the blog both in here and in Facebook!
All of the guys are eagerly looking forward to all contributions and questions you have made.
So, as always, keep watching this space, and "Does anyone remember the lyrics to "African Child"?!?"
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Experiencing some temporal difficulties
Tuesday started off quite early - as in it seems that some people were not keen on sleeping at all... Larsson and Kvarforth stayed up until five in the morning, which resulted in them not really being ready to waking up at nine.
However, the drum recordings of the third song proceeded well enough whilst the others were snoring, Witt doing an amazing job with Andy La Rocque, Peter and finally even Larsson supervising.
It took hours and countless wake up attempts before Niklas finally could join the others in the studio - and there was a slight feeling of disaster in the air when he heard that some parts of the song had been modified to an easier version of the original preproduction drums. After some extra work all was luckily modified back, and everybody got out of the studio unscathed, whilst the relieved Kvarforth again fell asleep on the studio sofa. He was then escorted to sleep in his own bed, where he happily wished the whole room a "happy birthday" with a totally confused expression on his face, and fell asleep - again. And no, none of us had a birthday on Tuesday...
Not everyone was feeling dead tired though, Peter dared the stormy weather by heading for a jog whilst I, the undersigned cooked some pork for everyone. After the food the atmosphere was relaxed enough, and we called it a night fairly early.
Tuesday's video blog will be up in a few hours, featuring outtakes from Larsson and Kvarforth's long night, some desperate wake up attempts of musicians and moments of sour faces from the studio session.
Until then, stay safe and watch this space!
However, the drum recordings of the third song proceeded well enough whilst the others were snoring, Witt doing an amazing job with Andy La Rocque, Peter and finally even Larsson supervising.
It took hours and countless wake up attempts before Niklas finally could join the others in the studio - and there was a slight feeling of disaster in the air when he heard that some parts of the song had been modified to an easier version of the original preproduction drums. After some extra work all was luckily modified back, and everybody got out of the studio unscathed, whilst the relieved Kvarforth again fell asleep on the studio sofa. He was then escorted to sleep in his own bed, where he happily wished the whole room a "happy birthday" with a totally confused expression on his face, and fell asleep - again. And no, none of us had a birthday on Tuesday...
Not everyone was feeling dead tired though, Peter dared the stormy weather by heading for a jog whilst I, the undersigned cooked some pork for everyone. After the food the atmosphere was relaxed enough, and we called it a night fairly early.
Tuesday's video blog will be up in a few hours, featuring outtakes from Larsson and Kvarforth's long night, some desperate wake up attempts of musicians and moments of sour faces from the studio session.
Until then, stay safe and watch this space!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Arrival of the toolbox
Monday marked the arrival of the rest of the band - Christian Larsson for bass, Peter Huss for guitar and Ludwig Witt for drums.
To mark something exceptional it was also witnessed that Kvarforth actually got up before nine in the morning - something rarely witnessed.
Although the day mostly has consisted of setting up the drums and moving preproduction files from one computer to another, it has been a joy to see the band all in the same space again - believe me, in between gigs that isn't that common when it comes to Shining...
Although the day brought forth a few panic attacks, there have been no major conflicts yet and nothing scandalous to report. But as they say, it's always calm before a storm ;)
I'll post you a short video later this night where Niklas discusses the sacking and return of Ludwig with Witt himself - spiced up with a few shots from the studio itself.
Until then, keep watching this space.
To mark something exceptional it was also witnessed that Kvarforth actually got up before nine in the morning - something rarely witnessed.
Although the day mostly has consisted of setting up the drums and moving preproduction files from one computer to another, it has been a joy to see the band all in the same space again - believe me, in between gigs that isn't that common when it comes to Shining...
Although the day brought forth a few panic attacks, there have been no major conflicts yet and nothing scandalous to report. But as they say, it's always calm before a storm ;)
I'll post you a short video later this night where Niklas discusses the sacking and return of Ludwig with Witt himself - spiced up with a few shots from the studio itself.
Until then, keep watching this space.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
There's a darkness coming, darker than any depth seen by man...
Today marks the start of the two month long recording session of the eighth Shining album.
A long time has passed since the recordings of the sixth and seventh albums - of which the latter came out in May 2011 - but Shining has not been wasting time.
Constantly touring and working on new ideas, Niklas Kvarforth and bassist Christian Larsson took time off to work on the preproduction of this album last Summer in Helsinki.
For those of you not actively following the band, check out this interview of Kvarforth by Kaaos TV where he talks about the preproduction:
The result was a hefty amount of songs, out of which a certain number were then picked out and carefully prepared to be ready for the final recording session, starting now.
In the studio we'll have the fantastic Andy LaRocque as our producer, a man certainly adequate of setting a good working pace for Kvarforth, Huss, Larsson and Witt.
I, the undersigned am in charge of the overall wellbeing of the band during this difficult and stressful time (yes, things will get rough, I can already tell you that..). The outside world also knows me as the person in charge of Shining on tours and such, doing my utmost to keep everyone happy, well and as alive as possible.
I will be monitoring these sessions, and reporting to you of our progress daily, and also at times trying to get the members themselves to contribute a word or two in writing, or at least to say a few words for the camera.
Knowing Shining's reputation, this blog can be commented on but all comments will be checked and moderated before being published. Do bear with me on that one, I can tell you it's extremely necessary.
However, enough with the babbling now, let's get to business!
Take care, stay tuned...
A long time has passed since the recordings of the sixth and seventh albums - of which the latter came out in May 2011 - but Shining has not been wasting time.
Constantly touring and working on new ideas, Niklas Kvarforth and bassist Christian Larsson took time off to work on the preproduction of this album last Summer in Helsinki.
For those of you not actively following the band, check out this interview of Kvarforth by Kaaos TV where he talks about the preproduction:
The result was a hefty amount of songs, out of which a certain number were then picked out and carefully prepared to be ready for the final recording session, starting now.
In the studio we'll have the fantastic Andy LaRocque as our producer, a man certainly adequate of setting a good working pace for Kvarforth, Huss, Larsson and Witt.
I, the undersigned am in charge of the overall wellbeing of the band during this difficult and stressful time (yes, things will get rough, I can already tell you that..). The outside world also knows me as the person in charge of Shining on tours and such, doing my utmost to keep everyone happy, well and as alive as possible.
I will be monitoring these sessions, and reporting to you of our progress daily, and also at times trying to get the members themselves to contribute a word or two in writing, or at least to say a few words for the camera.
Knowing Shining's reputation, this blog can be commented on but all comments will be checked and moderated before being published. Do bear with me on that one, I can tell you it's extremely necessary.
However, enough with the babbling now, let's get to business!
Take care, stay tuned...
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