the Felix Culpa

wow. for the first time since we started tracking last year, i feel as though we might actually finish this album. after a healthy break from recording, we have officially finalized 100% the tracking for the lead-off song entitled “New Home Life”. it’s one of those songs that i immediately grew very attached to while writing it, and i’d even go so far as to say it’s my favorite culpa performance ever put to tape. it’s almost eight minutes long, an epic of sorts… tons of instruments playing different important roles in the song at various times. we had our good friend Ben come in and lay down some brass parts, and we even had an unintentional performance by a beloved Londoner lifted from a train ride that happened months ago accidentally fall in place in the middle of the song. you’ll understand later. or maybe you won’t. either way, it’ll be there.

from here on out, we’re planning on finishing up the tracking and mixing for the rest of the songs on the album individually, in sequential order, which is a rather unusual way of doing it, but appropriate for this project i think. i mean, we’ve done everything else on this record against the grain, so why not? all is going well, none the less. against the grain apparently seems to suit us. i decided i’m at peace with us taking our time, after seeing the results. i’m just even more anxious to share them all with you.

so, to give you an update on where we’re at with the album as a whole, we have all of the rhythm (drums, bass, guitars) recorded for all 15 songs and everything (everything) tracked for the first three songs, save for the final vocals. i’m going back in this weekend to finish that up, so if all goes to plan (which it rarely does) we shall have the first three songs entirely completed by this weekend. wow. it feels like i’m making it up, but it’s true.

anyway, here’s some pictures and video from this last weekend-

here’s us performing the beginning of track 1, “New Home Life”… if you look closely, you can see the Sony Clearvoice Plus hand-held tape recorder that we recorded it to on the piano bench next to me-

guitar tracking with jeffro at the helm-

vocal tracking-

percussion tracking in the huge, cavernous foyer-

more guitar tracking-

someone’s sleepy-

some piano tracking, and the Sony Clearvoice Plus (warning, the video is a bit dark and jeffro has a mouth like a sailor)-

-marky

We’ve returned to the studio!

We began a new/revisited an old leg of our recording journey this week. Back at the Exchange in Milwaukee, we’ve started work on some different guitar tones, committed to some beautiful piano sounds via a Yamaha C7 grand piano [and the careful hands of Dustin Currier], and made some fresh to-do lists to make sure we stay on track. Our motivation is in full force and excitement levels in the studio have only boosted with every fresh take on every new idea.

We’re back in action and, my God, does this feel good.
(more to come…)

xoxo,
- Tristan | the Culpa -