Tower - production diary

[CPU]

Tower - production diary pt.1 - preproduction

After finishing REALpolitik in the summer of 2006. Yours truly moved to Wolverhampton, England for university studies. Despite this we started amost immediately writing new material. This might sound like strange idea, since the majority of the song writing is done by mr. Lasse Alander (music) and me (structures and arrangements). This didn't stop us though, as we live in the age of the information superhighway. It did take us a lot more time though. Writing songs by exchanging mp3s over the internet. This combined with yet again a very different approach to writing songs we had a sizable task ahead of us.

By the spring of 2007 when I returned to Finland and REALpolitik was finally release, we had some 7 songs (more like rough sketches) done, 5 of whitch later became songs on the new album. During this period we had kicked out of our training room and had to find a new one. I must say (and anyone playing music in Lappeenranta will know this), it wasn't easy to find a new one. Luckily a friend from a Lappeenranta based hard drinking hardcore band, Antti Tuska ja Vähämieliset (who have an excellent new album out) tipped us about one we are in now. This didn't help us out as much one would think, as I still lived in Mikkeli and spent my summers working in Helsinki, but at least it enabled us to play as band once in awhile. The only setback was that, we weren't able to perform live at that moment, 'cos nobody was really able to play the songs anymore due to those matters.

Despite this we continued writing new songs and rewriting the older new songs. The rest of the year was like this, up until late winter of 2007 a dear friend Hyrde of Stam1na called us up and aksed if we would like open for them in a couple of shows on their spring tour supporting their then newest album. This was quite an easy decision since those guys had only released chart topping/gold records (and are still). Also, this was a chance for us to finally promote REALpolitik. The touring required us to relearn the REALpolitik songs and also took a good part of the spring of 2008. It was really fun though, playing in big venues to sold out crowds. It also gave us perspective for writing the new material.

After the tour we reopened the notesheets and picked up our quill pens. As it turns out, much of the stuff we had written we to the trash as much of the material had been before. At this point I think we some 8 songs at some stage. The summer slowed things down as I worked in Helsinki, although I did spend more time in Lappeenranta than in the previous summer. The autumn of 2008 saw things speeding up as I moved a 100 km closer to Lappeenranta where the rest of the guys resided. If I remember correctly, during that time we wrote last two remaining songs. After this all there was do, was to put in the finishing touches and leart to play the songs flewlessly.

In the spring of 2009 everything was ready put to point where we could start considering booking a studio. I had heard approximately year before that Vesku Sinkko (Another One Dead) was recording bands in his own small scale studio. But it wasn't until this time that I heard some finished material from him. I must say I was pleasintly surpriced by the overall sound but especially the guitars. I got in touch with him and it turned out that he didnät have a good space to record drums at that point. Luckily, there was a brand new studio in the university in Mikkeli where I studied in. So we booked Vesku and the Mikpoli studio for a weekend in early summer of 2009. More this session can be read in the words of our bass player mr. Paavo Alander, in the next chapter.

- Kalle Lindberg
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For annihilating heavy metal guitarists in a live mix, the OBXa is the one.

[CPU]

Production diary pt. 2 - Drums and Bass pt.1

Saturday morning sometime in the summer of 2009. I wake up at Joutseno (a small town near Lappeenranta) with my back is sore from the night spent on a "comfortable" air cushion. This is the day I've been waiting for, today we will start the recording sessions. After months of training, evaluatiog and speculation everything is ready. It is time document what we hear to physical form. 5 cups of coffee, the required cigarettes and we are off to pick up my brother Lasse, his equipment, the required beverages and rations before heading towards Mikkeli where the studio resides.

When we arrive at Lasses place, it becomes clear that he has woken up just minutes ago, so I take advantage if the situation and down additional cups of coffee and light the required cigarettes. I spend my time tapping my feet and trying to remember the song structures in order to prepare myself for the coming ordeal of the recording session. The goal is to record an albums worth of bass and drums, in addition the tracks must be of supreme quality. My deep thoughts are interrupted by noise resembling something like "mitä se homo jumittaa" translating into an insult demanding we start transporting ourselves at once.

With the guitars and their artists in the trunk we journey to the local super market to acquire some very necessary items: sports and recovery drinks for Matti, food, batteries, cigarettes... one thing catches my eye, it is a seductive offer for quite decent beer for reasonable price. It is an offer that I am not prepared refuse. Off to the cashier and Mikkeli.

Around half way to our destination, my phone starts to ring demanding my attention. I can see from the lcd that it is Matti who is calling me, so I answer:
- Hi
- How far from Mikkeli are you?
- We are there pretty soon, it took us awhile to get going.
- Precisely, how far?
- About 50 km, why?
- Excellent, turn back now.
- What the fu... why?
- Vesku (our engineer) forgot the china crash to Lappeenranta, pick that up for us will you.
I feel confused and frustrated. I turn to car around and start feverously thinking for a solution to prevent this indesireable, yet necessary driving around. What if Matti simply would not use the crash? Could we buy one somewhere? All of the alternatives I can come up with are out of the question. The only option is to fetch the piece of metal from some 50 km away. While driving I try to phone people about the location from where we will pick up the drum piece. When arriving in Lappeenranta, I get phone call that a friend of the engineer has driven from his summer cottage to deliver instrument to us. A big thank you to him. At this point we decide that this drum piece should one of the most used kit pieces on the record.

After some heavy speeding and high risk driving we finally arrive in Mikkeli and start looking for the studio which resides at a university. We spend a moment gazing at the futuristic desing of the building, we start unloading the equipment to a space that resembles a TV-studio. We walk along the corridors to arrive at yet more futuristic looking control room, in which the walls are of pleasant gray, the speakers big, black and shiny (obviously quite pricy too) and there alot of them. Vesku is crouched towards the speakers and is carefully instructing Matti: "Tom, snare, tom, bassdrum...". Arto is traing on the guitar and Kalle also concerned with sound coming out from the monitor speakers. A strangely shaped black door catches my attention, I look inside to find a quite sizable Ampeg stack which is to be used in the recording. I'm very happy.

Once the drum sounds are adjusted, I hear the words I've been waiting for "let's have a look at that bass sound". I immediately take my bass move to the monolith of colossal proportions that is the Ampeg and start tweaking. "Too much middle... not enough distortion... now thats too much distortion, maybe a bit more low end and a different distortion setting... there's is too much treble already... oh, there is also another eq here, maybe I could scoop the middles a bit". "Enough fiddling dammit!" resounds from next room, I awaken to the find that the sound is there, tha musicians are ready, so we should roll the tape now. Well, maybe some smokes before that and a bit of coffee too, after all there is a nice and shiny coffee machine in the lobby, also very futuristic.

Track one, take one, the metronome track starts clicking and the plectrum is cleanced between my fingers, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 and we are off! This is going unbelievably good and ..."Cut! From the top!". Matti is not pleased with his performance, so we start from the top, again and again. Matti is very displeased with his footwork and we belive that should have been in the SS-drumcorps. We decide to record a different song and things start to sound much better. Arto and Lasse prove to be quite helpful as they play along with songs althoug not being recorded. Nevertheless it's too hot to play well. The pick swirls between my fingers, and the fingers themselves are sort of slimy and slippery, maybe I should sit down while doing this? But there is no time to think about this, the next part complicated, concentrate, tremolo pick, crouch, don't fuck this up now. And suddenly it's all over. This first track is in the in the depths of the machine. Vesku summons Matti to the control room to take a listen. Cup of coffee, a cig and the next track into the works.

After two tracks succesfully recorded, we decide to get lunch, Matti and Kalle go to Kalles house to have a bite while the rest go to find a restaurant. We drive to the city and find one with pretty decent food. We return to the studio and continue with the undertaking, take after take, despite the fact that I find the takes perfectly fine, Matti is still not pleased unless the take is absolutely perfect. Obviously he has decided to do the absolute best he can, but at some point I find his attitude almost fanatical, which is a good thing I guess. Eventually a number accepted takes start piling in the computer and sound really good, the seemingly never ending training and countless structural changes seem to have been worth it. The material pouring out of the monitor speakers sounds like I want it to sound. The material that pours out of the mouths of the people inside the control is of certified quality and the occational comments that sound through drum mikes result some hilarious reactions among the musicians. Everybody seems quite happy, despite this it's still too hot and I'm soon out of sodas. I do have beer, but I forbid myself to touch them as I am record some music in which countless hours of work has been put into. The performances of Kalle, Arto and Lasse are not to be recorded in these session, but at least they keep us entertained with their stupid remarks.

Eventually everybody seem happy about the outcome of todays session, so decide to call it day. A night of sauna and alcoholic beverages, suggested by Kalle gains support among the artist, so head toward his place and to sauna. There we speculate and evaluate the success of the day, along with some "good" humour. We try to watch the new Stam1na DVD with failed results, so we swich to Skinny Puppy's live DVD, during which I passed out.

- Paavo Alander
_________________
For annihilating heavy metal guitarists in a live mix, the OBXa is the one.