Finally...

...some Diskodiktator news in this blog! Today I've started on a cover version of the classic song "Islands in the Stream" that was originally sung by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I have somewhat of a relation with Kenny since my father for some strange reason ended up in Mr Rogers private jet sometime in the late 1990's...

Since this is a duet I've invited my good friend and partner in crime Christopher Panov - the lovely voice from the duo Godlike - to help me out with the vocals. It will be soooo lovely! :-)

A few days ago I went to a Basswood Dollies concert where I used my new videocorder for the first time. After some initial problems (the whole clip of the concert was somehow erased from the memorycard!) I now think there might actually be some result availble soon.

And for those of you reading my blog just looking for gossip: The Hof had another date with Mäklaren tonight. I set it up. :-)

Exx-citing news and more

Our favourite French band, Exx from Paris, are just about to release their second single on Electric Fantastic Sound - a little ditty called "Anywhere". Fear not - allthough the song is in English it is still very French and if I didn't tell you you probable wouldn't be able to hear it anyway... :-)


And our Swedish friends of Basswood Dollies are about to release their new album entitled "United States Of Hate". Check it out as well! Good time electro bliss from Malmö and a killer cover of the White Stripes classic "Seven Nation Army"!

Both releases will be released on May 1st but you can preview them already!

Homepage stuff

For reasons way beyond my grasp I've spent some time today updating the Electric Fantastic Sound homepage, adding some really neat features. For example - on every page presenting the various bands on the label there now is a "Share this on Facebook" button, and each page is automagically given a special little presentation text along with a special image for each band... Really nothing hard or complicated to code, but still I was very excited when I started noticing these little bumpers appearing on Facebook a little while later.

Also added was a "Diggit" button on each page - hopefully people will show even more support and help us gain some attention, mainly in the US where we want to get bigger!

On a personal level I have also given my trusted old bike (no, it's not rust - it's SAAB brown!) a much needed make over, fixing the brakes for example. Now I can stop when I want to and not just when a heavier object in directly infront of me. :-)

Godlike remix

Seems like it's going to take a while to get the new Diskodiktator material ready - at the moment I am working on a remix for the coming single by fellow Electric Fantastic Sound band Godlike entitled "21". It has nothing to do with the game but everything to do with Praktikanten for some reason... :-)

In other news: today I spent about an hour cultivating my indoor garden, or in other words my apartment. For those with an eye for details and numbers I've got 54 plants around the place and it takes a while to water and cater them. I should get a gardener!

Hardware status

Today I made an attempt to incorporate the Korg MS-50 that has been hiding under a desk for a long time but sadly time doesn't heal all wounds - it still makes a loud humming noise that is not supposed to be there. I have made contact with a very talented technician to try and fix it and since these old machines are basically just a bunch of more or less standard components it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what's wrong...

So in the meantime I will plug my Korg VC-10 vocoder into the setup that is currently the following more or less obsolete equipment:

2 x Korg MS-20 with different filters
2 x Korg MS-10
1 x Casio CZ-1000 digital synthesizer
1 x Korg SQ-10 analog sequencer
1 x Fricke MFB512 rhythm box

On a more personal level: I went for a long walk with the Electric Fantastic Sound PR manager today: 7268 steps to be exact. Burned some 455 calories as well! :-)

Nothing to report at the moment

Never the less, there are a number of very cool releases coming up on Electric Fantastic Sound - if you haven't already you should go check them out!

If you are familiar with the label and the bands and the releases: go check out this vintage interview I made about a thousand years ago with Swedish band Sista Mannen På Jorden.

Kite

Tonight the recordings of the new Diskodiktator release are on hold as I'm going to Rundgång, a local place of entertainment, to catch a glimpse of the band Kite that I think will rock very hard! With members from The Mo and Yvonne this duo might very well redefine what electronic pop is all about. Let's hope for the best... :-)

Amazing!

I didn't manage to do anything recording-related today, but I had a good meeting with the Electric Fantastic Sound accountant, and updated the homepage and added a whole bunch of old data to the system - so now anyone interested can see the live history of any band on the label... Great feature if you ask me! :-)

What more? Nothing much - I'm looking forward to the weekend!

Another upcoming release

Since nothing much happen in my studio during the week I might as well promote a coming release by that fantastic French group "Exx" - their new single called "Anywhere" is currently being mastered by Andreas at Servant Studio and then we're looking at a early May release on Electric Fantastic Sound.

The single contains two wonderful tracks and I'm sure it will be loved by anyone even remotely interested in electronic pop!

In retrospect...

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First audio recorded

So, here's the first snippet of what's coming - about a minute of pure electronic bliss! :-)

Diningroom Sun

So, the official working title of the new recordings is "Diningroom Sun" because of the sun and the fact that my diningroom has turned into a pile of vintage electronics... Some more equipment was added today, such as a master compressor and a Casio CZ-1000 synthesizer for those warm digital sounds!

And today the first recordings took place! About 20 minutes of live session was put on DAT for further processing whenever the time is right... To tell the truth: they sound nothing like sun or diningrooms but isn't that was it's all about?

Another day in Paradise

After a long hard week at work it's finally time for fun and games! I failed at finding any outboard effects today so tonight I will start another process: making up good titles for the coming songs and maybe even designing the cover art.

Yes I know, it might seem a strange way to work but it works wonders for me. All the way back to the first ever demo ("Music for Porno" from 1997) I've always tried to work in that direction. Why? Because if you've got the titles ready you get a feel for what the track will sound like, and by the cover art finished before the actual recordings start the picture is even more clear...

I will return later with a list of suitable titles, along with a title for the release, and make a decision of what format it will be: a single, an EP or even an album! :-)

The start-up

After a few years not making music at all I thought it was about time to start again. And doing it old school - with just a bunch of synthesizers and a drum machine!

This blog is intended to keep you updated with the progress of the new recordings by Diskodiktator - out later this year on Electric Fantastic Sound.

In this picture is the main layout: two Korg MS-20, two Korg MS-10, a Korg SQ-10 analogue sequencer and a Fricke MFB 512 drum machine.