Vocals done...

Phew!

That was a job I'm not too keen on doing all over in a while!

The vocal sessions have been the best one so far but also the most exhausting one as well. Aksu's recording booth is not too oxygen friendly so there were times I'm not sure if I was breathing my own air or was I just surfing on the clouds wondering all the colours! To lose consciousness while screaming is pretty wicked experience but it sounded badass! Same thing with vomiting while you're screaming! HUUTOYRJÖÖ! Well, what wouldn't you do for your own art, right!? Right. The amount of sweat given to this album can be measured in gallons and I'll be damned if it doesn't sound like that!

What else to blabber about recording the vox... Hmm, oh! We used the same mic for clean and the scream vocals and I've always been very comfortable with Shure's SM7B because it feels firm in my hand. Also the sound is very good! Yes, probably now all the hifi studio geeks lifted their eyebrows about having the mic in the hand while recording. But for me it's all about being comfortable in the studio and this way I sound better and I get more feeling into the whole performance.

Talk about the relief after being done with all the vocals! I of course shaved my pathetic studio hair off from my face to seal the session. I do have one thing to whine about the whole studio beard/mustache thingy. The rest of the guys started to grow their beavers at the same time as me. Well, they all shaved their ones off right after their parts which I think, is a pussy ass thing to do! Now I feel I took one for the team. I had to go on with my günthers more than a month compared to the other guys and that's why I'm raising a question about the future sessions. The hair stays on until everyone is done, then it's fair and sucks for everyone the same amount of time! Dammit! These are serious things!

We also had our restaurant tour going on with Aksu everyday we recorded so I can now reveal the best food places of Lahti(in our opinion and that's the law). Our scoring system contained categories such as Service(10p), Price(10p), Atmosphere(10p) and of course the Food(10p) itself. The winner got maximum score! Here is the top 5:

MAMMA MARIA - 40p
LOKKI - 37p
SANTA FE - 35p
PIHVELI - 30p
TOROS - 29p

Go eat!

I want to say a huge thank you here to the vocal producer/engineer Aksu Hanttu who whipped my ass constantly and persistent to get the best possible sound off my pipes. Eventhough I wouldn't do it all over just tomorrow but I'd definitely do it again. Rispektii dyyd!

Now we wait for the mixes. I'm confident after being so deep inside these songs that we are on the right track. We can't wait to play this shit live!

Jules

Skän skän skän...

'ello!

Finally! I've been waiting to hit the studio for ages already! Practicing by yourself for 1,5 months can be boring as watching a baseball game!

This is Jules reporting from the Wave Sound Studios, Zigäägöy, Finland, where we've been working long hours with Aksu Hanttu, who is engineering/producing the vocals on this album. It's been very clear to us since the day no. 1 that this album will be the best we've ever done so far and now that we've started with the vocals, this first impression is only getting stronger.

The recording booth is built inside a closet so it means that I'm coming out from the closet and going in for several times a day. My identity is shaking pretty badly, so if these reports are signed by my transgender name Julia, I won't take any responsibility on that matter!

Well, anyway, we already got shitloads of singing/screaming/growling done and I have to say that never during my days of singing have I been stretched so far to my limits and beyond. Aksu is working hard trying to get the best out of me, and it is working. I'm very happy to be working with him again on the vocal tracks. He knows how to dig the diamonds out from the crap so I'm very confident with him being on board with us. I'm also known to be a whining bitch sometimes in the studio but for now no bitchin' has come out yet!

We've been here now for five days and the work continues next week after I get some rest for my voice. Believe me when I say that it's a rest well needed. We started out in the beginning of the week with the clean parts and the plan was to make them first under way before we can start with the screams. After three days of singing I already wanted to make some screaming because it is fun as hell! It's refreshing to change the working habits sometimes.

I'm not sure about what to blabber here in the blog because the big picture is still kinda scattered around but it is slowly coming together. What I can tell you is that I'll post here after the sessions are done, the TOP-5 food restaurants in Lahti! We decided with Aksu to eat everyday in a different food joint (everyday a different diarrhea!). This basically means that we'll go through 10 restaurants in Lahti(yes, they have at least 10, we checked!), all different from each others. Right now in the leading spot is Mamma Maria. If you don't believe me, check their Pasta Mamma Maria and you'll know what I'm talking about! Not for vegetarians ;)...

to be continued...

Juli...errr... JULES!