REW/FF

Regarding REW/FF

This is where the web site template says "BIO". I don't know how to write a biography about myself. So I figured I'd just tell you about the EP I've just released called "REW / FF", as an anecdote from my life, and we'll take it from there. I guess it could be considered the equivalent of liner notes. Or a blog entry, which would be my first one. I'm glad I waited so long for my first.

In short, I was taught how to play Smoke On The Water on a guitar with three strings by a friend of mine. Later my parents gave me a nylon stringed guitar (which I still use) and signed me up for night classes. Since then I’ve rewound countless cassette tapes to get riffs down, played in bands, had too much coffee in studios, and made an ass of myself on stage so many times I can't even... 

Along the way I picked up on how to write songs. For the hell of it and mainly for my own pleasure. The six songs on "REW / FF" were written out of my bedroom and/or first apartment but didn't really come to fruition until about nine or ten years ago. Another good friend of mine, an awesome drummer, helped me make sense of my acoustic, primitive demos. We did this in what we called Studio 4, located in baracks built for music education on the outskirts of Hultsfred, music festival capital of Sweden. (I could go off on such a long tangent about Hultsfred since it’s been such a big part of my life, but it's like a whole other world of blog entries. We’ll get to that.)

Anyway, the two of us recorded mostly late nights, some times going on early mornings. There was determination and frustration, but mostly pure joy. Sweat poured into these songs. For the hell of it. We imagined brass on some of the songs and we persuaded three ace players to play my first arrangements ever. Late on one or two Friday or Saturday nights, after the Christmas shows we all were involved in were over, we crammed into Studio 4 and ran through the arrangements once, maybe twice. Then I pressed record. 

I still remember the chills up my spine when trumpet, trombone and sax bursted out and made High reach higher and far above my and our expectations (if that counts as a pun, it’s intended). When I look at some of the pictures from back then, I can remember my calm, slightly frozen exterior, but still feel that overly exstatic interior. Shock and awesomeness. And it was on tape.

We "released" this on Myspace where it quietly faded into the background. Sort of like Myspace itself... 

Locked away in a snow globe that was my external hard drive, memories like these tend to far exceed the real world. Over the years I made attempts at shaking that globe, trying to revive the recordings, simply because of a persistent love for the songs and also a want to do them some sort of justice. Stuck with one foot in the past. 

The road from "doing something for the hell of it" to "to hell with it, let’s just do something" can be a long and winding one. However, just as it began - with a little help from my friends - I found my way. These songs finally came to be handled and packaged with care, in a product that I am so very proud of. 

You could say this is just me reminiscing, but that's the thing; it's not really about the memories. It's not about chasing down and preserving moments past. It's about setting things off and by sharing this with you it all becomes something brand new. Even if it's a bit backwards. Like an old debut. Like pressing rewind and then fast forward. 

Now press PLAY.

                                                           - Daniel 

Keeping with tradition of liner notes, I would like to thank my friends who helped me build, and my friends who helped me break it down and build it up again: 

Uffe Lagerqvist, believer, drummer and master arranger. 
Brassaret Metropol: Matias Johansson on trumpet, Fredrik Ljungberg on saxophone, Mats Äleklint on trombone (High, Summer Rain, Better Off).
Frida Unenge, vocals (Believe, Greyhound, Summer Rain) 
Mattias Johansson, vocals (Believe, Greyhound, Summer Rain, Dynamo). 
Sebben Lindroth Ahl, coaching, setting deadlines, teaching me digital stuff and Instagram tricks, and keeping the project in check.
Jocke Lord, photography and setting the mood.  
Jonas Berg, who keeps telling me what doesn’t work and arranging by ”that thing you did with the thing”.
Mixing and mastering was done by Jonas André, who I left to make some decisions I probably would’ve had a hard time with myself. Also, organist on Better Off. 
Thanks to Tony Frost, for lending me and Uffe the keys for Studio 4 in the first place.