Not long ago you got a great catch up post from Madeleine focused on what she’s been doing and is up to, great read and if you haven’t checked it out yet I urge you to do so now!
In this post I’m giving you my side of the catch up and all the crazy workload going on here focused on my end of things.
Pushing through several battles and hurdles life has thrown my way the last couple of years has been rough, and I always do my best to keep carrying on. Because, where I’m at it’s bigger than just me. I got you and many others to keep pushing for. Still, I also push for myself.
One huge thing I did for me is to optimize the work. I have a set time I enter and leave the HQ/studio, of course not on streaming days Wednesdays and Fridays) instead of spending 10-14 hours Monday-Sunday in the studio as I did before. This method I was afraid of adapting for YEARS because I didn’t feel “enough” and always wanted to do a good of a job as possible all the time to be…well, be good I guess. Not a fear of failure, but the fear of letting someone down. This ate me up from the inside and left me as an empty shell of a man. Sure I was still there at times but I was miserable and always felt I wasn’t doing enough.
This new method lets me have that efficient ADHD panic and stress I thrive in because there’s a time limit. And then I leave to have my routines such as gym and food. I may even have a little extra time to breathe, huge change from how it used to be.
I felt I had to give you this background story as to not chock you with the work load that’s going on right now 😂
Here’s a nice picture of some matcha tea to give you some “serenity now” after that heavy wall of text 😬
Mid January we’re entering the studio to record vocals and drums for an upcoming release. Stuff has to be done!
After we got home from the last tour I jumped in to the production studio and started finishing up all the demo tracks, making them near complete and then both Madeleine and I had a last look together to really get things where they needed to be. At the same time Madeleine and I sat down to write lyrics once a week, which shortly after became twice a week because we both were on a roll but also it’s best to be finished as soon as possible to really get comfortable with the lyrics regarding expression and also giving yourself the opportunity to realize THEY SUCK ASS AND YOU HAVE TO REWRITE AN ENTIRE SOOOOONG GAAAAAAH! Which you may notice by the all caps has happened in our career at some point.
Lyric writing has been going great and we only have like 2-3 songs left to lyrically complete 😃
In all of this, I also went in to the demo projects yet again to redo ALL guitars, making them clear and thought through so Victor can hear what he’s supposed to play when it’s time to record and I also went through all the drums again to fix placeholders, making them humanly possible to play (removing things as hitting two cymbals and a snare at once) going over fills and pattern changes so everything is as it should for Kevin to study. There’s so much detail and small changes here and there, if you listen closely to the our songs you’ll hear many have subtle changes in verses, choruses etc. I both love and hate that 😂😂😂 BUT IT FEELS RIGHT! So there actually not much thought behind it other than “yeah, this feels right to do so”.
This is what the drums look like when I arrange them btw!
I play the patterns on my keyboard and bop along whilst creating them. Really fun process!
It took a full day to go through all this for ONE song, and sometimes two days. Because it’s more than just slamming the guitar and smashing some keys.
Each guitar has two tracks that needs to be played identically to get the right sound and separating them left and right. Of course you could only do ONE track per guitar and have it in mono but I don’t WANT TO 😂 I apparently like to SUFFER 😂
So, two guitars = a totally of 4 tracks per song for guitars. This shit takes time! My god, I was so focused during this process and the guys got what they needed.
This past week I hung out with Victor and we played down all the tracks to his guitars! Remember, two tracks per guitar per song, and they need to be IDENTICAL. This is hard to do. But Both Victor and I are pros 🦾 Plus we really do like spending time with each other.
It was hard work, there were retakes to make everything as it should and not once did we get irritated with each other. That’s bro love right there.
We also used special unholy techniques to get the right sound. Behold the “rock your socks off” technique. This was only used in one part of one song, can’t be summoning Satan every second now can we?
I am very precise, and so is Victor. Sitting in the producer chair includes guiding the one recording though certain parts for the right feel. So this week was intense.
Next week (starting tomorrow) I start laying down all tracks for my guitars and also the bass 🤘
This bass has been with us for a couple of years now and it is really great. I love the sound, the look and the feel of it. Looking forward to slappin’ da bass again 😃
After that I’m diving deep into arrangements and synths 🤌 I love that process so much. The expression can be so massive!
I keep track of almost everything in my head. Guitar patterns, riffs, drum patterns, expression within the instrument etc. It’s exhausting but it’s a beautiful thing at the same time.
I am aware that doing all this “in house” including producing is not how bands normally go about. But it’s how we do it, always have done it. We both love to produce! Would Madeleine and I like to work with an outside producer? I mean, we’re open for the idea, sure! But up until now this is the thing that has felt right to us.
As we say in Sweden, it’s full rulle until mid January, and a bit after. Who am I kidding, it never stops 😂
During all of this I also do the weekly streams, as do Madeleine! She streams live on twitch every Tuesday and I go live every Wednesday and Friday. Picture from my Dora the Destroyer cosplay stream.
Speaking of cosplay! I’ll be having a super special Grinch cosplay stream on December 19!
Oh god…it’s going to be cursed 😂
I’ll also be streaming both X-mas Eve and New Years Eve ringing in the new year with those who are there. Loads of fun, community games, talks, live music and maybe even some giveaways.
So this is how my days have been looking lately! Adding deadline pressure to the cake makes it all the more terrifying 😂
Before I leave you, I want to share a story showing hope in human kindness and decency.
Some time ago I got my hands on an old CRT tv for 50€. It’s great and I love it. It does have a little transistor issue making it go crackly crack when there’s too much white on screen, but still it’s wonderful! I have it in my bedroom and lately I’ve wanted one in my little living room as well. Victor and I have been talking about watching Star Wars on VHS (gifted by Maximumsatan 🖤🙏) and it would be weird to do so in my bed 😂
Twi weeks ago the same brand and model, but bigger, came out on Facebook marketplace for FREE 😳
I, being the dork I am, reached out immediately and this was the reply and my response:
Translation:
Her: “Very many have reached out regarding the tv ☺️ I’m thinking about maybe selling it instead of giving it away”
Me: “Ah I see!
I absolutely think you should do that if it’s in working condition.
I’ve seen these go for about 50-300€.
I’ve got a 28” at home I gave 50€ for 😃”
I continued saying it really is a niche product, and I don’t know if the ones out for 300€ actually got sold, but she definitely should try! She really appreciated my honesty, support and information. She said that if she decided to give it away again I’d be first in line.
This last Thursday she asked if I still wanted it 😍
Upon meeting up this weekend she told me people had been so rude when she said she was looking towards selling it instead and I was the only kind person wishing her the best of luck. There were potential buyers but they were so back and forth, wishwashy she was like “you know what, forget it”.
This tv weighs 80 KILOS so I needed a strong and handsome young man to help me and luckily Kevin was able to help me out 🖤 Thank you bro!
These pictures don’t do it justice, the picture quality is truly amazing and sound is just 👌 Also, built in VHS 🤌🤌🤌
With this nerdy side story I want you to take in the honesty and kindness from this woman. She really didn’t have to give it to me, I even said no when she offered it the second time because I wasn’t able to pick it up Friday due to studio work. She wanted to give it to me and arranged for Saturday instead. Her grandmother had passed away and this tv stood in her rental apartment, so it needed to go!
When we meet we talked a bit about what I do, she saw my Facebook profile picture and figured I don’t work in an office 😂 I told her about the music, about you guys, the streams and focus on mental health, strength and unity. She now felt even deeper I was the correct person to give this tv to 🖤 She really enjoyed the part about me sharing the love for older tech and giving nostalgia to people.
There is more in this world than greed, darkness and envy. There is kindness, people who follow their heart and honesty. This we witnessed right here.
I hope you enjoyed this read and I wish you a continued lovely day!
Much love 🖤
/Rikard