Destination Girl was recorded between March and December of 2002. Spanning the globe in search of a certain as yet undiscovered sound, I traveled far and wide, long and hard. Here is my story.

Hurley – the Preamble
Summer, 2001. Summer of self-exile. Residing in upstate New York at the Eagles Nest Colony for Confused Artists. All songs conceived in the loving company of my dear, devoted friends and sometimes companions, Bobo and Ookoo. Summer ends. The Finishing School is born.

Brooklyn
In March I journeyed first to Marlborough Farms in Brooklyn, NY. There, with the help of engineering wisemen Gary Olson and William Wells, drum tracks were deftly executed by San Fadyl (you may know him as the legendary Mexican Squid Witch). Guitar God, Jeffrey Baron, contributed several outstanding guitar and bass lines. As old man Olson likes to say, Brooklyn -- so much to answer for.

Stockholm
August found me in Stockholm, at Up and Running Studios working with the esteemed and always well appointed Finnish engineer Tomas “Seaspander” Hakava. Between trips to the public pool and long conversations with his Dr. Evil action figure, Tomas applied his many talents to laying down nearly all the guitar and bass lines. I assiduously applied myself to the flute and keyboards and vocals. After 5 days tracking was nearly complete. Alas, it was time once again to move on. Fall was fast approaching and other responsibilities were pulling me back East. Up and Running would be torn down in September and with that in mind I bid the studio and all of Scandinavia a bittersweet adieu. I would also greatly miss my jungle themed room at The Bergman Arms Hotel, where the wine was excellent and the hospitality unparalleled. But I knew my plans to settle in Sweden would London After a much needed 3-month rejuvenation period on the Island, my natural disposition restored, I felt ready to tackle the homestretch. Relying on the dictates of chance once again, I asked my daemon to spin the illuminated desk globe. And as he did I blindly brought the globe to a halt with my forefinger landing just above the ___ parallel. London. A fortuitous bit of serendipity as fate would have it, for Tomas the Finn had recently made that wet and moldy, yet sometimes charming city his new home. With this happy fact in mind, I set a northerly course and arrived at Heathrow on 2 December. After a day of shopping for the appropriate recording apparel, the Finn and I repaired to RMS Studios, just south of the city in the bedroom hamlet of Selhurst. There, engineer and part-time yoga instructor, Andy Le Veign, oversaw recording of the final tracks. Back-up vocals, various keyboard parts and miscellaneous guitar tracks were all completed on the first day. Later in the week, the young English troubador, James William Hindle graciously interrupted his 40th double feature screening of Ghost World/Home Alone, and popped in to record back-ups on Silent Space. After five days, the record was mixed and ready for mastering. After nearly a full week of hard work, surviving on nothing but off license breakfast buns and free trade coffee, it was time to kick off the painted clogs and celebrate. On my final night in London I gathered my inner circle from all corners of the Continent for a banquet of Royal proportion. Even the glamorous Mia Sorgi was able to attend, having traveled down from her scholars post at Oxford. The table that evening was all sparkle and good cheer. The Three Toms summed it up to perfection when, in unison, they declared, “We may be at war, but we’ll never put new hats on old plays.” On that heady note I closed my umbrella and waved goodbye to the mildewed metropolis. New YorkIt was two weeks before Christmas when I returned to New York. The incessant holiday parties had me scampering from borough to borough like a crazed elf.

Nevertheless, I managed to book time with “it” mastering engineer, Britt Meyers. In exchange for a simple burrito dinner, he was willing to master Destination Girl. This was a good arrangement, for I’d just spent a fortune on a dozen plane tickets to Buenos Aires, my annual holiday gift to the inner circle. So in high spirits San Witch and I arrived at Meyers’ tenth floor walkup on 53rd street and asked that a case of Champagne be delivered posthaste. First things first. Hours and many sound effects later, giddy on satisfaction and fizzy grapes, clutching the final product, I proudly rode the L train back to Brooklyn. The next day a grand block party was thrown, and my dear friend, Oona, Leader of Bushwick, declared it a day “to be remembered,” and so on and so on, goodness, enough is enough, no?

We and the people of Bushwick all hope you enjoy!

Sasha Bell. 26 February 2003.

P.S. If you’d like to see a scientific, patented analysis of who did what, please click here