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 |