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blind hammer, i miss you like nails

by things falling apart

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about

the long version:

in the past our albums would be mostly recorded in one day with the remainder being done over the course of a month or two following that day.
this process has both benefits and faults. over time the faults seemed to out-weigh the benefits and thus when the band got back together in 2012 and we started writing new
material it was decided to break with tradition and take our time on the the new album.
we may have gone a bit overboard on that. lesson learned i suppose.
initial tracking started with brandon & bob in the basement using the 4-track and laptop during tail-end of 2012/early 2013.

the first things recorded were the basic tracks to the outro section of "the hawkline monster" suite, "from urschleim" and two other currently unreleased pieces.
embryonic demos to the "big 3" were also recorded at this time ("in the middle of the sea" "moonblind horse" and the first section of "hawkline").

there was a long pause in 2013 while we sorted some internal stuff out with the band but work continued on writing and re-writing the songs. this included many demo sessions
and work on two songs that were demoed but later abandoned (though have since been re-written and will most likely end up on the next album in a vastly different form).

summer of 2014 saw the basic tracks to the final arrangements to "in the middle of the sea" and the first half of "hawkline" recorded in tim's basement on his fancy computer.
spring of 2015 saw the basic tracks to "moonblind horse" recorded in tim's basement on his fancy computer.
spring also saw the "bridge" of the "hawkline" suite recorded as well as many, many, many overdubs on the already existing basic tracks.

in need of some improvisatory "grout" we then de-camped to champaign-urbana for a one day session at matt's studio.
this was recorded on a tascam 388 8-track reel-to-reel (with back-up being done on his fancy computer).
"hoichi the earless" stems from this session. it is a structured improvisation based on some pre-written melodies as well as an improvisation we performed the
previous month at a show in madison wisconsin.
several other improvisations were recorded during this one day session and will eventually see the light of day, possible on the next album or as a stand-alone ep.

the basic tracks for the "big 3" as well as the "hawkline" suite pieces were then delivered to matt in champaign where he and andy did numerous overdubs through out the winter
of 2015 and into the early spring of 2016. during this time they also edited/structured the improvisations from the one-day champaign session. overdubs were added
to "hoichi" to turn it into more of a "song". the remainder of the tracks from that session were then presented for possible inclusion for "blind hammer" but were
subsequently cut when it was decided to make it a single album rather than a double album.

once final mixes and sequences were agreed upon by the band in the spring of 2016 the album was sent off to jeff konrad who mastered the whole mess.

it was a long process. the exact opposite of how we've done records in the past.
the goal for the next one is to find a middle ground. 4 years is a long time to work on anything though for this batch of songs it paid off.

-bob/tfa




the condensed version:

recorded in various basements located in:
sycamore, aurora, and champaign-urbana Illinois on 4-track cassette, 8-track reel-to-reel and multitrack digital between 2013-2016.

aurora sessions engineered by: tim walker
champaign-urbana sessions engineered by: matt wenzel (www.shangrinah.com)
sycamore sessions engineered by: brandon & bob

final mixes by:
tim walker (moonblind, in the middle of the sea, hawkline suite)
matt wenzel (urschleim & hoichi)

mastered by:
jeff konrad

album artwork & photos by things falling apart except for the front cover which is a still from the 1961 movie "mother joan of the angels"

all songs written by things falling apart

thanks and thanks and thanks

credits

released September 23, 2016

the band this time:

bob aspatore: electric guitar, sea shanty organ, casio keyboard, wurlitzer organ, loops
brandon welch: electric bass, trumpet, electric guitar, piano, wurlitzer organ, sea shanty organ, yamaha keyboard, toy piano
ben aldis: drums
andy herald: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel, drums, casio keyboard, electric bass, timpani, saxophone, sea shanty organ
paul kim: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, synth
tim walker: lap steel, electric guitar, piano, assorted keyboards, static
matt wenzel: baritone guitar, banjo, casio keyboards, loops
ryan green: synths and keyboards
mike taylor: electric bass, electric guitar, trombone
mah nu: saxophone

we also had the gracious help of:

claire johnson: violin on "hoichi the earless"
matt turino: violin on "hoichi the earless"


tfa#006

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things falling apart De Kalb, Illinois

the sound of old tube amps humming like angels, buzzing helicopter tremolo dancing with rickety strings, drifting analog delay, and antiquated brass bursts of joy.

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