Lungs (2009) by Jasper TX

Note: this is the original text for the release. Things have changed since 2009...

This was the first time I actually felt compelled to write something about a release. The two tracks comprising Lungs are based on live recordings from three different venues: The Golden Afternoon consists of audio from a show at Les Ateliers Claus in Brussels and from a show I did at Aktör & Vänner in Gothenburg. White was recorded at Konsthallen in Gothenburg.

Both tracks are live recordings in the sense that the audio used to create them was recorded in front of a live audience. But when doing a show there will always be things you wish you had done differently. And so I’ve taken the liberty of re-modeling these live sessions a bit in order to make it coherent and listenable. All three of the sets were recorded straight onto a portable MD. The sets were then transferred to my laptop where I edited the material. There are no overdubs on any of these recordings. The editing I performed was basically cut-and-paste and some frequency processing.

Les Ateliers Claus, Brussels
November 9th 2008
This was, without a doubt, one of the best shows I’ve ever done and also one of the nicest venues I’ve ever had the privilege of performing at. If you’re ever in Brussels you have to go there. It’s this amazing, artsy, custom built house where the people running Les Ateliers Claus (Frans & Gaia) also live. In addition to that they also have an artist residence in the building and all the technological equipment is top notch. God knows where they got the funds for it but I’m glad they did. I was so well taken care of; I’ve never experienced anything like it.

Aktör & Vänner, Gothenburg
April 11th 2009
Most of the times when doing live shows I use some pre-recorded sounds. So for this show I decided it would be cool to use the recording from Les Ateliers Claus as sort of a “background” for the show. I liked the idea of bringing back a moment in time, from Brussels to Gothenburg. There’s something regarding the nature of time, space and memory that just keeps haunting me. This was a weird night. I did two separate sets, both of them for an audience that were lying down, half asleep, on mattresses on the floor. I don’t know if I should feel offended or amused over the fact that people actually fell asleep doing the sets.

Konsthallen, Gothenburg
May 13th 2009
This show was curated by Christofer Lämgren (a.k.a. Nana April Jun) as part of a graduation exhibition held by students at Valand School of Fine Arts. The venue was this grand art exhibition hall with just a tiny stage along one of the walls. Nothing worked the way I had planned during sound check. My acoustic guitar kept producing uncontrollable levels of feedback, as did the vocal microphone. The natural reverb of the room must have been at least ten seconds so that was surely a factor. So I had to bin all my ideas for the gig. Luckily I had some pre-recorded sounds to rely on, I just didn’t have a clue what to do with them. And so the gig starts and from there on it’s all pretty much a blur. It was one of those moments when everything just flows, when you let the little monkey in the back of your head run the show. At one point I threw away my guitar and it was only after the show I realized that I accidentally broke it…

There is a scene in the movie Lost Highway by David Lynch, where two police officers questions the main characters (portrayed by Patricia Arquette and Bill Paxton) regarding a possible burglary. When asked if the couple own a video camera Bill Paxton’s character Fred responds something like: “I like to remember things my own way. Not necessarily how things actually happened, but how I remember them.”
This is my recollection of these performances. It may differ from yours and that’s ok.

Dag Rosenqvist
Gothenburg, June 2009

Tracklist

1.	The Golden Afternoon	14:43

2.	White	15:44

Credits

released July 16, 2012

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