Matilda and Morris sitting in a tree

Dear Friends:

Because I've been in music mode for the last few months, I just can't stop working on things in my free time.
Last night I finished writing 2 new Matilda songs which will appear on the next LP. I will hopefully get working on that as soon as I finish the split tape. The album is tentatively titled, "Fishnets and Regrets" - but don't quote me on that (even though it's in quotes up there)...

But the split tape is nearly done. I have a few small recording changes and mixing issues to finish but I'm working on those Tuesday and Wednesday and should start copying tapes and hand-making sleeves by the middle of this week.

A few bits of info about the tape.
There will be 75 cassettes.
All of the art, sleeves, and text will all be hand drawn, painted, folded, glued, etc.
The tapes themselves will come in 3 different styles: Black, Clear, or White.
Each side of the tape is 15 minutes (and we're both going to fill the sides to the max)
We're both going to release a free digital single from both sides on Friday the 13th of May, 2011.
You can purchase the tape for $4.00 (edit: inflation) $5.00 at our release show [05/20/2011] at the Phoenix Cafe in Hazel Park, or you can order one from: Simple Living Ferndale. Or you could just e-mail me or Jon and ask for one.
Each side of the tape will have a group of original songs as well as a secret cover song shhhhhhhhhh.
If for some reason you're thinking, "Hey, I don't have a tape player and I really want these songs on my Ipod damnit," ... Well, we're working on that. We might make CD-R's once the tapes run out, or perhaps post the songs on a website for download if you bought a tape... I don't know, we'll figure it out.




Also.

Early in the morning when Julie is still sleeping I've been working on the Morris Leifer album. I've finished a few new songs for it, and re-did some of the ones I already posted. I'm currently uploading some of said songs to the bandcamp page. If you liked the initial songs, you may or may not like these songs, because I changed them...
But if you didn't like the initial songs, there's still a chance you might not like the new versions, because they sound like the old versions, only better (in my opinion). So here's that link:
  [  http://drmorrisleifer.bandcamp.com/  ]


This is all for now.

Thank you.

Hacking Away At The Split Tape

Below is the third preview of the tape I've been working on.
The clip is from a song called, "Rolex" and it's kind of punk-y and folk-y all at the same time.
I may re-record certain parts of the song, add or take out other things, but the preview will give you the idea I'm going for.


  Rolex Demo Teaser by Mathilda

More to come soon.

Tape Preview Part 2

  YouPorn - Still Men Teaser by Mathilda

Another preview of the tape.
A more updated demo of the previous version of the same song. Plus the alternate string version which will most likely be the opener.

Still Earth: DayOne

Here is a preview, [skeleton of a song in progress] that I started working on today.
The tentative title is "YouPorn" - it was less of real take on the song, and more of a level checking and exercise in remembering how to record things...

I will probably re-record the song and it may not even be in the same style as the skeleton, but maybe not.

Maybe so.

Anyway, I'm trying to make excuses of why you might not like it... but I should just post it.

   YouPorn [Demo/Preview] by Mathilda

 More to come soon.

Or later.

Thanks for watching, waiting, reading, and your interest in all of this.

;)

Earth: DayOne.

Today is Earth Day and day one of recording of the split cassette tape.
One side: Songs from the moon. One side: Matilda.

We hope to digitally release a free single from each tape side by Friday May 13th and release the tape one week later [May 20th] at an acoustic show at the Phoenix Cafe.

I may post a video update soon or later.

Or maybe not.

More songs from the moon.

Yesterday morning, "Songs from the moon" played a strange but nice show at 5AM. We did slowed down ambient/noise-y versions of a lot of newer songs we've been working on and played a few more straight forward [but still slow] versions of already learned songs to close up the show.
What's that you ask?
Why did we book a show that early in the morning/late in the night?
The Assembly Line concert, of course. For the past few years AJ's Cafe in Ferndale has been breaking the world record for longest concert.
I can't remember the exact number of hours each year has been [and am too lazy right now to look it up] but I think last year was 280[?] hours of straight live music and this year is 380[?]
Anyhow, they have been putting the whole thing up on ustream, so anytime in the next few weeks you feel like watching live music on your internet box, click here to see it live.
Or if you wish to see our set, by all means: Songs from the moon at 5AM
Our next show at this same concert is April 2nd from 1PM-2PM.
This is all for now.

Ladies and Gents... Morris Leifer: Producer (among other things)

I've been hard at work with all sorts of odds and ends.
Some seem promising, some are silly, and some are just odds and/or ends.

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First off.
Dr. Morris Leifer, [aka Shaun Wisniewski] is putting together an instrumental weirdo-rap/electronic album. I've been making drum beats when I'm bored on computer programs for years now... since before I started the Matilda project in 2003, in fact. So I guess this album has been on my mind for quite some time.
Don't get excited.
Just because I've been making rap beats and electronic music for years doesn't mean I'm good at it. I just like to make it. And in all honesty, it's hard for me to judge it considering I have to hear every little part of each song over and over and over again while I'm making it.
It's like, when you say a word multiple times in a row, it ends up losing meaning [marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow,  marrow]
Same idea goes for the strange rap-esque songs.
Anyways.
I made a Bandcamp for the songs.
The album is going to be called Romance Novels.
Type in the below letters and symbols [minus the brackets] to a URL area to hear the music.
[ http://drmorrisleifer.bandcamp.com/ ]
Or click on this text.

This is what the album cover looks like:

The songs that are posted on the Leifer Bandcamp now are still evolving... I'll post it up on the blog again when the album is done. I wanted to put some things up, like an un-mixed preview. Then let those songs sit, then work on other Leifer songs while the first group exits my head, and come back to the first batch, post the second batch, and repeat... Like I said, it gets hard to hear the same loops over and over again without them becoming aural nothingness.
And this way, you guys can see the first versions evolve into the second versions... Hear what changed, and what stayed the same. Etc.

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Second:
My other, other project [Songs from the moon] is going strong. We're playing a couple of shows at AJs cafe in Ferndale in the near future. One of them is going to be an ambient/noise show at 5AM and the other will be a more traditional full band, piano based, folk/rock, percussion heavy, song writer songs. Click the above link for more information on that, and all thing Songs from the moon related. We are also planning on playing an acoustic show, and more big full band shows in the not as near future.

Here is a video clip from our first show... Just a taste. A tease.

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Thirdly, -or -Next on the list:

I have plans to make a Matilda split cassette tape with Jon Berz [ex-Blase Splee, current Songs from the moon]. I've made tapes in the past, but never as a end-game product. Always as a "I have all these ideas I need to get down on something and all I have is this old hand held voice recorder from the 90's."
A lot of my first recordings were done on tape. I love the woozy feel. The warm up when you press play. The slow stretch. The occasional strange gaps in parts of noise that happen over time.
It's going to be good.
We're thinking of two or three songs per each tape side. One side would be a couple new Matilda songs and the other side would be a few new songs from Jon. But, the cool thing is, is we're going to help one another record and play on all the songs together. So Jon will be filling out the sounds of the Matilda stuff, and vice versa.

[Excitement... like a lot of it]

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Fourth:


My good buddy Danny has been working on a home-made synthesizer for a while now. And when I say "working on," I mean he's building this mother-fucker from scratch. Well, the first incarnation of it is finally done and he's left it with me and my fiance to do some art work on the box. Can't wait to turn his project into something he can't stand to look at. [wink]

This is what it looks/sounds like.

Pretty neat.



The coming days/months should be interesting.



Here's to new work.