Out Now!
In February I recorded 4 songs on a business trip in a makeshift hotel room recording studio. The full set is now available everywhere as the Folsom Hotel Lo-fi Blues EP, released under my lo-fi alter-ego, armchair prophet.
The Studio
For a week I called a hotel room home, when business brought me to Folsom, CA. The lovely Sacramento suburb was made famous to the music world in 1968 when Johnny Cash released the legendary album Live at Folsom Prison.
My visit had nothing to do with the penitentiary. I was in town to do some technical work for a client. These trips entail daily drives to and from hotel and office, with little other excitement. Back in the day I spent my downtime at the hotel bar.
However, I sobered up years ago. Now my free time goes to more creative endeavors. To that end, my first order of business in Folsom was to set up a temporary remote recording studio.
The Gear
The studio’s capabilities and lo-fi status were guided by a handful of factors. First I had to face the logistics of travel. I needed to pare-down my hardware to a few items which would fit in a suitcase with my clothes.
I had a lightweight HP Stream laptop on which I had previously installed the Linux Mint operating system. It’s not exactly a high-end machine, hence the streamlined OS. Linux (Mint in particular) is less demanding on computer resources than mainstream operating systems from Microsoft and Apple.
My primary instrument was the Akai MPK mini MIDI keyboard with programmable drum pads. It functioned as keys, bass, drums, and sampler. It’s basically a miniaturized version of the Alesis keyboard I have in my home studio.
I also brought a few hand percussion instruments. Obviously I couldn’t pack speakers in my suitcase. So, in place of studio monitors I brought a really nice pair of beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones.
My iPad was a big player as well, thanks to Korg’s Gadget3 and iPolysix, which emulate the company’s classic synths. If you have an iPad, download them. If only for the fun of it. They’re great.
Duct tape to the rescue
My audio interface was an M-Audio M-Track Duo. My mic was a MXL 991. The MXL company has some amazing (and cheap) condenser mics. At home I use this one to record my conga drums. On the road, it was this or a Shure SM48. The condenser mic won.
There was no room in the luggage for a mic stand. When it came time to record a shaker on the first tune, I had to get creative with duct tape, a lamp stand, and a mic clip. Duct tape is the lo-fi studio’s best friend, and always there to save the day.
Open-source
Because I was running a Linux operating system, I used all open-source Linux-based recording apps. My digital audio workstation (DAW) was Ardour, with a whole bunch of Calf plugin-ins. Audacity is an excellent (free) audio editor on any platform, and was a Godsend here.
The Process
When it came time to record, I had no agenda. I just wanted to make some lo-fi grooves and have some fun. Then Pistachio Way happened, and I realized my weird little studio had a cool sound.
Nightly sessions followed. Each evening after returning to my room from the office, I’d DoorDash some vegan grub and start making music. I ended up with four (mostly) complete tunes. They are still just unfinished rough mixes, but I’m sharing them now because they’re fun.
Soon I will send the stems to Kilo. He’ll add a little zazz, mix, and then master. Then we will release the collection as an EP. Until then, enjoy the playlist and song descriptions below!
All We Got
This one started with a cool bass tone. I had some nice analog synth sounds and began improvising over a drum loop I downloaded from splice.com. Once I had a bass line I liked, I downloaded more drums to spice things up. Keys followed and I found my ear looking for vocals.
My iPhone is loaded with random song ideas recorded as voice memos. These sometimes involve musical instruments. Other times the recordings consist of insane ramblings and mumbled melodic ideas.
I searched the list for something that would work with my new groove. I struck gold with the “All We Got” verse, a lo-fi spoken word lyric idea originally intended to have a melody. But I like it as-is.
Pistachio Way
This was the first song I recorded in Folsom, and the one that inspired this whole project. It started with a bit of lo-fi piano, and a dark trip-hop groove. After I wrote the bass line I realized I needed to change the key because there was a bass tone in the kick drum.
I like the analog synths here too. The title of this song is a wacky story. I first called it Pistachio Wave because I was eating pistachios at the time of its recording. I am always eating pistachios. It’s a thing.
The very next day, I was driving around Rancho Cordova, California and I drove past a street named Pistachio Way. I had my title, and a cool cover pic for SoundCloud.
Okay, Alright, Alright
This song’s origin story is similar to that of All We Got. Like that track, this tune started with a great beat and a cool bassline. However, the drum kit is not a downloaded loop. I’m playing it, the bassline, and some keys on my iPad.
The bongos are a loop. Like that other song, the lo-fi vocals and title come from a fruitful iPhone voice memo search. I like the real world analog/digital distortion the phone adds. And I really love the joyful nonsense of the whole thing.
In the Clouds
I wrote this one on my iPad during the the flight home. I’ve messed around with retrowave/synthwave sounds before, but this time I dove right in. Cool sounds, and I like the chord changes. Kilo will finish this one. It is right up his alley.