Emoticons (album 2024, Per Sigmond)
Credits
- Per Sigmond: flugelhorn, trumpet, percussion, synths, vocals, arrangements, recording, mixing, mastering, production
- Oscar Jansen: piano, cover graphics
- Peter Haltorp: bass
- Jan Inge "Jango" Nilsen: drums (1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- Håvard Kværne Hansen: drums (2, 3)
- Espen Larsen: guitars (2, 3, 5, 8)
- Emil B. Viken: guitars (1, 4, 6, 7)
- Hilde Sigmond: vocals
- Ingrid Sigmond Selås: vocals
- Torgeir Albert: trombone
About the album
The songs on this album were written by a happy man. And I am particularly happy to have such excellent music friends helping me bringing the songs to life. The touch of Oscar, the groove of Peter, the energy of Jango and Håvard,
the uniqueness of Espen, the integrity of Emil, the tone of Torgeir and the talents of Hilde and Ingrid. What a treat!
Most of the songs on this album were recorded with a full band in the studio (drums, bass, piano, guitar and flugelhorn) playing together. After the original recording, many of the tracks were recorded again in order to fix errors or incorporate
new ideas. The exception was the drums, because it is very hard to "fix" a multi-track drum recording. The drummer simply has to play perfectly first time around. My applause to Jango and Håvard for their incredible and professional performances.
The second hardest job belongs to the bass player, who works most closely with the drummer (very little re-recording here). Peter makes it all sound so easy (and groovy). No wonder the drummers love playing with him.
Then we have the piano that glues it all together. Oscar has the incredible ability to make any keyboard sound like a Steinway. Simply amazing.
Add to that the reliability of Emil's guitar playing and you have a band.
Even though many tracks are re-recorded, it is always nice when an original track survives the production process. Such tracks are often preferred because they catch some of the atmosphere of the initial recording session.
Examples on this album are Emil's guitar solo on "Happy Days", and my own flugelhorn tracks on "Thoughts", Nightlight" and "SMB". I love it when this happens.
But more often than not, recording new tracks makes the production better. On this album, I once again had the privilege of adding Espen's guitar to many of the songs. His solos just gets better each time I listen to them. Espen's phrasing is simply unique.
Also thanks to Torgeir who brings additional color to the brass section. Love your tone.
Special thanks to Hilde and Ingrid for vocals that make the songs shine. And to Kristin for your support. What would my world have been without you three?
I hope this music helps making people happy and hopeful for the future! Enjoy!
November 2024, Per Sigmond.
Jack of All Trades - Master of None (album 2019, Per Sigmond)
"A superb collection of Norwegian funk featuring some rather excellent musicians." - Steve Kitch, audiomaster.co.uk.
Credits
- Per Sigmond: flugelhorn, trumpet, euphonium, percussion, synths, vocals (8, 10), recording, mix, production
- Oscar Jansen: piano, vocals (8), cover graphics
- Peter Haltorp: bass, vocals (8)
- Håvard Kværne Hansen: drums
- Espen Larsen: guitars (1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10), vocals (8)
- Emil B. Viken: guitars (5)
- Hilde Sigmond: vocals (1, 5, 6, 7, 10)
- Ingrid Sigmond Selås: vocals (1, 5, 6, 7, 10)
- Torgeir Albert: trombone (1, 5)
- Espen Huldt-Nystrøm: alto saxophone (4), tenor saxophone (3, 4), sax arrangement (3)
- Helge Huldt-Nystrøm: alto saxophone (3)
- Per Høyum: barytone saxophone (3, 4)
- Helge Solvang: soprano saxophone (5)
- Steve Kitch: mastering
About the album
It's been 10 years since my previous "non-classic" solo-album ("Velvet Horn"). Back then it was important to me that all the music could easily be
recreated live with a small band. This time I have used whatever arrangement size I found
necessary, from the small band format of "April Groove" (track 2) and "Slobodan" (track 9)
to the "more-is-more" arrangement of "Jack Of All Trades" (track 5). This was possible to do thanks to generous contributions from many music friends. Special thanks to Espen Huldt-Nystrøm who wrote
a fantastic sax arrangement for "Cooler" (track 3). Also a big hug to my daughters Ingrid and Hilde whose background vocals really widen the sound of this album.
Being a musical child of the seventies and eighties, it is hard to forget the thrills of funk. So I called bass player Peter Haltorp to make sure I got some funky slap-hand on tape (listen to "Trimmer" and "Top", track 1 and 4).
I also soon learnt that Peter had lyrical sides, and I am honoured to include his fantastic composition "Flying Colors" (track 7). This song features a multi-tone bass track that
Peter recorded in one single take! Wow!
We also needed a drummer to match Peter's bass playing, and we sure got one! Håvard turned out to be just perfect for the job, and not only for the funky stuff.
All the songs on the album are original compositions either by myself or by one of the musicians (Peter Haltorp, Oscar Jansen, Espen Larsen).
As noted above, different approaches has been taken with respect to building the sound of each track. At one extreme you have "Jack Of All Trades" (track 5) with a huge number of overdubs, while Slobodan (track 9)
is "live in studio" (all from the original take). Huge thanks to Espen Larsen for letting me record his two marvellous compositions "Maria" and "Slobodan The Mechanic" (track 8 and 9). I also had the pleasure of including Oscar's
beautiful song "April Soon" (track 6) on the album. Wonderful piano playing by Oscar, as always. The song "April Groove" (track 2) was co-written by Oscar and myself during a rehearsal. I don't
remember which year it was, but it must have been in April! Speaking of compositions; they don't have to be new to be original. The song "Nine Lives" (track 10) was written some time in the eigthies,
hence the title.
The album has been rather slow in the making, it's been 3.5 years from the first takes to the release. This is all my fault (failing to keep up the energy), but the slowness has some good
sides to it. One benefit is the opportunity to "forget" the recordings and listen to them anew after some time. I think this in the end contributes to better arrangements and mixes.
One of the objectives in my work with recording and mixing is to do as many stages of it as I can just for the fun of it, thereby inevitably becoming a "jack of all trades". Whether I will ever be
a master of any of them is hard to say, but it certainly helps to have good music friends! As you can hear, there are certainly "masters of trade" among the musicians!
No rule without exceptions; I never had the nerve to take on the trade of mastering. This is a part of the process where you can really
screw up an otherwise good mix. So I leave this to Steve Kitch who has mastered all my work since I started my studio 13 years ago. Always excellent sound and good service!
All in all it's been a pleasure to work on this album. I hope you all appreciate the affectionate playing of the musicians and the effort put into mixing and mastering.
For me, sitting down and listening to the result makes it all worth while. A warm thanks to all the contributors!
June 2019, Per Sigmond.
Other releases by Per Sigmond:
Some other albums featuring Per Sigmond:
Pictures:
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