Joel Weighs In
Imagine spending most of the hours of your life on a music project for the last decade, every day (except Sundays) for 8-10 hours and then having only 1 month in Denmark and a few precious slots in the studio to bring it to completion. Now imagine that once you get there, your producer friend that you haven't seen in as much time spends precious hours waiting for "the spirit" to move him. Picture yourself sitting in a bar with your producer, waiting for him to become inspired to do some mixing while the studio you booked stands empty and the day you have to leave Denmark with a finished album is getting closer. That is maybe a little how Joel felt over the course of the month in Denmark. Nate, Jeff and Grant had a feeling some kind of struggle between two stubborn music-makers was going on, especially when mixes just weren't coming after awhile. But when they started coming in, they were amazing. Mysterious, soulful, colorful, spacious and filled with good feeling. When Joel came back, he was in a daze. Partly the jet lag, but also he finally had time to digest what just happened. Janis' wait-for-the-spirit approach had worked! Against all the logic of a typical Calvinist work ethic, Janis' way worked better than we could have ever dreamed. Perhaps this whole long twisted journey (see previous blogs involving Janis and OVERHANG) was the way it had to be to get this mix. Certainly the previous mixes Janis sent did not have what these mixes have. Every experience of pushing and unwilling waiting over the last several years seemed perfectly timed for this mix and the finishing of the album. It was amazing to us how Janis' personal journey seemed to coincide with our own. Janis also had major health problems at the same time that Joel and Grant were enduring physical break-downs. These experiences also led Janis to take stock of just how worthwhile it would be to continue, which ended in increased resolve and a new attitude toward his work. All reasons why he was the right person to mix this album all along. Here is Joel's summary: "A month in Copenhagen Demnark with Janis Kalnins. It was a life changing experience for both of us. It was a musical and spiritual journey. For me it was a matter of letting go of this music. It's hard to let go of something you've been working on for eight and a half years. On top of this, it was somewhat difficult to adjust to Janis' working style. I like to wake up in the morning and get to work. Janis likes to wake up in the morning, go for a walk, get a burger, have some beer, hang out, listen to music, and then get to work. He taught me a lot though. He likes to get "filled with the spirit" before he begins a mix. So most of the day is spent in meditative relaxation and when the spirit is at full volume, Janis begins to mix at full volume. Janis has spent much of the last year existing with very little money, very little food, and very little paying work. He spent a lot of time alone communing with The Lord. In western culture, particularly academic western culture, we tend to justify and rationalize everything. After many years of trying to do things rationally, Janis has learned to be more simple-hearted and intuitive. His mix of "Another Hole" really reflects Janis' perspective.