Production notes - Powersolo

Recording for the prominent album “The Real Sound” began in 2013, with the album seeing release the following year, 2014. PowerSolo toured with this album in 2015 in the EU, USA, and South Africa. “The Real Sound” is likely PowerSolo’s best known album, likely for the cult sensation that the video for their lauded number “Boom Babba Do Ba Dabba” generates on the web. This simple and surfy track and accompanying video seem to epitomize the attitude of the band in all of its aberrant attitude and esoteric nature. Said track kicks off the album, and introduces listeners to a sound palette that is less produced and refined, with a warmer analog sound to the production. This gives everything on the album an extra dose of lofi grit, and better matches the sound qualities of their influences. The album was recorded at the home studio of Kim ‘Kix’ Jeppesen, with a minimalist and quite utilitarian set-up. Kim used a somewhat primitive multitrack digital recorder, with an analog preamp loop to warm up the input sounds and give an “analog” or “lo-fi” feel to the tracks. From there, individual tracks had to be burnt onto CDs and loaded into a DAW for final mixing. Most instruments were simply recorded with Shure SM57 and SM58 microphones, with a special eye taken microphone placement. This may have offered a mix that was initially flatter sounding, but easier to construct- as all tracks would theoretically sit evenly within the mix. The tracks were then exported to Crunchy Frog studios and mixed and mastered by Jesper “Yebo” Reginal and The Great Nalna, with Kim present in the studio for finalization and production input.

In 2018, PowerSolo records and releases “Bo-Peep” on Crunchy Frog Records and Dirty Water in the USA. The album is released digitally, and also sees release on vinyl for collectors and devotees of the band. PowerSolo tours with this album in Europe and in the USA, documenting parts of the tour as they travel and sharing it with fans via social media. The album carries the same analog warmth that “The Real Sound” displayed, with the influences trending more towards the late 60’s psychedelia the spread across the globe, pinned to very garage-rock and surf-rock influenced instrumentation. Influences of 60’s bubblegum pop can also be detected, and though there are tracks with a rockabilly influence like “Lost Angeles”, the album is by-and-large a departure from that sound embracing the aforementioned influences, allowing the album to be more free-flowing and narrative. Though raw and scathing at times, this album features some of the groups most laid-back tracks- even hearkening to the aesthetic and production quality that can be found in the late 60’s Bay Area psychedelic rock. “Bo-Peep” was also recorded in a manner very similar to “The Real Sound”, the explanation for the two albums similar sonic qualities. Kim “Kix” Jeppesen plays all parts- giving a primitive and raw sound to the drums in particular. Many of the tracks were completed in a single take. Most of the guitar tracks were recorded with a small 15 watt solid state amp containing its own spring reverb tank, resulting in a particularly unique sound. Some of Jeppesen’s live rig was also used in the recording of this album for sonic diversity. The effects used included Memoryman Analog Echo, and Kim’s signature PowerSolo Underdrive, an Overdrive/Dirt Pedal designed by Petr Mogelevski of Analogfox, based on Kim’s ideas and specifications.