klark – Chebucto Head

Nearly 20 years ago to this day, I completed a folk rock album called Task Lighting (under the klark moniker) largely because I felt like it. Armed with a guitar, hardware sampler and multitrack recorder, I recorded some songs that still occasionally show signs of their own life. Perhaps the kindest feedback I received appeared recently on this excellent blog.

After some mandatory concept album spoken word nonsense, “Chebucto Head” gets Task Lighting started in earnest.

All electric guitar parts were recorded with a Young Chang Fenix XL-30 jumbo acoustic (a cheap but charismatic instrument that I routinely regret selling) run through a Zoom 9002 effects processor. I can’t begin to describe how I ran this signal chain into a hardware sampler and then sequenced the sounds using MIDI. This method predated software DAWs with audio support, so producers born after these recordings were made might not appreciate the nuance and madness at work here. It was like building a ship in a bottle, but it was the power of creative limitations at work.

I have an additional fond memory attached to this track. My cousin and friend, Michael Mireau, helped me work out the chorus harmony parts. Listening again makes me remember his genius and humor. He’s missed.