The Inevitable

For some time, I've realized that this blog was getting updated with way more regularity than the Halou website. As a result, this blog will henceforth be at the front page of www.halou.com

The Science Teacher.

Just under two months after September 11th, 2001 (call me a Republican - I cite September 11th, then hit you with a dodgy sales pitch), we released our second album, "Wiser" on Nettwerk Records. What followed was the most concentrated string of live dates we have done (which is, sadly, still not many). On one of those nights - in Seattle, WA (where else?) - from the stage, we heard someone refer to me as 'The Science Teacher'. These were the days when the suit/tie/glasses were wardrobe and general unease and discomfort made up my onstage demeanor (they obviously still do). I can remember laughing loudly, pondering how we never really truly 'see' ourselves.

So now, I have just completed three tracks for a short CD that I will release under the name 'The Science Teacher'. This music is different from Halou. Rebecca does sing on one track, but not in the way you're probably familiar with. I would love for you to hear it, but I am quite aware that it is not the kind of thing you can put on at all times of the day.

Anyway, the details:

The Science Teacher: Parallelism
1. On A Haiku Beach
2. Factory Flowers
3. Low Countries

Running time: 17:53

Dynamophone will be releasing this in July as part of their 'Parcel' series of limited 3" CD packages. I will post artwork and pre-order link soon...

RYAN

Back From The Green World

The Green World/SF Film Festival show was great. One of those nights when just about everything goes right. It was a gorgeous night in the city and people were definitely out to enjoy it.

We showed up at the club right after 6pm, loaded in and soundchecked relatively easily. Unfortunately, the stage was quite small and we had to strike most of our gear to make room for Tarentel. I quite enjoyed their set and it was satisfying to finally catch them live after all the years hearing about them.

After reassembling ourselves onstage we went on and played for about an hour. The new songs are definitely a highlight for us and 'Albatross' just seems like it's coming across really well live, which gives me great hope for a lot of the songs were working for the new record.

Our old friend Jake was on hand and managed to snap some characteristically nice photographs of us doing it. You can see one below and you can click here to view the rest.

RYAN

Rehearsal Shots

I've been regretting lately that we never post any audio/video/photo content up on this blog so here's a few shots from Friday night's rehearsal:

Back To It

Last night, everyone trickled into the studio from the rain and we got on with our first rehearsal for next week's SF Film Festival show. Things were tightly packed, as usual, but the songs were fresher in our heads than we thought and that made things easy to bear.

It wasn't my intent, but most of our songs seem to have these nice little breaks in them for everyone to take a sip of wine. In future, perhaps I will just plan to have at least 4 or 8 bars for everyone to lay out and get their drink on.

Another rehearsal tonight...

Wine Critic

This morning, we woke up to rain-washed roads and moist, clean air due to mild showers overnight. It's almost sad the way the blustery weather tries to creep in with the persistent sun pushing it away again and again.

Last night a short burst of energy on my part (and a particular bottle of Cabernet) resulted in some new guitar bits and a solid chorus for 'Critic'. This one could end up being one of my favorites if things continue to go well with it.

Earlier in the day, Rebecca nailed down lyrics to 'Stop Thief' that improved upon her original idea. I look forward to recording those soon.

Critic.

I've taken 'Critic' from idea/concept to song in the last 24 hours. It now has a few different parts and is remarkably full sounding give how few elements it has so far.

One of the things that's been different with this group of songs is that Rebecca is hearing them much earlier. For the last album, and 'Wiser', in particular, I finished the songs almost completely before I played them for anyone else. I'm not sure why I used to do things that way - probably just from my early days of working by myself. Anyway, now things are more collaborative in all directions and it's working out very, very well.

We'll more or less be taking the weekend off to spend some time with friends and enjoy the weather. Next week, we'll be focusing more on preparations for the upcoming performance in San Francisco. Much has changed since the last one...

RYAN

You Are Here.

Tonight more progress made on 'Sunday Low' and 'Stop Thief'. Rebecca has some great new ideas for 'Breath Makes Smoke' but, unfortunately, I've got to redo it quite a bit faster before it's ready for new vocals.

I've attached an image of the album directory which I think you can click on to enlarge. One or two of the titles may be final, but they're mostly temporary.

RYAN

Reverse The Formula

As time goes on these days, I seem to be moving away from many of the tastes I've carried over the last several years. As you get older, it's accepted that you outgrow things - settle down - whatever. For me, I'm finding the opposite to be true - I want badly to shake off complacency. To rewrite things. Redefine. My eyes now seem to take in colors of all hue and saturation. Sounds that previously struck me as daft or confusing now have their place and I understand them. Hopefully, I can make some useful science out of all this.

RYAN

The Cracks In The Sidewalk

Some days are full of little things. No songs, no projects, no rehearsals. No callused fingertips or achy voices. On these days, the subtleties of life can take on inflated significance. Libraries, classrooms, walks through town. This is what feels right today.

RYAN

Tempo

It's always a good idea to listen to mixes in the car, everyone knows that. Well, we're not even close to mixing... Today I drove around Marin a bit, listening to some of the new material hoping I'd be able to hear some of the elements of these songs in a different way.

Consistently, one of the most common things I notice is tempo - you listen to something in the car and if it's a little too slow, you can pick it up right away. For the new record, there aren't really any slow or downtempo tracks so it's important that things have the right energy pushing them forward.

RYAN

14 Is A Magic Number

Piled up a list of the new tracks last night and it looks like we're working with 14 this time. I think for this round we're going to try for 10 on the album in contrast to the somewhat engorged W&S album.

Been playing the stringed instruments a lot lately. Letting the electronics rest a bit. I've been spending a lot of time teaching my daughter piano which, frankly, leaves me a bit uninspired by keyboards in general. Though, it is so unbelievable to see a 6 year old grasping musical concepts for the first time. Our eventual goal is to turn Halou into a sort of Menudo where members change with the generations. We're in talks with the representatives for Ricky Martin's frozen embryos and things are progressing well.

I must also acknowledge the drunken display of green just outside my front windows. The season has changed here and it's dazzling.

Summer Comes

I'm sure the Summer is what the wind is blowing in today. Gusts of it.

Last night felt like a leap toward understanding what the next record is going to become. It's like looking back on the trail you've just climbed and you realize you have made it further than you thought you would. That's because our trail, this time, is very, very different than the one we're used to walking.

So, this week Rebecca and I have been trying to solidify a mid-tempo guitar track and last night I think we cleared the final major hurdle. I've been grasping for titles early this time so we don't end up naming things poorly in the end, but the only lyric I can hear well enough in this one is something about "the tipping point". Anyway...

RYAN

The Ides of April (Nearly)

I miss Rome.

Anyway.

I wrote a couple of new things this past week that have convinced me definitively that the next album is going to be something of a sharp turn from the last. That was my intention, of course, but in the past I have made similar aims only to remain, frustratingly, so similar. These most recent bits bring us up to around 14 or 15 tracks to work with for the album, which is pretty near what I was aiming for. I think we're trying for a solid 10-track album this time, in contrast to W&S. I'm more excited than ever to play the new material live as it's just got SUCH a different vibe than what we've been doing for the last several years.

On a different track, have you heard the Blonde Redhead record? It's funny to see the excessively hip deride it as their 'sellout' album. It's nearly without fault, as far as I can tell and I fully expected the Shins record to be my favorite of the year. Good music, despite every single negative force kicking against it, is so vibrantly alive and it's more exciting than ever to hear it.

The new Rolling Stone magazine has brief reviews of the latest batch of Depeche Mode reissues and they've pointed out what I've been saying to friends for some time (subjecting myself to much ridicule): re-evaluate 'Songs Of Faith & Devotion'! I still listen to this record often and it still sounds amazing.

RYAN>

Seeing, not hearing.

I'm afraid I've little to report on Halou-related activity for the past week. I've solidly finished work on the Science Teacher EP and that's just taken it out of me musically for a bit.

My other pursuits usually struggle to find attention amidst all the playing and recording of music but lately things have really been coming into focus. My filmmaking 'career' is very much in its infancy but I am getting MUCH experience doing location shooting and direction. Very fun, but very different from the kind of work I'm used to.

We inevitably move closer to the actual recording dates for Halou and I'm getting that familiar feeling again: 'These are the songs you've got so if you want more to pick from, you better write 'em now.' Feeling very untethered stylistically these days and hoping some concentrated studio time will help me to see the direction things will go. I'm sure it will.

The April Flowers That May Devours

The sad demise of Tower Records also meant the obsolescence of the Bayside subsidiary of which Halou was a part. Furthering the theory that Halou shall never rest at a single label long enough to find any lasting comfort, we now move on to Dynamophone, who will reissue 'Wholeness & Separation' to prevent it from falling into the silent blackness much the way its two predecessors have done. As W&S is not even 1 year old, we have decided not to dress up the repress, but rather do a quiet continuation of the current format and simply keep the thing in print. However, as stated before, Dynamophone will also be issuing the (Sans Soucie-like) 'Skimming' which collects all W&S related material under one little umbrella thus saving cd racks everywhere from distended 'H' sections and diminishing the brutish relevance of such Western propagandist organizations as Hold Everything and the Container Store. It's our duty as counter-consumerist revolutionaries, is it not?

JESUS

Lapse

It's been awhile since we've updated this space and there's been good reason. We've kept our heads down lately and we've managed to get a bit of work done on our various projects.

Work continues on the next proper Halou record. The wide range of material we have to work on is encouraging and shows, even at this early stage, what a different sound this next album will have. We still get the odd 'trip-hop' tag applied to us from time to time and, frankly, I will be happy to see that go away once and for all. I think I speak for all of us when I say we'd like it if all seven of you would start calling us goth. What else are we going to do with all this eyeliner?

Very soon - certainly by the time we perform next on May 9th - I will have 'officially' released my very first instrumental music. I have assumed the name 'The Science Teacher' for the purpose and the short introductory CD will be called 'Paralellism'. There are three tracks contained within and I think they represent quite a different sound than I've put out there before. Dynamophone are showing incredible faith and a shocking lack of commercial acumen by agreeing to put this out.

Perhaps more relevant and interesting to readers of this blog is the upcoming Halou EP compilation entitled 'Skimming'. 'Skimming' is more than an albums worth of tracks we've put out on various EP's over the past few years. Why are we putting exclusive tracks and live material on it? Why not? In fact, this CD will actually contain the new track, 'Skimming' along with live versions of this and that.

RYAN

2007SOFAR

With the change of season I'm already anticipating another year passing me by. My movements feel slower these days and my ambition less satisfied. The one remedy is to constanty work, work on new things and I have been taking my medicine lately - overdosing, perhaps.

2007 will certainly bring the Rigil full-length album, which I am producing. The Abassi Bros album, which I have just recorded and shall mix. The Galactic record which Count is recording and mixing.

Also, we will be releasing a CD compiling the recent EPs. It is our hope to add some live/studio tracks to what already is a full disc. This should be available within the next couple of months. Too bad we already used the name 'Wholeness & Separation' - it would have been perfect for a disc combining the EPs. Damn.

24 Hour Party People

2 days of recording finished for the Abassi's album. Beatiful weather here in San Rafael to accompany a totally smooth session during which we recorded on about 15 songs. Hopefully, everything continues to go well with this and we get the album out in the early summer. Regardless of release date, it's going to be fantastic.

RYAN

In/Out

While spending the nights working on new music, days are spent with the music of others humming in the background. 2007 has been a great year for music so far, for sure, and there are plenty of older things I'm just discovering that make the days sound better. Here are a few:

The Mary Onettes - Lost EP
Late Night Tales - Nouvelle Vague
Goldmund - Corduroy Road
Fennesz - Endless Summer (Reissue)
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Earlies - The Enemey Chorus
Hammock - Raising Your Voice...

Also, to briefly address my other obsession, it's a really great time for wine. A lot of the '04 Napa Cabernets are hitting the shelves now and, damn, there's some really good stuff to drink. The '05 Pinots from the RRV are also just amazing and I'm drinking what I can of those. Strangely, one of my very favorite wines of the moment is a Zinfandel - the 2005 Gamba Estate, actually, which is made in the style of a Cabernet instead of the syrupy confections that a lot of winemakers favor. You can't knock it down, it just goes with everything and works on its own as a sort of cocktail alarmingly well. Sadly, very little made, which is often the case with such a beautiful creation. I love that.

RYAN

The Old Cliche About Crime

'Tubefed' by Halou was on tonight's episode of CSI:NY. We had very little notice of this being finalized so I didn't mention it before. Not sure what the point would've been, anyway, but seems like the kind of thing one blogs about. There you go.

RYAN

Evidence.

Recording full-on these days for so many different things I think I'm losing track. Below are some very brief samples of different elements I've recorded in the past couple of weeks.

One
Two
Three
Four

Sybil and Caesar

Suffering here in California from hurricane Sybil - the multiple-personality weather thing is utterly baffling. Amazingly temperate here right now. The heat has the corks lifting out of all my Chardonnay bottles, strangely enough.

Last night, Rebecca and I struggled with a new track we're calling 'Lunatic' for the moment. This one is just so different than what we usually do that I think we had no strategies in place to come up with things that worked easily. Every addition was a struggle, but I think in the end we nailed it. Sounds nearly finished and there's nothing on it but bass, drums, guitar and vocals. Something refreshing about that, actually.

All the projects I've been mentioning here lately are going very well, in fact. Finding myself behind a personal goal I've even managed to do quite a bit of work on what I imagine will become the next Invisible Ballet record. Looks like we're about 1/3 of the way there on that one. Possibly 2007, but who knows.

Rebecca and I have been totally swept up in Season 1 of Rome. I'm hardly a historian, but Rome is a dark part of our past I know very little about. This show, though very obviously 'produced', is a user-friendly way to get familiar with the time period. As close as I can figure it based on what I've seen so far, Rome suffered from a duality represented best by knives and breasts. The original sex and violence, I suppose. Captivating.

RYAN.

Saturation.

With regard to musical activity, 2007 is already looking a lot like 2005 for me. Busy.

Rebecca and I are far along on another new Halou track - this one sounding less like any previous Halou material than any of the new tracks. It feels great when that happens. Very much against the idea of repeating previous ideas and goddamn electronic music clichés, though it becomes more and more clear as we go that this is more in the ear of the listener than anything else...

I managed to put together some music for a new short film called 'Sweet Candy.' This project is being produced/directed by the same team that did 'Quality Of Life' and I've contributed 3 songs - one of which is a preliminary version of a new Invisible Ballet track.

I'm also putting together a short release comprised of rethought versions from the 'Beneath Trembling Lanterns' album for Dynamophone. Most likely to be part of the new 'Parcel' series of releases, this will likely consist of around 20 minutes of fairly ambient reworkings of a few of those songs. I'm very excited about the way it's sounding so far and I think it will make a nice companion to the album. The packaging is also going to be something else...

I'm awaiting more tracks from Rigil for production/mixing. I think he's settled on the name 'Concertina Heart' for the album, which just seems to fit so nicely with the tone of the material. This will be a special release, I think. We should see it out in the fall of this year, I think.

I'm also in the preliminary stages of work with two new aquaintances, Yousuf and Amman Abassi, whom I will be working with on their upcoming debut album for Dynamophone. This also promises to be something fantastic as the rough tracks are already favorites.

RYAN

(Short) Films

Sunday night I spent some time working with some filmmaker friends of mine placing music into a short film they had just shot. Ben and Brant are the pair largely responsible for Quality Of Life, a film we (Halou) did some music for a couple of years ago.

I was able to comb the hard drives and find several pieces that seemed to fit fairly well and it looks like they'll find their way into the finished cut. Not Halou songs, but just some things that hadn't yet found a home.

More on this as things progres...

RYAN

Spring Is Here

Call me a dogmatic liberal, but I can't help but feel guilty for enjoying the amazing weather we've been having around here. Tonight, the evening air was warm and fragrant and had me just about convinced I had been whisked forward into early Summer.

Lots of business and mixing and troubleshooting going on this weekend - all of which was rendered trite by the amazing brunch earlier today.

Onto another week!

RYAN

In Multiples.

I guess I've been too busy to write here for the last several days. The many projects I/we are working on have really kept me face-to-face with the computer screen staring at waveforms.

The new Halou track we're working on has developed a little bit. After the installation of Battery 3, I was able to get some really amazing drums onto the second verse. The leap in quality between Battery 2 and 3 is just unbelievable. I'm really loving the vocal melody and the way the track develops as it goes along. I'll most likely record some acoustic guitars this afternoon.

The Rigil project for Dynamophone is progressing well, also. I've dramatically enhanced the track that has been most problematic. The ending now features several different guitar things and I'm contemplating extending the ending quite a bit. We're all very excited about how this release is shaping up. Could become a highlight of 2007 for our catalog.

Last night, I spent a couple hours on 'Cantus' by Evan's Curium project. Essentially, an extended ambient piece propelled by a Latin incantation, I primarily focused on eq/compression and spatializing. The results are sounding promising and this should be finished up and ready for release very soon.

RYAN

New Song Begins.

Last night I put together the beginnings of a new song (finally). I have wrapped up all the software installations and can now get back to making music, which feels really good. As always, I go long periods in between writing Halou songs, but I usually do them in clusters.

This one, for now, we will call 'January' and we will track its progress here on the blog and see how it ends up.

Last night, I focused on coming up with a percussion figure to anchor the track. Once I had that going, it was easy to find complimentary instrumentation and some of the new tools I've been gathering made it incredibly easy. Rebecca, in typical fashion, hummed along from the beginning and had a solid vocal going right away.

Next time, I'll try to get some video of work on the track...

RYAN

ARCHIVE: Building The Studio

A few years ago when we moved house and I built my studio I posted my progress online. I just found the page and you can see it here if you like.

RYAN

Back-end Bits

I imagine this might be as fun to read as it is to write - which is to say, 'perhaps not very' - but I persist.

I have been working quite steadily on Dynamophone-related business for the past week, filling my days with mixing, recording and hypothesizing about how to get the most out of the audio one is given. Thankfully, the audio I've been given is quite good, so the challenge is for me to present it in the best possible light. Prerequisite for this being, of course, that I shall get no sleep - and should sleep come, I must dream of rising oceans that swallow low-lying lands and force one to make tough decisions about what size wooden plank is sufficient to use as transport across the angry sea. The short version of this story is that I'm pleased with where I'm at on the Rigil project and the first 'serious' mixes are sounding good to my ear with mainly small tweaking and fun, creative things left to do.

On the Halou side, I have been editing quite a bit of video footage for various things. Video is strange in that we've all been cultured to expect a certain level of 'quality' (dare I use the word?) having grown up in front of television sets. I guess what I mean is, we all know crap when we see it. I have been exposed to just about my fill of crap video lately and, hence, have been putting in some effort learning ways to navigate around that outcome. More on this as things develop.

RYAN

What?

Is Amazon.com actually selling Wiser for $80.00?

REBECCA

Reissuing

We are in the early stages of planning a reissue of our first album, We Only Love You for its 10th anniversary and I've been spending some time gathering up the tracks to include on the release. Of course, the full content of the original album will be included as well as some additional tracks tbd. The lofty goal is to 're-mix' and remaster each track, as well, to greatly improve its overall sound. As soon as things become more solid, we will put it up on halou.com to preorder.

Slow Tools

Pro Tools is a great application. However, as with most updates, the new version has thrown my system into chaos. So much so, in fact, that I'm reinstalling the previous version. I've got a seriously powerful computer and 7.3 is just bogging it down for some reason. Seeing a lot of spinning beach ball. Unfortunately, right now I've got way too much going on to troubleshoot this problem and 7.2 was so stable and quick.

Not Stopping

Right at the end of last year I took on the project of producing a new Dynamophone artist named Rigil. Today, I'm in the thick of things with the first song nearly done. The songs are quite good and they provide enough interest to keep things interesting as I listen over and over. Each track suggests a lot of ideas and I expect I'll be able to move through things rather quickly.

Next week will bring another round of editing live Halou video. We have talked a little bit about putting out a DVD, but it's early days and things are very much up in the air regarding all that.

In the next few days, I'll begin work on a new Halou track, which I intend to chronicle right here from beginning to end. I'm not sure how that works without posting the audio, but that's what makes this whole blog thing so exciting, innit?

Ryan.

The Long Road Home

Seattle, Seattle. We were hardly there, it seems.

14 hours up. 14 hours back. I think there was a show in there, as well. That's right. A lovely town, as ever, but a few little twists can always change things. I'm not sure El Corazon was the right venue for us and things were definitely a little logistically complex.

Rolling up to the club, we parked next to a rather unfortunate fellow laying on the sidewalk underneath the freeway ramp tucked into layers of blankets and sleeping bags. I continue to be confused about what causes this kind of thing that can't be addressed in a reasonable way. Here's a problem with no politically-viable constituency to raise its profile.

Inside the club, things we're more cheery. All the other performers on the bill were very kind. I'm afraid I didn't get a chance to catch any of the music during the evening. It's always great to catch up with old friends that have been coming to our shows over the last few years and this was a good occasion to do that.

The performance itself was enjoyable. I think we've played better, but I was happy with it. It's hard to play in those starkly-lit venues where there's no 'ambiance' at all. I'm hardly into huge billowing fog, but a little haze can give things a little bit of something that's otherwise just missing. We're all still really enjoying playing the new songs and I think those went well.

So, what's next? There are a lot of small projects we've got in front of us before we really start nailing down the album sometime in March/April. We probably won't be playing much in the next few months for this reason, but things change. As details emerge, we will post them here.

Ryan

Soundchecking

We're here at El Corazon at about 9:20 and just wrapped our soundcheck. Went flawlessly, which is just what you hope for after making a 14 hour drive through the ice-decorated Northwestern highway landscape. Next on the agenda has to be food and wine.

I've never made the trip up here with so much of the terrain covered in ice and frost. You can't help but get in the Christmas spirit as you drive through Tacoma, its countless neon stripmalls glittering beneath blankets of shiny white. Northern Oregon, in particular, was really dazzling with its distant mountains taking on a silvery hue as the shadow mixes with the flecks of white.

More soon.

Ryan.

Order Delay

Normally, orders are packed on Sunday and shipped Monday or Tuesday. Because of our impending Seattle trip, orders placed through halou.com this week will be packed 1/21 and shipped on 1/22 or 1/23. We apologize for the delay.

If you have an urgent need, there's always iTunes!

Thanks!

REBECCA

VIDEO POST: Tubfed Live

OK, so we've finally got the first of the multi-camera live videos done:
(For some reason, there's about a 13 second blank screen at the beginning)

AUDIO POST: R/R Coseboom - 'Untitled'

As I mentioned a few days ago, Rebecca and I recorded a simple live version of an old Cure song called 'Untitled'. We don't really 'do' cover songs for our records, so I figured this would be a good entry for an audio posting here, besides my pocketbook can hardly afford to send checks to Mr Smith & friends...

Bloggers and podcasters, go ahead and play it where you will, thanks:

R/R COSEBOOM - UNTITLED

(written by Smith/Tolhurst/O'Donnell/Gallup/Thompson/Williams)

Show Update

In case you don't get the email updates, click HERE.

Crawling into 2007

I'm totally bedridden-sick, unable to work on the many projects I've got in front of me. I had planned to come into 2007 paying more attention to what I'm eating, etc. and this illness has me doing that even more than I intended.

Next week is a busy one, with Count speaking at the MacWorld conference on Thursday and Halou playing up in Seattle on Saturday at a Microsoft Zune event. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out the on-the-road blogging thing...

VIDEO POST: Timothy Video Editing

Friend of Halou, Timothy Benton, in the studio cutting video...

Another Strange Article

An interview with Count done before the recent 'Reload' performance. CLICK HERE

Funny Article: SF Chronicle

Short Halou profile with bizarre questions. CLICK HERE

1994

Due to the generosity/perversity of one clever gift-giver, Rebecca and I last night were confronted with a DVD of a performance of our old band circa 1994. Sure, it was embarrassing and hard to watch, but it was interesting that one of the performances was a showcase for IUMA, arguably the first music site on the web. Part of the video showed the cameraperson navigating the dodgy website of our dodgy band. 1994 did not have a lot to offer in terms of web content, I was reminded.

Ryan