There wasn’t much that was bigger for me than the Elephant 6 Collective, during my collegiate years, not all so long ago. The funny thing is that I didn’t smoke weed, had only glimpsed at a bong for an uncomfortable, short period of time, had never gotten into Tolkien or even thought to consider illogical prose cathartic – the highest form of beautiful inspiration. It could have been that course on literature of the fantastic, where I was forced – by a bespectacled, middle-aged man with a permanent frog in his throat — to read Lewis Carroll in a different light and I was introduced to the illogical mastermind of Italo Calvino. I found the Fairy Tails of Hermann Hesse, which are some of the most underrated pieces in the category that I’ve ever come upon. I’d be reading these books – these works that opened up worlds of implausibility – in the afternoons and evenings and sometimes during the same time or afterwards, I’d be making new friends with Kevin Barnes, Andrew Rieger, The Marshmallow Coast, The Essex Green, Miles Kurosky (possibly my fictional BFF), and Jeff Mangum. For any degree of writer’s block, a few teaspoons of any of the above characters or pages – a combination of the two is most effective – will hail the antidote down. When Elf Power – one of the longest in existence bands from the cadre – decided to fit a session into their last Midwest tour, we were overjoyed. It was the most last minute arrangement we’ve had to date. It was set up about three hours before we needed to record to get them to their next show in Iowa City. It marked just the third time that we felt we were in the presence – not of a future iconic figure, as we feel on more occasions that you could believe – but one who’s already been to certain heights, built a body of work that is venerable and worshipped by thousands upon thousands. They’ve toured with Wilco and R.E.M. They’ve written two of the classic indie rock records of the 90s — When the Red King Comes and A Dream In Sound — defining the sound of a phantasm, the sound of mysterious jumbles and riddles, the sound of lying about with a head full of brain that’s just spinning around like a roulette wheel gone partially mad. They helped do all of that. Treat them to a curtsey if you’re able and don’t look them directly in the eyes. – Sean Moeller   
 
First song
Back to the Web (Elf Power) [3.18MB] [3108 downloads]


— original version appears on Back to the Web

Riding on a Persian caravan through the dusty hills, sippin’ on the sweet hookah smoke, slipping in and out of consciousness.

Second song
Come Lie Down (Elf Power) [2.23MB] [3063 downloads]


— original version appears on Back to the Web

Lying on a rainy beach at night in Spain, under a little umbrella, eating sandwiches and drinking wine, listening to the sounds of the rain falling on the sea.

Third song
Old Familiar Scene 2 (Elf Power) [3.56MB] [2823 downloads]


— original version appears on Back to the Web

Lying in bed at night watching the light and shadows make different faces and characters come alive on the walls.

Fourth song
The Arrow Flies Close (Elf Power) [2.88MB] [2868 downloads]


— original version appears on When The Red King Comes

This one I wrote when I was having really bad headaches and had convinced myself that I had a brain tumor…I thought I was a goner for sure.

Engineer’s note: Being at the mercy of wires and accidents, it was discovered that the master tape for “The Arrow Flies Close” was full of clicks and pops on the left channel.  It was found that the CD backup was no better, some fault in the lines. Consider this an experiment in sound and in mono vs. stereo, as my decision to edit the track was to use the right side only until the band kicks in, masking the distortion (and there is less of it after that point).  The sudden widening of the sound is the point at which the track becomes stereo.  Trippy, but fitting (?).  So, it’s not your mp3 player, or your ears, it’s me, making the best of a good song with a degraded source.

Sincerely,

Your humble engineer