On Camelot

Jennifer Castle and I have been making records together for almost 20 years and Camelot is our sixth full length. Jennifer’s last record Monarch Season, while it may not be immediately apparent was incredibly intentional in its understated nature. We had talked for years about taking Monarch’s specific approach and are both believers that an artist’s catalogue needs breadth. Monarch Season was a deliberate reset and freed Jennifer to go anywhere next. The destination ended up being Camelot. That’s the thing, when an artist trusts you implicitly you can help create a body of work that takes into consideration a career as opposed to just a moment in time. Being thematically and sonically self referential is an option. Tying together albums and songs with ideas/techniques and even specific instruments and gear are in play. Intention is the key. Not in an obvious way but in a natural way (something that I have found has come easier with age). At some point many years ago I became braver with decisions and while only fools banish doubt altogether I don’t have much use for it these days. 

As with any record made with considerable intent Camelot was years in the making. The years aren’t in the actual studio but the time from hearing the music in its rawest form, whether live performances/demos to approving the mastering. More time is spent conceptualizing/discussing/listening than in actual studio hours logged. I first heard some of what would become Camelot when Jennifer opened for Godspeed (clearly an inspired pairing), which was my first post pandemic show so my senses were particularly heightened. What turned into a truly great hang with IC/JC/VC post show was prefaced by Jennifer’s performance and where I memorably heard Lucky #8 for the first time. In its rawest form in that room it felt confrontational, very intentional and very heavy (at a Godspeed show no less). Some time later Jennifer sent me all the potential songs for Camelot. These demos always arrive in very raw form, (just Jennifer playing a single instrument and singing) which frankly I appreciate and how I prefer to work. It was clear there would be a different approach to making this record as any previous Jennifer Castle record and as I dug into the listening/writing notes phase, the conversations started on production direction and the whos and wheres.

Many times working with Jennifer compositions end up being minimalist in approach. This could be the writing demands this treatment and frankly Jennifer’s performances can stand all on their own so often unless her magic is matched any addition can be detrimental to the song. Less is more/lots of deleting over the years etc… Also drums have never played a huge role due to dynamic consideration. One of my mentors Jonathan Goldsmith often remarked “drums have to be really good to be better than no drums at all” and this is especially true in the land of JC. When we first started talking about this record is was clear from the demos that there would be more drums than ever before. Lucky #8, Full Moon In Leo and Mary Miracle were obviously pointing to a big guitar strum sound. Lots of guitars and percussion and drums. Luckily I had been listening to R.E.M. ’s Murmur on cassette in my car as the CD player had given up the ghost so I had dug into old tapes and that was a huge influence at the time. That album is my #1 R.E.M. as the acoustic is so upfront as to be the main component of guitar rhythm. Sort of my favourite sound. Anyway it wasn’t going to be just those tunes but most of the tunes and it needed someone who could play anything and throw multiple approaches at will at things. Enter Evan Cartwright. Not sure when I first worked with Evan but it was most certainly in a jazz context but then recording him tracking Isla Craig’s The Becoming i became aware that he was incredibly adept stylistically and sonically. Given all the potential musical approaches and Evan’s adaptability to all possible tangents it was key to secure his involvement. 

Bass on Camelot was always going to be Mike Smith. Again very foggy recollection of first session I had with Mike (there have been dozens) but I do remember asking him to come in and try and tie together the elements of Jennifer’s Sailing Away on Pink City. We had this incredible stripped down performance but nothing else would stick. I believe this was the first time Jennifer had heard Mike. It was one of those moments in the studio where you LOL at how good/perfect something is in real time. There have been many sessions and tours with Mike and Jennifer ever since. I also remember a bunch of duets from one exploratory session. It exists somewhere.

Paul Mortimer was obviously going to be joining us on guitars as not sure that anyone has played with Jennifer more. I remember working with Paul together with Jennifer in Deloro possibly as far back as 2009. Also having worked with Paul in The Highest Order he brings not only incredible playing but a spiritual/vibrational/bullshit detector element that every session needs. Hopping from acoustic on a bed to electric to 12 to build up things quickly was key. 

I’m not sure how long before the session Carl Didur was asked to join the core but it wasn’t too far out. Jennifer and I kept discussing someone who could be a wild card/unknown, we needed someone to play keys of all sorts including piano . I had worked with Carl years ago in a different context and Jennifer had known Carl for years. Idee Fixe had recently released a Carl solo record and a Zacht Automaat record and I had been spinning them a ton so when the suggestion was made it seemed like exactly the right decision. By the end of the initial tracking session it was confirmed that inviting Carl was indeed the right decision. Carl listens to what everyone else is playing and makes sure not to play that. His avoidance of the one is a superpower. Deep deep bag.

While Jennifer and I worked most daytimes doing solo recording of acoustic songs such as Some Friends and Earth Song and acoustic versions of others the evening and nights were reserved for the band. Inevitably there is a feeling out process when a group comes together having never played together and as days passed it was clear that a bond was forming and the takes kept getting better and better while the music loosened up. Sure, keep it in time but music is supposed to breathe, cross the bar lines and get messy. We had put in a shit ton of work all week, having tackled big piano numbers such as Camelot, Fractal Canyon and Blowing Kisses as well as the trio of Lucky #8, Mary Miracle and Full Moon in Leo and now we were in the closing hours of our last session when we got into Louie and Trust. This was the payoff for all of the hard work and whatever chemistry had manifested that week. These two masters were tracked in less than two hours for certain.  Once arrangements were fleshed out it was a few takes each at most. Louie for me personally was pure magic as it came through the speakers in realtime. Absolutely insane ensemble playing atop Jennifer’s performance. We all knew. It’s what I personally live for and what can sustain me for months/years. I am an addict for that feeling. The next week away from the studio was that balance of being high from the sessions and coming down all at the same time. 

After some listening Victoria Cheong and Isla Craig got together with the takes and arranged the incredible bgs and we booked back into Palace for a few days. Isla and Vic have been collaborating with Jennifer for years and their stripped down live shows are incredible (there is an album there that needs to be made).  Evan came back to add some percussion. We knew some tunes were string songs form the beginning so we had left room. I was working with Owen Pallett on something and asked if he would be up for it and he said to send the whole record. Owen picked the exact songs that Jennifer and I had earmarked. Always nerve wracking as it’s hard to hear something you have been living in transformed in such a substantial way as strings can. We were most worried about Louis as I heard it in my head but my high school 2nd violin/string ensemble experience isn’t enough to articulate detail so I decided to shut the fuck up, wait and see. Owen nailed it. No notes. Thanks OP and thanks to Rob Gordon for catching me like a deer in headlights back in 2003 Les Mouches era. There is a future post there for certain.

The finishing touches were fleshing out Lucky #8 and Mary Miracle with guitar and keys. I recorded a number of tracks of guitar and keys. I have been playing guitar for 45 years. Not everyday but there is usually one within 20 ft of me. I hear guitar in terms of the studio so I approach it in many different ways. Sometimes heavily effected or unrecognizable as a guitar. For Lucky and Mary it felt like it needed harmonically complex counterpoint to the main rhythm guitars so my patented 18 string guitar approach came in handy. Many many notes. Keys where laid down as harmonic pads. Mellotron and Acetone. Jonathan Adjemian came in a ripped the lead on Mary Miracle and the Hammond on Fractal Canyon. Cass McCombs sent a bunch of tracks for Lucky #8 Including his slide which perfectly elevates the outro. Owen had arranged horns for Stuart Bogie to play on Full Moon In Leo to fully realize the “TCB band” sound we were cultivating and Stuart sent them as the final piece of the puzzle. 

Mixing was a process. It always is. Sometimes it comes easy. Sometimes you chase your tail. Generally I mix in hybrid fashion. Enough to be out of the box but not enough that I can’t recall. 2024 and DAW’s mean that whenever you are tracking and overdubbing you are mixing. I print things on the way in, whether that is tape echo or plate or compression/distortion. I want the sound of the record to be determined. This doesn’t limit going in other directions later but more often than not performances informed by processing become to define the sound of songs. Mixing is about lots and lots of listening and not working for long stretches. I had the luxury of having vintage 15” Tannoys in my listening room at the time I was mixing Camelot which was a wildly different perspective than the Genlelecs I have been working on for 30 years that live in my mix room. Going back and forth and referencing the “real world” was key. Also nice to have the systems in place to analyze the mastering and be able to go back and forth with Josh Bonati on the final stage.

Beyond the process of creation, obviously Jennifer sang the shit out of the songs. I have been privy to JC performances that no-one else hears or will ever hear.  Countless times while setting up or maybe Jennifer just stopped by to play piano and sing in the studio. Emotionally devastating,  jaw dropping stuff. Anyone who has seen Jennifer a number of times live knows she can interpret her work any number of ways. The phrasing changes/the lyric changes/the feeling changes. A true and eternal singer. The thing is the majority of people don’t understand coded languages spoken from a place of deep knowledge and music and records are no different so once in awhile you have to let those people in by presenting something they do understand. I remember the first note i made while listening to the demo of the song Camelot was “Aretha Franklin”. I knew Jennifer could sing the shit out of something in that way because I had heard it before and I wanted everyone else to hear it so they could gain entry into this world of records we have been creating for almost two decades. Sometimes you just have to give everything so the people at the back pay attention. Let’s hope they are listening. Humbled to act as a conduit and humbled by everyone that contributed to Camelot. Love you all.

J