Matthew Swann is sort of used to going at it alone. He usually records at home, without a schedule, on his own time. But for Extra Happy Ghost!!!’s most recent release and first full-length album, it was all about collaboration. Recorded in Chad VanGaalen’s Yoko Ono studios (“It’s like a crazy psychedelic hobbit chalet,” says Swann) the nine track Modern Horses welcomed a slew of musicians who tracked live, with Mr. VanGaalen himself as the producer and engineer. “I wanted to portray an intense vulnerability, and anxiety, without crossing over into sentimentality,” says Swann of the July release, which was recorded mainly on analogue tape using vintage instruments. “We used a ton of anti-aesthetic—the vocals are droning, and pitchy…Chad
understood my intentions.” You’ve got two shots to get extra happy and hear Modern Horses for yourselves this weekend, make sure not to miss them.
Fri Sep 9, Gus’ Pub, 2605 Agricola Street, $5, 10pm/ Sat Sep 10, Khyber ICA, 1588 Barrington Street, $5, 7pm
This article appears in Sep 8-14, 2011.
