BEATLESS BEAUTY
Jul 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By Lily Moayeri
Anyone who was clubbing in the early '90s remembers the postclub chill-out period that was invariably accompanied by the sounds of Moodswings “Spiritual High,” which featured the vocals of The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde. Long outlasting its initial appeal, the song — from the album Moodfood (Arista, 1992) — was the soundtrack to clubbers' relaxation time for years. In 1997, the group released the follow-up Psychedelicatessen (Arista). Now, Moodswings return with Horizontal (Varese, 2002).
Four years in the making, Horizontal was recorded primarily in London. For mixing the album, Moodswings mastermind James Hood moved to Los Angeles, where he took up residence in Elton John's old home. Situated off the Sunset Strip, Hood set up his studio in his bedroom, along with his bed and drum kit. Hood used to play drums for the Pretenders, as well as Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Jeff Beck and The Smiths. But for Horizontal, his vision was to eliminate the drums entirely.
“I'm very into the internal effects of music, the evocative images that get conjured up in your mind,” Hood says of Horizontal. “It's not banging, but it's an essential album for people who like banging music. Dance music is all about signposting dynamics. What I'm trying to do is zoom right in to where the changes gradually unfold. It's like watching a sunset — at what point did it change? You could never really put your finger on it. If you just watch it, you get into the transition as an art form.”
A similar ethos applies to Hood's decision to eliminate vocals or at least banish them to Horizontal's second disc. “The trouble with vocals is it reminds you of being human,” he says. “When I'm in that space, I'm going into a part of myself that isn't restricted by my body. It has to do with thoughts, feelings, sense, colors, imagination and visualization. You take the drums and vocals away, and you've got this expanse of infinite.”
Using an Apple Mac G4 racked with 300 GB of internal hard-drive memory, Hood runs Steinberg Cubase and Digidesign Pro Tools in the same computer. He uses the former for sequencing and the latter for recording. Hood also employs Roland JD-800 and JV-2080 (with eight expansion cards) synths, a Korg MS-2000 synth and a Joemeek VC3 mic preamp. But most integral in Hood's production are his filters and phasers, with a Mutronics Mutator as the figurehead.
Hood works with 40 or 50 tracks at a time, equaling about 10 minutes of material. From that, he may only use half a minute that he'll loop in Pro Tools. Hood recorded some stellar pedal-steel guitar, violin and hammer-dulcimer players for Horizontal, and once he got enough raw sound to work with, he manipulated the takes and often edited together solos and melodies that were beyond human playing ability.
The result is hardly a long, fusionlike jam session. Hood likes to capture the emotional expression of live musicians and use repetition to make the tracks memorable. “If you repeat something long enough, it becomes hooky,” he states. “It's like a fractal: The more you go into it, the more it reveals itself. Real danceheads will like this record because it's got a lot of the same sounds, but it's constantly floating. It's a different kind of party record — a party in your own head after you've had the external party — for people who have been left behind by the sonic ravages of dance music. I don't want this music to be seen as anything other than an adjunct to a wider experience for yourself.”
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