The Diary
November 2007 - April 2008
The mixing phase is
now over. Thirteen tracks are finally ready after 8 months in
the Peekaboo Studio. The last two months we’ve just fine tuned
the songs, finding the right levels and so on. We’re now
entering the mastering phase – the last phase before the release
of the new album. Brian Hazard at “Resonance Mastering” will
make the final touch during the mastering phase to create the
precise overall album sound we aim for. Eleven tracks will end
up on the new forthcoming album titled “Non-binary”.
With the new deal with the American independent record label “A
Different Drum” everything feels really good. At last, the album
that we’ve been working with for about 5 years is finally
reaching our fans and listeners. A release date is not yet set,
but the new album will be released during 2008. We haven’t yet
decided if there will be any live gigs, it depends if there are
any interesting proposals. Thoughts and plans about forthcoming
live gigs are not prioritized at the moment; we’re focusing on
the last phase, and to get the final things right.
It’s with excitement we’re now looking forward to the
collaboration with ADD and the album release this year.
Everything is set for a brilliant comeback album from Kiethevez.
Tracklist:
1. One world for the next
2. A million days
3. M
4. End of a bright night
5. How are we doing today
6. Non compos mentis
7. Niamh
8. Always a boy
9. Three
10. Be alone together
11. 26
June - October 2007
Finally! We're just hours from completing the final mix of the new forthcoming album. After spending almost 6 months in and out of the Peekaboo Studio mixing the 13 tracks we're almost there. The true sound of the album is really taking form. The sound engineer Martin Holmström at Peekabo has made an astonishing work interpreting our vision of sound and literally carving out the real essence of 5 years of hard work. In a couple of weeks the new album will be ready for the mastering phase.
Simultaneously we're looking for a record label to release the new singles and the new album. Hopefully there's no difficulties signing a new record deal, and soon after signing the release date can be set. We're really excited and we're looking forward to present the new album for our fans and friends after too many years of frustration and technical problems.
June 2006 - May 2007
We planned to start mixing the new album in the end of the
summer. But everything got delayed as usual, mainly due to even
more technical problems. In the beginning of November we finally
got our self into the studio for the mixing sessions. After a
couple of weeks of trial end error we found the “sound” and
could rapidly move on. At the moment we’ve about halfway through
the mixing work – 6 songs of 13 almost mixed. After all the
songs are mixed we will start all over again with the final
mixing adjustments, one song after the other, just to get that
final touch before entering the “mastering phase”. We’re very
pleased with the results so far; the new album will have a
unique sound but with that typical and special
"KTV
touch”. After so many delays, we don’t really want to make any
promises. But the plan is hopefully to release the new and not
yet titled album sometimes in the late autumn of 2007.
March - May 2006
The post production
is slowly coming to an end, just a couple of more songs to
finish off. We aim to enter the studio (Peekaboo Studio) in July
or August for some mixing sessions, some last minute changes and
some vocal adjustments. The last couple of songs have been the
most difficult ones in the post production process. The sound of
these songs just didn’t come out the way we wanted so we had to
start all over again.
Coming closer to the end of at least five years of hard work, it
feels both joyful but frightening. Sometimes you just want to go
back, and start all over. Throw everything away, and start
composing in front of the piano again with a clear and focused
mind. You have to ask your self a thousand times - is this what
you wanted to create? Is this the best you can? Is this what KTV
have been working for during all the years since the last album?
The problem is that we have listened to the songs for such a
long time that we somewhat have lost the ability to judge our
own material. The only thing guiding us right now is that
special intuition. But in the end, we know that the new material
is the absolutely best we ever created together so far. And
we’re really looking forward to the release of the album
sometimes in the late 2006 or early 2007.
October 2005 - February 2006
Due to technical problems the album is unfortunately delayed
about 10 months. The post production has been very difficult
because of hard disc crashes, software problems and so on. It’s
really frustrating when you can’t focus on the production, you
loose that nerve that makes hard work to something enjoyable.
When you’re spending too much hours trying to understand what’s
wrong with the computer, you loose speed and progress. Since the
recordings during the summer of 2005 we’ve got a lot of
incidents with the technical recording platform.
But now, it
seems like the luck is turning. Everything runs smoothly and the
computers are working exactly as they should. After a break
during Christmas, we’re now into the final phase in the post
production. Hopefully the album will reach the record stores
sometimes in the late 2006. Thank you for your support out there
– it feels really great!
June - September 2005
We spend a couple of weeks during the summer in a lonely
house recording most of the vocals and the acoustic instruments.
We ended up with two major computer failures – stuck in the
middle of nowhere. We were not far from giving it all up due to
all the computer problems, but we managed to record the major
parts of the new album. The album will be delayed for at least
5-6 months because of the technical breakdown. After some weeks
off, we’re now back in the Studio finishing what we planned to
already have on tape. Back then, in that lonely house deep in
the forests, everything felt like a struggle against technology.
Days passed with non creative work – trying to get the machines
back on track.
After all, we’re satisfied with what we accomplished during the
summer. When we listen to the recorded material today we know
the new material will end up really great. We will put the last
pieces together during the autumn – and in December or January
we will spend some weeks in the Peekaboo Studios for the final
mix. Hopefully the new album will be out sometime in the early
spring.
May 2005
Hard work. We're now putting everythingtogether. Preparing
for the recordings in July and August this year. Time is running
short, and maybe the album will we delayed a few months. The
plan is still to release the not yet titled album this year, or
in January or February 2006. We’re not going to release anything
that we're not satisfied with. There is no need to hurry.
We'll record the album in a small house on the countryside at
the west coast of Sweden. Just outside the town Halmstad. The
band will live there and work with the new songs for about 4-6
weeks during the summer.
April 2005
Now we've chosen the thirteen tracks for the forthcoming
album. After a couple of days together with intense discussions
and listening we’re really satisfied with the choices we’ve
made. We will continue to work with those thirteen songs until
they are produced and mixed.Then we pick the ten best for the
not yet titled album. The three remaining tracks will be
released as well on compilation albums and as bonus tracks on
our forthcoming singles.
In July we will spend 3-4 weeks in a house at the west coast of
Sweden, recording the vocals, guitars and finishing the
production of the thirteen songs. During these weeks in the
middle of the summer, we will live and work only with the new
album, day and night. A total focus on bringing out the best of
the songs and on what we’re able to create together.
We’re working a lot with the lyrics right now and combining the
sound and the arrangement into an expressive combination. The
new album is more like a concept; everything that we tried to
create the last ten years is all of a sudden possible. Step by
step we’re putting the pieces together and we can see the
brilliance, it’s the birth of the best KTV album ever.
February - March 2005
The songwriting period is finished, and we’ve managed to
write 30 new songs for the forthcoming album. We’re now ready to
take some weeks off and listen to which 13 or 14 songs to take
to the next phase. In the beginning of April we will start the
next phase, and that is to prepare these chosen songs for
recording and mixing. During the summer we will hire an old
house in the west coast of Sweden, where we will build a
temporary studio. It’s in this old house that we will do most of
the recording of the new album. In the early autumn we will mix,
and partially produce, the album at Peekaboo Studios in
Gothenburg together with Martin Holmstrom.
During the spring we
will invest in some new equipment, a new studio computer, FX
processors and so on. The schedule is packed with activities the
next 6-8 months. Everything feels very exciting and we’re really
satisfied with the material – it’s going to be absolutely the
best KTV album so far, no doubts about that. Thank you for all
of your support out there!
December 2004 - January 2005
Everything is coming together now, piece by piece, note by
note. The seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months and years of
creativity are finally paying off. A shape is slowly taking
form, a couple of songs, one after one creating a concept. The
mindset is crystal clear, and the result is growing into a KTV
album. All effort during the last three years is turning into
something new. The late nights spent in the studio and the hard
work at the piano. When discussing a new album a couple of years
ago, we couldn’t realize what a trip we decided to do together.
And all the barriers we had to cross on the dark path leading
towards the vision we had. We’re soon there. Except for some
days off during Christmas, we’ve worked hard with the two last
songs. Lyrics have been taking form and plans for recording and
mixing have been made.
It feels like everything is set for the
coming 6 months. And it feels kind of strange, just to realize
that we suddenly can see the light in the tunnel, the end of the
road. And in the same way the next 6-8 months will be the most
exiting. We’re really satisfied to far, we have a very strong
belief in these new songs, and in the overall concept. It’s like
a relief to feel that positive energy considering the sweat and
tears in the past years. It’s within reach, at last.
November 2004
The beautiful autumn has generated a lot of new songs and we’re beginning to see the end of the songwriting period for the new album. We have over 25 new songs right now. The dark winter is approaching and the creative energy is generating more ideas than ever. At the moment it feels impossible to choose twelve songs for the album. Hopefully it will feel absolutely natural in a few months to pick the ones to record. In the end we’re trying to create an album based on a concept, rather than a CD with a couple of songs. We have to rely on the concept living within our minds, the concept will guide us through the process. And we’re soon there…
June - October 2004
During the summer we composed a couple of new songs. Per-Henrik and Tomas wrote one of them together, and that is really unusual. The last time was a song called "Despite these times" that never was released. We will compose more songs the coming five months and start with the production/sound sometime in February next year. During the spring of 2005 we will choose the 12 best songs and prepare everything before entering the recording studio during the summer of 2005. Hopefully the beautiful autumn can give us even more inspiration to write new songs.
May 2004
We have spend some days in a lonely house in the forest just to get inspiration. We have listened to all the songs we’ve composed so far, all the arrangements and the sound of the productions. We really needed some new perspectives for the writing of the last songs of the new forthcoming album. It’s a struggle to find new ways in composing, and we have tried to analyze what we’ve done so far – what have been the heart and soul of KTV since 1991. Those days gave us new inspiration and new motivation to work even harder with the album and the over all concept of the new release.
April 2004
Some new songs have been composed. Jesper has started to
work on the lyrics for the forthcoming new album. He will write
most of the lyrics this time. The idea is that we're trying to
make the lyrics and the vocals perfect together. More honest and
direct.
At the moment it seeams like the new album will be mixed and
partially recorded at the Peekaboo Studio in Gothenburg (Sweden)
during the summer of 2005. We will hopefully produce the album
together with Martin Holmstrom.
March 2004
The process goes on. We´ve decided to try to compose the rest
of the songs in a new way. We will write the six last songs in
front of the piano, with no production or sound idéas before the
whole song is composed with lyrics and vocal arrangements. So
there will be less samples to download from the official website
in the near future.
Thanx for all your support!
February 2004
We have decided to take two weeks off just to look back on
what we've accomplished so far. Listening to the songs, the
arrangements, the production and the mood of the new songs. The
new record will be more like a concept, and we have to stay
focused during the composing of the last six songs. After
finishing off the last six songs, we will decide which songs
that will end up on the new album.
Everything is running according to the plan, album release
during 2005.
January 2004
After some weeks off during Christmas, we´re back in the
studio again finishing some new songs. Now we just need about
six more songs before we choose the ones for the forthcoming,
not yet titled, album.
December 2003
Right now we're working a lot with sampled sounds, just to get that right feeling. It takes a lot of time to find the right snaredrum or the right hi-hats. It's important that the rhytm package matches the melody and the mood of the song. We have spend more time than before with the production and the arrangements - and we feel that the new album will be the best so far.
November 2003
We are working with the new songs and we think that the new
sound really brings out the best of both lyrics and melodies.
There are both slow, mid and high tempo songs that we've
finished up to this date. The key to it all is to find new paths
- sampling new sounds, finding the perfect beats and vocal
arrangements. The new album will be different in many ways, but
the typical KTV songs will always be there. We're just trying to
express them in a new way.
We need about 30 new songs before we choose the ones for the
forthcoming album. We really enjoy being back and working in the
studio again.