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Mattias Olsson

@rothhandle

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Recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden. 500 euros a day. Send files or come over! Real sounds, real recordings.

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As I write this Im in my hotel room is Clifton, New Jersey and my bandmates in the Devil’s Staircase are driving, going by train and flying into this odd corner of the world...The reason is of course our gig tomorrow afternoon at Progstock where we will be opening the festival which is great because then everyone isnt tired and progged
out...

So instead of showing you pictures of deep fried hot dogs and dark overpasses in New Jersey we could take a look at a film from the Sessions for the second Devils staircase album which will be out on Friday!

In this film I’m adding some vintage Mellotron to the album...! It is progressive rock after all...!

#devilsstaircase #recordingsession #vintagemellotron #mellotron400 #mellotron taken in Roth Händle Studios by @rothhandle

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2 days ago

So as I’ve hinted in the last few posts, I’m back in the US for two@shows with The Devil’s Staircase, supporting the new album, and then some time off with my son Vincent in New York.

The flight to Newark via Copenhagen was fairly uneventful. Rewatched@The Mandalorian and it poses some questions. Like: “If you never take off your helmet...why do you have a neatly trimmed moustache under
there?” Or: “Why would anyone try to punch someone wearing a helmet made of incredibly hard material?” And when the two Hutt villains have been killed, why do their soldiers and henchmen continue to fight? So
many questions.

I also watched Sentimental Value with Stellan Skarsgård and was completely floored. Such an amazing, well-written film. Obviously a bit meta, but without going overboard. I have no issues with crying on planes...It’s the cabin pressure.

After checking into the hotel I spent about five minutes in my room before becoming restless and deciding that I needed some beverages and food. Started at the Emerald Lounge for an Olympic-sized Gin & Tonic and then off to the main attraction...Rutt’s Hut.

A classic American restaurant and bar where the most famous dish is their Ripper hot dog. They have been cooking Hot Dogs in that location
since 1928...so I had to try the classic hot dog platter with potato salad and coleslaw. Everything is freshly cooked, the service is a delight and the Rippers with relish, mustard and cheese sauce really hit the spot after an Atlantic flight.

I will be going back.

And I know that after my last trip there’s always going to be one looming question...

Did I get the T-shirt?

#drummerontour #lifeontour #devilsstaircase #ripperhotdogs #divebars taken in Rutt's Hut by @rothhandle

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2 days ago

When I approach a drumming session I always start by listening to the artist’s guide idea...Generally it gives you all the information you need. But there are always little tweaks and colours you can throw in to make it your own...

On the Il Tempio track I’ve been working on, the “verses” were pretty straightforward...tight 16th-note hi-hats. But then I started thinking about how I could break that up a bit and mix in the ride for a more sustained sound at the start of the phrases...

This is where I ended up...!

#iltempiodelleclessidre #recordingdrums #progdrumming #sessiondrummer #drumming taken in Roth Händle Studios by @rothhandle

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4 days ago

There are a lot of ways of preparing for a trip...washing clothes, doing the dishes, finding the right size suitcase etc.

But one big thing that I wanted to get started with before I leave for the US and the Devil’s Staircase shows is working on the new Il Tempio delle Clessidre album. So I got the Änglagård Sonor kit miked up, rolled up my sleeves and just went for it.

Il Tempio delle Clessidre are an amazing classic progressive rock band from Genoa, Italy, and I’ve had the pleasure of recording and playing live with them for a number of years now.

This first track is one of Elisa’s and it has everything you would want from an Italian prog track. The start is of course mysterious and then it goes into this first big bombastic section in odd time
signatures...

So much fun to play and so exciting to have started on a new album with this amazing band.

#iltempiodelleclessidre #italianprogressive #recordingdrums
#sonordrums #sessiondrummer taken in Roth Händle Studios by @rothhandle

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4 days ago

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5 days ago

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5 days ago

When it comes to effect pedals there are so many reasons to love them.

The most important thing is of course the sound...Do you like the sound or does it connect to what you are trying to do musically? The way it looks...I know it’s stupid but you’d rather have a cool looking pedal than something bland and boring. But then there are all the other aspects that might nudge up your love for a pedal.

Today’s gear expo is definitely in that category as this is a
one-of-a-kind fuzz pedal that my dear friend Andy McWilliams in Baytown Texas built for me.

Andy is an amazing musician and guitar builder. We first met when I produced the Deadwood Forest album, where he was the drummer, and we have stayed in touch ever since...

This Superfuzz is a take on a classic vintage Fuzz Face with some modifications. I got this many years ago but I think Andy mentioned something about a Townshend mod—which is the switch, if I remember
correctly.

So...a really cool pedal with a unique personalized design, built especially for me by an old friend.

What’s not to like?

#superfuzz #fuzzface #boutiquepedals #handbuiltpedals #effectpedals taken in Roth Händle Studios by @rothhandle

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6 days ago

As I've mentioned before...tonight I'll be playing the last show of this run with Ragnarök, which has been a lot of fun.

Travelling through Sweden at the end of summer is a spectacular sight.
The colours changing, nature fighting to hold on to summer for just
one more day...

But it's all inevitable. Fall is coming and this string of gigs is coming to an end.

So far I think I've played seven or eight shows with the band and it has been a truly wonderful experience. The venues and audiences have been great, but being invited into this small group of musicians and people has probably been the best part.

With every gig I learn a little more about the band, and with every
gig I hear another story about those primitive early days...often told
under someone's breath, with commentary coming in from the side.

There's a lot of history in this band.

And with every show we play, we add a little more.

So...one more tonight.

If you're in the neighbourhood, come on down.

Gnesta is wonderful this time of year.

#ragnarökband #progressiveband #progrock #drummerontour #livemusic taken in Reimersholme Hotel by @rothhandle

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7 days ago

Tomorrow night (Saturday) I’ll be playing with Ragnarök at Vår Lokal in Gnesta.

It’s the last show of this run of gigs and it has really been
fantastic. The band is getting tighter and more dynamic with every show, but at the same time the music seems to be opening up and becoming more adventurous...so it’s been really exciting to be a part of.

We’re playing material by Made in Sweden, Bo Hansson, Erik Satie, Mahavishnu Orchestra, obviously Ragnarök, and then this track from Kvartetten som Sprängde.

It’s quite a peculiar collection of music when you see it written down like that...but somehow it all fits together.

If you’re in the neighbourhood, come on down.

Who knows when this will happen again...!

#Ragnarökband #swedishprogressive #drummerontour #lifeontour #progressiverock taken in Reimersholme Hotel by @rothhandle

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8 days ago

Every day I try to post a track from the archives using Bandcamp as the vault.

With a bit of luck I remember who played what, where, and why the track sounds the way it does...

The other day I posted a track from one of my Molesome albums and mentioned the Velocle, and I felt it was a bit mean not to show you the actual instrument, as it is very much a Roth Händle exclusive...

A contraption that me and Jesper Skarin thought up and built.

Probably a hundred old locker keys mounted on a bicycle wheel...!

When you spin the wheel all the keys start singing together, creating a sort of swirling acoustic chorus.

And miked in stereo it sounds exceptionally cool.

So...here is the Velocle.

#velocle #homebuiltinstruments #molesome #rothhandleinstruments #producerlife taken in Roth Händle Studios by @rothhandle

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8 days ago

Over the last couple of months of spring this year I started working on an interim Molesome album that revolves around the concept of beauty...as the world is such an ugly place right now I wanted to record simple music using only sounds that I love.

One of the later songs I recorded was based around a new instrument in the studio...a Dulcitone from the late 1800s. It has a very soft romantic, fairytale-like sound...in other words, beautiful.

To get some more energy frequency-wise I added some Bulbul Tarang.

The Bulbul Tarang is an Indian keyed string instrument, developed from the Japanese taishōgoto in the early 20th century. You play the melody using typewriter-like keys while strumming the strings, which gives it a wonderfully bright, slightly buzzing sound.

A late-1800s Scottish Dulcitone and an Indian Bulbul Tarang...

Different worlds. Same idea of beauty.

#bulbultarang #molesome #producerlife #studiolife #Recording taken in Roth Händle Studios by @rothhandle

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9 days ago

It’s always good to know a guy...!

Today my friend Stefan Lund (of Snail Chimes fame) came by the studio with something very exciting...a rather unusual snare drum.

A Beverley New Standard from the 1960s, possibly around 1964, with the original batter and resonant heads, original internal damper and even the old snare wires still on it.

Beverley was an old British drum company from Yorkshire which became closely connected to Premier after Albert Della-Porta, the founder of Premier, bought the company in 1958. The drums were subsequently made at the Premier factory, and during the 60s Beverley were making their
own distinctly British take on the American drums everybody wanted at the time.

This one has somehow survived for around sixty years remarkably intact.

And it sounds incredibly sloshy. Sounds like it’s already compressed and EQ’d...!

Not tight, crisp or particularly polite. More like the whole drum moves when you hit it. The old heads and snare wires probably have quite a lot to do with that, but whatever the reason...I really like it.

Stefan brought it to the studio for me to try, so naturally I made a little film.

The slightly dangerous part is that it can stay in the studio for around $200.

I’ve been using an old 1960s John Grey Autocrat with Ragnarök, so apparently I’m already heading down this particular road...

Should I...?

#beverlydrums #vintagesnare #1960ssnaredrum #vintagedrums #drumming taken in Roth Händle Studios by @rothhandle

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9 days ago