SONIC FEVER
SONIC FEVER is a music project about giving and connecting during this global coronavirus pandemic. Musician Sally Grayson writes songs about and for this difficult time. And for each song, she invites a different set of musicians from all over the world with whom she has never worked before.
NOW
NOW
This wild indie exploration of how to live and breathe in the moment in the midst of chaos features Elise Trouw on drums, Weasel Walter (Lydia Lunch) on guitar, Arno Jordan on guitar and J. Fyn Marko on synths. The song and video tell a story of how we can avoid anxiety about an unknown future by practicing presence in the here and now. SONG Lyrics, bass: Sally Grayson Drums: Elise Trouw Guitar: Weasel Walter Guitar: Arno Jordan Synths: J. Fyn Marko VIDEO Director: Ian Stahl Co-Director, Cameraman and Editor: Thommy Mross Light Design: Dennis Muelller Stylist & Production Assistant: Anja Winterling www.sallygrayson.com For musicians the pandemic has been a complete disruption to touring and livelihood. An entire industry has come to a stand still. But Elise Trouw could not sit idly in lockdown. She started writing drum loops and recording videos of herself playing them. Sharing these tracks on her Instagram page, she offered that anyone could use them and in this way could keep collaboration and the creative process alive. The idea worked. Her hashtag #elisecollab was used over a thousand times as people from around the world wrote songs using her drum tracks. Sally Grayson was one of them. She took one of Trouw’s drum loops and wrote a simple one minute song. Grayson, recording at home like everyone else, using only her acoustic guitar that she plugged into an octave pedal to get an industrial bass sound, wrote the song “Now.” Grayson had already been working on a collaboration project during the pandemic called SONIC FEVER. Channeling the frustrations and anxiety of the lock down into the songs she began collaborating long distance with different musicians in many parts of the world. After writing on top of Trouw’s Drums, Grayson reached out to guitarist Weasel Walter who she met when he was on tour playing with Lydia Lunch. The guitar track he sent blew Grayson away. It sounded like all the upheaval of the pandemic transferred into an helter-skelter guitar lick. “Now” is a song about learning to live in the present moment even in the midst of fear, uncertainty and doubt about what the future holds. Isn’t it always better to be present to what is happening now than to worry about something that has not happened yet? Walter’s chaotic guitar fit perfectly in juxtaposing against this idea. Grayson felt like the song was not quite done, so she sent the song to her engineer, Arno Jordan in Castle Studios in Dresden for some anchoring rhythm guitar. Jordan would later mix and master the song. Thrilled by the exhilaration of shared song making, and still feeling the song needed something more, she contacted her friend J. Fyn Marko with whom she had her very first songwriting and studio recording experience with, and asked him to add to the song. On Synths, Marko brought a depth and darkness to the song amidst the groove. But collaboration was not yet over for this song. Grayson needed to make a video to accompany it. She reached out to Ian Stahl & Thommy Mross from the Stuttgart band Everdeen to help with the production. Stahl took on the task as director and together with Mross, they scouted out sites and wrote a script that would visualize “Now.” They invited light designer Dennis Mueller and with Anja Winterling joining in as stylist and production assistant. They worked late into the night in Bad Cannstatt in Stuttgart to film “Now.” The video tells the story of a woman (played by Grayson) on the search for peace, who after being teleported to another world through a tunnel, finds what she’s looking for in the form of a mysterious glowing 1972 Volvo 1800 ES. By working together long distance, these musicians and artists have overcome some of the difficulties of isolation, turning times of darkness into creativity and wild collaboration for new songs and videos.
Interconnected
Interconnected
SONIC FEVER is a project, started by songwriter and producer Sally Grayson (Black Swift), about giving and connecting during the Corona Times. For each song that she’s written, she has worked with a different set of musicians, and for the third release for the song “Interconnected” was joined by Gemma Clarke (JW Paris, Ex-drummer Babyshambles), Josefine Jonsson, Tom Lattimer (Eat the Evidence) and David Griffin (New Secret Weapon, Gaolbyrd). “Interconnected” was mixed and mastered by Arno Jordon of Castle Studios. RECORDING IN LOCKDOWN “How can I record drums without my kit?” That’s what Gemma Clarke thought at the beginning of the pandemic when Sally Grayson asked her to join the SONIC FEVER project. At that point most of the world was on very strict lockdown and Clarke was unable to get to the studio. But with a determined spirit, she thought of her long time friend, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Tom Lattimer. Through a series of most likely hilarious video calls of her singing, beating out and describing the drum rhythm that was in her head, Lattimer was able to create the sounds Clarke would have otherwise played on her kit. She then invited Josefine Jonsson to lay down some bass. Then, the only thing that seemed to be missing was a guitar solo. Clarke came in again with her connections and called upon David Griffin to collaborate. Griffin not only contributed on guitars but threw himself into the song and rewrote the chorus, sang vocals and played synths. The end result is an energetic multi-faceted sound filled with the desperation we all feel from being faced with so many unknowns. ABOUT THE SONG Grayson says, “‘Interconnected’ is a song about how the Corona Virus revealed our interconnectedness. Our lives affect each other, whether we live next door or across the ocean. This pandemic had the potential to unite us in ways we never would have been united, it also had the potential to drive us apart. We’ve certainly seen both happen. I hope this song reminds us to look outside ourselves and see where we can contribute with our unique gifts. I’m incredibly thankful for the joy that SONIC FEVER has brought me with making new connections and friendships. Who knows what new songs and collaborations will come out of this in the future because of this project...”
SONIC FEVER LIVE at schauwerk
