January 29, 2008
EOTO's Razed CD; Interview with Jason Hann.
By Lisa Shara

In between phases of an intense 07/08 touring schedule, the production of Razed, EOTO's upcoming sophomore release, was completed and is set to launch at the February 1st Razed CD release party in Los Angeles (info below).

I talked with Jason Hann about Razed:

LS: What's exciting to you (in this moment) about the music on Razed?

JH: Breaking all of the rules of how a record gets made. We played just as we play live, but multitracked it inside the same computer that we run everything through. With that we just needed a few tweaks to get it the way we want to hear it.

We also took more chances on the styles and DJ genres that we were diving into. If we liked a particular vibe, we would take time to find more sounds that take the music to another place, and then record the piece with immediate access to these sounds that we found. We don't have time to do that in a live situation.

LS: Is Razed a live or studio cd, or a combo?

JH: It's a combo. Actually all of our performances are a combo of studio and live, that's what makes it unique. We don't use the record multitrack function in a live situation because we want the computer to devote all of it's CPU to handle everything we throw at it. All of the playing on the CD is live and first take through, once we collected the sounds needed for a certain mood.

LS: Where and when was it recorded?

JH: We recorded it at Travis' place last summer. It was mixed by Travis during Fall Tour and Mastered by Travis and Andy McEwen December and January.

LS: What are some overall highlights of the Razed recording/producing experience?

JH: Just doing some genres of music that we hadn't tried before. There's some electro, some middle-eastern electronica, and Travis playing some great solo guitar in the last track. The best part was we recorded the whole thing in three days. We recorded maybe 15 more tracks that don't show up on this CD, but we liked the pacing of these songs together. For us we wanted some sort of story flow throughout the listening experience from beginning to end.

LS: More specifically, were there experiences & wisdom gleaned from the production of Elephants Only Talk Occasionally that changed aspects of your approach with recording Razed? i.e., during the recording/producing process, did you get a chance to utilize aspects you'd been itching to play with?

JH: Only that we've really come a long way in developing out sound. We recorded Elephants Only Talk Occasionally before our first live show, and it's been playing the live shows night after night that have taken our musical instincts to another level. This recording is indicative of the journey that we continue to be on with this project. Even since we recorded this last summer, EOTO has grown to another place, musically. Recording Razed helped to push us in our current direction.

LS: How many tracks?

JH: 12 gooey, glitchy, body thumping, ear caressing tracks...for your spaceship...of course.

LS: Guest artists?

JH: Nope. Unless you include the aliens, archangels, fairies and other-dimensional beings that were hanging out in the trees and streams just outside of the room we recorded in. I'm sure they sneaked in on a couple of tracks. We didn't have a chance to catch their names, though.

LS: Is the CD title Razed best left unexplained for listeners to explore and interpret, or is there a story or specific reason behind the title choice?

JH: With our thing, it's best to interpret for yourself. Literal definitions of "razed", and "raised" can mean so many things when one listens to this CD. Just press play and put your head back, or get up and dance to it. You'll figure it all out.

LS: Any other thoughts about the CD you'd like to share?

JH: It was a great creative bump for us at the time. The fact that we could set up as we do onstage, instead of being in isolation booths or overdubbing, is a rare thing for recording. I think that's what allowed us to just think about the music as opposed to trying to adjust to the recording situation and compensating for things that are different about it.

Recording always makes you think about the sounds that you're using, and for electronic music, there are few greater priorities. It made us have to tweak sounds that we now use in our live setup, and we learned how we can push the functions of the tools and gear that we use every show.

LS: I know that Razed will be available on EOTO's current tour, starting with the Razed CD Release Party February 1st (info below*)-- where else are EOTO CDs available?

JH: Nugs.net and itunes have "Elephants...** ". The same will be for "Razed."

*Razed CD Release Party happens in Los Angeles on Friday February 1st, at Fais D Do. Special guest Steve Molitz (Particle/Phil and Friends) joins EOTO in this celebration, along with the Underground Orchestra. More info: www.faisdodo.com & www.myspace.com/eotomusic.

** EOTO's first release: Elephants Only Talk Occasionally; Nov. '06.
CDs also available at: www.livedownloads.com
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© Lisa Shara January 23, 2008. Please no reprint without permission. To keep track of children born of words and their journeys.
www.z-manproductions.com/EOTO-...t.html