Wildside

March 29, 2007 5:10 PM

Crickets, guaguancó rhythm, double bass, jarana guitar, one singing voice and another one rapping.

posted by micayetoca (13 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

One thing that might be interesting about the song is that the drums were recorded in 2003 in Guatemala, in our backyard (that's where the crickets got in). The double bass and the singing voice were recorded in 2006 in Mexico and the jarana was also recorded in 2006, only in Caracas.

The rap was "rescued" from a horrible early version of the song we recorded in a terrible studio in Guatemala in 2001. As we were putting together this new version I remembered we had that rap track and, magically, it fit (we didn't use click or any other tempo reference).

I was glad it worked because that allowed us to have the four of us in this version of what I consider our most representative song. Hope you like it.
posted by micayetoca at 5:18 PM on March 29, 2007


Is yours one of the voices there, mica? Interesting to hear the background story of the recording.

doo doo doo doo...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:35 PM on March 29, 2007


None actually, the singing voices are grec, who also sings in this one, this one, this one, this one, this one and this one.

The rapping voice is dave, who sings in this one.

Grec and I sing together in this one. And I sing in this one, this one and this one. As you can see, it's better for the band when I don't sing.
posted by micayetoca at 7:59 PM on March 29, 2007


Man, it's easy to imagine this song being performed while the musicians are all reclining in hammocks. That's pretty cool.

That's insane that the rap just fit right in there and sounds in time. Sometimes you just luck out.

Were the crickets recorded seperately, or did they just show up on the drum track?
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 4:49 AM on March 30, 2007


while the musicians are all reclining in hammocks.

Might be a wee bit difficult for the double bass guy...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:45 AM on March 30, 2007


Apropos of nothing, this is song number 1000.

That is all.
posted by cortex at 6:06 AM on March 30, 2007


Karlos, the crickets were recorded when we were recording the congas, we recorded the percussionist in the afternoon in the backyard and the crickets were part of the ambiance.

If you listen closely you will notice there is the sound of a snare drum and that the congas have some strange reverb. That is because the snare drum was lying besides them and it just resonated with the sound of the congas. The reverb is "natural" and we made it putting a huge bass drum in front of the congas and placing the mic in front of that bass drum.

After that we did go back to the hammocks.
posted by micayetoca at 6:23 AM on March 30, 2007


It does have a really relaxing vibe, I feel like I just took a short vacation to somewhere that has palm trees and clear ocean water. After a couple of minutes of listening, the melody really sticks too. The rap works great, it almost sounds like it’s coming from a radio or something. Interesting how effortless it all sounds, considering the backstory.
posted by edlundart at 3:19 PM on March 30, 2007


"the crickets were recorded when we were recording the congas, we recorded the percussionist in the afternoon in the backyard and the crickets were part of the ambiance."

Again, sometimes you luck out. Awesome.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 4:29 PM on March 30, 2007


So nice. I really like the voices and it's always wonderful when things work out (rap, crickets) in recording.
posted by sleepy pete at 5:38 PM on March 30, 2007


Thx to you all for the words. And hey Karlos, if you don't mind my bringing it up, you should post "Me and the Pedestal" here in MetaFilter Song. It's a great song and I think people here would like it.
posted by micayetoca at 7:06 AM on March 31, 2007


I'm enjoying a really good Margherita (on the rocks) right now in my back yard, and this song is just PERFECT! Another beauty mica, thanks!
posted by snsranch at 3:28 PM on March 31, 2007


Xelaju, I miss you.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 3:22 PM on April 1, 2007


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