"Twin Galaxies loosely explores the idea of parallel worlds bending to converge: the far reaches of outer space and a fixed point right in front of me. Within the span of 6 months my two sisters were having babies - and Todd, twins. Friends as well! Couple years later we were about to have our son, so suddenly babies were all around us and very much on my mind. I imagined that this tiny creature growing inside was actually coming from a far off corner of the universe and, like a sentient asteroid, destined to crash somewhere between my desk and the bed in our one room live/work studio apartment. Having a child is an amazing opportunity to experience life from a fresh perspective, albeit through a fog of broken sleeps. It’s an ooey, gooey, reality inverting, hi-definition marvel of creation that ultimately transformed my bathroom into an makeshift recording space in order to continue work. I played guitar in “The Hair You’ll Never Cut” was played while wearing the one month old strapped to my chest!
I began visualizing the album as a whole while on vacation in Japan, and started post production there in late December 2012. As always, one of my primary interests is in the juxtaposition of textures, energy, melody and atmosphere. The frenetic shards of opener "Air Signs" melt into the dreamy twang of “Cancel My Subscription to the Moon”. The epic sweep of "Wind Plays Tricks w/ Sleep" abruptly crashes into the peculiar difficulty of “The Uncanny Valley”. The cerebral spaciousness of “A Silence Between Us” and "Footprints in the Sea of Tranquility" is chased by the hyperactive detail in “Rainbow Bridge”. "Stella Parallax" and "The Hair You'll Never Cut" are offered as a sonic balm for surviving "Rainbow Bridge".
Most of Twin Galaxies was recorded at my home studio for the most part between 2010 and 2013. A decent field recorder and stereo mic brings the outside world into the mix, and to experiment with the acoustics of different spaces." Lee Hutzulak, March 2014
released April 19, 2014
MUSICIANS:
✸ MEREDITH BATES:
1865 GEORGES CHANOT À PARIS VIOLIN w/ REID HUDSON BOW
✸ MADOKA HARA:
EMPIRE ALTO BELL SET • MICROKORG
✸ LEE HUTZULAK:
VOICE & WORDS • MARTIN 000-15S A. GUITAR • FRAMUS E. GUITAR • FENDER MUSTANG BASS w/ BATT PREAMP • OSCAR SCHMIDT OS73C AUTOHARP • 2006 4/4 GLIGA CELLO • CHRISTMAS XYLOPHONE • CASIO [701 | SA-7 (circuit bent)] • DOEPFER DARK ENERGY & DARK TIME • DSI TEMPEST • FARFISA FAST 3 ORGAN • KORG [microSAMPLER | microKORG | MONOTRON & MONOTRON w/ DELAY | X5D | MS20mini] • ROLAND [BOSS DR660 | SH32 SH3] • SUZUKI QC-1 Q-CHORD • FX BOXES: {BOSS [DD-2 | FDR-1 | FZ-5 | MT-2 | NF-1 | PS-3 | RV-3] • EHX [BIG MUFF ¶ | FREQUENCY ANALYZER | MEMORY BOY | POLY CHORUS | STEREO MEMORY MAN w/ HAZARAI | TUBE ZIPPER | V256 VOCODER] • EKDAHL MOISTURIZER • KOMA ELECTRONIK BD101 • LINE 6 [POD HD500 | DL4 DELAY] • MOOG [MF-102 | MF-103 MF-104]} • MISC. INSTRUMENTS & SOUNDS: {BABIES: [COSMO | NICO | SIENNA’S 2nd BIRTHDAY PARTY] • BIRTHDAY CAKE SPARKLERS • BOTTLECAP RATTLE RACK •BOW • BOX OF BROKEN GLASS • CONTACT MICS: [A4 SHEET OF METAL | BALLOONS | CHAIN NET @ PLAYGROUND | ELASTIC BANDS] • CONTACTOPUS SESSIONS: [FAMILY FUSE, VANCOUVER ART GALLERY, NOVEMBER 2009 & PARKCREST ELEMENTARY, 2010 & 2013] • CALIFONE 1450K TURNTABLE • CISCO VOICEMAIL FROM VENUS • CORINTHIAN WIND CHIMES • CYMBALS • DISSECTED LASER PRINTER • E-BOW • FIELD RECORDINGS IN ORDER: [LACARNO BEACH w/ COUSINS | EVENSONG BELLS, CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL | WIND IN THE PALMS, SUNSET BEACH | KAMIKUZAWA CRICKETS | FACTORY VENT & TRAINS, ALEXANDER ST. | STREET POST MOTOR, 8TH AVE. | HASHIMOTO STATION TICKET TAKER | NARITA AIRPORT PA | DEMOLITION OF HOUSE ADJASCENT DUDE CHILLIN’ PARK | MAINSPACE DRAIN PIPES, EXHAUST VENT & ELEVATOR ENGINE RM | KEIO STATION PLATFORM | LUNAR NEW YEAR PARADE FIRE CRACKERS | BC FERRY WHISTLE | VEE @ VCC ATRIUM] • FIREBELLS • HYDROPHONE BLIPS • KIMIKO’S DOT MATRIX PRINTER • MAGIC BELL BAG • PB-412 ELASTI-HARP • PREPARED CD-RS • PRIMOS RUBBERNECK DEER GRUNT CALL • SCRUB BRUSH ON GLASS • SILVERTONE 1404 AMPLIFIER • SONY TC-570 1/4” REEL TO REEL • STEAM IRON • TREEWORKS 20 BAR MUSIC TREE • TRIANGLES • VINYL SAMPLES: [FAUST PARADE | LEARN TO SPEAK SPANISH • WARBLERS OF ONTARIO] • WATER DROPS}
✸ TODD HUTZULAK:
ARIA PRO II E. GUITAR w/ BOSS [RV-3 | FDR-1 | DD-3 | MT-2] • BUFFET R13 CLARINET w/ VANDOREN B45 MOUTHPIECE • VFS SD FOLEY RM PERCUSSION • FENDER MUSTANG BASS • CASIO 701 • OLDS AMBASSADOR FULLERTON TROMBONE [OUTSIDE & IN PARKADE]
✸ SIGNE KNUTSON: VOICE
✸ STEPHEN LYONS:
BIRDHOUSE DRUM KIT
✸ JOHN MUTTER:
1982 RED IBANEZ BLAZER E. GUITAR • MOOG MF-102 • MAXON [AD-9 PRO | OD-9] • BOSS DD-6 • EHX HOLIEST GRAIL
✸ RUSSELL SHOLBERG:
EBERHARD MEINEL [MARKNEUKIRCHEN 2000] DOUBLE BASS
✸ KIM STEWART: VOICE
✸ RACHAEL WADHAM:
XYLOPHONE • PIANO HARP • FARFISA FAST 3 • PREPARED MUSIC BOXES
✸ THEE RAINBOW BRIDGE HANDSOMES: FREDERICK BRUMMER: SPEAKER DRUM w/ TISSUE PAPER | MOOG MF-101 | EHX #1 ECHO • TOBY CARROLL: ROLAND SH2 & ECHOPLEX • DAVID LEITH: KALIMBA + EVENTIDE TIME FACTOR | SERGE SYNTHESIZER | COW BELLS
✸ CHOIR: M. BATES | DAVID GROVE | T. HUTZULAK | CHAD JONES | S. LYONS | AARON READ | MATT SKILLINGS
● ENGINEERED, MIXED, & MASTERED BY LEE @ THE BIRDHOUSE IN VANCOUVER, BETWEEN 2010 & 2014 • ADDITIONAL TRACKING @ VFS SOUND DESIGN ✸ HARDWARE: APOGEE QUARTET • MACBOOK PRO • MACKIE [820i | BLACKJACK] • ROLAND VS2480 • TASCAM DR-100 • SOFTWARE: ADOBE PREMIERE PRO CS4 | ABLETON LIVE 9 • IZOTOPE OZONE 5 • MICS: AKG [C414 | C3000] • APEX 215 • ELECTRO VOICE RE20 • NEUMANN [TLM103 | KM184] • RØDE [NT1 | NT2A | NT4] • SENNHEISER e906 • SHURE [SM52 | SM57 | SM58 | SM87] ✸ ART + DESIGN:
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