coming fall 2011…more on the way

In the tradition of Arthur Baker, Tom Moulton, etc., we created our own extended remixes of several of the songs off the EP. Here’s our first offering for your listening and downloading pleasure — the extended remix for “Held.”

Held [Extended Remix] by Nova Social

We will release three more in the next month or two: “I Want You Bland,” “(When She Was) The Other Woman” and the over-the-top and over-10-minute “Now You’re a Nun Suite.”

-dn

It was friend and composer David First who recommended Yianni. They both did the bulk of their recording using Logic Audio, which David had been schooling me in for a couple years. But Yianni also had a 24-track 2″ tape machine, which was the format we had been recording TJF in.

David contributed to TJF in a number of capacities and Yianni’s basement studio in Astoria became our NYC locale. We recorded David’s theremin, eBow guitars and meticulous saxophone arrangements (played by Michael Blake and Ulrich Krieger) there.

David also composed synth loops for the song “There There,” which contained all sorts of strange counterrhythms — there were patterns that consisted of 11 or 13 beats over the course of 4 bars. And though we recorded the song to a click track, we neglected to lay down a SMPTE track for MIDI synchronization (though with the amount of vocals and other crap we put on the song, we wouldn’t have had space anyhow). As we started transferring the synth loops that David created in Logic to the 2″ tape, they would slowly become even more off time than they were supposed to be.

So, in one late night session, we watched Yianni in action. Fueled on these amazing iced coffees he made, he would start the synth loops and “punch in” the 2″ tape machine, rolling until the loops got out of sync and then starting over again, sort of like how Johnny Marr’s guitar intro to The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now” was accomplished. (“There There” is up for download here.)

This is Thom’s and my greatest memory of Yianni. He was a sweet guy, very generous and complimentary of others’ talents, but he also relished the opportunity to show off his abilities, which were many.

I hadn’t spoken to Yianni in five or more years, though I meant to get back in touch with him after David told me that he was still around, and they had been working on a new Notekillers record together.

Sadly, Yianni died last week at the incredibly young age of 42. Seeing his two young daughters at his funeral in Astoria yesterday was truly heartbreaking. All I could do was walk up to his casket at the end of the ceremony and offer my thoughts:

“Thanks Dude.”

-David

After a very fawning e-mail introduction, I met with him on an October weekend afternoon at his home studio in Prospect Heights. He told me some great stories about the late 70′s, including one about getting vinyl lacquers pressed of rough mixes, bringing them over to Studio 54 that night so the DJ could spin it and then finishing the mix based on how the crowd reacted.

Thom and I convened at Perfect Mixes for two sessions, one in January and one in February.

In January, I recorded lead vocals on three Nova Social songs in the works: “The Exception,” “Leave Me Alone I’m Fine” and “The Star.”

Last week we got together with a trio of string players, helmed by Tom Chiu of Flux Quartet (along with Rachel Golub on violin and Alex Greenbaum on cello). We recorded strings on nine songs in five hours. The songs are:

“The Exception”
“Martin”
“The Delano”
“We’ll Help You Move”
“Leave Me Alone I’m Fine”
“A Boxer’s Wedding”
“I’m on Fire”
“The Star”
“Escape”

-David

Digital Download:
iTunes
eMusic
Amazon

12″ Vinyl (w/ MP3 download coupon):
Insound
Downtown 304

(Plus, our new blog went up just as Blogger announced they would no longer service blogs on FTPs — what amazing timing.)

More to come…

And speaking of the new record — this is it!

Side 1
Now You’re a Nun (4:10)
(When She Was) The Other Woman (4:25)
Held (3:18)

Side 2
Diving (Remix) (3:38)
I Want You Bland (5:16)
Turn to Crime (4:39)

It is tentatively scheduled for release on Big Sleep Records in late-September on vinyl and digital download (in which case, it’s all one-sided). Entertainment!!

The lads were good enough to play “Now You’re a Nun” and “I Want You Bland,” both from the forthcoming Nova Social EP. Nice to be played in such musical company as Blancmange and Pizzy Yelliott.

A fine time — enough to make you wish you were bearded.

The entire show is up for streaming on the “Two for Tennis” EVR page — here is the direct link. Feel free to keep up with their weekly shenanigans at their Facebook page.

-David

roger powell, late of (the greatest band ever and why the hell aren’t their last two records still in print – i’m looking at you, rhino…) utopia has a new, self-released(ish) cd of solo piano called “blue note ridge.” it’s lovely, and as i pretty much abandoned the beatles for utopia somewhere in the middle of my musical development, i feel strongly about pimping it to you, the assembled masses. i’m sure david and kris would agree if they were returning my calls.

cdbaby
myspace
awesome picture of a polar bear

ok, then.

-thom
(the new record is in mastering as we speak…)