Few facts are known surrounding the production of the album “She’s Expiring”. However, some things can be learned from the interview provided below.
Tracklist
01 ⋅ A Usual End ⋅ 2:10
02 ⋅ Carry the Flame ⋅ 3:00
03 ⋅ Decay (Is Eternity) ⋅ 4:40
04 ⋅ Don’t Let the Anger ⋅ 3:59
05 ⋅ Hole in Me ⋅ 3:33
06 ⋅ Just Say It ⋅ 2:43
07 ⋅ On Your Hook ⋅ 3:42
08 ⋅ Overdoze ⋅ 1:40
09 ⋅ She’s Inspiring ⋅ 4:40
10 ⋅ Table for Two ⋅ 2:30
11 ⋅ Zero ⋅ 4:00
Interview with the Artist
Good day, Mr. Imperfectionist. Can I address you by your first name this time?
No. Do we even know each other? [Laughs] … I hope your other questions are better.
A brief question about the last album: What happened to “Wenn ich mit dir fertig bin” (“When I’m done with you”)?
Oh, I didn’t think anyone would notice. I’m sorry if someone liked the song. But it will come back when it’s been translated into English.
Back to “She’s Expiring.” When was the new album created?
I started recording in mid-2015. The compositions are partly even older than those on the last album.
The album title sounds similar to “She’s Inspiring.” Is that a coincidence?
I decided to release the two albums as a double album. Both have the same number of songs, are about the same length, entirely in English, and have similar album covers. One represents positive experiences, and the other negative.
So, black and white painting is a theme of the double album?
That was a bit poorly expressed. Essentially, it’s about female beings again – how could I ever sing about something else – with one half representing the rise and the other half representing the decline of love.
I understand. So, “Expiring” means “running out?”
Exactly. Like the expiration date.
Then how did positive songs like “Carry the Flame” or “On Your Hook” come about?
Even though the overarching theme is about the end of love, I obviously couldn’t record only negative tracks. Who wants to listen to that? Sometimes, I see the good in the bad. Conversely, often enough, I see the bad in the good. On “Inspiring,” there were songs like “Always,” “Drawback,” or “These Shoes.” Think of a bit of Yin in the Yang and forgive me for using the symbol so generally.
With “A Usual End,” you make an unusual start for an album.
That’s one of the more personal songs. I’m particularly proud of the spatial sound of the guitar. That comes from recording it simultaneously through a microphone and the electromagnetic pickup.
What’s the word that the person in “Just Say It” is supposed to say?
Of course, the most commonly used phrase in the world: Made in China.
What’s the bang that one hears at the end?
Doors that are unlocked eventually fall shut again. Just like relationships.
What word are you really singing in the chorus, “heard” or “hurt?”
There’s a difference? This reminds me of an anecdote. In “Decay,” the “D” sounds at the end of some words were so strong and German that they sounded like “T.” I re-recorded them, only those sounds.
You’re avoiding the question. Were your feelings hurt by someone?
My ex-girlfriend, like in the last album, doesn’t play a big role. She doesn’t listen to the recordings anyway. She once told me that songs with just vocals and guitar sound better, isn’t that absurd?
Did you use an effect for the deep voice in “Decay?”
I didn’t know I could sing that deep beforehand. So, no, that’s not an effect, it’s all real. I just added a bit of reverb, gate, saturation, echo, Doppler, equalizer, compressor, de-esser, and limiter to round off the overall result.
At the end of “Carry the Flame,” spoken words are heard for the first time.
[Thinking] … Oh yes, right. “She’s a mist in the fall, she’s a haiku on the wall, she’s a flower and in time she’ll decay.” The voice is doubled there. One speaks normally, the other inhales while speaking. I revisited the sentence later in “Zero.”
What’s a haiku?
I don’t really know myself.
So, you’re wishing that your ex-girlfriend wilts?
God forbid, no! She’ll always stay beautiful. I want the love for her to wither because it’s time.
You’ve also maintained a similar stylistic approach for the album cover.
That’s correct. The font remains the same, just to annoy my fans. Yes, Daniel, I’m talking to you. The two dominant colors of the album covers are orange and purple – exactly the colors that my father hates the most.
Has there been any change in the recording technique?
Yes, I personally feel like I’ve gotten worse. Since it was very hot this summer, you can now hear my computer’s fan more often in the recordings. By far my least favorite word of the year is “dithering,” in case anyone is interested.
How does the order of the songs work again?
The songs are alphabetically sorted again. I’m trying to express that the order doesn’t matter to me because I always listen on shuffle anyway.
Which supposedly female entity is addressed in “Overdoze?”
The person standing above the bed, the overdose, the anesthesia, the drug, the needle – these are all feminine terms in German. Take your pick.
How did you create the intro and outro for “Don’t Let the Anger?”
Indeed, I used an eraser; it delivered the best sound. You know, one of those small ones that are half red and half blue. Legend has it that the blue side can erase ink.
Why did you include the song “She’s Inspiring” on the album “She’s Expiring?”
Quite simply: because it hadn’t been written back then. It’s also meant to encourage listeners to get both albums.
In that song, there’s a strange, swelling noise. What is it?
Those are “fadebacks,” my own invention. Take a fully distorted guitar, strike a chord, trim it to two beats, play it backward, and linearly fade it in over the entire length. Let it travel from left to right, and there you have it: an acoustic erection.
With the album closer “Zero,” you really surprised us.
I think that’s because I used a xylophone instead of synthesizers here. I felt like I was back in music class in school.
This time, you used one synthesizer in several songs.
It’s called “Ur Grandpa Killed Germans in WW2,” and it sounds quite enchanting, in my opinion. On the next album, it will be used in every single song. The reverb is spatially separated from the actual instrument.
Speaking of the next album, is it already planned?
Of course. It will be titled “She’s Perspiring.” She’s sweating. Then we’ll have a triple album. Has something like that been done before?
You’re joking, right?
Of course, I’m just kidding, but you can hear what “She’s Expiring” has become from that last joke. There’s a kernel of truth in every joke, and sometimes one thing leads to another. Jokes aside: the next album will be called “She’s Aspiring.” It will be about girls who, for a change, are chasing after me. If I’ve met any by then.
We thank you for the dumb remarks and wish you a great day.
Always a pleasure.
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