Alguien sabe algo de esto?

In 2004 I also started the most ambitious project to date, the Second Sky album.
This is a very special project for me, and I have spent thousands of hours working with those songs,
both musically and sonically...and the songs keeps getting re-written and therefore also re-recorded.

I could have written 50 "Crimsons" in the time I have spent on this album (And I am afraid some of you
will wish I had, because Second Sky is 100% Metal Free!!) but these days I feel that I want each release
to be as good as can be, because the record-industry for non-touring-projects are dead,
and the only reason an album comes to life is because you need to get it out of your system!!

Hopefully I will find the time to finish the album this year.

Dan Swano

"Most of the lyrics will have to be rewritten because of my divorce, but life goes on and I have already finished some of the new lyrics. The songs ready for the vocal work are 'Hammer On My Heart', 'Right The First Time', 'The Sacred Room', 'The Way' and 'Always Tomorrow'. All the rhythm guitars that I should play have been recorded, the stuff left for session guys is still to be nailed. I have also recorded all the grand piano and keyboard stuff. The production of the album is top-notch and I am very proud of the basic sounds I have created this far. So the next few months will be spent recording the vocals and the bass. After that the album will undergo the most demanding mix of my career — but it will be worth every second. Prepare to be blown away!"

As previously reported, Swanö recently announced plans to re-open his legendary Unisound Recordings studio.

...because Second Sky is 100% Metal Free!!)

It's been a while, but like you already guessed, I have been busy and sometimes (yes I admit it) lazy!

To blame the lack on songwriting on my divorce is absolutely not right.

To me, my songwriting was losing its quality a long time ago (and therefore not being a very fun activity)
If you ask me, I have only written a few good songs since the mid 90's when I was at my peak.
But back then I released an album a week, so it's no wonder that the "well ran dry"

In 2004 I decided to put the songwriting to the side and focus 100% on mix and mastering, (a smart choice looking at what happened to the music industry since then)

For some time I worked full-time in a music-shop, and did all my mix and mastering stuff after work..and trust me, there is no braincell left to do any songwriting in that scenario.
Some time later I decided to cut back to half-time in the shop to be able to still focus on mixing, but also to have time to build up a new relationship (That is still going very strong )

Of course there have been moments of divine inspiration, but mostly riffs or licks..and all of them have been recorded and around the time of writing this, most of them seemed to have found a future home!!

In 2004 I also started the most ambitious project to date, the Second Sky album.
This is a very special project for me, and I have spent thousands of hours working with those songs, both musically and sonically...and the songs keeps getting re-written and therefore also re-recorded.

Peter Damin re-recorded the drums in February 2010 (Thank you very much, again!! Awesome drummer deluxe!!)
and after that I have re-recorded all the Piano parts and edited stuff to work with the new, improved vibe of the drums..
and then a few lyrics started to feel "not good enough" which means a couple of sounds will have the lead vocals re-recorded...
after I write new lyrics....which I absolutely hate....but I have to...aaaarrrggghhh

I could have written 50 "Crimsons" in the time I have spent on this album (And I am afraid some of you will wish I had, because Second Sky is 100% Metal Free!!)
but these days I feel that I want each release to be as good as can be, because the record-industry for non-touring-projects are dead, and the only reason an album comes to life is because you need to get it out of your system!!

Hopefully I will find the time to finish the album this year.
Unfortunately the market isn't what it used to be...But it really doesn't matter.
This album is my gift to myself! But I hope it will still be released on CD.
The End Records have been awesome, for not pushing me to finish it. They know art from the heart takes time

In February 2011 I decided to quit the music-shop business after 14 years!!
And with more time on my hands, I decided it was time to give the songwriting and album recording another shot.

I teamed up with my ex-music-shop colleague Ragnar Widerberg and we decided to start writing some old Judas Priest meets Crimson-style E.O.S./Moontower kind of music.
and after every other good name was already taken, we settled on Witherscape, for the name for of my return to songwriting, and also to drumming, and maybe most surprisingly, Growling!!
Yep!! You read it right...and it sounds better than ever!!

But I am only able to sing like 8 lines of lyrics before I completely mess up my throat, and the worst is the headaches and the feeling of being run over by a bulldozer from hell!
So, I won't be doing all the "evil" vocals. I have 3 other guys that will split the burden with me, and also bring some variety to the growled sections.
But there will be at least one section of growls from me, per song.
But I will do all the normal singing. Which ranges from mellow, old Nightingale "deep voice" to the more angry Dio flavored voice featured on Star One II.

We had a Witherscape session this very day, and we completed the guitars and bass for yet another song from the pre-production.
2 more to go, and then we'll start all over again, with more attention to detail. It's a tough job, since we are recording without a click track
(we both think most good songs were recorded without it... Let the song live!!) but once we nail the takes, it feels really alive and breathing!

We will aim for a sound similar to the hard rock albums of the mid to late 70's/early 80's.
Natural, well tuned drums, not too much distortion on the guitars, and a round, full bass.
Like Stained Class on steroids

Another project that just "opened up" is the restoration/re-recording of one of the best demo/albums in my career, "A Collection of Worlds II" from Unicorn.
We have a label interested in releasing it, together with the Weirdest of Tales, on a real CD!!
The vocals will be 100% re-recorded.
The sound of the original vocalrecording is impossible to get as good as the rest
(which sounds surprisingly awesome when restored in a special Spectral Balancing program)
and also my old vocal performance is far away from the other performances on the recording...
so with new vocals (also the backing vocals will be re-recorded..by the same 3 guys!!)
and some acoustic guitars will also be re-recorded, only because the sound sucks donkey-ass
(The playing is awesome..but Anders is a beyond incredible acoustic guitarplayer these days, so it will sound just as great again!!)

Wow. That was a lot of info..but since I have been absent from the forum a while..I felt that an update was just right!!

Back to the mixtering!!

Have a nice day!!

Dan