Semisonic In 'Home Stretch' With Next Album

08/16/2000 1:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(8/16/00, 1 p.m. ET) - "I had a vision in my mind for the feeling and the groove of the new album, but it took John and Jake and me a long time to figure out how to get that feeling on disc," says Semisonic singer/songwriter Dan Wilson, explaining how he, drummer Jake Slichter, and bassist John Munson are approaching the follow-up to the nearly double platinum Feeling Strangely Fine.

Bandmate John Munson told LAUNCH, "I think getting that first instinct on to tape is what makes it feel vital. That contributes a lot to the vitality of the songs. It's fresh because we're all kind of trying to figure out what we're doing. We're making it up as we go along, which I think is what makes it feel vital."

Wilson gave an update on the album in progress. "We're working with an outside producer and using new technology that's allowed us to capture sounds and emotions we've never quite gotten before. We're also now able to record in even weirder places than before: drums in a warehouse hallway, acoustic guitars in the basement--a bunch of the vocals were done in a Miami hotel room. A few guitars were actually recorded in a moving tour bus.

"It's definitely not how most bands make albums, but I think the fans are going to believe the wait has been worth it. Right now we're in the home stretch. I'm taking time out only to eat, occasionally sleep, play with my daughter, and fly to the U.K. to play festivals!"

Some of the festivals include the V2000 festival in Hylands Park and Weston Park, England, Saturday and Sunday (August 19 and 20), and the Corn Exchange festival in Edinburgh, Scotland on August 21.

-- Darren Davis, New York

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