SWORDS Demos

Nicholas Lutsko

I would love to. It’s a little tricky because it’s too long to fit on a single record but not long enough to merit a double album. I’ve thought about releasing a deluxe edition that has Spineless, Carnival and maybe some other rarities on the 4th side. I think I’ll definitely try to do some sort of pressing after Songs on the Computer 2.

Ryan Firth

What are the chances of us getting a Swords vinyl?

Nicholas Lutsko

Adam is also my drummer so in addition to retracking drums he also adds in other percussive elements throughout. Lots of really great, subtle moments like the reverb clap at the end of Sideshow that I adore.

Matt Groth

Also because of how you hyphenated it in the post, this is the first time it ever occurred to me that it's Swords but also "S Words," and I'm stupid. Which is another S word.

Matt Groth

Cool to hear these rougher mixes. I definitely notice some subtle touches that aren't there yet like you said. Is that only in the mixing or did Adam also add more instrumentation or anything? Obviously I know there's some difference just due to live instrumentation vs midi. As always, thanks for putting a lot of effort into Patreon, it's fantastic.

Devin Ruffner

Such a satisfying result.

Nicholas Lutsko

Thanks Jamie! Not sure if this is what you’re referring to, but I double almost all of my vocal tracks and pan them symmetrically on each side

You have such a textured/full voice, how do you retain the clarity and quality of vocals against such fully constructed instrumentals? Also…this is like Hallo-Christmas. This is an absolute gem of a share.

Nicholas Lutsko

Agreed!

Nicholas Lutsko

Great question! I can ask Adam if he has a specific breakdown as to how he achieved that tone. For the original demo, I played that part on the rim of snare drum. Can’t remember if I tracked it with a SM57 or the Bluebird Condenser. His version is way more precise and articulate. From Adam: I think it ended up being 4 different snare rim tracks, each mic’d by a condenser a few feet above the drum. Heavily edited of course, but I think each snare is looping at a different bar-length; they crossover at different points (kinda like vocals in a round) so each phrase is unique. Then the last verse only has one rim playing at a time but jumps between all 4 snares really quickly.

Em Zora

Thanks for sharing this! I love this artwork too, although the picture that ended up making it is perfect for the feel of the album.

Fergal Colreavy

This is great, thanks! I love listening to demos and such to hear the evolution of a song. I have a very specific nerd question :). The kind of stick clicky percussion on Software (that's the technical term I believe) - how did you get that sound?