I’ve always had the stuff written, and then let it blossom sonically in the studio, but not structurally or lyrically really. There were a couple of things that I finished in the studio. The first day we tracked was Halloween, and then we ended right around December 1. We started with a week of pre-production at the end of October. It gave us a purpose.ĪD: How long did it take? Were you still writing while you were recording, or did you have all the songs going in?
I hate saying that it’s a pandemic record, but because we didn’t have anything else to focus on, we all went super hard. We recorded almost all the drums to tape. I wanted there to be a warmth and I wanted there to be a safety that surrounded it. I wanted the record to sound like a dramatic whisper while you’re embracing someone, but like maybe you’re also in a club or something. And for production, because she’s my friend, she’s very good at identifying where I was afraid to go and then coaxing me to go there. She has such a beautiful fresh mind for arrangements. She went to Eastman School of Music and studied French horn. Sasami comes from a classical background. I don’t think the record would ever be what it is now without them. Their contributions to the record were massive. Just before the pandemic started, I needed to find a new place to live and just by fate, you know, I ran into Kyle. And Kyle I met through Kevin Morby, because they’re really good friends, and he’d always be around. I met Sasami a while ago at a show I was playing while I was still in Kevin Morby’s band. Meg Duffy: Sure, I know them just through music. I didn’t want them all to just sound like folk songs.ĪD: Would this be a good time to talk about Kyle Thomas and Sasami, and how you know them and what they bring to the process? These songs almost always start on an acoustic guitar. Also, just having more time allowed us to expand the arrangements.
#Hand habits how to
I think as an artist, for me, it’s important to be challenging myself and getting outside my comfort zone and sort of surprise myself, even if that means entering a situation that’s a little uncomfortable.įrom a technical standpoint, I wasn’t as hands on for the engineering as I had been in the past and that definitely brought some new energy, just sort of trusting that Kyle and Sasami knew how to get what we were wanting. Meg Duffy: Totally, yes, and I think working with a different producer is a big part of that difference from Placeholder and of course Wildly Idle which I did mostly on my own. Were you doing things differently from a technical perspective? Sasami and I worked together and bumped up tempos and made sure that there was something cathartic and not dirge-y about the record as a whole.ĪD: The production is pretty sophisticated. And so, yes, it was extremely intentional. Sad music, in particular, can be very healing and sometimes catalytic for releasing emotions that are just under the surface and can’t really get out any other way.
I wanted some hopefulness in the arrangements. I didn’t want to make a record that made people depressed upon first listen. Meg Duffy: The contrast between the lyrics’ impact and the instrumentation and arrangements, tones, and tempos was definitely intentional. Did you do that intentionally, and if so, why? | j kellyĪquarium Drunkard: Reading the lyrics, I’m struck by the fact that these songs are about fairly wrenching experiences, but the music is very calm, almost soothing. “One of my favorite things about making records is that I learn about what the meaning is, later, after it’s out,” they confide. Here, Duffy talks about their process, the liberating effect of working with an out queer artist like Perfume Genius and the way that the meanings of songs shift over time. Safe to say, Fun House sounds very different from anything Duffy has ever done before, with dense and sophisticated arrangements, varied tempos and tales of devastating impact wrapped in warm, comforting musical settings.
with roommates Sasami and Kyle Thomas of King Tuff, Duffy is bringing in the diverse and varied experiences they’ve had working with other artists, new musical influences and the insights of their two collaborators. Now with Fun House, recorded at home in L.A. But alongside their session work, Duffy has also nurtured a solo project, beginning in a handmade, folky, strummy mode with 2018’s Wildly Idle and expanding on that template with Placeholder a year later. The artist has played guitar in Kevin Morby’s band, sits in with Perfume Genius, and, on a more occasional basis, has lent their skills to Sylvan Esso, the War on Drugs, Mega Bog and William Tyler. Even if you don’t know Hand Habits, you’re likely to have heard Meg Duffy playing guitar.
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