Catalog: AKR018
After visiting California's Bay Area several times over many years, Half-handed Cloud's John Ringhofer moved to Berkeley (leaving Knoxville, TN) in the summer of 2002. He wrote the five songs that would become the What's the Remedy? e.p. on a piano there in August of that same year, before We Haven't Just Been Told, We Have Been Loved (the second album) was released in October.
After sending a demo of the songs to Sufjan Stevens in Brooklyn, the two of them decided to record all five together at the end of a brief New England tour they shared in early December 2002. All the basic tracks were laid down in one day at Daniel Smith's New Jerusalem Recreation Room while Daniel was out of the country (with his permission and blessing).
In addition to lots of piano, they both sing, play organ (including its foot pedal bass notes), and occasional acoustic guitar. Sufjan recorded the drums on another day. He created and tracked some additional embellishments (toy piano, banjo, recorder flute, tambourine) a few months after that, and sent the results to John. John was pleased--he trusts Sufjan's ears pretty well!
The artwork was worked-out and transferred to a pillowcase by John. The cover, based on a photo by Michael Kaufmann, shows a bloody chin, the result of a slippery front porch accident in Berkeley during a visit from Liz Janes and Castanets within a few days of John's return from recording. Ouch! The artwork was fit into its template by Sufjan.
Asthmatic Kitty Records is making the results of this collaboration available in the form of Half-handed Cloud's What's the Remedy? five-song 7" record. 45 rpm! |
