Molesome – Tom & Tiger (CD)
This is not like any other Molesome album. It is dark. You can feel the sadness, loss, and longing coming through to your soul. Knowing what Mattias Olsson went through at the time it was recorded, this is not surprising. This one can be hard to describe, it must be experienced.
“The Spring of 2019 was horrible.
"In February, my daughter Tiger was in a very dark place, and in March, my friend and musical ally Tom Doncourt passed away. I was in pieces. Shattered. Didn’t really know what to do with myself. Went to the studio every day to try to maintain some kind of normality, nothing happened. Didn’t feel like doing anything and didn’t. After long weeks and days of grief and loud mood swings, one afternoon I sat down by the piano on my way out to go home. No plan. I just sat there with my jacket on and looked at it. Feeling completely hollow and empty I put my hands on the keys and pressed down. Very tentatively. Waited for a while. Played a handful more notes. And to my surprise something inside replied.
I turned on the power again, set up two microphones and pressed record. Made simple stupid rules to limit myself. There would be no editing or cuts. Only a full take. Nothing should be written beforehand or thought out. It should be exactly what it was in all its stumbles, repetitions and lack of direction. Over the course of a week I recorded four pieces.
My stomach turns when musicians talk about music as “a sort of therapy”. This isn’t that. This is me doing something when there was nothing. Forcing myself to move. When I was doing nothing days on end I often thought to myself “Tom wouldn’t have wanted this at all”. Listening to it now, I’m not really sure what Tom would have made of this. Knowing Tom, it would have been something along the lines of … “It’s good but I think it needs something … more Mellotron perhaps?”
All of this was a year ago.
In some ways, things are better now. The scale has changed forever though. I played the recordings for friends I trust and based on their reactions I decided to finish them. I did some minor overdubs to frame the piano and, with the help from some close friends, I made this album. Because of the conditions from which it was made, I can’t really say I enjoy listening to it, but finishing and releasing it makes it possible to look at it from a distance. In some weird way, it also means I don’t have to be inside it anymore.
Thank you for listening” – Mattias Olsson/Molesome
Tracks:
- #1
- #2
- #3
- #4
Format: CD
Artist: Molesome
Release Date: April 1, 2020