HENS' TEETH

THE MAY TOOTH
Peter Scion: Numbers (2005)

The first monthly special is a song that actually was recorded after I officially quit music. In spring 2005, I did four songs with my friend Jan Risheden as an engineer and producer; two were songs I had taped earlier but never used, while two were the only two songs I had written since 2001. The reason why these songs were recorded at all was that Chris Eckman of the great, great band The Walkabouts had said that if I ever decided to make music again, he'd love to add some overdubs. As Chris Eckman is a true musical hero of mine, I'd been a fool to turn down the offer. So I lay down four songs, gave him a CD of them and some time later, he sent me his overdubs. But with a cruel twist of fate, I have to this day failed to merge my recordings with his overdubs. It bugs me an incredible lot, but so it goes. Anyway, this song, one of the then newly written, is one which works without overdubs, and as I'm rather satisfied with how it worked out, I hereby share it with you.

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THE JUNE TOOTH
Continental Soul Searchers: Klockan tickar (1994)

It's time for the June rarity, and this time I give you a track recorded by Continental Soul Searchers, recorded in rehearsal for our first reunion show held in 1994. It's a 10 minute instrumental jam with S.T. Mikael and me swapping solos (Mikael takes the first, while I play the second one). Sound quality isn't the best as it was recorded on a tiny Walkman tape recorder, but I'm nevertheless quite fond of this track and its spooky ambience. The title comes from what Mikael says right at the beginning of the jam, and it means "the clock is ticking".

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THE JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER TEETH
Peter Scion & Carita Forslund: These Darkened Trees / Time / Somewhere At The End Of The Rainbow (1997)

Here you get three tracks in one go, all taken from a May 1997 rehearsal tape featuring me and Carita Forslund. Carita used to be one of my most trustworthy collaborators, playing with me live as well as contributing to recordings. Among her many fine efforts, she added flute to the Pangolin album and made her voice sound beautifully on tracks such as "Cynthia" and "Cold Ground".

These rehearsals were held prior to a show we played at Kulturdepartementet in Gothenburg the same month. Kulturdepartementet was like a second home to me during these days; a small place with the roof way up high above our heads. A peculiar place architecturally, but always one to warrant good shows. I loved that place, and it will always stay dear in my memory.

I had a persistent flu when we taped these songs, which is clearly audible on especially "Time" where my voice is lower than usual. Therefore, it was a relief when Carita took the lead on "Somewhere at the End of the Rainbow", a cover of the beautiful Carol of Harvest song. I think Carita's vocals here are simply stunning; fragile, sensual and eerily melancholic, all at once. These qualities come through strong and touching despite the primitive sound quality (which I at one point in time tried to "enhance" with a dash of reverb) (well, actually - more than just a dash...).

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD Pt 1 DOWNLOAD Pt 2

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THE OCTOBER TOOTH
Peter Scion: The Dead Tree (1997)

This track is a real oddity, which explains why it was never included any of the albums. With its obvious ambient stylings, it's closest to the sound of "Shroud Song", but it would have been out of context even on that album. It's much darker than "Shroud Song", an album which some argue is a dark piece of work in itself. "The Dead Tree" is experimental in the sense that I had no idea where I was going; all I had was my idea of mood. The mood was the starting point, and I took it from there, curious to see where I would land.

I'm actually uncertain whether this is a 1997 recording, it might be from 1998.

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THE NOVEMBER & DECEMBER TEETH
Carita Forslund featuring Peter Scion: Happy (2000)

In March 2000, Carita Forslund and I went into Pangolin's rehearsal room to record some of Carita's songs. I can't remember who's idea it was but it was a good idea; I've often pointed out that Carita was a very fine songwriter and I really wanted to work with her on a batch of songs of her choice. Besides, I needed something else to think about. I was unhappy in Pangolin, and these sessions came as a huge relief and brought back some of the creativity I felt I had lost. Carita was kind enough to let me do the arrangements which was tremendously fun. I had never worked with other people's songs that way before, and I felt like a kid in a toy store. Arranging and producing is probably the parts of music making I like the best. So I also ended producing the sessions and I was happy with the results. Sadly, those sessions were left unreleased; only a handful of people have ever heard them. However, Carita has given me the permission to publish one of the songs we recorded almost ten years ago. "Happy" is one of the least worked-on songs and therefore perhaps the least representative to these sessions. When I listened closely to the song, I realized that I couldn't shatter the fragile mood with crazy ideas and loud guitars. I sat down with my guitar, pushed the 'rec' button and played the solo I'm most proud of of all I have played. I am very happy that it was for Carita's song. I tried to emulate both the style and sound in one of my own songs later on, but it never turned out right. The spur of the moment was kind to me that day.

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Pangolin: The Sea (1999)
I believed so much in this song. I thought it had so much potential, and that Pangolin was the band to bring it out. But when we recorded it properly for a Ptolemaic Terrascope CD, it ended up an utter, shameful mess. I have released several recordings of the song, but none is anywhere as successful as this rehearsal version, recorded on a simple tape recorder in our rehearsal space. The sound quality is a hi-fi freak's nightmare, very crude and brutal, but the take is just about perfect. It has Sara Pang on drums, the original drummer for the band, and she really hammers it out. It's heavy (not jerky), dark and threatening - just the way it was supposed to be. I don't know what happened to the original tape; it might be in a box somewhere, but for the upload, I had to use a CD-R transfer of the recording. Unfortunately, the CD-R has begun to deteriorate, which is notable towards the end of the song (you can hear it as crackles and clicks). I'm sorry about that, but I really wanted to share this with you, despite the inferior technical quality. To me, this is Pangolin at our very best.

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THE JANUARY 2010 TOOTH
Peter Scion: The January You (1997 or 1998)

What could possibly be better for this month's post than a song entitled "The January You"? If you ask those who think my vocals suck, they would probably answer: "Anything except this one". The vocals are indeed a bit, erm, strange. I wanted to write a song in a key I had never used before, and with a fine sense of the appropriate, I chose one a little too high for my voice... Not many have heard this song before, but those who have have actually liked it for its strange melody and uneasy atmosphere. So here I go, giving it away to the whole world. By the way, the remains of my self criticism is now up on eBay!

I have no exact date for the recording, but I assume it was done around the same time as the "Dead Tree" track posted above, which ought to be some time late 1997 or early 1998. It was a time for experimentation; I tried to find new ways for writing songs, without any thoughts of releasing them officially. The most successful recording from this period is "Through My Ghost" which eventually came to be the title track for my 2000 album.

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THE FEBRUARY 2010 TOOTH
CONTINENTAL SOUL SEARCHERS: In the Forest (1994)

This was recorded in rehearsal at home on June 2, 1994 for our second ever live appearance a couple of days later. It was recorded on a simple Walkman machine, so sound quality is exactlywhat you can expect it to be. I do like this particular version of "In the Forest" though; it has an eerie, otherworldy feel to it that no other recording of the song has. The previously posted jam "Klockan tickar" comes from the same rehearsal, but "In the Forest" has no reverb added it to it. This is what it sounded like, according to the flawed recording equipment!

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THE MARCH-JULY 2010 TEETH
Continental Soul Searchers: Morning Of My Life (1989)
Peter Scion: Tre Harar (1989?)
Peter Scion: Strange Inconveniences (1998)
Peter Scion: City Of Dismay (1998)
Peter Scion: Mystery Train (1998)

Here are five songs in one go, to catch up with my monthly duties. First off is another track from the Continental Soul Searchers. It's one of our improvisations, and it's such a pity we never took the time to structure it. It could have been one of our best songs altogether. What we have here is an edited version of the original recording, to simulate a finished song. It's one of our dreamiest moments, and Mikael sings with great emotion and sincerity. It's a very special recording to me, and even though it's not a very worked on track, I'm really glad to share it with you.

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"Tre harar" ("Three Hares") is one of my earliest attempts at an instrumental guitar piece. As you can hear, I struggle a bit with the fingerings, but all in all it comes off OK given my lack of experience of fingerstyle guitar. I don't think I ever played it live, but it was quite popular among friends.

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"Strange Inconveniences" is another instrumental track, albeit a much later one. As you probably have guessed already, it was recording during the sessions for the album with the same name, although it wasn't really intended for the album. It's the main title from an imaginary movie. At the time I had some idea of making soundtracks for movies that don't exist, who can tell why, but that was what I was into at that particular time. This is by far the most successful attempt in that direction.

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The next track is something of a mystery to me. I know what it's about but I can't remember writing it, less so recording it. I'm uncertain of the recording date; it might have been done in 1999. At any rate, I abandoned the track before I bothered to overdub any solos or so, which is why it might strike you as a bit "naked" during the solo section. In spite of this, and the fact that the playing is a bit stiff, I like the song.

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Which brings us to the July tooth. "Mystery Train" is a devil-may-care cover of the well-known classic. It was great fun recording it, as often is with the songs I've approached with this "so what?" attitude. I can't remember considering it for any album inclusion; it was more a spur of the moment thing.

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