Rounding off the album is this tune written on the day I turned 26. I admit the title demonstrates a certain poverty of imagination but I hope the composition itself doesn’t get damned by association. It’s also pretty obvious I was listening a lot to a certain guitarist in the weeks prior to this so some things rubbed off. Oh well!

Twenty Six

Inspired partly by world music (among other things), this song was completely overhauled due to my dissatisfaction with the structure and harmonic content of the original. In retrospect, it relied too much on showcasing guitar skillz and too little on telling a story. Sometimes killing one’s darlings can be just what the doctor ordered.

Until I Sleep

A genuine blast-from-the-past this one. Written entirely in Guitar Pro (seriously) this one can trace its roots all the way back to my teens. 

Resurrected just in time for the record, it makes for a nice change to let another instrument share the limelight for a moment. My first encounter with saxophones overdubbing guitars was on the late great Shawn Lane’s sublime “Esperanto” performed on “Powers of Ten Live”. A wonderful blend that’s heard all too seldom.

Telemundo

When I find myself jaded and bummed out Musically, I often turn to my cheap-and-cheerful nylon string for thrills and reinvigorated creativity. 

Considering this was the only piece of music I wrote in 2011, largely due to a nervous breakdown of sorts, it couldn’t have come at a better time. In the instant that it was completed I felt a momentary elation that had been absent for my life for a good while at that point. I was once again served a reminder of why I love music and the power it possesses to change ones life. 

Kudos to my good friend Raphael Castro Ek for laying down some fantastic keys on this one. All in 3 takes, without having heard the tune beforehand. Talented bastard.

Didn't See It Coming

I love Katy Perry. The musical snob of my teens probably would have devised a time machine in order to travel to the future and off myself for sinking so low as listening to pop music generated for mass appeal, but being older and wiser and all that shit I’ve come to appreciate the gems that sometimes work their way into the commercial limelight. 

Devised as an evil concoction inspired by 2000-era Jeff Beck, world music and pop culture, Peacock lent itself tremendously well to the instrumental treatment and I’m really happy with how it turned out. Will it blend? Yes. Yes it will.

Peacock

Every now and again I end up in these situations where I hear a 
track so good that I momentarily go apeshit in a frantic attempt 
to write something that can hold its own against it. 
most of the time these attempts fail miserably. 

Once in a while however, Lady Luck makes an appearance and 
Things work out. I’m not quite sure whether I matched the ferocity of the tune that inspired the creation of this track, but it 
turned out to be a pretty neat tune nonetheless.

Them Apples

Slippery by its very nature, this one is all about the funk. 
With its sleazy intro and lubed-up guitar lines, Some may feel 
it errs excessively on the side of soundtracks typically found 
in vintage adult entertainment of the moving-picture variety. 
Writing this, I’m suddenly struck by the fact that even its 
title possesses sexual overtones. Freudian slip, or wholesome 
fun for the whole family?

Let It Out

“What’s the first thing you’ll hear?” 

Sometime during the summer of 2008 when writing for this record 
began in earnest, this question found its unequivocal answer. 
There was never any doubt about it; this tune was going to open 
up the album. Over-the-top, yet accessible; serious but lighthearted. I felt (and still do) it possessed all of the qualities 
that I hold dear about music - all while thoroughly celebrating 
the art of guitar. I hope I was right.

Reality Check

Stockholm-based guitarist, composer and acoustician. Guitar addict since the age of 14.

Vanya Merc