Mirel Wagner
“Mirel Wagner”
[Friendly Fire; 2012]
Rating: 8.5
Recently, Netflix added episodes on their instant que of the VH1 show “Classic Albums,” chronicling seminal albums and providing insight into the creation of each masterpiece. I’ve watched several episodes over the past few weeks, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the insight that the show offers. Why VH1 buried it on “VH1 Classic” is beyond my comprehension. One of my favorite aspects of the program are the moments where the one time producer revisits the mixing board and walks the viewer through the elements that made the album so influential. To see Rodger Bain breakdown the greatness of Black Sabbath as a band on “Paranoid,” one track at a time, is truly an eye-opening experience (most underrated band of all time?).
On the Nirvana “Nevermind” episode, legendary producer Butch Vig discusses the unique process of recording the fragile “Something in the Way.” When unable to capture the instability that Cobain wanted on the track, Kurt came into the studio, laid on the couch, and performed the song for Vig the way he wanted it to sound. Upon hearing his whispered performance, Vig quickly rigged up a microphone above the couch and recorded the song in one take, with Kurt still on his back singing one of the most intimate moments in Nirvana’s brief history.
One element of this mix board analysis hit me the wrong way. After telling the story of how the track was recorded as Vig “…literally held (his) breath,” he then discussed how they went back and added a drum track, a cello, and backing vocals to the chorus. As much as I love the song as it is on “Nevermind,” I can’t help but feel the significance of the moment was tarnished by a bit too much tinkering.
I imagine the scene in the recording studio during the creation of Mirel Wagner’s debut self-titled album was a tad different. While I can definitely imagine the Ethiopian-Finnish singer-songwriter lying back on a couch while performing her unique brand of doom folk, there is never a moment on the album where it isn’t simply Mirel and her guitar. Instead of trying to make the songs jump out at you in emotional swells, producer Jürgen Handlmeier allows the echoes of the studio to create the euphoria. The result is an album that is barebones, honest, and chilling. The fact that the songs were recorded in only two days furthers the feeling that these tracks are capturing a moment, validating the authenticity found within each revealing lyric and squeaking pick of a guitar string.
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