The evening was all tape loops and frenzy, which gave me a whole lot of clarity on the reasons behind Mikko’s enthusiastic insistence for us to have a tape machine. Besides Ben’s “broken” back, I’m really glad we pressed on the acquisition venture, especially since last evening was a simply incredible process to be a part of, both in terms of a widening creative enlightenment and a deepened inspirational context for the song “Architect Of Time” more specifically, which might be one of the most lyrically vulnerable and honest songs to be potentially included on the record. So, to hear those fragments of off-tuned artifacts floating in the song’s sonic texture offered a more intimate and fragile essence to the whole emotional journey defining those profound personal sentiments.

If we spent most of the day determining the song’s shape and form as a band, the “loop” process would take it to a whole different level, especially the machine calibration process. If Mikko is a gentle and caring individual, it became clear to everyone that we needed to leave him some space to figure out how he’d be able to manage that wild and reckless piece of old-school machinery. While leaving the studio’s control room, Jeff said that he would have thrown that whole thing through the 4 glass window doors if he were to have been the one having to deal with that evil machine. We all laughed, except for Jeff. So I guess it was a good thing he wasn’t indeed the one in charge of the tape loops today.

Once everything was “working”, it was game on and this time it wasn’t to show us how perfectly aligned tape loops would be in the intertwined fabric of my music, it was for real, and by real I mean brutally real. It was so intense on Mikko and Jojo that after a little less than an hour of that procession of instrumental parts being played live one after another, Jojo, with her soft and comforting speaking voice, informed us that she would take 5 minutes to “regroup” from what had been a major rush of stressful sessions for her, being the one holding the “success” or “failure” results of such a mind-blowing operation. If Mikko is running the non-collaborative machine op and calling which channel has to be patched and unpatched in the studio system, Jojo is the one handling the delicate wiring part of it, so it’s indeed a highly stressful affair.

The reason why I’m sharing that particular instant is to express how admirative I’ve been of our team members. It was impressive for me to witness Mikko’s assurance, but the way Jojo handled her post-high-stressed episode was incredibly expressive. You need to be very “balanced” in your heart and mind to be as honest with yourself, but also to expose your feelings to others. I wish I could handle my panic attacks with that kind of healthy manner. She soon rejoined us all in the studio control room all smiling and peaceful, just like the Jojo we came to know; a positive force who’s an intrinsic part of the most significant season of our lives, adding way more to the fold than her technical knowledge. What a blessing to have them both so invested in such a defining moment for us.