How to make a debut album, the Copy Haho way | Part 1

Long-time favourites amongst the TLOBF ranks, it’s taken Copy Haho a fair amount of time to get around to the recording of album number 1. With just an EP and single under their belts since we ‘Introduced’ them back in 2008, what exactly have they been doing with their time? One thing’s for sure, this studio diary isn’t going to tell you. However, if you want to read about their crazy tales of debauchery, tooth-ache and overflowing urinals then you’ve come to the right place.

The band are spending the next couple of weeks holed up in Glasgow making their eagerly awaited debut album. In-between overdubs, they’ll be supplying us with numerous diary entries of their adventures. Here’s part 1.

Hi there,

We – Copy Haho – are currently recording an album, and that’s the purpose of this diary. The purpose of this diary is to tell you about the recording of our album, in as interesting and entertaining a way as possible.

We’re recording the album at Chem19 which is located fairly near Glasgow, to be vague. As the name semi-suggests, the studio is run by the same people who bring you the Chemikal Underground record label. A bunch of records you either do or should like have been recorded at Chem19 – Young Team by Mogwai being one. However, the most exciting example for me is that Any Other City by Life Without Buildings was recorded at the studio. Anyone who has known me for more than two minutes will know that it’s my favourite album ever. It’s also a band favourite, for sure.

So far it’s all been going ‘swimmingly’. Jamie Savage, the gentleman we’re recording with, is making the process relatively pain-free (see section on extracurricular activities), and has been making great suggestions. One of these suggestions is that we visit the local ice cream parlour which is apparently incredible. A hilarious note about this suggestion is that the ice creamery is called ‘Eccies’. Might just be funny for Scottish people, but it’s something that Joe sometimes gets asked for when out and about, on account of him often looking like a drug dealer/addict. In addition to his great musical knowledge, Jamie also seems to have a similar sense of humour and taste in music as us, which is a big help. I often worry about our sense of humour, so it’s a relief not to be weirding out someone we’re spending a lot of time with.

This is what we’re recording to:

and here’s our producer:

and finally, here’s a photo of Mini playing an electric guitar:

Our friends and family will be pleased to know that we’re behaving ourselves out here. Some lads who have been recording in the other studio for the past few days have gone through about four crates of lager. I had a root beer a few days ago, to make a comparison. I’m really pleased with the rest of the band so far. We’re all trying our best.

All work and no play… would have resulted in no instruments being played which would have made the recording difficult. All work and no play… would have also resulted in a serious lack of fun for our collective bones. Some extracurricular activities we’ve indulged in at the end of the day include;

• Watching the recently released movie, ‘Cyrus’. If I wrote a review of this movie I’d comment on how incredible John C. Reilly is as an actor, and how surprisingly serious the tone and subject matter of the movie is. The latter factor sure took a while to get used to, but nevertheless Joe and I really enjoyed it. Recommended.
• Dabbling in a bit of toothache. I don’t think Rikki is enjoying his chosen activity but it’s something he is going to have to deal with. He’s a grown man you know.
• Going to a really fantastic ‘all night’ (22:00 – 04:30) gig/party hosted by the ever-reliable Winning Sperm Party collective. It was held in a practice studio, with different bands set up in each rehearsal room and a DJ in the communal area. Got to hang out with a bunch of friends that we don’t really get to see all that much due to one or both parties being on tour, etc. Rikki crowdsurfed to the music of ABBA (‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’), Mini showed up the whole building with his world class dancing and I saw a urinal overflow in sync with my arrival at the bathroom. A pre-piss welcome fountain would be a really positive spin on this. When we got back Joe had accidentally locked the door from the inside so we kicked it in like the badasses we are.
• Watching the unintentionally hilarious and angering coverage of the Pope’s visit to Edinburgh and Glasgow. A lorra laughs were had at the expense of everyone’s favourite paedophile protector.
• Watching our bros Sky Larkin play an ace show in Glasgow. First time I’ve seen them since hearing the new album, so it was great to hear the new songs. They also brought down my sleeping bag from Stonehaven (where they were staying the previous night, chez my parents), which I am eternally grateful for. Sleeping has been great since the arrival of my sleeping bag. First time seeing Dutch Uncles too, which was awesome!

Part two is going to contain a little section about our living arrangements during recording, a breakdown of eating and drinking habits and maybe a very short video. There’ll probably be a few more extracurricular activities to tell you about. I’ll try to talk about the actual recording, too.