Track By Track: Cuddle Magic on new LP Ashes/Axis

Slow Rider

Benjamin Lazar Davis: This song based on another Cuddle Magic song called “Moby Dickless” — a song that is based on an African rhythm called bawa. I originally learned that rhythm the way it was performed when I was in Africa by the Ewe people of southeastern Ghana, but I found out that they were doing a cover of a completely different kind of Ghanaian music from the farthest corner of Ghana. It was kind of like a country band doing a cover of a hip-hop song. I realized I had to go learn it from the source, so Lake Street Dive's Bridget Kearney and I went up north to study this xylophone music and quickly wrote “Slow Rider.”

It is the amazing Kristin Slipp that sings this on the record. She originally sang it over a faster version of the song, but we decided to slow the tape speed in the studio. Her voice sounded so cool and husky that way, but we re- tracked it. The rest of the track remains pitched down, though.

Kiss You

Alec Spiegelman: The harmonic progression for the chorus began as an exercise in modulating imperceptibly from B major to B minor. The chorus, melody, and lyrics came quickly; the remainder was work. Dinty Child, the sneaky-wise multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Boston, helped me figure out the story. The verse progression is the chorus progression in reverse, at half-speed, and we have fun pivoting around that B chord when it appears, either major or minor or neutral, without a third. Not enough words rhyme with “you.”

Spinning

Davis: This song was a turning point for the recording process of the record. We recorded it all live in the studio, but then we ended up taking most things out of it and making it really, really sparse. It was co-written by Sarah K. Pedinotti of Lip Talk. She says, "It's a personal story about realizing you're falling in love, being at the mercy of that powerful feeling and all of the vulnerability that goes along with it.” It features an amazing sound that Cole Kamen-Green came up with; he runs his percussion set-up through a vocoder keyboard.

The First Hippie on the Moon, Pt. I

Christoper McDonald: The original idea for this song was developed while we were in college and I was listening to a lot of krautrock, especially Can and Neu!. The right lyrics had never come along until Ben started playing around with the harmonic structure, even altering the melody a bit, and working on it with his brother, Tim Davis, who ended up writing the lyrics as a part of a two-part suite about the first Grateful Dead fan to travel to the Moon. Another element we added is an edited loop from African Pygmy music, which ended up being played on bass clarinet by Alec. The melody Kristin sings in the outro is the second reference to the Grateful Dead’s “Darkstar,” the first being the vocal tag in the chorus (and the title of the album).

The First Hippie on the Moon, Pt. II

Davis: This is my favorite Kristin Slipp vocal performance on the record! It features an amazing ostinato idea that Alec Spiegelman came up with. We took Kristin’s voice at the beginning and turned it into a theramin sound by splitting it up the octave and down the octave with no original octave and running it through an amp and delay pedals. It sounds so cool! Tim Davis wrote the lyrics.

Trojan Horse

Davis: This was another cowrite with Bridget Kearney in Africa. It’s stripped down like “Spinning,” and it’s another version of “Moby Dickless.”

Jackie

Speigelman: Dave played drums and the vibraphone simultaneously when we tracked this one. That was more than a party trick — the vibraphone had been a regular part of live his set-up for about a year, nestled into the drum set where one would usually place a ride cymbal. I don't think the song could groove the same way if those parts weren't being played by one (incredibly groovy) musician. Most of this one is exactly what we were playing live, except for that extra bit of counterpoint (sung by Ben) on the final choruses, written long after the mixing process was underway. It injects a little bit of optimism to counter the titular character's constant meddling.

Getaway

Davis: This was yet another cowrite with Bridget in Ghana, and yet another version of “Moby Dickless.” It features the creamy vocals of Christopher McDonald. We ran his voice through the warmest of amps at Trout Recording Studio in Brooklyn.

Voicemail

Speigelman: I was singing the verse melody, with no words, for months before I knew how to complete this one. It's a challenging melody to sing (of course, Kristin makes it sound effortless.) Ben contributed the chorus melody, and the song was on its way, with "Take it, Take it" being the first words. Christopher, Ben and I worked out the two part voicings that accompany verses two and three during an a cappella van rehearsal on the road from New York to Boston. The old lover to whom the song is directed to no longer lives in the city in which the narrator believes they still live.

Round and Round

This was another co-write with Sarah K. Pedinotti (of Lip Talk). It's one of the more simple folky tracks on the record. It's warm and pretty and we thought it'd be a sweet way to end the record.