Exit phase one

 

It took us about 5 months to get from the first recording sessions to the final master, but it was well worth it! I am pleased to say that we all are extremely proud of Best Possible Weather. I feel we reached what we aimed for, and then some. And that said, I feel this in a way is an end of an era. I think our working method is one thing to change. The music will change, it's bound to. When and where these changes will come into daylight, who knows. It might be sooner and closer than we could imagine. But enough about the murky future. Let's take a look at the present.

 

In a way Best Possible Weather is a tribute to all the bands that has influenced us. To bands that without Margin of Safety would not exist. We started of with a bunch of prog rock tracks and by serendipity ended up with an album that not only is a collection of songs, but an album with continuity.

 

But the album has a statement that is not written in the lyrics

 

[entering rant mode]

In the era of the vinyl LP, the length of an album was something between 30 to 45 minutes of music split on two sides. Thats an exellent length considering the average attention span of a modern human. These days almost every new CD produced contains +-70 minutes of music. That's a double LP. No wonder the the quality of commercial music has dropped. Half of the songs on a CD are pure fillers to satisfy an overindulged audience who wants quantity, not quality. And make it easily digestable, please.

 

Another ugly fact of commercially prodused music: It's over produced and lacks dynamics and feeling. I've seen comments from producers saying that an album will sound weak compared to others if it's not compressed to the very limit. That is bull shit. You take any modern loud album and try to crank the volume up, and your ears will bleed. Please don't believe the hype and don't get caught in the loudness war. Try to listen to our album at a high volume and you'll see what I mean. The sound only gets better and your ears won't get tired. Well, not as soon anyway :)

[exit rant mode]

 

Enough banter. Enjoy the album and review it.

 

Credits:

 

The band:

Mika Hiironniemi - drums, percussions, keyboards & synths
Petri Koivistoinen - electric and acoustic bass guitar, acoustic lead guitar on Percussion Hammer and Shapes of Gray
Jari Schroderus - electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, keyboards & synths and Tourette treatment on Crimson Construction, Pt 1

 

Featuring:

Charlie "Mr Xeima" Goodtime - spoken words on Crimson Construction, Pt 1
Nina Hiironniemi - vocals on A Lullaby for Eternal Lie section of Soft Edges
Jarno Laaksonen - violin on A Lullaby for Eternal Lie section of Soft Edges
Seppo Patteri - Bodhrán on A Lullaby for Eternal Lie section of Soft Edges

 

All music and arangements by Margin of Safety
except A Lullaby for Eternal Lie section of Soft Edges:
Violins aranged by Jarno Laaksonen
Vocals aranged by Nina Hiironniemi

 

All lyrics by Jari Schroderus
except for
Crimson Construction, Pt 1: Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue by Charlie "Mr Xeima" Goodtime

 

 

Front cover photo: Child in Shack Town by Dorothea Lange, 1936 (public domain, Library of congress)
Cover design and photo tinting by Jari Schroderus

 

 

Roland RE-201 Space Echo provided by Tommi Laine
Acoustic bass provided by Samuli Happo

 

 

Redcording and mixing by Mika Hiironniemi
Produced by Margin of Safety