Local singer-songwriter Ray Flanagan just announced that he'll release his latest effort, The Earnest Tube 12-09-2021, a direct-to-vinyl five-song lacquer he cut earlier this month at the Earnest Tube in Bristol, VA (the facility used to be located in Cleveland), on Jan. 7.
Former Clevelanders Clint Holley and Dave Polster engineered The Earnest Tube 12-09-2021, which is currently available for preorder via Bandcamp. The album veers from the Daniel Johnston-like opening number "You'll Never Be Prepared (For What This World is Gonna Do to You)" to the somber Nebraska-ish "The One Who Got Away."
"It was a blast working with Dave [Polster] and Clint [Holley] at the Earnest Tube," says Flanagan. "Their enthusiasm, passion and knowledge about the now-archaic technology involved in direct-to-disc recording made for a really comfortable environment to work in. I really just wanted to start the year off with some solo songs, one mic with no production."
Flanagan says he really likes the "tonal aesthetic" achieved from recording on the almost 100-year-old equipment.
"It gives it that thing, and to me, it’s really cool!" he says. "Another thing that’s special about it to me is that you’re not using technology to manipulate and create sounds. It’s simply there to capture whatever is happening in the room. It’s just about the most ‘human’ way to make a record."
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