Talk:Nachtzug

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Archived comments (January 2017 - August 2021)

Nachtzug

NACHTZUG - NIGHT TRAIN

Hardy Fox was primary composer for The Residents for over four decades. He later released solo albums under the name Charles Bobuck before finally switching to his real name in 2017. After Heart, Nachtzug is his second solo album. In the beginning, this release was intended to become a TOOK release - simply releasing Fox's sketches for The Residents' Ghost Of Hope album. But this idea soon turned out to be not challenging enough, so Hardy started using his original sketches as the basis of an entirely new recording.

In the end, the Night Train became such an exciting album that we trashed the TOOK idea and made it a Klang release. It's too precious to be a limited edition, too good to be heard only by a few. The inspiration came from a real train journey, says Fox, towards the end of his time with The Residents: "It was nothing special. I needed to be in Zürich for a show and caught the last train leaving Vienna. Eight hours of rolling down the shiny tracks. Plenty of time to think. Too much time to think. Nachtzug, the night train, understands beginnings. Nachtzug, the night train, comprehends ends."

- Klanggalerie

Seven Songs

composed

for a

Night Train

A few people have noted that I seem to create short projects. And it is true I do more of those than most people, but then, the reality is that I do more projects in general than most people. I strive for a mix of longer and shorter projects.

When records were first invented, let's say the 78 rpm disc, each side held about 3-4 minutes of music so that became the length of songs. Once the LP came along, it held about 17-22 minutes per side. That became the length of a non-stop recording.

When I was young and first working, I played LPs by stacking 3 or 4 on a spindle which would drop each LP once a side had finished playing. I rarely listened to an album by turning the disc over and playing the two sides in sequence. I became quite influenced by the idea that a project was 17-22 minutes long. LPs were always designed to play as sides, that is to say the flow of the songs were set up to work as two projects, even when it was not considered to be two projects. All the early Residents projects were that way and some like Fingerprince and Duck Stab/Buster and Glenn actually were two projects. The first album designed for straight through listening was God in 3 Persons. The era of the CD had arrived. Though I still made short CDs, Pollex Christi and High Horses were, of course, mine.

I like a project that is less demanding on a listener's time. Usually an idea can be sufficiently explored in 17-22 minutes.  Zappa's Lumpy Gravy was originally 22 minutes long. Supper's Ready by Genesis, also 22 minutes, took up a whole side as did Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd.

It is worth mentioning that I still do a full length album every year, maybe more than one. My shorter projects are in addition to the longer ones.

- Hardy

Tomerikloe (talk) 23:24, May 6 2020