El Camino Studio & Record Label HQ
Ahead of the release of their new album The Long Lost Friend, Marko Nyberg of Finnish electronic pop outfit Husky Rescue invites us into the band’s studio.
Nyberg: “At the heart of the Finnish capital of Helsinki, El Camino Studio has been the hideout and workspace of Husky Rescue for over ten years. Up until the most recent releases with the new line up, every Husky album has been recorded in El Camino.”
Moog Memorymoog
“This was a childhood dream of mine. At the time I was young the Memorymoog was already a bit outdated, but it had that special charm and years later I finally got my hands on one. The sound of the Memorymoog is sprinkled across many Husky Rescue recordings.”
Knifonium
“Knifonium is a 25 tube monophonic synthesizer with a 4th order ladder filter and a ring modulator… at least that's what the wizard Jonte Knif says about his creation, but you really have to hear it to believe it!
“We ordered this quite some time ago, and it will be arriving to El Camino soon for our enjoyment. It's the Rolls Royce of analog synthesizers. We heard that a mystery film composer with a fondness for synths ordered two of these for his studio once he found out about the Knifonium. I bet he would've loved to play it in a cave full of bats.”
Guitar pedals
“There's nothing quite as inspiring as a floor full of pedals. They are used at our live gigs, but also slipped in to the sonic streams that lead to our recordings.
“Lots and lots of good, vintage, obscure, cheap or weird - you must have toys in order to play!”
Binson Echorec
“Made famous by Pink Floyd (almost everyone at some point in that band had these on stage.) It's old (made in the ‘50s or ‘60s,) therefore it has a temperamental personality, but when it works, there is nothing quite like it.
“Almost like a tape delay, but more fairy dust on the decaying repeats. Absolutely love it, and it has been used a lot!”
Volvo 1800ES Blaupunkt Mod
“Second set of monitors, a test area for new recordings. It's very important to have a new perspective, and music sounds sweeter when you're driving back home after a long day of mixing.
“One of my daughters listens to every song we make. If she gets exited, then I know we are on to something good.”
Mercedes typewriter
“Not just a paperweight. It actually works, and we do type some letters with it once in a while. It found a new use though, as a drum machine. The tapping of the keys is loud enough for acoustic gigs, and when sampled the options become unlimited.
“It's also a reminder for us about the importance of writing letters, a way of communicating that we would like to uphold. The typewriter has found its place on the desk of El Camino Records HQ, our recently launched record label.”
Limpander
“A broadcast tube limiter from the ‘60s. Some believe that it makes everything sound like a nature documentary from the ‘50s. When you push it with digital sound, the outcome, I've found, is quite magical.”
The grinder
“The center of our little studio. Brings people together from their busy tasks, wakes people up and keeps them standing. We grind our own coffee beans for maximum effect!
“A famous director has said that bad coffee is better than no coffee at all, but we try to have standards in quality, so everything will run smoothly. The next El Camino studio will have its own coffee roastery.”
Keyboard magazines from the '80s
“Collectors items! Sometimes you need to seethat sound, and then dream bold dreams. Flipping through these pages certainly helps with that, or just makes for good humor. These magazines are from the wild ‘80s, and are situated in the heart of the studio - the Lounge.”
Swamp Coat Hangers
“These branches are from the deltas of Florida where the alligators watch your every move and the mojo is strong. So strong, in fact, that I borrowed these from my wife.
“She thinks the branches are for our new coat rack, but I saw them as a percussive instrument. We sampled these a lot for our new songs. I'm probably going to return them... some day.”