boat for sara ~ house in the sand

Hey guys!

So, as a lot of you know, I was in the studio with the very fantastic Jim Kroft.
He invited me over for his 48hours studio marathon which was part of the Boat For Sara fundraiser.

In case you are not completely familiar with it, please click here to get the necessary background knowledge about it.

Jim Kroft raised more than 19,000€ for an organisation called Proem Aid. The money will be used to buy a boat which will save refugees from drowning in the sea.
He raised the money not by asking people to just give, but by writing and recording an album which people would receive.

In today's post you'll be able to find out more from Jim's point of view and I'm very excited for you to do that.

I gave Jim a few topics I wanted him to chat about. Below you can find out what he had to say about the idea for this album, the most memorable moments, the challenges and a lot more.

- how the idea of recording the album within 48 hours came up -

The idea for the 48hr album came to me when I was on Lesvos. I'd been very moved by my experiences there, and wanted to raise money for one of the wonderful independent rescue teams there, called Proem Aid.
However, I didn't want to spend money raised on musician fees and studio time. Rather I asked the studio and players to donate their time, as their own contribution.
My friends at Blackbird Studios very kindly donated two days. It is such a special studio and I am forever grateful to them.
However, of course, it is a professional studio and two days was all that is possible.
So that meant I had to just got for it and record the whole thing in two days. What an adventure! There were also three songs done simultaneously in London's Urchin Studios.

source: imgur.com

- differences between the usual album recording session, compared to this one -

Well, this album was all about getting rid of safety nets. Usually there is a lot of reflection and thought and consideration in the recording process. With this is was the opposite. It was about trusting spontaneity, trusting the talent of the musicians, trusting my own ability to deliver under pressure. And of course that is reflected in the music. There are imperfections, there is a rawness. It doesn't sound like other modern albums. But damn, you feel it's alive.
You hear the intensity of the players, the chat before the songs, the dynamics of the band.
It was very refreshing to get over this notion of over perfection. It wasn't about just the album, it was about a bigger cause. But on the other hand I am proud as a musician, and I want to do everything to the best of my ability. So that was the challenge - to trust the spontaneity - but not to lose standards.

- the most memorable moment of the session -

I think for me it was recording the last song in an hour at 5am on the Sunday night. I had to leave at 6 to get home at 7 because I had to be up at 9 for an interview with Sky News. But I knew that we needed one more song.

The special thing was that everyone involved came with me on the marathon. There was never a "sorry man, I need to leave" or whatever. Everyone stayed together. And it was really in that moment, at the end of the 48hrs with a couple of hours sleep, that I just felt so grateful for these people, and for the potential that is latent in the world. People do things sometimes for reasons beyong themselves. Sometimes our modern cynical minds seem to lose sight of that potential, that power, that purity, that possibility.

source: imgur.com

- the most challenging song -

The most challenging song was probably "Sara".
It has some funny lengths of bars and big dynamics. But the funny thing was that when we actually recorded it, we just "got on one". We just hit this really pure form and it kind of ended up recording itself. To be honest, I have no idea how that happened.
We had only the one day of rehearsal on the Friday for crying out loud!
For me it remains a blur and a little miracle. But it was an education. I realized through the session that sometimes we have to put ourselves on the line, really to go to the edge, to find that space in between the limit of your own potential and what is "God" or the nature, or the highest in us (however you want to call it).
It is really important to challenge our comfort zones. Not all the time though. I like to be a lazy bastard too - that's how you build the energy for greater challenges. #hefeweizenishealthy!

source: imgur.com

- the song you feel connected to the most -

Hard to say, because all of them have a resonance for me.
I feel really, really proud of this set of songs.
I love how purely "Sara" conveys my emotions of being on that beach and I am proud of how it came out.
I think "God Knows Where" 'sits in the room' with some of the best songs out there. I like the societal ramble of "Despite What anyone Says", the Rock'n'Roll in "House Of Many Colours".
I like the fact that "Borrow It" was recorded in a shack in Bulgaria and that most of the songs were written in a van.
So yes, I feel proud of it. And I think it's important as an artist to feel proud when you make soemthing. And then to move on and go forward.

source: imgur.com

- the crew you teamed up with -

There are too many people to mention here - they know who they are, they are on the album and I've written about them on Facebook.
What is more important for me is just to say thank you again to each and everyone. Ultimately this album is an expression of a synergy of energy, love and creativity. I'm blessed for the people I know.

Please check out Jim Kroft's most recent music video for "Shadowlands".

If the video below isn't available for you, head over to vimeo to watch it.

Just a couple of months ago, I sat in the vocal booth whilst Jim recorded this song.
Watching the video below and listening to the final version of the song, is probably one of the most special moments I've had when it comes to music so far.

Jim Kroft online: Website | Twitter | Faceook | YouTube | Instagram

As always, a big thank you to Jim for the inspiration, belief and advice.
And for taking over HITS today. We shall have a #Hefeweizen soon!

Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Intro & Photography: Vanessa Jertschewske | Text bits: Jim Kroft for house in the sand

Hey guys!

In April I got to spend some time in my favourite city, Berlin.

I was there to join Jim Kroft for his 48 hours album recording session.

I have known Jim's work for years and I've found a lot of inspiration in it, as well as in the conversations I got to have with him.

That said, I was definitely very chuffed when he invited me to become a part of the "Boat For Sara" fundraiser.

Please let me tell you more about it below.

Jim Kroft is a Berlin based musician, photographer and videographer.
He's been making music for years and has released a great amount of records and EPs,
yet his brand new release, "Journeys #3" has to be entitled as his most special release.

Jim Kroft online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

The "Journeys" series is a multi-media project started by Kroft. On his website he lets you know what it is about - quote below:

"Human life is a journey. We are all born. We all die.
What we do in between defines who we are, and how we are remembered.
After years as a musician, I realized that I had been living with an unnamed frustration. I wanted to release more regularly than the traditional album cycle. I wanted to to bring my music to people in reality rather than in the cyber world.
More than that, I wanted connection, camp fire, campervaning – to share my music behind the great firewall of China, the desert of the Sahara and the open endless roads of America.
What is music for? Had i forgotten? What are the colours of my dreams, the shape of my subconscious longings?
I decided that in order to find my way, I needed to get lost, to set out into the unknown, and to hell with sense. As a result my »Journeys« project was born.
It is an independent project – one man, one guitar, one camera. In a fractured and fragmented world, I’ve decided to seek its heart, and to find out for myself what its people think. At my core I believe that human beings want to be unified, not divided, that we want to progress peacefully, that when measured in total it our kindness that will defeat our cruelty. In order to find out for myself, I have set out on my journey."

Earlier this year Jim and his good friend photographer/videographer Bastian Fischer set off for another journey, this time headed to Lesvos and Idomeni - where they spent time at the refugee camps. Their way of documenting these stories has been remarkable; the updates we got online were honest, they were pure, they were shocking and they were real.

You might realise that I'm struggling to write this post. That is because I can't quite wrap my head around this utterly beautiful project which Jim Kroft has created.

The 48 hours album was dedicated to his campain, "Boat For Sara".
The aim of this campaign is to raise money for a foundation called PROEM - AID. They are a team of professionally trained Spanish Rescue Workers.
All profits from the campaign will be used to buy a boat. If the target is exceeded, a better boat will be bought.

I would like to quote Jim again and share the cause of this fundraiser in his words:

"I will never forget last night as long as I live. There is simply no leap the imagination can make to replicate these scenes. Scenes which happen over and over every night, and only the latest of which I have participated in. We arrived at 11pm last night and only finally left at 12 noon today simply because every human hand was needed. And those were by far not enough. During the night, our beach alone handles around 10 boats with I don't know, 40 to 60 people per boat. I'm talking mothers, children, screaming babies, teenagers, Dads, old men and woman.

Freezing cold. Soaked in rain, waves, panic. Some in a 2 hour crossing. Some in 6. At night in the dark. One little girl, lost from her parents, faints in my arms and I don't know if she's going to die of cold right there, and I don't know what to fucking do because I'm panicking and the medics are frantically resuscitating another child. Who does not make it. Who dies, right there on the beach next to me, while her parents scream and scream. And every clever opinion and narrative I've come across just noise and nonsense next to this. You're talking kids dying on our shores next to their screaming parents, and not one measly article in the BBC news today.

I take off the water sodden top of the girl, SARA and she wakes, freaking out because she does not know where she is or who I am. Her Mum finally finds us amongst the commotion and we get her dry & put warm clothes on her upper body. After that I realise that there is no use in anything but to hug this little girl until she warms up. At some stage by the grace of God she starts even smiling & I poke her nose, she laughs and I realise it's not me getting her through it, it's her getting me through it. We get the family at last into the bus to Moria, and the next boat arrives. I have never scene such a sight, and I salute all the people who suffered the journey and all the INCREDIBLE volunteers and aid workers there - every night."

And so - Jim Kroft and a crew of musicians, producers, photographers, videographers, social media heads and a manager - marched into the phenomenal Blackbird Music Studio in Berlin and recorded an album within 48 hours.
Everyone involved donated their time, gear and profession in order to create Journeys #3.

You can still order your very own copy, just click here.

Lomography Germany kindly sent us the "Lomo'Instant Wide" + the needed film for it.
I fell in mad love with this camera and had the greatest time documenting the intense hours we spent in the studio.
I believe that instant photography is the most honest and the purest form of photography, so being able to capture an incredibly honest and pure recording session on film, was an absolute dream.

They also wrote a feature about this project in German, so make sure to check it out if you can.

Below I'm giving you a quick photo rundown of two days in the studio with Jim Kroft!

There will be a more detailed post coming soon, if you have questions you'd like me to cover, please comment, tweet me or message me.

My stay in Berlin started one day before the recording session. That gave me some time to wander through the streets and (of course) visit my favourite spot in Berlin. The photo above was taken then and there.

The band (left to right): Ondrej Homola (bass), Tom O. Marsh (drums), Ben Barritt (guitar), Jim Kroft (Jim Kroft), George Moore (keys, piano).

Overview of the live room where the band recorded in.

The vocal room where Jim recored vocals and acoustic guitars.

Tom O. Marsh

George Moore

Ben Barritt

Ondrej Homola

The "hang out" area where some of us set up a little office to do the online and media work, and some legends made amazing food.

Jim, Ben and producer Chris van Niekerk discussing harmonies and melodies.

A lot of cables. A lot of thoughts.

Who needs Charlie's angels when there are Jim's angels?

Listening back to the recorded tracks in the control room.

Discussing riffs.

Another photo of the crew listening back to what they just recorded.

The maestro himself, pleased with the craziness of the moment.

Another one of Jim writing, recording and social media-ing almost at the same time.
The man's a bundle of energy.

On the second day of recording, Lucas Dietrich joined the band and played some bass.

Laptop club photo taken with the selftimer on the amazing Lomo Instant Wide.

And then Gordon Raphael came down to produce some sounds. Everything turned into a whirlwind and a lot of magic happened.

(He also produced The Strokes records!)

(A totally not posed photo there.) (#sarcasm)

Erik Penny came down for some backing vocals.

We then witnessed an amazing performance by Ben Barritt and Erik Penny.

This is a snap of Jim and Ben teaching the choir of Berlin based musicians all the lyrics and harmonies.

We took this after we recorded a song called "Redemption" which featured an amazing amount of brilliant musicians. (and some media people who joined for the party)