Simon Maartensson
Instruments: Piano, Baritone Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Organ
Nickname: Simón (French accent)
Simon and I first met on a tour in Scandinavia with our great friend and artist Hunter Perrin. Simon is a wizard on pretty much any instrument you throw at him, and he's quick with words... Well maybe not the last part, but he's a dear friend and an unbelievable talent. For the past three years Simon and I have had the pleasure of playing and touring together in Cam's band... and we've played an almost infinite number of Swedish folk songs in hotel rooms all over the world!
Valente Bertelli
Role: Producer, backing vocals
Nickname: Uncle V
Valente and I first met, when I studied at Musician's Institute and he was a teacher. Since then we've become great friends and made lots of beautiful music together. Valente is an incredible artist in his own right and truly has a one-in-a-million voice. When he sang backing vocals on the record, I would joke that he was like a unicorn trying to fit in with the horses. There's no one I would trust more than him to guide the process of these recordings.
Ulf Mickael “Walle” Wahlgren
Instruments: Drums and percussion
Nickname: Walle (AKA Codename Wolf)
Walle and I met way back in 2008, when I was in Scandinavia playing shows with my friend and artist Mike Stocksdale. Walle is truly the greatest drummer I know and I feel beyond lucky to have had the chance to play with him more than any other drummer over the past decade. Walle is also an avid runner, and we had some great morning jogs together, while we were out in the desert. I love everything he played on this record, but I think my favorite moment was when he played a giant triangle with an actual sword he found in the studio. That's the bell sound you hear on “Wasteland”.
Jokke Pettersson
Role: Recording and mixing engineer and backing vocals
Nickname: Y'okay?
Jokke and I know each other through Walle, Simon and our mutual friend Alfred. The three of them built an incredible studio in Helsingborg called Ladahland, where Jokke still works as a mixing engineer, guitar player, composer and much more. He's frightingly good at all of these things, and I knew it was a long shot to get him to come all the way to The States on short notice, since he has a busy schedule and two little twins at home. But thankfully he was quick to agree and absolutely blew me away as an engineer at the sessions... After the sessions he offered to mix the album and knocked it out of the park on that front as well! I couldn't be happier with the sound of this record and the process of making it.
Christian Peter Sekjær
Instruments: Electric Bass, Upright Bass and Synth Bass
Nickname: Mr. Prodücer guy (In German Accent)
Christian and I first met when we played on a record for our dear friend and artist Mette Skou about 10 years ago, and since then we've made lots of great music together. Christian was one of the first to sign on to this project, and just like the rest of this dream team his contributions exceeded my very high expectations. I love everything he played on this record, but the highlights for me would be his McCartney'esque bass playing on “Time Keeps” and the gutsy upright he played on “Wrote You a Song”. Find his official website here.
Kristen Hilkert
Kristen is my wife, and in the context of this project she's responsible for providing never ending patience and support for my artistic ramblings. She has listened to these songs 600 million times and always manages to find something clever to say. She also took incredible care of a bunch of hardworking, hungry and thirsty musicians the entire time we were out in the desert - braving the weird desert super markets on her own to get cart after cart of LaCroix, beer, snus and general sustenance. Needless to say, from the beginning to the end, none of this would have happened without her.
Aside from being a one-in-a-million kind of human, Kristen is also an incredibly talented filmmaker and you can check out her work below:
Simon Huber • Cello Arrangement on “Time Keeps”
Aaron Esposito • Trumpets on “Alive”
Greg Leisz • Pedal Steel on “Alive”
Eddy Dunlap • Additional Pedal Steel on “Alive” (bridge lead)
Peter Dyer • Synths and explosions on “Humans”
Eman Cervantes • Additional Percussion on “Humans”
Kate Strand • Backing Vocals on “Wasteland”
Recorded at Gatos Trail, Yucca Valley, California.
Mastering by Magnus Lindberg