Harem Festival is a band whose goal is to inspire and provoke thought. Whether it’s through the dynamics of their multi-layered music, or their outside the box, riddle-like lyrics they have a tendency to infiltrate the hidden parts of your mind and push outward. With an often educated optimism Harem Festival pose many existential questions that require the listener to look inward while considering what brought them to their current place in life.

As a three piece they have strived to create a very big and dynamic sound while still being accessible as well as relevant. Their passion and dedication are not only heard but also felt through the musical concept they have put together.

11.1.2011 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE
	Harem Festival's new album isreleasing on Nov. 18th @ The Concert Pub North. Other bands to be on the bill is Haksaw Man, and The Abyss. We will see all of you out there. Make sure to pick up your copy of The Vilified Farewell at the show! - K2RECORDS -

7.28.2011 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Harem Festival's album is completed and will be heading to press soon!
This album took a long time to complete but you just can't rush perfection. HF's album will also be available through Tune Core (i.e. iTunes, Amazon mp3, etc) in the next month so if you can't wit for the CD to come out then feel free to purchase on line.
Stay tuned for more updates on both artists and other exciting news!

- K2RECORDS -

9.29.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

We reach the end of the winding and wiley road of tracking this week as we officailly wrap that phase of recording. Happy endings all around on this night as JW 'Two Take Tommy's' some vocals, and rips through the final guitar solo with much encouragement from Chubbs. We begin the mixdown portion of the process which includes a bathing suit competition as well as a 'snare drum' drum off! Stay tuned as we put the peices together over the next few weeks to create the giant, lumering, death machine that is this record!

9.5.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

We discover the wide world of Auto-Tune in this episode and decide to try and 'T-Pain' as many tracks as we can, while also 'Pro Tools-ing' them. However, despite the catchy nature of changing John Wayne's name to 'T-Wayne', we are not into robo-tizing our record and go back to basics, but not after we have a little fun of course. We got some additonal vocals for 'Fourth Wall' and 'DIY' covered that night, but had to hang it up while working on 'The Vilified Farewell', as JW's voice was out of gas. Our good friend Chubbs looked on in disapointment . . . 

8.23.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week was tough, no doubt about that . . . Vocals are so close to being done the sweet taste of completion is on the tip of our tongues, literally. After JW had some hang ups with a certain vocal spot and threw no less then an 'artistic tantrum', we moved on to other parts of the song using sarcasm drenched humor and one liners to help ease the situation. Luckily for us Chubbs was there to 'engineer' his special brand of friendship into our hearts . . .

8.9.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Like the half-hard, semi-soft whiskey dick that often ensues after a night of good drinking, so went the session this week. It started off great as I (JW) completed all vocals for the song 'Defiant Definition', which was the last song to not have any vocals done on it at all. Needless to say we were pretty excited because it meant we were getting ever closer to the golden goose that is finishing tracking completely. However, I was snaffued once again by two, count 'em two notes that for some reason I could not get exactly on in the booth. We took a few breaks during which I practiced incessantly with an acoustic guitar in the back hallway, and yes, was able to nail it every time. When I got in the booth though, the translation wasn't happening and a huge 'fuck you' in the form of one big mental block kicked my ass all over the place.

I left feeling a bit beaten even though Karim assured me the session was fruitful since we got a whole other song done, but it was hard to rest easy on that. Now I've been practicing the part daily and am ready to nail it next time. Check back and I'll keep you updated here, or via twitter and facebook.

8.1.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

The recording process itself is coming to a finish pretty quickly as we completed vocals for another two songs (well, almost). That leaves just one song that needs to have vocals applied before they are all at least preliminarily done. There's still some touch ups, re-dos, and other additions that will need to be done before tracking can be wrapped completely. Not to mention a myriad of intense listening sessions that need to happen; but close we are none-the-less. Mixing time is just about upon us, and while that's happening we'll be getting together some new shirts and other fun swag to shill to the masses. Also, our video for 'Green Hair' will be out soon as well so stay tuned through twitter, and our facebook for instant updates.

7.25.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Been focusing extremely hard on getting these vocals done and wrapped once and for all. We've only got four actual songs left to lay vocals down on and then do any other fine tuning that needs to be done as well. This week I (JW) was sent to the woodshed once again to re-write the solo for the song 'D.I.Y' for the third, and what I hope will be, the final time. It sucks at first to play what you've been working on, especially when you think its working well, then find out that you're just not there with it yet, however, that is part of the process. We need everything to be as good as it possibly can be for this record and getting a fresh perspective on things from someone is welcome and necessary. Stay tuned to see if we can hopefully knock out all the rest of the vocals in the next week or two!

7.19.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Holy Shit we made a video! That's right, over the last two weeks all the principle photography was shot for a video for the single from our record: 'Green Hair'. It was co-directed by Stacy Davidson and Ash Kay and starred (besides us) model/actress Roxy Vandiver who's resume includes the cheerleader slasher flick: Spirit Camp. The experience was pretty legit in that there was a crew, directors, makeup, wardrobe and Karim even came through with a sandwich tray all craft services style. We all felt that Stacy and Ash did an awesome job taking the original concept and story board ideas we had and bringing them to reality. Roxy did an amazing job of breathing life into the protagonist character in the story. Stay tuned, because we'll let everyone know as soon as it is done and realeased! Looking forward to it.

7.5.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week we started back on vocals seeing as that's really all we have left to do, at least that's what we thought. After doing some vocal takes on the song 'Conclusion Solution' and going back to do some intense listening we discovered that there are a few parts where the guitar wavers in and out of tune. We moved on to the song 'Fourth Wall' only to discover the same thing. I'm not sure how we missed this initially but we chalked it up to ear fatigue and possibly overall tiredness at whatever sesssion these tracks we're originally laid. Whatever the case was, we now have to re-track guitar for both of these songs, which we are set to do next session.

Pressing on I (jw) tackled vocals on the song 'In the Dark. Behind Closed Doors'. Although I was a little discouraged to find out about the guitars having to be redone, I let it go and dove in to the task at hand. We ended up getting through it with ease and Karim had some ideas we tried that added to the overall epicness of the song itself. Anywho, barring no other setbacks we are close and hope to have a hard release date to share with everyone very soon!

6.25.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Over the past two weeks we've gotten a lot done in the studio, and even though we are close to finishing up it still feels like a long road ahead. Karim was out on a boat for a week sailing to kingdom come so Chubbs stepped in and engineered a vocal session with us. His "specia"l motivational ways worked to warm my (jw) heart as I stayed locked away in the dungeonous vocal booth for the night. We did get a whole song completed vocally and managed to have some fun as well.

Upon Karim's triumphant return he gave a hearty thumbs up to what we had done without him and was ready for me to finish tracking my guitar leads. I enjoy working on guitar parts with Karim because of his vast knowledge and passion for the instrument, and he's always got helpful suggestions to make things more sparkly and interesting. Once we going it took a few more takes than I wanted it to in order to get a part just right, but that's what it takes sometimes. I also was sent back to the woodshed for another re-write on one of my leads, which was a little frustrating but also necesary. Stay tuned because we are getting closer and closer with each passing session, and should have some exciting anouncements about release dates and big shows soon!

6.14.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Mark it down folks! This week we hit a milestone by finishing ALL instrumentation for the record! We went into the studio with only two songs left to record guitar and bass for, but after how the last session went we weren't sure what to expect. We were optimistic but didn't want to be over confident or rush anything just to get it done. I (John Wayne) was feeling especially reserved about the session because I was extremely under the weather and had virtually no voice at all. Still, not wanting to cancel I sucked it up and am glad I did.

James and I took our time working with Karim to once again achieve the tones necessary to capture the right feel for these last two songs. James ended up using three different basses and a combination of his amp, two different cabs (one 4x10 and one 1x15), and a bass pod for his parts. Guitars were a little easier for me as I used my trusty Gibson Firebird plugged straight into the ENGL Powerball II with only an MXR Phase 90 being used generously for one part.

Vocals are up next, so stay tuned for all that fun stuff!

6.7.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

So close but yet so . . . however the rest of that goes. We started this last session with three songs left to track guitar and bass on before being completely done with the instrumentation for the album. Maybe we got ahead of our selves a bit when we presumptuously assumed we could knock it all out in one session. We were on a good pace when James got his bass tracked for the song 'In the Dark, Behind Closed Doors' with relative ease, however, the guitar tracks were a different story altogether.

This song has five different guitar parts that all required their own separate and distinct tone. This always takes a little bit of time but is well worth it. The thing that tripped me (John Wayne) up was the breakdown of the song. We had a minor timing issue coming out of it that I couldn't seem to nail, and after a while it was starting to frustrate me. It seems like the guitars have either gone really smoothly at times for me, and at other times gone absolutely wretched like pulling teeth from a toothless wonder. Anywho, after much focus and many, many takes the part was done, but so was our time for the night. Hopefully next week I'll be able to report that we have finished strings . .

6.1.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

First off, this week we've got some good work done with laying down some more bass and guitar as well as working throwing a vocal session in the mix. However, despite all the hard work we've come to the realization that, as much as we'd like it to be, the album will not be ready by the July 17th date that we had set some time ago. We really want to make sure that we have everything exactly how we want it and that we put the best record out that we can. That's why we have decided to push the release of the record back to September. Never fear though, we promise that when this album is released there will be nothing left hanging, rushed, or halfway done.

Stay tuned for regular updates here as well as our facebook and twitter pages.

5.5.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week in the celebrated Cinco de Mayo by locking ourselves in the studio, drinking warm, flat tall boys of un-imported beer, and played the Mexican Hat Dance song on constant loop in the background. I'm not sure if this helped us at all but at least we stayed true to the celebration of the day . . . I think.
At any rate it was a milestone session because drums, the most intregral part of any album, were completed totally! This song was the title track for the album, and reletively newer then most of the stuff written, so it took a few takes for Ryan to catch his groove. There were some minor changes, and additions made on the fly, but Ryan handled them with ease and when the dust finally settled the drums were done, and all our crotches were wet (and sticky). Typical rock-n-roll stuff I suppose, but what do we know anyway?

Check back for information regarding the realese of our first single: 'Green Hair', and be sure to join our facebook page, and follow us on twitter for more juicy, feel good-ery regarding everything us!

4.21.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week we set out to lay down guitar, which I was pretty excited about due to the fact that Karim had just acquired a new ENGL Powerball 2 amp. I'd been researching this amp since he mentioned he was going to get one a few months ago and was interested to see if it would live up to it's own hype. After plugging straight into the amp and standing in front of it cranked up to what seemed like 11, I have to say it more than surpassed my expectation as its rich, ballsy tone cut through my earholes like the sweet audio candy that it is.

Anyway, I'm not sure if it was the excitment around the amp or stiffy I was sporting from playing through it, but when we went to start tracking I could not find my groove resulting in many retakes and punch ins. After an hour or so I finally was able to get on track and made some good headway by finishing two complete songs, and adding a missing piece from a song we had tracked previously. All in all a great night after a slow start, and I was off to dreamland with visions of Powerballs dancing in my head, and bursting through my eardrums.
-john wayne

4.14.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week we nailed down all but one final drum track, bringing us over a large hump and showing us a glimpse of the other side of the mountain. Even though it seems like it's all down hill from here, there's still plenty of work to be done including more bass, a shit ton of guitar (with a spankin' new ENGL amp), and a shitier ton more vocals. Whew, that is a lot! Don't forget our single "Green Hair' comes out in a matter of weeks with a video attached! Stay tuned . . . .

4.7.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week we knocked out some more guitar and listened to some more mixes. There are only three drum tracks left for Ryan to do thus completing the backbone of the album that is percussion. The biggest news of the week is that our song, 'Analogous Affinity', is available right here on this very website to download for FREE. This is only good for a couple weeks so get it now, and blast the hell out of to keep you fixed until the album comes out. Also, we want to thank our Omega Prophet brothers: Sugarball Express, Downfall 2012, and Reverend Butter for allowing us to be a part of the best Cold Front show I've ever been witness to, and an even bigger thanks to all who attended the event. You are the ones who truly made it happen, and we are grateful. More to come, stay tuned . . .

3.31.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week the bass tone gods were with us as James settled in to knock out some bass and just kept going, and going energizer bunny style. There was sweating, smoking, drinking, fluffing, and absolutely no shoes. When the dust settled and we all came to, James had finished bass tracks for four songs with considerable focus, ease, and very little hiccups in the road along the way. We're starting to close in on finishing tracking now and are eager to get into the mixing process. Remember, next Saturday April 10th we will have an exclusive free download available right here on K2records.net of a song from the new album!

3.25.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Over the past two weeks in the studio we've gotten a good amount of work done; including coming up with some very key dates related to the album. First, Ryan jumped behind the kit and banged out two more drum tracks bringing us ever closer to completion on the backbone of the record that is the percussion section. Coming close to his 'one take' feats from a couple weeks ago, he was able to hammer these two out with few issues and one 'punch' in that worked splendidly.

Next, James and I were up to track our parts on 'Ode de Bruce' (shown in this weeks video clip). James breezed through this with blazing focused accuracy doing one take of the bass line clean, then another with over drive so the one that suited the song best could be used in mixing. I (John Wayne), however, didn't exactly breeze as much as I sort of limped through the takes of this song. It took a minute for me to get with it for some reason, despite the fact that we have been playing this song for a while, and that I was feeling confident about it. I don't know if it was 'red button syndrome' or just a case of not being warmed up enough. Either way, after several takes, several guitar changes, and a myriad of tone dial ins I had it licked completing all but the vocals for this song.

Now, the bigger news is that we will have a song from the album available to download for FREE from K2records.net on April 10th! Be sure to log in that day and get a glimpse of what the new album will hold. In even bigger news the official single will be released on April 27th with a music video to follow shortly after. Then, perhaps the biggest news of all; the new album will be officially released on July 17th 2010! Stay tuned and join our face book page and follow us on twitter for even more updates!

3.10.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Had a stellar seesion of drums this week as Ryan ripped through 'On Second Hand' in one take! This is a longer song with several changes but Ryan killed it with no problem. Riding on that momentum we tracked drums for 'Ode de Bruce' and Ryan was able to nail that in a take and a half after punching in the end section of the song. Some people may recognize 'Ode de Bruce' as a song we've been playing for a long time, and while it is, we've made some changes to it and polished it up a bit to include on this new album.

Speaking of the new album we've been kicking around the working title: 'The Vilified Farewell', giving a small clue as to what the album is all about. Find us on facebook and twitter to get all the updates on the studio as well as shows!

2.22.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Holy Shit! We have a song mixed! This week along with tracking more guitars, we got a whole song mixed that will be released soon as a taste of what's to come from our new album. This particular song, Analogous Affinity, is a great example of the sound, dynamic, and feel of this record. We spent the majority of the session listening, tweaking, listening, tweaking, listening, and then listening some more before being satisfied with what we had.

Next I tackled more guitar for the song, Defiant Definition. I tracked the entire song on my Firebird through the Marshall Anniversary until it came to the solo. Once again, after switching guitars a few times and bouncing ideas back and forth with Karim, I decided some tweaking was needed on the solo so we called it a night. I'll pick the solos back up next session with fresh ears and and new approach.

Be sure to check back soon for more information on the release of Analogous Affinity, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter and join our facebook for even more updates!

-john wayne

2.14.2010 // HAREM FESTIVAL UPDATE

This week in the studio James and I took on guitar and bass for the evening. Our goal and intention was to knock out at least two songs each, but time did not permit during this particular session.

We started with bass for the song, D.I.Y., and Karim and James searched for the golden tone through trying a couple different basses and a myriad of amp settings. They settled on using an Ocean bass and ran several takes through James' Ampeg with a couple different cabinets, and preamp settings, and even did a take through a Line 6 bass POD. When the dust settled they kept three different takes through three different setups in order to see which would be best suited for the song.

Then, we moved onto guitar for the song and my quest for the perfect tone began. I started playing all the rhythm tracks with my Firebird through the legendary Marshall Anniversary model, and of course doubling them up as well. Then we moved on to playing all the parts again through my Les Paul Special, then played them again through two different Les Paul Studio models of Karim's. Needless to say we ended up with a lot of tracks and tones to work with. The solo, however, became a different story.

After toying around with my solo back through the string of various guitars we started thinking it may need a whole new feel to it, and to maybe strip away some of the 'busy-ness' from it. After all, sometimes less actually is more ladies! Anyway, Karim bounced some suggestions and ideas off me and after some jamming, we decided to attack the solo at another session.

-john wayne

1.31.2010

This week we continued with more drum tracks and got a lot accomplished during a very long night in the studio. We tackled two songs, ‘Never Was’ and ‘Fourth Wall’ which was no small feat considering the complexity of these two pieces. We started off with ‘Never Was’ and after a few solid takes we decided to make some changes, particularly during the solo section, after some suggestions and feedback from Karim and Chubbs.

Next, Ryan jumped back on the kit to take on ‘Fourth Wall’. This is a song that’s gone through a few tweaks along the writing process and as we were laying it down that night it went through a few more. It’s very a difficult thing to pull yourself out of the song and truly listen objectionably, but it is necessary in order to make sure it gets exactly what it needs. We ran the song a few times then talked about it together and were able to implement some good ideas. It was a late night but well worth our time. Anyway, thanks for checking in!

1.26.2010

Aright, let me bring you up to speed with what’s been going on with
Harem Festival and our new record so far.  While this is our first album
with K2 Records it’s the second one we’ve done at Magik Studio, so it’s
all comfy cozy-like working there with Karim.   We’ve been at it for a
couple months and have three songs tracked completely, and a handful
of other drum tracks done.  

What’s different about the approach we’re taking on this album verses our last is that we’ve done preproduction on all the songs, which has been extremely helpful when it comes to analyzing and reworking them.   We’re also taking our time in the studio, which is crucial to make sure it sounds exactly how we want it.  Oh yeah, did I mention this is a concept record?  Keep checking our blog for updates on the recording, videos from the
studio, and a sneak peak of the story behind the record.

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