I composed Ternion when I was 16-17 years old.
The arrangement was written down on yellow post-it notes and in small notebooks (as usual), before it was compiled on a better format at a later stage (the classic a4 print paper)
Parts of the arrangement was then recorded on a 4-track tape recorder. The only way you could hear the whole song, was to go to a recording studio and record it. And it so happens that we did. One of my goals at the time, was to record in a real studio at least yearly. And in those cases everything had to be arranged, rehearsed and ready. Even the effects and most of the production.
So the first recording of this song was done at Lydkjellern studio in Ålesund. Engineered and mixed by the brilliant Erik Valderhaug. I remember the long nights, with no food (I was way too enthusiastic to think about eating, still is) and then we went straight to school the morning after, with little sleep. I even remember spending my whole birthday in the studio (still with no food). This would prove to become the standard for me on my birthdays, all the way up to now. I really don’t remember any birthday, not spent in the studio or at rehearsals. That says a lot about me probably, but my weak excuse is that my birthday is at the beginning of January. There’s not that many things you can do (in Norway) at that time of year (mostly raining), plus since it’s right after the holidays, I’m super restless and the last thing I want is more cake and celebration.
When working on this release (and some others) I actually purchased a “professional” (well, as professional as they ever got) 8-track Tascam: racked tape machine, so I could transfer and analyse all the old tape recordings, before starting the production. It was all redone from scratch and it was a fun journey.
On the session with me:
Geir Arne Ose: Drums