By Kate Pounds
March 2 2020, 12.00
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A south west London musician fulfilled a long-held ambition by recording outside Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania for his band’s latest album.
The band, Medusa, released In Bed with Medusa at midnight on February 22.
The final two acoustic tracks were recorded in a hotel room overlooking Bran Castle, known as Dracula’s castle, in Transylvania and one track is made up of sounds recorded by a microphone outside the window.
Kensington-based vocalist, guitarist, and band leader, Julian Molinero described his long-standing ambition to record there. He said: “About 15 years ago I thought it would be a really good idea for a band to record a dark album in Transylvania.
“I wanted it to be a bit weird and capture the atmosphere of the dead of night.”
He explained that the microphone picked up night time sounds such as wild dogs barking.
He recorded between midnight and 2am on a four-track home studio, in mid-January 2020.
The other eight tracks of the album were recorded with producer Steve Albini at Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, from 1 to 4 December 2019.
Mr Molinero (pictured above) explained why he chose to record with Mr Albini. He said: “He doesn’t naturally make a band sound a certain way, we had to be really clear about what we wanted.
“I had a particular vision for the album, which I was able to be clear about, and he was able to understand it.”
Mr Albini has also produced albums for Nirvana and Pixies.
Mr Molinero explained that was the vibe he sought. He said: “Our last album was more commercial.
“I wanted this one to be a bit dirtier, more raw and unpolished.
“When I was listening to bands in the 90s, there seemed to be a progression from polished album to a more abrasive one.
“I grew up thinking that was almost like a tradition.
“It’s a bit more arty as well.”
Mr Molinero, 36, drummer, Snell, who played with The Prodigy, and bassist Kotaro Suzuki, all live in south west London.
This is the first album they have made together.
Mr Molinero came to London from Blackburn in Lancashire nine years ago. He said: “It’s mostly the punk movement that drew me here, and most of my favourite bands have come out of London, like Queen, The Sex Pistols, and Iron Maiden.”
He added that highlights of recording in Chicago included the last day when Mr Albini had finished recording and worked on the sound of the album, relaxing and sharing stories of recording with Nirvana.
The band have made a documentary about recording the album, and are also working on music videos.
