When you show up tardy to a Daytrotter recording session, you miss a lot (let that be a lesson to all of you yet to be invited into our humble room). So there were errands that needed running and a babysitter needed for the young missus, but 30 minutes was enough to miss the electrifying conclusion to a non-occurrence. We were set for a double-dipper day as the enigmatic Richard Bucker was to be tagging along with Kent, Ohio’s Six Parts Seven for a joint session and then a separate Six Parts set. A week before the session, Buckner had succumbed to the hard road and decided that the two were going to do separate sets, no backing band for Buckner. They were driving separately from Iowa City and on to Chicago for a show later that night. All arrived before noon on this, the 26 th of February, and two minutes into Buckner’s stay, he was gone without a word. He walked into the hallway, stood there and scratched his chin, without a peek into the live room or the control room and then got into his truck and left, still with the not so faint scent of liquor on his clothes from the night before. We were sad to see him go, though that’s misleading, isn’t it? We thought he would be returning, but it never happened. What we had in our mitts instead was a powerful four song session from the Six Parts that explored settings and moods in such a way that each song and its bigger sound as a cohesive quadrant could be mistaken for a four season’s room. Just a few short weeks later, as we were making our way through northern Texas to get on to Austin for our landmark, marathon recording sessions at South By Southwest, we ran into them at the Texas visitor’s center. As we filled our bags with “Don’t Mess With Texas” stickers, state road maps and a tourist brochure that alerted us to O. Henry’s Austin home (which we ran out of time for visiting it), we saw their familiar faces as they copped the free wireless Internet to check in about a show they were supposed to play that afternoon. We believe it all worked out for them. – Sean Moeller

First song
Conversation Heart (Six Parts Seven) [3.70MB] [2444 downloads]


– original version appears on Casually Smashed To Pieces
The sound of initial discovery. The extended, complete version of the song that opens our latest album, Casually Smashed To Pieces.

Second song
Awaiting Elemental Meltdown (Six Parts Seven) [5.50MB] [2288 downloads]


– original version appears on Casually Smashed To Pieces The album version of this song slowly builds from scraping noise to fuzzed out guitars sub-bass tones. This version is much more subdued, with the drums only making an appearance at the very end, all shimmering cymbals and floor-tom thump.

Third song
Fuck Everything (Six Parts Seven) [2.49MB] [2521 downloads]


– unreleased A cover of a song by Talons, from the self-released album Rustic Bullshit. Short beauty, with a lyrical tug on the heart. Probably the most gorgeous song we know.

Fourth song
Knock At My Door (Six Parts Seven) [6.33MB] [2360 downloads]


– original version appears on Casually Smashed To Pieces Again, a quieter run at a fairly dynamic album track. Acoustic piano replaces Fender Rhodes. In tribute to the bands Seam and Rex: old favorites.