Zef Racek: TIPS COLA
Zef Raček’s recordings began in Montreal, in 2007, when he met Inuk Thomsen and formed the duo Weather Weather. One lo-fi, yet ambitious EP later, Inuk had to move back to Denmark.
Five years later, Zef recorded Harvest Soon's self-titled EP, with the support of collaborators Mike Picard and Luke Loseth (Holobody / Sea Oleena). During those 3 years they played many shows and released 3 EPs, also with co-songwriter Nick Huston (Toddler).
When the group disbanded in 2015, Zef relocated to Barcelona on the same day that his 1st solo album, Pop Ululation, came out. Zef met multi-instrumentalist Santi BL and along with Mike Picard and Gonzalo Boatas (Karavana) formed the international recording project Best of Feelings. So far, they released 2 LPs (Mild Myopia / Offshore Thoughts) and 13 singles. All members live in different countries, so live shows are few and far between.
Zef relocated, once again, this time to Bavaria, and continues to compose, perform and release music under the project Zef Raček. His new Bamberg-based band is playing live around Germany and is preparing to record in autumn 2023.
Zef's 12-song LP Pepe Vive was released in February 2020, just in time for the COVID-19 lockdown. Zef used this time wisely to reflect, write and learn how to record to 4-track cassette. This new tape addiction translated into his just released album, TIPS COLA.
A departure from the more-polished Pepe Vive (2020) sound, TIPS COLA embraces imperfection and Zef uses it as a palette for more-immediate self-expression. Getting away from computer-based tracking and editing was the intention and with it came several noticeable, yet authentic, imperfections. Zef used a Tascam PortaStudio 414 (Mark 1) and a Shure SM58 mic to track most of the album, with the exception of very few digital overdubs for album cohesion. He also live-mixed the songs while bouncing them to the digital realm. Zef states that, "this proved to be a refreshing approach in our overly-visual, pixel-pushing and auto-tuning world. The aim was to avoid, as much as possible, the use of screens and visuals and to put the ears at the forefront of the creative process... the way it used to be". This also aligns with one of the core messages in the album: "We have the right to disconnect completely" - Zef Raček
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