Soft Speaker
Under duress from the USM (Unified Society of Milkmen), Joe Daley, Blair Douglass, Paul Foreman and Nick Rocchio shut down their independent milk delivery service in 1929. A smattering of unsuccessful business endeavors followed, until they discovered an undeniable chemistry blending raw fuzz guitars with lutes and clarinets. Although initially less lucrative than their previous endeavor, the band, who settled on the name Sanftsprecher (trans. “Soft Speaker”), were championed by Austria’s Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in 1932 and subsequently enjoyed a period of massive popularity in their newly-adopted home country. The band split following Dollfuss’s assassination in 1934. Their only official recording, the 78rpm single,“I’ll Tend Your Garden,” is highly sought after by record collectors. In 2008, enthusiasts of the band purchased sheet music for a number of unrecorded Sanftsprecher songs that were discovered in Rocchio’s safe deposit box in UniCredit Bankengruppe. Operating under the guise of the Sanftsprecher moniker, the Austrian Orchestra known as Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich has been recording and releasing these pieces for public enjoyment.
Related Bands
Albums
2 songs
SSPKR-019. Released 2/17/15. Engineered and mixed by Cooper Crain at Minbal (Chicago). Mastered by Saff Mastering (Chicago). Sleeve design by Hugo Trejo / Project Villain.
1. A Fold In Midnight: Wherein a good sir researches, and ultimately begins practicing, the Egyptian art of mummification.
2. Mexican Sugar Skull: Wherein a good sir pines after a lady who spurns him in favor of an unsavory, older gentleman.
2 songs
SSPKR-015. Released in December of 2013 as a digital download. Features remixes of the song "Blown From The Road" by Cian Ciaran from Super Furry Animals and The Warmth. Additional vocal on The Warmth remix by The Archivist. Cover image used courtesy of the Semisynthetic Archiv.
8 songs
Vortrobos, Soft Speaker\'s second full-length LP, was recorded, mixed and mastered by Brian Zieske at Gallery of Carpet Recording in Villa Park, Illinois in 2011 and was released on November 8, 2011 on cd and as a digital download. The cover painting and layout was done by Jason Brammer. The discface was designed by Benji Peck for B Positive Studios (discface image courtesy of the Semisynthetic Arkiv). All songs written by Soft Speaker.
10 songs
I\'ll Tend Your Garden, Soft Speaker\'s first full-length LP, was recorded, mixed and mastered by Brian Zieske at Gallery of Carpet Recording in Villa Park, Illinois throughout 2010 and was released on April 19, 2011 on cd and as a digital download. The artwork was designed by Brian Cannon of Microdot Creative. d_rradio contributed a remix of "Pagan Pastimes," which does not appear on the cd. All songs were written by Soft Speaker.
2 songs
Soft Speaker\'s third single, A Violent Parade, was released in July, 2010. Artwork was designed by Mark Milic of Modularlab. Both songs were recorded at the band\'s rehearsal space, mixed by Joe Cheesman and mastered by Carl Saff. To celebrate the release, "Grand Parade" and "Violently Shaking" were packaged along with the songs from their previous digital releases as a six-track singles collection. Fans in attendance at their July 10, 2010 Schubas show received beer mats featuring the Modularlab-designed artwork and a download code.
5 songs
Stranger In The Alps, Soft Speaker\'s second EP, was recorded at Phantom Manor and the band\'s rehearsal space throughout 2009 and was released on February 26, 2010 on limited edition cd and as a digital download. It was mixed by TW Walsh and mastered by Carl Saff. The artwork was designed by Mark Milic at Modularlab. All songs were written by Nick Rocchio and Paul Foreman.
2 songs
Soft Speaker\'s second single, Concerning Your Memoirs / Maybe Baby, was released in September, 2009 as a free digital download through the band\'s website. Philadelphia-based artist, Ian Eckert, was commissioned to create an original pen and ink drawing for the sleeve. Both songs were recorded live, with no overdubs, at Gallery of Carpet Recording in Villa Park, Illinois by Brian Zieske, who also handled mixing and mastering. "Concerning Your Memoirs" was written by Paul Foreman and "Maybe Baby" is a Buddy Holly cover.
7 songs
Soft Speaker\'s first EP, Conditions, was released in April of 2009 on white vinyl (500 copies) and cd. Philadelphia-based artist, Ian Eckert, was commissioned to create an original pencil and ink piece for the vinyl sleeve. The band\'s bassist, Blair Douglass, designed an alternate sleeve for the cd version. All songs were recorded at the band\'s rehearsal space in Chicago\'s West Loop, mixed by Darin Phillips and mastered by Carl Saff. The cd version includes a bonus track, a remix of "The Great Brick Mosque & I," by the UK-based band d_rradio. Gabriel Stutz contributed pedal steel to "Barbershop Quintet." Writing credits are as follows:
Paul Foreman: Burden You, Barbershop Quintet, Danger Red & Breaking Bones
Nick Rocchio: Mercury Park & Don\'t Read The Rags
2 songs
Soft Speaker\'s debut single, The Great Brick Mosque & I / Effects Will Show Soon, was released in November of 2008 as a free digital download through the band\'s website with a limited number of cds also produced. UK-based artist, Andy Council, contributed a painting for the sleeve. Both songs were recorded at the band\'s rehearsal space in Chicago\'s West Loop, mixed by Darin Phillips and mastered by Carl Saff. "Brick Mosque" was written by Paul Foreman and "Effects" by Nick Rocchio. "Brick Mosque" was later remixed by the UK-based band d_rradio and included on the cd version of the band\'s Conditions EP.