Hey! Tonal / Hey! Tonal / Deluxe Edition / Double Vinyl LP
Hey! Tonal is the debut album by HEY!TONAL, a genre-defying project led by guitarists, multi-instrumentalists, and sound designers Mitch Cheney (Rumah Sakit, Sweep the Leg Johnny) and Alan Mills (Chiisai-oto). Recorded between 2006 and 2008 across NYC, Chicago, Florida, San Diego, and Nantes, France, the album features a wide array of collaborators, including Kevin Shea (Storm & Stress), Theo Katsaounis (Joan of Arc), and Dave Davison (Maps & Atlases), with guest contributions from Kenseth Thibideau (Sleeping People) and Julien Fernandez (Chevreuil).
Initially envisioned as Drummers’ Perspectives, the project flips traditional composition on its head by building melodies around drumbeats. Cheney and Mills approached the resulting rhythms and melodies as visual elements, manipulating them during mixing with the precision of television editing. The result is a striking, intricate album where “happy accidents” are seamlessly woven into purpose, with malleable drums and guitars intertwining with layers of improvised and sculpted sound. The effect is an enigmatic, oblique explanation to an unsolved mystery.
Originally released on CD by Africantape in 2009, Hey! Tonal has now been remastered and pressed to vinyl for the first time. Part of Computer Students’ Anatomical Reissues series, this edition was remastered by Carl Saff in 2021, with lacquers cut by Ruy Mariné.
Hey! Tonal is the debut album by HEY!TONAL, a genre-defying project led by guitarists, multi-instrumentalists, and sound designers Mitch Cheney (Rumah Sakit, Sweep the Leg Johnny) and Alan Mills (Chiisai-oto). Recorded between 2006 and 2008 across NYC, Chicago, Florida, San Diego, and Nantes, France, the album features a wide array of collaborators, including Kevin Shea (Storm & Stress), Theo Katsaounis (Joan of Arc), and Dave Davison (Maps & Atlases), with guest contributions from Kenseth Thibideau (Sleeping People) and Julien Fernandez (Chevreuil).
Initially envisioned as Drummers’ Perspectives, the project flips traditional composition on its head by building melodies around drumbeats. Cheney and Mills approached the resulting rhythms and melodies as visual elements, manipulating them during mixing with the precision of television editing. The result is a striking, intricate album where “happy accidents” are seamlessly woven into purpose, with malleable drums and guitars intertwining with layers of improvised and sculpted sound. The effect is an enigmatic, oblique explanation to an unsolved mystery.
Originally released on CD by Africantape in 2009, Hey! Tonal has now been remastered and pressed to vinyl for the first time. Part of Computer Students’ Anatomical Reissues series, this edition was remastered by Carl Saff in 2021, with lacquers cut by Ruy Mariné.
Hey! Tonal is the debut album by HEY!TONAL, a genre-defying project led by guitarists, multi-instrumentalists, and sound designers Mitch Cheney (Rumah Sakit, Sweep the Leg Johnny) and Alan Mills (Chiisai-oto). Recorded between 2006 and 2008 across NYC, Chicago, Florida, San Diego, and Nantes, France, the album features a wide array of collaborators, including Kevin Shea (Storm & Stress), Theo Katsaounis (Joan of Arc), and Dave Davison (Maps & Atlases), with guest contributions from Kenseth Thibideau (Sleeping People) and Julien Fernandez (Chevreuil).
Initially envisioned as Drummers’ Perspectives, the project flips traditional composition on its head by building melodies around drumbeats. Cheney and Mills approached the resulting rhythms and melodies as visual elements, manipulating them during mixing with the precision of television editing. The result is a striking, intricate album where “happy accidents” are seamlessly woven into purpose, with malleable drums and guitars intertwining with layers of improvised and sculpted sound. The effect is an enigmatic, oblique explanation to an unsolved mystery.
Originally released on CD by Africantape in 2009, Hey! Tonal has now been remastered and pressed to vinyl for the first time. Part of Computer Students’ Anatomical Reissues series, this edition was remastered by Carl Saff in 2021, with lacquers cut by Ruy Mariné.
