John Hoegberg - Motion Detecting Songs (2018)

After years of processing his guitar with pedals and other gadgets, John Hoegberg realized he had no idea how to actually play the instrument. Twisting knobs and making abstract sounds was something he could do comfortably, but placing himself in front of an audience with nothing except a guitar and an amplifier was a situation he considered terrifying. He felt this was basically wrong, so he decided to teach himself how to play the strings.

To make matters worse, he had grown up listening almost exclusively to music in which people sang. They sang so much to him, every day for most of his 21 years. All of that singing was deeply ingrained, and he couldn't ignore it. He ended up feeling like he had to sing as well. Which meant he also had to write some words to sing. Words that should 'mean something'. This was, perhaps for him, the hardest part.

So, sing and play the strings he does, in an seated "over-hand” style intuitively developed over the years. His song-making is an attempt to be as honest and un-hokey as possible, in a tradition that is possibly more saturated with dishonesty and hokiness than any other music: singer-songwriting.

What does he think it's like? Perhaps Gastr del Sol. Storm and Stress. Richard Dawson.

He is proud of the album, and hopes that you enjoy listening to it as much as he enjoyed learning how to make it.