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“About six or seven were from old voice memos, ideas I’ve had around that didn’t make the cut on previous Killers projects for whatever reason, while the rest were fresh new ones,” he said. “That’s pretty typical for any project by any artist as you are going along and discover that some ideas are much better than you thought, others aren’t as good and then there are these cool things that happen on the spot that turn into something you keep. The song Prismism was like that, beginning as a thing I was playing around with in the studio break that suddenly morphed into one of those, ‘I like this, and I’m here in the studio, so why not develop it now?’ songs.”

Another thing that happens in recording sessions is that players discover a specific piece or gear or instrument that influences the sound of the session. For Keuning, it was rediscovering a vintage 1980s’ Yamaha PSR6 keyboard.

“It’s an old keyboard from the ’80s that my mom gave to the family as a Christmas present a long time ago which was meant to be shared, but my brother and dad showed no interest and I moved it to my room, took it to college and played it constantly,” he said. “But I never used it to record anything with any band ever and when it came time to do this album, I pulled it out of the basement to see if there were any cool sounds on it. I not only used it a lot on the album, now it’s the only keyboard I use live.”

The sentimental attachment to the instrument plays into the sentimental attachment that he has to his new album and touring band comprised of like-minded musicians from San Diego where Keuning resides. While he’s a fan of the connections you make in big venues, he’s looking forward to the dynamics of performing in small venues where that connection is “made beyond the 10 feet and a barrier separating you and the audience.”