Down to the Wire

When crafty multi-instrumentalist Claire Campbell (aka Claire Kettlebell) of Hope for Agoldensummer says her band’s album, I Bought A Heart of Art in the Deep, Deep South, is new, she really means it.

“We recorded this album very recently,” she says in a fit of laughter. “It was totally down to the wire.”

The Athens-based band had been slowly crafting songs for a proposed debut, but “we just couldn’t get it in gear, so I thought if I went ahead and booked the CD release shows, we’d have a deadline.” Late last month, as the final day for recording approached, the band finally worked fast, including an all-night session for incidental sounds.

“I needed the sound of cars on a wet road, so I was out at 4 a.m. on Lexington Highway with a microphone,” she says. Then Campbell made a quick trip to the Athens post office at dawn for some natural reverb. “I learned a lot about time from doing this record,” she says. “Mostly that we never have enough,” she says, sighing.

As it is, the singer/songwriter’s days are jam-packed with the creation of art and music. Thus, she says, the album’s title, which applies to “the universal idea that the South is just a big, busy arts collective.”

The Heart of Art album package — designed by Campbell with CL’s own Jason Hatcher — is printed on 100 percent recycled paper with soy-based inks.

“There’s no glue or staples, either,” Campbell says. “So if people are disgusted by the record, they can just recycle it.”

Hope for Agoldensummer plays the Earl Sat., March 20. $5.