How do you say Hello Ocho ‘In Portuguese?’

“In Portuguese” Teaser by Hello Ocho

It’s been nearly three years since Hello Ocho unveiled its self-titled debut CD. However, the recent arrival of “In Portuguese,” a teaser song plucked from the group’s forthcoming album of the same name, proves that Hello Ocho’s personnel haven’t spent the down time sitting idly by. Press play and all signs point toward a grand and cosmic return in the works.

Singer and guitar player Chris Yonker, drummer John Gregg, and bass player Clinton Callahan are now joined by Rhodes/sax player Peter Webb, vibraphone player/percussionist Chris Childs, and keyboard player/vocalist Christian Ballew. Tim Kohler’s voice and keys are heard throughout the album as well, but he’s not part of the group any longer.

When the self-titled Hello Ocho album emerged, it was clear the group had built many of its songs based on a series of improv sessions and happy accidents that were manipulated via computer, looped, and written “pretty much” as they were recorded. In Portuguese, however, is cut from a more traditional approach to sculpting weirdo rock songs. “We wrote the new ones while we were all sitting around in a room playing together, crafting the skeleton of a song,” Yonker says. “Once we had a solid structure together we recorded with Ben Price at Studilaroche. It’s a more deliberate record than the first one.”

What really sets the album apart is that this time around the computer was removed from the equation. “A computer is kind of like a cage,” Yonker says. “It’s extremely rigid. When you make something, that’s how it is all the time. Writing in a more organic way, we can do all the weird shit that we just want to do. Shedding the computer freed us up a lot — it helped us find the weird places we want to go.”

The album’s logistics and release details are still coming together, but expect to see a proper release sometime around September or October.

In the meantime Hello Ocho plays the Elliott St. Pub with Spirits and the Melchizedek Children on Fri., June 26.