Accordions and toy pianos, two of my favorite sounds and two of my favorite things. These make the noises you hear on “Garden of Scissors” by Jeffrey Bützer.

Bützer, or as I like to call him The Bütz, is a one man band. He is a twisted composer who plays several instruments and writes songs that make me want to do somersaults. The songs remind me of carnivals, innocence and great movies.

Dry Ink recently caught up with him to discuss his latest release.

Dry Ink: Please introduce yourself. Who are you?

Jeffrey Bützer: Hello, my name is Jeffrey Bützer. I play accordion, piano and some other instruments… mostly ones that are designed for children.

DI: You have a new record out. What is the title and can you tell us a little about it?

JB: It’s titled “The Garden of Scissors.” I started working on it two years ago as a sort of soundtrack to a screenplay I wrote. I thought making this album would make the story seem like it exists…since I most likely will not make it into a film anytime soon. Although, an Italian director did recently make a short film based on it with my music. So that’s a start.

(Listen to the title track from “The Garden of Scissors” by clicking the audio player below)

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DI: This is your second record, correct?

JB: Yes.

DI: What was your first?

JB: The first record was “She Traded Her Leg.” Half of that was an album and the second part was a soundtrack to an actual film called “Bird Catcher” directed by C. Hefner.

DI: Both records have come out on Lona Records. Aren’t they based in China? How did you hook up with them?

JB: I e-mailed their manager at the right time, exactly when she was in the mood for toy piano music. That is the story and I’m sticking with it. They didn’t know I was American for the first month we were working on the release. And I didn’t speak in person with them until a year and a half after we first spoke. The internet feels like espionage sometimes.

DI: You play almost every instrument on this new record?

JB: Yeah, I did. P.W. Shelton, my best friend and very long time collaborator, plays bass and banjo on a bunch of songs. I wanted to work with him more but he was living in Memphis when I started it.

DI: And how long have you been playing accordion?

JB: Well, I played the key side of the first album but properly learned how to play almost a year ago.

DI: When did you get into playing music? How did you approach it?

JB: I started playing when I was 8 or 9 years old. My mother, at the age of 50, all of a sudden got really into heavy metal music. She would rearrange metal songs for piano and I learned how to play along with her on drums. Then eventually I moved to guitar and tried playing surf and spaghetti western music. I found I was better at writing on piano and organ. I think, strangely, my mother’s odd take on what was then a popular music style influenced me more than I’d like to admit.

DI: And how about the female voice that appears on a few of the songs on the new record?

JB: Those are courtesy of Sanni Baumgartner of the band Dancer Vs. Politician.

DI: How did you hook up with her?

JB: She is from Berlin, but currently lives in Georgia. She’s friends with an old friend of my wife’s. I sent her my album when it was finished and we talked about her writing lyrics loosely based around my story. And every word she wrote ended up on the album.

DI: You did some shows in Hong Kong a few years back. Can you tell us a little about that?

JB: The label wanted me to come over for some shows to promote the first album. It was big fun. My wife and I and P.W. Shelton went. We played with two other musicians who lived there. They learned my songs. One was Wilson Tsang, a singer who lives there. He and I did three Tom Waits covers in the middle of our set. People over there are super nice and very open to new sounds. They have a hip music scene. It was the most fun I’ve had playing music. There are a lot of cool film buffs there too. I went to this really cool store called “Kubrick” that is heaven for any film fan.

DI: Any plans on going back?

JB: I certainly hope so. We haven’t decided if we can do it this year yet.

DI: And how about the shows in France?

JB: Well, I was going to England anyway for a wedding. And we decided to try and play France. So I e-mailed the nice people at Monsterk 7 (a French record label that included a song of mine on a compilation they released) and they booked us a few shows. It was very nice. The clubs treated us great and the crowds were great.

DI: And what is next for Jeffrey Bützer?

JB: Let’s see… I’m very slowly writing music for a third album, some with lyrics. I think I have seven songs done. Also I recorded a CD with a guitarist named Claire Lodge. I don’t know what we will do with it; probably release it on iTunes and all that fun stuff. No definite plans to tour as of now. There is a little Bützer on the way, so I will be taking a break at the end of the year. And P.W. started a band tentatively titled “fake beards” that I am playing drums in. It sounds like Marc Ribot meets The Ventures meets Sonic Youth.

DI: Goodness, a lot on your plate. Congratulations on your child on the way. I guess you’ll be buying more toy pianos. When can the good kids of Atlanta catch some of this great music?

JB: I’m opening for Dexter Romweber Duo and Detroit Cobras this Saturday (June 6) at the EARL, then Corndogorama, and then me and T.T. Mahony are doing our now yearly Charlie Brown Christmas show in December.

DI: Thank you for your time, and best of luck.