audiowriter

Diamond Hoo Ha Who?

Have you ever left soup on the stove for too long and it gets kinda crusty and congealed at the surface? Sometimes I feel like the music world we all live in is less than exciting--until someone comes around and stirs it up. 

Supergrass just stirred it up in a BIG WAY. It is no stretch to say their latest release, Diamond Hoo Ha Man, can stand up against--even make smaller--other contemporary musical concoctions by such acts as the White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, Manic Street Preachers, fill in the blank here--new or old.

Supergrass makes a commanding entrance on the album, with drummer Danny Goffey sounding more like Keith Moon at times. I spoke to bass player MIck Quinn yesterday, and he said that on this one, the band just 'went for it' holed up at the classic Hansa Studios in Berlin (Bowie, Cure, Iggy).

I was expecting something morose and tempered following their last brilliant release, Road to Rouen, but this is mind-blowing and surprising--I am ecstatic and cannot wait to see them again.....Go Supergrass--show 'em all how it's done.

Norman Smith: Remember a Day

Norman Smith died in England earlier this week at the age of 85. On paper, he had a very illustrious career having engineered the lion's share of Beatle recordings, producing the first ever Pink Floyd album along with many, many more achievements. However, what is not so evident on paper is the genteel, professional manner that he upheld in all of his sessions. When I interviewed Norman late last year (I believe this was his very last interview), it was apparent that his raison d'etre was making the artist comfortable--nothing was important as this. He wanted to create the conditions for the artist to succeed and was relentless in this pursuit. He was also very patient, working with competent professionals like Paul McCartney and eclectic personalities such as Syd Barrett. Even though Norman was old when I spoke to him, his 100% artist-centric attitude was a breath of fresh air--an attitude perhaps not as prevalent in the studio these days given the gadgetry and increasingly rampant obsession with sonics. 

The Mystique of Nick Drake

Nick Drake's music sounds fresh even today--it sounds like it could have been written yesterday. What makes it so good?  I think it has to do with not only the gift he had as a writer but also how it was captured in the recording studio. In my cover story for this month's EQ, I interviewed both Joe Boyd, who produced Nick's first and second albums, and John Wood, who engineered all three of them. They both expressed awe at Nick's ability as a musician--if you've ever listened to his unique style of plucking the guitar and his expressive chord progressions, you'll know what exactly what they mean.

They also said that Nick was a 'first take' kind of guy. John Wood would be the first to admit that all he  had to do was the mics up and hit 'record.'  So much for preamps, signal paths and EQ. My favorite of Nick's albums has to be Five Leaves Left--I just love the easygoing nature of it and from an acoustics perspective, the sound of the room and the strings is nothing short of amazing. Even though Nick has come and gone, there is so much genius in his words and music that you can always go back to these songs and be more than satisfied.

Black Mountain and The Meaning of Organic

These days it is really hard to navigate through the piles and piles of 'indie' music out there. As a journalist, I am sent lots of CDs and sadly, many of them aren't worth the plastic they are printed on (injected into?).

Black Mountain, a quintet from British Columbia, is playing some cool, organic music on their new release "In The Future." (my definition of organic: having nice musical coherency, but built from basic elements --i.e. drums, bass, keys, guitar). Everything sounds like it 'fits.' I'm hearing influences of early Black Sabbath, early Pink Floyd, and a nice folky tinge to soften things up.

Experimentation is all over the record and instrumentation is limited for the most part to guitar, drums (and other percussion), mellotron/organ and bass. Space is given for parts to develop and nothing sounds forced. Jams that are thought out and have a direction--sequences that make sense and parts that are meant to complement one another.

It is so tempting for bands to to try so hard to be different--Black Mountain seems to not be seeking out any kind of identity (even though it sounds a little retro).  The simple instrumentation leads me to believe this record probably translates pretty good live. On Jagjaguwar records--go buy it (www.jagjaguwar.com).

Miracle on 8th Street

Electric Lady Studios is one first studios designed and built expressly for an artist: namely, Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix built it not only to reduce the excessive studio fees he had been paying, but also to create an environment that would be totally conducive to his sonic vision. The aesthetic and design, like Hendrix' music, was way ahead of its time. Colorful lights, curve motifs and a spaceship vibe all provided the backdrop for a studio unlike any other of its time.

Today, Electric Lady is one of the industry's exceptions. It has been booked solid recently by groups like Muse, Interpol, Patti Smith and Ryan Adams. In an era when most artists have at least some degree of personal recording capability at their disposal, something keeps artists coming back. One could easily chalk this up to the heritage of the place, but it is much more than this. What I found in interviewing studio manager Lee Foster and many other folks was that it is the level of commitment and passion of the staff. They are striving to create a 'beehive' where artists feel so at home that they want to come back.
Check out my cover story in December's Professional Sound for more.

Keeping Time with Duran Duran

I'm a Duran Duran fan. I've liked them since their first self-titled album came out in the summer of 1981 (Planet Earth, Girls on Film, etc.). Even before the record came out, they had developed a reputation as a very hard working band, touring incessantly all across Europe. Word about their tight live performances (Roger Taylor was and still is one of the tightest drummers in rock 'n' roll) spread to America's shores well before their first record....Indeed, they had a very important role in defining what came to be called New Wave. It was a good time for music in general, with other great releases by bands like Ultravox and The Cure.

One of the reasons I've liked Duran Duran is because they seem to have had a fearless sense of adventure in the studio....their records are fun to listen to and you can hear the effort behind their songs. Their latest album, Red Carpet Massacre, is no exception. They teamed with Timbaland, Nate HIlls and Jimmy Douglass--one of the most exquisite producer/engineer teams in music today--and came up with a great record. In doing so, Duran Duran challenged themselves.

Producing R&B/Hip Hop records is very different from producing rock 'n' roll records. For one thing, Hip/Hop producers tend to work VERY fast and don't look back. Contrast this with the endless exploring, tweaking, editing and comping that has plagued the rest of the record making business in search for 'The Perfect Sound.' We'll never know how many great ideas were lost to the endless 'possibilities' of [insert your favorite DAW here]. A Hip Hop producer's primary goal is to capture an IDEA (not sound...) before it is gone forever. 

This methodology is similar to the four and eight track sessions that occurred in the late sixties. Artists were forced to MAKE A DECISION and move on at the very instant tracks needed to be bounced. Was having such a technology limitation a bad thing? I don't think so--on the contrary, it made for more inspiring performances. On the new Duran Duran record, Nick Rhodes (who I interviewed for the upcoming issue of Pro Sound News) indicates that the production team moved so fast and was so efficient that they didn't have time to go back and fuss about with sounds. The focus was 100% on 'ideas' and 'feel' and the technology never got in the way. The question was asked in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Are we controlling technology, or is it controlling us?

Looking Back on 'The Piper' 40 Years Later

This year marked the 40th anniversary of one the most innovative albums of all time: Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. This record was special and distinctly unlike any other Pink Floyd album; after all, this was Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd.

Norman Smith oftentimes gets a bad rap on the production, but in reality, nobody was better suited to ease Pink Floyd into what was very much a foreign environment to them: the recording studio. Smith (pictured on left) had years of experience under his belt as engineer for The Beatles (up to and including Rubber Soul) and his ultimate concern was creating a hospitable environment in which the artist could create. As for Peter Bown, he was the most innovative of engineers at Abbey Road. Session notes appear to indicate that he tried more mic placements and experimented with new equipment far more than his peers. His resume wasn't that bad either, having recorded groups like The Hollies.

It is very easy to judge a record in the context of our own time, but this is missing the point. For one thing, we have the benefit of hindsight and years of experience listening to stereo mixes. Stereo was a luxury in 1967 however, one which only the 'early adopters' enjoyed. Transistor radios and TVs were far more common. To hear the original vision of 'Piper', do yourself a favor and get the mono mix included in the new box set.  What you hear may surprise you.

For more reading on this, check out my cover article in EQ (December issue) in which I interview Norman Smith--who incidentally has kept very quiet on this topic for decades. He was incredible to speak with and I've spoken to very few producers that have his degree of empathy for the artist. 

Geoff Emerick's Here, There and Everywhere

I just finished Geoff Emerick's memoir of being the Beatles' recording engineer (post-Rubber Soul). I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Emerick and co-author Howard Massey at last year's Audio Engineering Society convention in San Francisco--Emerick was a true gentleman and I must say (as a fellow recording engineer) I was rather humbled to shake the very hand that mixed Sergeant Pepper. Since his book came out, it has been subjected to relentless criticism from Beatle disciples who dispute his recollection of events. Many have come down hard on Emerick for being 'less than fair' to George Harrison, who Emerick is critical of in places throughout the book.

Not to offend anyone, but this is Emerick's memoir--nobody else's. The man is entitled to have his own perspective on Beatles' history, especially given the fact that HE WAS THERE. I found the narrative highly enjoyable, self-effacing and funny. While I am sure that Mr. Emerick's memory isn't perfect and some of the details may not align for certain Beatles fans, it does provide a fresh perspective on the challenges (both technical and personal) of engineering the greatest rock band in history. This was a great read and I highly recommend. 

Two other Beatles books I've read recently that I also recommend are Recording The Beatles by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew--this is by far the most comprehensive study of Beatle sessions from a technical perspective and staggering in its detail and scholarship. Another good 'bathroom read' is Beatles Gear: All The Fab Four's Instruments from Stage to Studio by Andy Babiuk (also a member of garage band The Chesterfield Kings). Whether you are a Beatles fan or not, you'll appreciate the stories behind these instruments from their days in Hamburg all the way to the rooftop at 3 Savile Row.

Tools that Work in the Studio

Let's face it--the most important 'tools' in a recording studio are the instruments. There is simply no denying that without a good sound source, a good recording (or at least one worth listening to) is not possible--it simply doesn't matter who the engineer is or what kind of recording equipment you have. Somehow this very simple fact can become overlooked in an age that is obsessed with higher fader counts, higher sample rates, more accurate bit conversion, more colors of preamplification--the list goes on and on.

Is it really possible to get great sounds if you just can't seem catch up with the new technology that MI and recording equipment manufactures would have you believe is mandatory to get a good recording? Of course it is. Like I said above, start with the sound source. The amp to the left needs no introduction--it is a time tested staple in the studio that has faithfully accompanied the finest performers in rock 'n' roll, country, punk, surf, and nearly every other conceivable genre of amplified music. If you ain't getting a good recording, start with a good guitar player and plug 'em into one of these.
 

Creating the Ideal Conditions for a Songwriter

Every songwriter has a routine they like to go through--often highly personal--when seeking inspiration for their creations. Stephen Merritt of The Magnetic Fields is no exception. Bob Boilen of NPR's "All Songs Considered" blog explains:

"We gave him two days in a studio filled with drums, guitars, a Moog synthesizer, a sitar, samplers, a grand piano and more. We wanted to make his stay here comfy, so I asked him, "What do you like to sit on when writing a song?"
Source: All Songs Considered

Read on to find out more and to view the accompanying time-elapsed video of the actual process!