Masonry 3 Columns
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We've started recording the new (as yet untitled) Los Pacaminos album, and we'd better hurry up and finish it if we want to stick to the hectic one-album-per-decade schedule.
We've had four very fruitful and highly enjoyable days with Al Harle at the magnificent Big Jelly Studios in Ramsgate. There will be more to come: I'll keep you posted.
They're unstoppable. Yet another new track from gloom-mongers Vernall.
The prolific Vernall have released their fourth single in three months. Taking us on a journey from contemplative to euphoric, it's a mini-epic...!
I did an enjoyable interview with BBC's Robin Grey - a really nice fellow. I'm on at about 2'19"
Following 2020's triple Christmas action (Jesuses's Birthday, Socks and Christmas Breakdown), the Non-Nonconformists celebrate this year's festering season with So Chritmassy...This Christmas
a reminder of 2020's seasonal outpouring:
Following this year's Hiding From The Crowd EP, I've been mixing two new songs for Adam Wilson Hunter. I'll post the link when they're released.
New artists Vernall release their third single in two moths. Coincidence features Stina Wilson on flute.
I'm continuing to consult for Riverstone, who provide exceptional retirement living in London.
I've been curating music for their public spaces.
I've been mixing two songs for US band Soraia, who are signed to Wicked Cool Records.
Sulo has recorded the two songs with them in Stockholm: one of his own, Firebrand, and a cover of The Knack's 1979 classic My Sharona.
Two more. They're prolific. And great.
I've spent much of July and August editing and mixing songs for MMD and BEAM. BEAM will be held as a hybrid live event on 10th September at Hackney Empire.
The songs were filmed by Bartek Podkova and recorded live in theatre spaces (mostly) by Oliver Schrecker, and will be used for pitches of new Musical Theatre projects.
The steady stream of top-notch material from the Non-Nonconformists continues. I'm really enjoying mixing this stuff.
Swedish stomp-merchants Velvet Insane release the third single/video from their album Rock & Roll Glitter Suit
Swedish glam-rockers Velvet Insane release their new album Rock n Roll Glitter Suit. Recorded in Sweden, I mixed the album in the UK, added a few parts and arrangements, and some backing vocals with the ever-excellent Aruhan Galieva. Very enjoyable.
The songs were written by the band and Sulo, who produced the album.
I've spent a very rewarding time mixing Adam Hunter's latest oeuvre "Hiding From The Crowd".
A lockdown project, but not a shit one, he's collaborated with all sorts of muses all over the planet, and, remarkably, has achieved a production that sounds like it was all recorded with a band in the studio.
As always, it's high-quality stuff from Adam.
Sulo has been at it again.
He's recorded a duet with Country legend Crystal Gale with a song of ours, Lonely Street Choir. Crystal, who was an absolute pleasure to work with, recorded her vocals with her producer Cristos Gatzimos in Nashville. Sulo recorded his vocal with Otto at Kingside Studio in Gnesta, Sweden. I've arranged, produced, mixed and mastered the track. Instruments were played by me, (the shockingly talented) Stefan Bellnäs, Chris Spedding and Mark Pinder. Additional backing vocals by Aruhan Galieva.
The first single from the forthcoming album. Recorded in Sweden; mixed and overdubbed by me. Additional BVs by Aruhan Galieva. Guest appearances by Dregen and Nicke Andersson.
Another single from Stuart Matthew Price's Melodies and Motion album, Waiting' features the rich, melodic tones of Tyrone Huntley.
I've written the theme for ARM's new series of podcasts "Beyond The Now", which focus on IoT issues. The host is David Maidment, Director, Secure Device Ecosystem at ARM.
I'm really pleased to have the opportunity to write this music - especially as the brief essentially was to produce something that wasn't naff...
You can hear the music in situ here.
The Non-Nonconformists have released a follow-up single, Henley Regatta. Featuring their trademark razor-sharp lyrics and geniusly chaotic instrumentation, this might be the best of their tracks so far.
Sulo has released Live Again (Hold On Forever) with the fabulous Junior Giscombe. We had a great day tracking this with Junior at Baker Street Studios last July.
This track is taken from Sulo's upcoming album "Gathers No Moss". More to follow.
I've had a very entertaining time mixing a very original new album by the mercurial Non-Nonconformists: Confusement. check it out on Spotify:
I always love mastering Delicasession's tracks. I think it's because they're so good.
Here's the latest: X2
The latest single from Stuart Matthew Price's Melodies and Motion has taken off thanks to its home-made video. No-one Sings Higher Than Me, the comedy song on the album, has been watched by hundreds of thousands on various platforms within a week. It features the comedic vocal talents of Stuart, Ben Beechey, Richard J Hunt and Mike Shearer.
The third single from Stuart's Melodies and Motion album is released! Ready For You is sung by the amazing Natalie Weiss.
I'm acting as Music Consultant for Riverstone, who provide exceptional retirement accommodation in London.
The second single from Stuart Matthew Price's Melodies and Motion album, She Played Guitar originally featured in Stuart and Timothy Knapman's 2018 NYMT Imaginary. This new version has vocals from Natasha Barnes and Lauren Samuels which were recorded at Baker Street by Danny Monk.
I've been mixing new tracks by Jay Tamkin. He's made videos for two tracks. There'll be more coming...
After a bit of a hiatus since last Summer's recording sessions, we're now mixing Stuart Matthew Price's album Melodies and Motion. Great to be working on this with the amazing talents of Stuart and Charlie Ingles.
The first single If This Was A Movie features the beautiful voice of Rosalie Craig.
I've enjoyed mixing three tracks for Krissi (in Finnish). Moteli, Musta Vesi and Totuus are part of an ongoing collaboration with Aari Jaakko Savinainen, in a style they describe as "retrosound". More to follow!
I'm really happy and privileged to have had the opportunity to revisit the Hiding In Public back catalogue, help curate this new collection, and recall every song to be re-mixed and receive additional instrumentation and vocals.
It's been fantastic to work on these songs again, remind myself just how insanely high the bar was for those albums, and, inevitably, be inspired for the next Hiding In Public chapter.
HiP says:
After eight years of hibernation, Hiding in Public are releasing "Out of Sight", a re-mixed collection of its best tracks. The album features fourteen hook-laced tunes from the band's four albums of pop/rock magic which according to babysue.com is "some of the best pop music recorded in the twenty-first century."
"We had a blast revisiting our songs and trying to decide on the twelve best to put on the collection. We couldn't but succeeded in narrowing it to fourteen tunes which makes for an incredible listening experience," according to David Holland.
Not only were the songs re-mixed and mastered by Kevin Poree, some were retro-fitted with fresh lyrics, guitar magic and instrumentation. "We're not afraid of the challenge of making our best songs better," grinned Holland. "Fans will be delighted with the phenomenal sound Kevin captured in the new mixes."
"I couldn't be more proud of this album," beamed Jamie Moses. "We've taken the cream of our crop and blended them into one incredibly catchy collection of songs. You know when a band puts fillers on an album? Well you won't find any here. This really IS the best of HiP. So far."
"The release of this album has been a fantastic opportunity to re-visit these wonderful songs," explained Kevin Poree . "All the Hiding in Public material is a cut above. This Best of album, then, means something very special indeed: it's the best of the best."
Hiding in Public features the quirky, award winning tunes of songwriter David Holland, and the extraordinary guitar playing and silky, soulful singing of Jamie Moses. Jamie played second guitar to Brian May for over a decade and toured extensively with Queen + Paul Rodgers, Mike & the Mechanics, and Tom Jones. He is one of Britain's busiest guitarists with a voice that demands attention. John Tonks on drums and Kevin Poree on bass and keyboards round out the band. Guest appearances include Matheson Bayley and his one man orchestra, and Melvin Duffy on pedal steel guitar. The album cover was photographed and designed by Martin Osner.
Hiding in Public "subscribes to the long lineage of British pop song craft, starting with the Beatles but also the Small Faces and Squeeze," wrote Billboard and, "displays the same unaffected yet sophisticated leaning of its predecessors." Their thought-provoking, quixotic songs are loaded with radio-friendly hooks and retro twists. "Anyone who ever loved classic radio pop from the 1970s and 1980s is bound to fall in love with these tracks," enthused babysue.com. Exposure includes worldwide radio play, BBC radio performances, television use, and 1st Prize in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition for their song Worlds Away Yards Apart.
The album is available on all of the major streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal.
Pleased to have mixed this for Krissi Treganna, her latest collaboration with Samuel Aalto
I mixed a new single for Swedish legend Kikki Danielsson. "Selling The Old House" was written by Sulo, recorded at Soundcontrol by Ken Skoglund, and features veteran Swedish rock n' roll band The Refreshments.
Tania Hoser's new book "Introduction To Cinematography" has won Best new Textbook in Humanities and Media Arts' in the Taylor and Francis Editorial Awards 2018, and looks like becoming the definitive book in the subject. I'm quoted by Tania, who I talked to about sound, both for music and film.
It's been lovely to work with old Berry Street Studio clients Iain and Frank McKay again, producing a contemporary take on some traditional Scottish songs. Recorded at Baker Street by Danny Monk.
I've been mastering a few tracks for old friends Maxdmyz, who were recording in Northampton this Summer. As soon as there's a release date, I'll post it.
We've finished the new Cockney Rejects single, 40 Years Undefeated, a hard-hitting track with a tremendous hooky chorus.
I'll let you know when it's released. Meanwhile, it's worth booking for their O2 gigs in December...
Sulo's trip to the UK has seen us going into Baker Street to record a new single for The Crunch, Smoke and Mirrors. It was great to get back into the studio with these fellows...
Melodies and Motion is a new album by our favourite genius Stuart Matthew Price, who I've been working with, on and off, for about 10 years.
This is an ambitious album of his own material, sung by various MT luminaries in various studios, all over the world.
We've been tracking the orchestra (made up of members of the London Musical Theatre Orchestra) at Master Chord Studio, engineered by Ronan Phelan, and editing at Baker Street with Danny Monk. The songs have tremendous orchestral arrangements by Charlie Ingles, and the conductor was Freddie Tapner.
Learn more about this project here.
I've been in the Phoenix Theatre with the team from Advision TV, who were filming the LCB's 2019 production, Ballet Shoes. Working with Mark Watts, I swapped the MADI system I used last year for a Dante system with Lauten and Aston mics, and banks of Audient mic pres. Editing and mixing was done back in Canterbury.
It's always a great day when I get new Delicasession material to master. They're the kings of electronica.
Check out Die Reise here.
I've just attended the launch for Mick Geggus' book Life After Lloyd, the story of Cockney Rejects, and of his friendship with Rejects bassist, the late Tony Van Frater. In turns hilarious, thought-provoking and deeply moving, it's a tremendous book.
Something unusual for me. I don't generally get involved with live sound, but I was asked to provide some sound services for The Big Reveal's production of The Burning Of The Boats at Northbourne Park School. I set up the system, operated FOH, made SFX, and wrestled with the actors' radio mics. None of this would have been possible without the excellent work of Mark Drew and Emile Porée.
More recording at Baker Street with Danny Monk for Frank and Iain McKay, followed by a backing-vocal session and mixing in Canterbury.
I've been recording voiceovers again with Paul Hollywood at Advision TV's studio.
Paul's new series, Paul Goes To Hollywood, made by Denhams TV, sees him crossing the USA from NYC to LA on a custom motorcycle on a movie-themed road trip that ends up in ...Hollywood...
More info here.
Following the vinyl master of The Glass Bead Game I made for Breathless earlier in the year, I've mastered the album for digital formats this week for immediate release.
The mastering was all analogue, using SSL compression, Neve 551 and Zähl EQ1 EQs.
I spent a great day in EC1 recording songs from Becoming Nancy for Stiles and Drewe.
As always, some breathtaking talent on display.
I've hugely enjoyed mastering Steve Hamilton's new album "Hamland", which is one of the funkiest albums I've heard in a long time. Highly recommended for any fans of rare groove, funk, soul, jazz-funk, r'n'b and hip-hop.
I'll post when there's a release date for the album.
I've re-mastered the Emerald Sabbath album "Ninth Star". The original album was released last year. Two or three tracks have new mixes, and there are a couple of new vocals on this version of the album, which features many members of Black Sabbath.
I've just been lucky enough to have mastered 8 tracks for Delicasession, including this stunning contemplative piece, Blindfolded
We've been recording, mixing and mastering songs from Dylan Schlosberg and Michael Conley's new musical of Indecent Proposal. Tracking at Baker Street with Danny Monk, and mixing in Canterbury.
Great to be working with Iain and Frank McKay again. They first came to Berry Street about fifteen years ago, and have been recording with me periodically since.
Their high-end function band, The Clan, specialises in rousing modern versions of traditional Scottish songs, together with contemporary covers.
Check out their YouTube page here.
I've been recording vocals for the Paul Young/Corey Hart duet "Young At Hart"...
The single is recorded in advance of their June gig in Japan.
I've just mixed five songs for Diamond Dogs, the Swedish Rock band, for their upcoming LP, Recall Rock n Roll and the Magic Soul.
The songs were tracked at Strawberry Studios in Töreboda, mixed by me in Canterbury, and will join a collection of songs harvested from some of the band's previous albums covering twenty years.
Synthax Audio, one of the UK's most respected pro-audio specialists, have posted an article about my recording of last year's London Children's Ballet production of The Canterville Ghost. It was the lead story of their New Year newsletter, and can be read here.
I'm a member of an exclusive panel of "top producers, engineers, FOH guys and artists" who blind-listen to various iterations of microphones in development for innovative UK mic manufacturerAston, as a vital part of their R&D process.
Following this process, Aston have released a new multi-voicing mic, Stealth.
Aston Microphones has introduced a sleek new model: the Aston Stealth. This handsome unit is packed with features, including four switchable voices and a first-of-its kind autodetect function that senses phantom power.
The Stealth is a cardioid, broadcast-quality microphone that’s stage- and studio-ready. Aston is billing it as “the world’s most versatile microphone”, due in no small part to its many features:
Four voices
Developed by a panel of more than 90 audio engineers, the Stealth has four settings optimised for various functions:
- V1 (Vocal): Best suited for male performers
- V2 (Vocal): Best suited for female performers
- G (Guitar): For all types of guitars
- D (Dark): For a vintage feel, reminiscent of ribbon mics
The four signal paths of these voices are contour networks, not EQ filters. So most of the signal does not even pass through any filter circuitry. This stands in contrast to other mics that add pre-EQ to the signal, making professional post-production very tricky.
Phantom power autodetect function
The Stealth functions with or without phantom power. While in passive mode, the signal bypasses the active circuit to deliver a clean sound. However, the Stealth has a unique feature that, upon sensing 48-volt phantom power, automatically toggles over to the active mode to make use of the onboard preamp.
Class A mic preamp
When in active mode, the Stealth engages its built-in Class A mic preamp. Most active microphones use a single-ended preamp – it takes half of the wave from the capsule and keeps the other half grounded – but not the Stealth. This microphone amplifies both halves of the wave from capsule to output, delivering a better signal-to-noise performance.
More information at astonmics.com
a nice end-of-year project: mastering "The Glass Bead Game" for vinyl at Baker Street.
Originally released on vinyl in 1986, The Glass Bead Game was Breathless's first album. The original masters were unavailable, so I used the subsequent CD master as the basis for this release. I judged that the audio was slightly harsh and unsympathetic, so the whole album has been re-balanced and sounds great.
The new version will be available on Tenor Vossa Records in the next couple of months.
Congratulations to Larz Kristerz, whose album "Get Gå Bra Nu" has just been nominated for a Swedish Grammy.
The album was recorded in Sweden during January and February, and mixed by me in the UK in March of this year.
Thanks to Sulo Karlsson for involving me in the project.
- Overture Band
- Imaginary Tom Price, Josh Gottlieb, Haroun Al Jeddal & Full Company
- The Last Day Of Summer Jade Oswald & Josh Gottlieb
- The Best Chloe Twigg, Arran Ryder, Haroun Al Jeddal, Rhiannon Bailey, Luke Hogan, Bill Stanley, Dominic Bryant, Zoe Troy & Isabella Li-Yan-Hui
- Upgrade Time Robin Franklin, Elsa Waterfield, Billy Nevers, Ella Thomas, Ciaran O'Brien & Full Company
- The Headmaster’s Office Full Company
- She Played Guitar Lizzie Wells & Robin Simoes Da Silva
- The Adventurers’ Code Josh Gottlieb & Lizzie Wells
- It’s Your Time Toby Turpin & Aya Benyahya, Sadie Hurst, Phoebe Poulter-Kerry
- Entr’acte/ Imaginary Land Toby Turpin & Full Company
- Those Were The Days Billy Nevers, Elsa Waterfield, Ella Thomas & Ciaran O'Brien
- All The Fun You Had Oliver Adams, Jade Oswald, Tom Price & Josh Gottlieb
- The Headmaster’s Soliloquy Robin Franklin, Ben Pulford, Freya Alexander & Company
- Oogie Boogie Woogie Oliver Adams, Toby Turpin & Full Company
- The Final Upgrade Robin Franklin, Elsa Waterfield, Josh Gottlieb, Tom Price & Toby Turpin
- You’ll Find Me There Tom Price, Josh Gottlieb, Lizzie Wells & Full Company
- Playout Band
https://youtu.be/UxUAilXinEU
https://youtu.be/vvBFjfPmOGI
https://youtu.be/JTjAUB7El-w