Changes

So much has changed since 2012.

A move, change in career, multiple heartbreaks... but an undeniable mending.  Not involving romance, but the imminent defeat of a life-long illness that has always been a constant source of fear and dread.  In 3 short weeks, the first of four surgeries will remove a mass from my brain - the source of my neurological aching.  30 years of struggle, pain and anxiety will abate... Lord willing the procedures are successful.

It will change me.  The neurosurgeon has assured me that my personality, my ability with music, my core self will remain the same - but it may take some time to get used to feeling fully healed - and myself again.

If you read this still - any fans, family or friends, then this is the time.  Pray.  Survivability is good, but not assured.  I will beat this.  I will win. 

And such music will I create when I am well.

j

How to make a Thin Mix

I’ve been deep in the throes of album mixing this month, finishing off a Kirtan Pop album with my friend Robin Renée  http://www.facebook.com/RobinReneeFan?ref=ts

During mix, I was faced with a new instrument…well instrument selection that I am not altogether familiar with; miscellaneous percussion.  Well, hold on.  Let me rephrase.  I’ve mixed plenty of records with miscellaneous percussion in them, but not when the miscellaneous percussion is the only percussion element.  Robin is a very gifted writer and performer, and her instrument selection is unorthodox – to an engineer like me.  I learned a long time ago that there will always be people out there that know more about recording and engineering than I.  So when Kartikeya showed up with a car full of percussion I knew that the recording session – and consequently the mix sessions were going to be…interesting.

So, we’re in the midst of mix and I have to reconcile a common conundrum I face.  Do I compress the crap outa the percussion elements so they are completely audible and up front, or do I eschew the compression to let the instrumentation sound as natural as possible and deal with the other instruments (which are compressed already) as separate entities.  Compression can and will destroy the natural and beautiful attack timbe, and it can turn it into a “pop” which cuts through but isn’t ultimately what you initially recorded.

See, I have learned a lot over the last 20 years and hundred odd albums that I’ve worked on.  Cohesive mixing really is paramount in letting the songwriter’s artistry come through.  In the case of Robin’s record, its even more important, since each instrument really is complimenting others in terms of sound field and where it exists in the frequency spectrum.  That’s a part of what cohesive mixing is all about, but not the only thing.

Take for instance, a djembe and an acoustic guitar.  These are two instruments that can co-exist in a mix quite well, with minimal processing.  Now add Shakers.  Still Good?  Yep.  The shaker is primarily occupying a frequency space outside the Djembe and co-exists with the acoustic guitar – to a point.  Still sounds good.  Add more percussion now, like say – instruments you’ve never seen before.  These instruments produce sounds whose “Sweet Spot” occupies a variety of different points on the frequency spectrum.

Your mix has now become more complex.  If you approach mixing scientifically, you can measure overtones of certain instruments (especially if they are pitched) and make sure that there is no instances of kinetic ampli – Hang on.

I don’t approach Mixes that way.  I feel them I guess.  Comes with being self-taught I suppose.

Kartikeya’s instruments did occupy a great many points on the sound field, and consequently required some panning and compression so that their sweet over tones came through, on top of Robin’s guitar, lead vocal and 97 backup vocal tracks.

Then I backed off the compression.  I really liked the instruments without the compression.  Even though I have some really cool compressors.  Like an LA-2A and LA-3A.  Those compressors make me really happy.  

I'd created a Thin Mix.  After removing the compression the percussion got lost behind walls of vocals and fun electronic and acoustic instruments.

So is there a right answer?  I’m not sure.  In the good old days, (people like to say “Old School”) there were limited options to creating a full-bodied mix.  I mean, listen to a Beatles album that has not been Digitally Re-mastered.  Everything is raw, sometimes distorted.  While there is compression, it’s not as noticeable to me.  Those engineers knew better than I ever will.  And yet, if those albums had 30+ tracks to work with, they wouldn’t sound as good as they do today.

I do have 30+ tracks to work with.  I also have some of the equipment available to Abbey Road Studios in that era.   Yet the trend of music today, towards louder and more “Phat” makes a lot of those techniques obsolete.

I am still going to try to love my compressors…even though they sometimes hate me.

So, let me know if any of this “Resonates” with you.  For now, I’m going to try to strike a balance between a “Thin Mix” and a “Phat Mix”

j

Twilight Mediations II Setup Day One

So, I find myself in between terms, so it seemed high time to finish this followup album thats been percolating so long.

Setup went okay today. Wrote a minute of melodies, using Omnisphere (what else would I be using for the first track :), then I tried booting up one of the PCs to offload some of the playback, cause this first track is going to be orchestration heavy.

It started up, Synergy loaded, VStack loaded, the patches loaded and I got a MIDI pulse, but no sound. I think the Audiophile 24/96 card might be fried.

I think it might be just me, but am I blowing up sound cards too much? Anyway, They(tm) finally opened a Guitar Center about 4 miles from me. Guess where I'm headed in the morning?

I'll keep you apprised as the nights continue on.

My best,

Jack

Chakra Meditation

Evening

So, about a year or so ago, an editor friend of mine and I (his name is Anthony Rhoads) started another project for John Edward. It was called Infinite Quest and it was a pretty cool idea, a social networking site and educational tool for people interested in cultivating their non-corporeal skills.

Anyway, Anthony and I were working together on a way to incorporate video and music/soundscapes together to make a mediation piece for the site. It had been about a year since we had worked together on the last season of Cross Country so we were pretty excited.

So I found out that you can watch and listen to the first Mediation (Red) without being a member of Infinite Quest. Here's the link:

http://www.infinitequest.com/tools/chakra-meditation-player

And here's the link to Anthony Rhoads' website:

http://www.rhopro.com

Now you might be wondering if these are shameless plugs for my friends.

You'd be right :)

j

World Instrumentation

Morning,

So, ever hear of a Berimbau? Perhaps an Erhu? How bout a Pipa (no not Kate's sister)?

The commonality for all of these instruments, at least to me is that I hadn't heard of them 6 months ago. Alright, maybe the Erhu, but a Berimbau?

One of the joys of being a composer is that you occasionally get to work with instrumentation you've never heard of before. Personally I had no business picking up a Pipa, but after I included that in the full orchestration piece of music the texture changed imperceptibly... but it did change nonetheless.

I can't remember where I read it, I think it may have been Eric Persing giving an interview, maybe Nick Phoenix; in any case it's an interesting idea.

In western music orchestration, we are used to the regular standbys. Full orchestra composed of strings, winds, percussion, and sometimes choir. Oh and don't forget the piano player.

The suggestion was this though: try replacing some of your instruments with some exotic counterparts. Instead of a baritone or French horn, Try the German Alpenhorn. Replace a commonly used bass drum with an African floor drum. The point being while these instruments sound a little bit like their Western counterparts, they aren't an exact match. By introducing new textures, some of them of which are perceptible, some not, you can see if there are certain world instruments that were give you a different timbre to your orchestrations.

If you do try this, I'd be interested to hear what you replaced and how it sounded and sat in the mix.

Till next time,

Jack

Album Sessions

Heya

In NY this week working on producing Jim Caputo's vocals for his new release due sometime the end of next year.

Yesterday was a lot of editing and clean up, and today will be as well. We'll do some vocals later today, and sending a lot of stems over to Scottie Kohlmorgen for drums. If he can turn them around fast enough, all the basic tracks should be done, with the exception of the odd instrument that Jim wants and I just can't play.

Here's to a long productive day in the studio :)

j

Spirit of South Africa

John Edward Spirit of South Africa

Been doing some research and writing for a new show broadcast on SABC in South Africa called John Edward Spirit of South Africa.

The majority of music is still drawn from seasons two and three of Cross Country which premiered here in the states in 2006. I did a new theme based loosely on the first one, with some various hits at new places with the main titles.

Scott Blass, one of the editors at the production company I work for did the editing, and it really is a nice show. It has a particular gold tone, opposed to the the more muted blues and purples of Cross Country.

Sooo, if you’re in Johannesburg at 10:30 at night, most nights, tune in :)

j