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Thispaperwillexploremypracticeinjazzproductionandengineering,withafocusonmyearlyoutputonGondwana RecordsandlatterlywithGogo PenguinforbothGondwana andBlueNoteRecords.

ThekeyrecordsI’llbereferringtoareGogo PenguinsV2.0(2014)andManMadeObject(2016),bothco-producedandengineeredbymyselfandJoeReiser.

Between2007and2011IengineeredaseriesofsevenreleasesforMatthewHalsall’sGondwana Records,thelabelisbasedinmyhomecityofManchesterintheUK.

IcametoworkwithMatthewafterhehadaseriesofdisappointingexperiencesinsomeofManchester’scommercialrecordingstudios.Matthadheardsomeofmyrecordingsofbothsmallandlargeformatjazzensembles- largelyassociatedwithmyworkattheUniversityofSalford- andwhilstvisitingmycolleagueDrRobinDewhursttodiscussarrangementsofsometrackshewaskeentorecord,wearrangedtomeetanddiscussthepossibilitythatwemightworktogetherinthefuture.

Mattseemedsurprisedtomeetanengineerfamiliarwithhislisteninghabits,wehadbothimmersedourselvesin‘joiningthedots’betweenMilesDavis,hissidemenand

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subsequentrelatedensemblesandprojects,bringingustotheColtrane’s,PharaohSaundersandeventuallytomuchcontemporarymusicinvolvedwithre-imaginingthejazzcannonthroughsamplingandsequencing.Althoughwewereinterestedincontemporaryperformersoursonicreferencepointsweresecurelyroutedintheeracoveringthelate1950’stoaround1973.Iwasinterestedtounderstandwhyhewasyettoexperiencearecordingsession– andindeeditsoutput– whichsatisfiedhisvisionforhowhismusicmightbepresented.Wediscussedtheexperiencesofhisensemblesofarinthestudio,toparaphraseMatt…

“itjustdoesn’tsoundright,it’stooclean,theymadeusallwearheadphones,we

couldn’treallyseeeachotherproperly,wewereindifferentrooms,thepianowas

nogood”

ThestudiosMatthadworkedinhadproducedmanyexcellentrecordingsbutwereprimarilyworkingwithguitarorientedbands,withverydifferent– genrespecific–needstothatofasmallacousticjazzensemble.Engineerswouldimmediatelyassumethatthereweregoingtobebigproblemsrecordingalloftheseacousticinstrumentsinthesameroom,andindeedtheywere– giventherelativelysmallliveroomstheywereworkingin– mostlikelyright.

Inthesefacilitieswewouldfindfairlylively– butrelativelysmall- mainrooms,withsmallerdeadspaceswhereamplifiersmightbeisolated,oravocalstracked.Studiodesignfollowsthemarket,withsomanyprimarilyelectronicproducersnowabletofinishmostoftheirworkinasmalldomesticprojectspaceitmadesenseforthesestudiostofocusoncreatinganenvironmentwhereabandcouldmakealotofnoise,playtogether,withafocusonobtainingisolated– butoftensimultaneous- drum,bassandguitartakes.TryingtosqueezeMatt’sensembleintoamainroomofthisilkcreatedmanyissues:Thereweremanynearreflectionstodealwithinthesetightspaces,isolatinguprightbass– inordertocaptureanappropriatelevelofdetail- fromdrumsandpianoisnevereasy,sotheengineersencouragedthebandtomakeuseofthesmallerdeadrooms,compromisinglineofsightandtheabilityforthebandtoself-balance,astheymightonstage.

TheneedsofMatt’spart-improvisingacousticensembleweresacrificedinordertoretainanengineer’sconventionalsenseofseparationbetweentheinstruments,inordertofacilitatecontemporaryexpectationsinthemixingprocess.Theresultsneithersoundedliketraditionaljazzrecordings- theaestheticswere‘wrong’- norencouragedacreativelysuccessfulperformancefromthemusicians.Thelistenerwaspresentedwithaseriesofdisassociatedacousticinstrumentsattemptingtosharethe

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samesound-stage.

WediscussedwhatMattwantedfromfuturesessionsandIformulatedalistofcriteriawhichIfeltwouldguideusaswesetaboutworkingonsomerecordings.

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Afteraperiodofresearch,IgainedaccesstotwospaceswhichmightsatisfytheensemblesneedsandthroughtheaforementionedfouryearperiodI‘chaseddown’thesound-worldIhadgrownsofamiliarwith.SomeofthemostsuccessfulrecordingsweremadeintheUniversityofSalford’sPeelHall.A300seatneo-gothicconcerthallwithafairlylong– around2seconds- butdarkreverberation.IfeltthatthisspaceofferedmesomethingakintoColumbia’s30th StStudio,Ipouredthroughphotographicresources– manyfoundinAshleyKahn’sKindOfBlue– TheMakingOfTheMilesDavisMasterpieceinsearchofcluesregardinghowourreferencepointsmighthavebeenrealised,arrivingatalightlybaffled‘intheround’configuration.

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ThesuccessoftheserecordingshadlittletodowiththeequipmentIusedtorecordtheperformanceswith.Iwasworkingonlocationwithrelativelyinexpensivepre-ampsandmicrophones,recordingdigitallytoLogicPro8.Sometimesweusedanaloguetapetoaddalittlesaturation/compressiontomasters,sometimesnot.Whatwas importantwasthatthespacesupportedtheperformancesacoustically,thebandenjoyedperformingthere(astheycouldlargelyself-balance)andthatthelargeroomresultedininstrumentalcapturefreeoftroublesomecloseboundaryreflections,whichoften‘smeared’detailinthefinalpresentation.

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UniversityofSalford’s PeelHall.

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The ensembleinsitu.

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PleaserefertoMatthewHalsall’s,FletcherMossPark

Overtimetherecordsgainedanaudience,receivingalotofsupportfromBBCRadio1’sGilesPetersonandpickingupacoupleofawardsalongtheway.Halsall thensignedtheManchesterBasedTrioGogo PenguintoGondwana whowerealreadyintheprocessofrecordingarecordtherefirstalbumFanfares atthetime.

Iwasaskedtorecordtheband’sfollowupandchosetoincludemythenMAstudentJoeReiser intheprocessashehadbeenworkingcloselywiththebandastheirfrontofhouseengineerandalsohelpingthemtorecordsomedemo’s.

PrecedingthesessionsIhadhadlongdiscussionswiththebandandHalsall regardinghowtheyfeltthealbumcouldsound,specificallyhowtheymightimprovecaptureatsource.Theyhadhadissuessonicallywiththeirfirstrelease,thedrumslackalittleweightanddetail,largelyduetotheroominwhichtheywererecorded;asmallsingleroomstudiomuchliketheonesmentionedearlierinthispaper.IknewhoweverthatabigroomlikePeelHallwouldnotworkwellinthiscontext;thebandwereheavyatpoints,thearrangementsweredenseandthetracksoftenfast.Thelongreverberationtailwouldhavebeenextremelyproblematicandinliveperformances

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thebandneverreallyself-balancedanyway,theywerereliantonstageorinearmonitoring.

InApril2013wetravelledtoGiantWaferStudio,aruralresidentialfacilityonMid-Wales,whereIhadpreviouslyworkedwiththeUKbandDutchUncles.

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Giant WaferStudios

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Wedecidedtosplitthebandacrosstwospaces(adistinctly‘non-jazz’decision),withbassandpianointhemainroomanddrumsinaheavilytreated‘deadroom’.

Throughoutourworktheterm‘acousticelectronica’(coinedbyaGreekjournalist)emergedasaguidingphilosophyofsorts,bothcompositionallyforthebandandformyselfandJoeasproducers.Thebandwantedtoperformlive,withnoclicktrackandwithnokeyinstrumentaloverdubs,beyondhighfrequencypercussiveorsynthetictextures.Whilstthebandthemselvesarenotparticularlyconcernedwiththegenreboundariesinwhichthepressmightplacethemtheyallfeltthat– iftherehadtobealabelapplied- theyshouldbeperceivedasajazztriowhowereinfluenced- bothcompositionallyandintermsofproductionaesthetics– byelectronicmusic.Wefeltthatalloftheinstrumentsshouldbeattributedequalfootinginthemix,mirroringtheinstrumentsequalrolescompositionally.Wewantedthecapturetobeaccurate–intermsoffrequencycontent- anddetailedwiththepossibilityforcreativeprocessingwherenecessary.So,eachinstrumentwascapturedascarefullyaspossible,withmulti-microphonetechniques,withaslittlespillaspossiblewhilstretaininggoodlineofsightbetweentheperformers.

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Line ofsightbetweenpianist,bassistanddrummer

Spatiallythealbumreliesheavilyonthreespringreverbunits,aGreatBritishSpring,anAKGBX10andaMasterRoom,inadditiontothesemechanicalreverbstherewasagooddealofrealtimeprocessingthroughguitarpedalboardsandthedrumswereoftenreinforcedwithatriggeredPearlSyncussion dualoscillatordrumsynth.

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PleaserefertoGoGo Penguin’sHopopono

EXAMINEMULTITRACKPROJECTOFMURMERATION

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WhilsttherearemomentsonV2.0wherethepresentationismoretraditionally‘jazzlike’(Homeforexample),Ifeelthat– inverygeneralterms- wewereattemptingtomakearecordwhichalteredtheperceptionof– andaudiencefor- ‘jazzlike’composition/performancethroughourengagementwithcontemporaryrecordingtechniquesandprocessing.Whilsttheylaypersonwhenasked“whatmusicisthis”mightreply,“it’sjazz,it’sabitliketriphopordrumandbassthough”theywereprobablynotawarethattheproductionaestheticswereactivelytryingtoencouragethemtomakethisassociation;itdoesn’tsoundlikeatraditional60’sjazzrecord.

Therecordwaswellreceivedandnominatedforthe2014MercuryMusicPrize,thiscausedachainofeventsthatultimatelyledtothebandsigningwithBlueNoteRecords.BothmyselfandJoewereundernoillusionsthatourproduction/engineeringrolesweresecureinthisnewlandscape,but– muchtooursurprise– thelabelwerekeenthatthewhole‘team’responsibleforV2.0werepartofthisnewarrangement.

Inthegapsbetweenthebandsextremelyheavytouringschedulewebegantocarveoutaroughvisionforanewrecord.AfterconsideringotherfacilitieswedecidedtoreturntoGiantWafer,butwereaffordedalongerstayandalargerbudgetforpiano

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hire.Wealsohadabudgettomixinastudioenvironment– Manchester’s80Hz-ratherthanmyprojectstudiowherewehadcompletedV2.0.Butwiththisphysicalrepetitioninmindwefeltthatitwasimportanttoconsiderhowwemightaestheticallydifferentiatetherecords.

CompositionallyManMadeObjectisadarker,moreharmonicallystaticoffering.Itismoregrooveorientedanddrivenlessbymelody.WhereasV.20waslargelywritteninarehearsalroomsituationthemajorityofthenewpieceswereconceivedontheroadinaDAWenvironment,bythedrummerRobTurner,withthebandasaunitarranginganddevelopingtheseembryonicsketcheswhilstsimultaneouslyworkingouthowtheheavilysyncopated‘rifflike’partsmightbephysicallyplayed.Togeneralise,thisproposedrecordwasclosertowhatwemightcallelectronicaorintelligentdancemusicthanitsforebearfromtheonsetofthecompositionalprocess.

ThisshiftindirectioncausedmyselfandJoetoconsideraproductionmethodologywhichmightre-inforceasenseofthebandsmorejazzorientedroots,inthecontextofarecordduetobereleasedononeoftheworld’smostrecognisablejazzlabels.Thiscreativerationalalsoservedadualpurpose;wedidnotwanttoaestheticallyalienatethebandsaudiencetodatetoomuch.

Wedevelopedamodusoperandiofsorts;lessobviouslysyntheticreverberation,nosynthesizersandagreatersenseofnaturalspace,supportingthenotionthatwhilstthesecompositionsweredesignedwiththeaidoftechnologytheywererealisedbyhumanbeings,theywere‘manmadeobjects’.Wewouldalsogotogreatlengthstomanipulatethedrums‘atsource’,seekingoutmoreandmoreunusualtextures.

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Again,greatcarewastakentocapturetheperformanceswithasmuchdetailaspossible.Themusicaldynamiccoveredahugescale,fromtheextremelyquietcontemplationofGoodByeFerg I’llSeeYouSoonInHeaventothemetal-likeintensityofProtest.Trackssuchasthelatercalledformoreacoustictreatmenttobeaddedtothealreadyheavilydampeneddrumroomandgreaterisolationbetweenthepianoandbass.

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Yetwhilstwewereseekinggreaterisolationinordertohighlightthedetailinthesedensearrangementswealsohadoneeyeonthemixingprocess;Havingpreviouslyrecordedmanyrecordsat80HzIknewthelargereverberantliveroomwell.Ifeltthatadoptinganageoldtechnicalprocess– theuseofareverbchamber– couldresultinanatural,integratedsoundstageandamore‘jazzlike’aesthetic.Chambershadbeenusedinthedaysbeforemechanicalreverberation,oftentoadddepthtoacentralmelodicinstrumentorvocal,instudio’slikeColumbia’s30th StandCapitalRecords,butwhatIwantedtoachievewasatightlycontrolledsystemwherewecouldplaceeachmemberofthebandatdifferentdepthswithinthesoundstagebyworkingwithrelativevolume.

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TherecordwasmixedonaNeveGenesis,utilisingagooddealofoutboarddynamicsandequalisation.ThreeauxiliarysendsweresenttothreeactivemonitorswhichwerearrangeintheliveroomfacingawayfromahighDeccatreeusingTelefunkenM61s.Thisvideoillustratestheprocess

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EXPLORE ALLRESMULTITRACKPROJECTANDTAKEQUESTIONS.

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