RECORDING DRUMS

Mixing and things...

(shots here taken by James while we were recording strings).

Tracks are sounding a lot fuller, new parts inspired, what to keep in, what to take out? Dulcimer clangs, rattles and dented tin cans... where to be perfectionist and where to let it live? Mixing in Cornwall, Eden, boat river crossings and sea view sunsets, escaping near flooding. Mixing in Essex. Bouncing between projects helps to keep to keep a fresh ear. Will finish these tracks someday!! New Year here it comes.

Return Of The Strings

More recording today with the amazingly talented Mr Underwood. Whole takes of scraping bow sounds, layered with stabs and warped string-sirens, so alien they could put a Moog synthesizer to shame. The song, 'Tyger' got a lot of attention in particular. Great to catch up on stories during tea breaks after Jame's recent tour performing with Johann Johannson. No Heron sightings this time, just a big yellow sun beating through the windows.

Studio Video Snippets pt3

Studio Video Snippets pt2

In the studio Recording : Dulcimer

After hearing back the tracks from yesterday we decided to keep at the songs we did drums for. Jonny had been building up and storing ideas from the day before and we let him loose on some finger tapping melody lines and exploding guitars that bellowed deep below in the live room long after the track had finished. The Dulcimer was dusted and tuned until 'nicely-out' and Steve warmed up the Moog for some heavy-duty bass-lines, so subb-y none of us could hear what the notes were.

 

Studio Video Snippets pt1

In the studio Recording : Drums

  

Day one in the studio, building on some of the demo's I've been working on and songs we've been playing live. Lots and lots of drums. Tins, Toms, Bins, Bells, ding-a-ling-a-lings?? and Bass-drums. Everything but cymbals. These particular shots we were using a single room mic looming over the kit for a brand new fluttering butterfly groove I'm going to take away and write to. I put some guitar twangy parts down on a beautifully battered old dented guitar, found resting in the corner, which we mic-ed and amp-ed up. Lots to take away and decipher. Sounding like some big Elephant dance in the jungle at the moment. More to come...including some video snippets!  

Recording session with Mr Underwood of Iskra Strings

New songs are starting to take some shape. Spent the day coloring basic guitars and beats with James' swirling violin wizardry, twisting Bollywood-like riffs with a sliding a humming bow, plucking raindrops out of the sky. Great to finally get the melody lines that have been running laps around my head over the winter onto Mac. We managed to get ideas down on as many as four songs! One particularly special take finished with a Heron sighting from the window. A flash of giant white wings and we left our headphones and became amateur wild life photographers for five minutes...all up until the moment I stepped outside for a closer shot and it flew away into the clouds.