Soundelux Captures Glory Of Love
Lynn Fuston Spotlights Triccoli's
Vocals With Soundelux
ELUX 251
Famed Nashville recording
engineer/producer Lynn Fuston discovers the Soundelux ELUX 251 to
be the one true microphone for award-winning Christian music singer/songwriter,
Kathy Troccoli.
Kathy
Troccoli is one of the most spirited singer/songwriters in contemporary
Christian music. When it came time to record her new album, she
wanted to make sure her fans heard her voice the way she always
wanted it to sound. Teaming up in the studio with in-demand, Nashville
engineer, Lynn Fuston, Troccoli discovered that the Soundelux ELUX
251 was the microphone that could make it happen.
A two-time Grammy
nominee, and winner of three Dove Awards, Troccoli, has had seventeen
number one songs on Christian Radio, and her best-selling "Everything
Changes" hit number one on the adult contemporary top 40. By
paying meticulous attention to the choice of vocal mic, Fuston was
able to deliver the sound that Kathy had always wanted to hear.
"She had never been totally happy with the vocal sound on her
records, going back for 15 albums," says Fuston from his studio,
3D Audio, Inc. "With this mic, she just sounds incredible,
like she's singing right into your ear. It's the sound her friends
and family have heard before, but it wasn't on her records."
The production
of Troccoli's new CD, "Glory of Love," is the latest phase
in a new course for the singer that has replaced the heavily produced
style of her earlier works with smaller, more acoustic ensembles
and sonic environments. With several songs consisting solely of
vocals and piano, and maybe an acoustic guitar and cello, Fuston
knew that Troccoli's voice, which he has been recording on and off
since producing her first raw demos 25 years ago, would be front
and center more than ever before. "For this album, we decided
her voice would be in the spotlight, instead of the studio production."
Fuston prepared
for the recording sessions by planning an intensive vocal mic/preamp
shootout, and made sure that the ELUX 251, with its faithful recreation
of the legendary Telefunken ELA M251(tm), would be one of the mics
Troccoli tried. "I've used the ELUX 251 on a lot of vocalists
in the past, and it wins out 90% of the time, which is an unusually
high success ratio," says Fuston. "It's the first mic
I've found that I can put up in front of a vocalist and not worry
whether there is something else in the room that will sound better.
Kathy wanted a clear and satiny top-end that would also pick up
the depth and richness in her voice. The ELUX 251 gave her exactly
what she wanted to hear. I paired it with a Buzz Audio MA2 mic pre
and there was absolutely nothing lacking at all."
Designed for
mid-range focus with a strong, powerful bottom and airy, unabrasive
top-end, the ELUX 251 brings out the most intimate, natural details
of male and female vocals, thanks to features such as a true transformer
balanced output, and NOS dual triode with traditional resistive
(not transistor) load and enhanced original circuitry, for a unique
vintage amplification curve and dynamics response. "It's patterned
after a classic microphone, but vintage Telefunkens routinely go
for $20,000, whereas the ELUX 251 comes in way below that,"
Fuston notes. "We definitely accomplished a new milestone using
the ELUX 251 on this album.
"When I'm
looking for the right mic for a singer, it's like trying to find
the two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly," continues
Fuston. "That's why the ELUX 251 did such a great job on Kathy's
voice. It was the perfect match. The sound of the Soundelux on these
recordings is huge, robust, so sweet and rich that it's almost like
caramel or melted chocolate.
This mic was everything that we had wished for, picking up all the
best things in her voice and accentuating them. There's no doubt
that "Glory of Love" is a vocal record, and the Soundelux
ELUX 251 focused the spotlight squarely on her voice."
Soundelux Microphones are distributed by TransAudio Group, founded
by industry veteran Brad Lunde. For more info
on Soundelux,
please email Brad Lunde
at LVPA or Phone (702) 307-2700
Las
Vegas Pro Audio is the direct sales division of TransAudio
Group. The goal of LasVegasProAudio.com is to provide a personal
long-term relationship with top engineers delivering insightful
and accurate advice, unique equipment and long term support.TransAudio
has quickly become the premier US importer/distributor for high-end
audio. visit the web sites at: www.lasvegasproaudio.com
TransAudio Group's
product lines include A-Designs
(USA) AEA ribbon microphones (USA), ADT
Toolkit, AEA,
ATC
Loudspeakers (UK), Brauner
microphones(Germany), Drawmer
(UK), Geoffrey
Daking & Co. (USA), Enhanced Audio (Ireland), George
Massenburg Labs (GML) (USA), Heil
Sound (USA); Mercury Audio (USA) Mission Audio (UK) Phoenix
Audio (UK), PAULY
Superscreens(Germany), SABRA
SOM(Brazil), Soundelux
(USA), SoundField
Microphones (UK), Z-Systems (USA) and Weiss
Engineering (Switzerland) and Z Systems (USA).
Hollywood Cat Confessions
write HC - we want to hear your feedback and any cool news
Aldo Fights
Aids
The campaign
is titled, Hear No Evil? (no, not Hear
No Evil Studios in UK) See No Evil? Speak No Evil? and
features black and white images of stars like Christina Aguilera,
Ludacris, Elijah Wood, Salma Hayek, LL Cool J and many more as they
either cover their ears or have their mouth or eyes covered by duct
tape, with the intent to get people to stop and notice.
It turns out
that Aldo
Shoes has launched this huge cause-related marketing campaign
(by Calder and partners in 2000) in conjunction with YouthAIDS,
an HIV/AIDS education and prevention initiative. The relationship
was launched to foster deeper awareness toward education and prevention
of HIV/AIDS among teenagers and young adults.
Yes, Aldo may be just another fashion retailer (shoes, accessories),
but the company is setting itself apart from the pack in the way
it has engaged today's top musicians like Avril Levine, Dave Novaroo,
Pink and many others to parle their message on a topic still considered
taboo in many parts of the world. So yes, the cynical marketer might
want to call this a rip-off or next-gen to the Livestrong dynasty.
I say, hello Aldo, baby! Bring on the empowerment tags!
The Tags, which are available at ALDO stores worldwide and on www.youthaids-aldo.org
or www.aldoshoes.com,
will retail for $5, with 100% of the net proceeds benefiting YouthAIDS.Funds
raised from the sale of the Empowerment Tags will continue to enable
YouthAIDS to educate and protect young people in more than 60 countries.
Madonna Confessions
& Gear
According to
artist web site, fans snapped up every ticket for the first two
Wembley Arena gigs as soon as the box office opened at 9am. Earlier,
festival goers jammed into the Sahara Tent at Coachella where Madonna
kicked off her worldwide tour using her long-time favorite Sennheiser
3072 wireless mic (pictured blow Right).
The stage show promises to offer entertainment with a capitol E...a
politicized video montage starring Adolf Hitler, Dick Cheney, Tony
Blair, Osama bin Laden, Richard Nixon, George Bush, and starving
African children. A futuristic mechanical bull equipped with oddly
gynecological-looking steel stirrups.
Her Confessions'
Tour kicked off In L.A. this week and the Diva of Pop is pushing
her merchandising in high gear. You can order yourself wine with
her image sketched in pink on the bottle or choose from the tasteful
prints on large canvases.
The Limited Edition Release features a combination etched/paper
label on a bottle of 2004 Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. The product
has hand-painted and etched disco lights and the hand painted and
etched name of Madonna surrounding a die cut high quality adhesive
applied image of Madonna. Dusty cocoa and black cherry aromas make
this 2004 Cabernet a very good year.
Hints of vanilla, caramel and bay leaf add to the intrigue. Juicy
red plum flavors give this wine a lush mouth feel, while the bright
fruit will make it an excellent match with food. Chewy tannins remind
you why Cabernet is king! Only 1000 limited edition bottles ($100
per bottle) available also at Wild About Music Store in Santa Monica
where you can purchase the
Madonna white silk print on canvas (47"x60") $900.00 call
310-899-3114 for more info or visit WAM
Studio Upgrades
StarCity
Recording in Bethlehem has expanded its world-class recording
studios by bringing in a custom-designed SSL Axiom MT Plus Digital
Multitrack Console. After extensive research, Jeff Glixman, executive
vice president of StarCity, was convinced that the MT Plus was the
perfect solution for StarCity's Studio B. According to Glixman,
StarCity has revamped the control room acoustics creating a heavily
trapped room with a more linear, tighter bass response. The monitoring
system has been upgraded to a full time, four-way system with 18-inch
subwoofers. The outboard gear selection includes the usual classic
pieces, Lexicon reverb, and modern gear one would expect in a high-end
room. Additionally there are more than 24 channels of class A mic
pre/eq available for 'direct to storage' recording.
A Case For
Scott Key
Hip hop star Pitbull while recording
a Spanish-language version of the U.S. national anthem (AP Photo/Wilfredo
Lee)
Francis Scott
Key first published his impressions of the Fort McHenry victory
as a broadside poem, with a note that it should be sung to the popular
British melody "To Anacreon in Heaven." Soon after, Thomas
Carr's Baltimore music store published the words and music together
under the title "The Star-Spangled Banner." The song gained
steadily in popularity in the years before the Civil War. By 1861
it shared with "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail Columbia"
the distinction of being played on most patriotic occasions. Nonetheless
Congress did not make the song the national anthem until 1931. The
recording, dubbed "Nuestro Himno," which means "Our
Anthem" in English, is set to "rhythmic Latin musical
arrangement" but respects the song's traditional structure,
said Adam Kidron, who heads the record label Urban Box Office (UBO).
Mexican pop diva Gloria Trevi, Puerto Rican reggaeton Ivy Queen
and Tito El Bambino and other Latino artists are recording a Spanish-language
version of the U.S. national anthem in a show of support for migrants
in the United States. The Latino-oriented record label Urban Box
Office said it plans to release the new version of The Star-Spangled
Banner to coincide with the U.S. Senates debate on immigration
legislation earlier this month.
Profit or
Not, GIVE
Charity
Folks is the leading online charity auction venue. Increased
competition is motivating nonprofits to diversify fundraising methods
to attract more donors and improve stewardship
This week, Society of Singers' launched its
online auction at www.charityfolks.com/sos
What are you bidding for? 2 tickets to the June 2nd SOLD-OUT show
of 3 Men & A Big Band featuring Gary LeMel, Jerry Sharell, Steve
Tyrell & The Gregg Field Big Band at the El Rey Theatre, Los
Angeles. Who's
been using this site? Revlon Run/Walk, Musicians
On Call, Bonnie
Raitt Charity Ticket Auction, to name a few.
AES Pro Audio
Expo & Convention is held in the Porte de Versailles earlier
in May 20-23. Digidesign ran seminars in French and English on hot
topics like Mixing in the Box, Avid Workflow for 5.1, Pro Tools
in Music Production, Film Mixing with Icon and previewing Pro Tools
HD 7.2.
Fast And Furious
Clips For Your Web
Ascend Marketing
VP, Christian Hellum has the upcoming The Fast and the Furious:
Tokyo Drift" The sound editorial team at Soundelux sent me
action-type digital video clips from some of their field recording
sessions. To the extent you are interesting in having access to
this stuff and/or utilize video content for your web site, please
let me know 323.603.3226," says Hellum.
The Ironworks
Label
Actor Kiefer
Sutherland and producer Jude Cole have formed their own record label,
Ironworks, to promote musicians other studios are passing by.
Sutherland built the Los Angeles recording studio operated by Cole,
his rock musician and producer friend. Sutherland
told the TV tabloid show "Extra," the idea for Ironworks
came from seeing "fantastic artists who were not getting signed"
by other recording companies. "We started Ironworks to be about
real artists," Cole said. The new label is distributed by Fontana.
Among those already signed by Ironworks are musicians Rocco
DeLuca (pictured above) and Ry Cuming
MTV, the
US cable television music channel owned by Viacom, will launch a
digital music download service called Urge designed
to compete with Apple Computers highly popular iTunes service.
It uses Microsofts latest Media Player technology. Users will
be able to download individual music tracks for 99 cents each
the same price as iTunes or sign up for an unlimited subscription
service that will cost $9.95 a month or $14.95 if subscribers want
to load the music onto a portable player. iTunes does not offer
a subscription service.
At launch, Urge
will have more than 2m music tracks from 110,000 artists, 500 playlists,
130 streaming radio stations and more than 20 specialist blogs
online commentaries written by music experts.
XM2go
This week, the
recording industry sued XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., alleging
its Inno device that can store music infringes on copyrights and
transforms a passive radio experience into the equivalent of a digital
download service like iTunes. The
suit accuses XM Satellite of "massive wholesale infringement,"
and seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied by XM customers
using the devices, which went on sale earlier this month. XM, with
more than 6.5 million subscribers, said it plays 160,000 different
songs every month. The suit says that XM has touted its service's
advantages over the iPod and cites XM's advertising literature that
says "It's not a Pod. It's the mothership." XM
said it will vigorously defend this lawsuit on behalf of consumers
and also called the lawsuit a bargaining tactic. The labels are
currently in talks with XM and its rival Sirius Satellite Radio,
to renegotiate digital royalty contracts for broadcasts.
Audio gurus like Andy Brauer discovered eBay
some years ago to buy and sell guitars or pro audio gear. Now the
music giant, Universal
Music has found the online world market and is offering anything
from a Studer A80 analog machine toJohnny Cash CD packages and Autographed
Joe Cocker T-Shirts!
Warner Chappell
April Appointment
Bob Bortnick(most recently with Zomba Music) will serve as an A&R
executive for Warner/Chappell's US company, with a particular focus
on identifying new talent and further developing Warner/Chappell's
leading roster of songwriters.
B3 For Your
Shopping Cart
At last year's NARM, when John Esposito asked indie-retail what
they most needed to remain in the music business, the answer was
'a level-playing field.' A Burbank, CA-based company, B3 (Big
Tree Media) is offering just that by providing comprehensive
sales, marketing and transactional support for entertainment content
companies, who are selling direct to consumers online. B3 provides
a turnkey infrastructure for on-line e-commerce and features the
ability to offer and sell multiple forms of music and music related
products in a single shopping cart.
Recording
Live With John Rodd
L-R: Jason Toney (Sonic
Sales rep); Josh Dugan (Event Electronics - Product Specialist);
John Rodd (Scoring Mixer); Ted Keffalo (Event Electronics - President);
Mark Spiwak (West LA Music - Sales Manager) and Gerhard Joost (Sound
Engineer)
On May 4th,
West L.A. Music featured an evening with John
Rodd speaking about many things from microphones to mixing.
John knows a thing or two about making great recordings of music
for film and tv as he worked as the orchestral scoring recordist
on numerous Hollywood blockbusters, including Seabiscuit, The Matrix
(trilogy), Lemony Snicket and I, Robot.
Recent projects
include 5.1 surround mixing of score for Sony Pictures sci-fi action
film "Ultraviolet"; mixing the orchestral score for the
video game "Onimusha 4 - Dawn of Dreams" for Sony PS2
(which recently won the M.P.S.E. Golden Reel award for best sound
editing); mixing the 5.1 score for DreamWorks short animated film
"The Penguin Christmas Caper" and many other feature film
score projects. John was recently interviewed in Mix Magazine (January
2006) and EQ Magazine (June 2005)
Berger Design
For Richardson's Garage
Like many musicians,
Dallas-area professional drummer and award-winning audio post engineer
Scottie Richardson dreamed of a home studio where he could practice
and teach. To ensure that his dream studio wouldnt be intrusive
to family and neighbors, Scottie contacted renowned studio designer
Russ Berger of Russ
Berger Design Group (RBDG) to help convert his garage into a
practice space. To help eliminate the dead box problem,
SpaceCouplers (designed and manufactured by pArtScience for Auralex
Acoustics) were installed to give the small space a large
sound. Two coupled spaces are connected to the volume of the
main room by 2 x 6 foot apertures. Each aperture is filled with
three 2 x 2 foot SpaceCoupler diffusors. These diffusors make the
room live, and also enhance the drum sound. There
was a concern for noise leakage into the bedroom adjacent to the
practice space, Berger continues, particularly during
late night sessions hammering out the monkey beat. The shell construction
and interior walls were designed with appropriate mass and sealed
airtight to ensure adequate sound transmission loss.
During the installation,
Berger utilized 3.0 pcf glass fiber board covered with acoustically
transparent stretched fabric on the walls and ceiling as the primary
absorptive treatment. Behind these materials, decoupled wood and
multiple layers of drywall were installed to assist in isolating
the sound. Wood flooring was laid over a new concrete topping slab
to help level the sloped garage floor and enhance the rooms
sound quality.
Donny &
Marie in 5.1
New DVD release with highlights of the popular 70s show mixed
with ATCs
Mike
Roskelley and one of his new ATC SCM 110A monitors
Brother-sister
duo DONNY and MARIE OSMOND made audiences laugh 30 years ago as
the precocious, apple-cheeked stars of the song-and-dance variety
series, the "Donny & Marie" show.
Hard to believe that Marie, now a devout Mormon with her own family
of eight, was just 19 years old when the show ended in 1979, and
her brother Donny, now a grandpa, was a mere 21!
Donny is still recording music, now as a jazz artist, and has assembled
a three-disc DVD collection featuring the best skits and star guests
from "Donny & Marie" that will be available in August.
Mix engineer
Mike Roskelley remixed the upcoming DVD release of highlights of
the popular 70s show, "Donny & Marie," in 5.1 surround.
Noted for his work with house music artist/DJ Kaskade, Roskelley
recently opened his own Salt Lake City studio, featuring a 5.1 monitoring
system with ATC
(Acoustic Technology Company) SCM 110A active three-way studio monitors
and dual ATC Sub1/15 15-inch subwoofers for the LFE channel.
For several
years, Roskelley provided mix and mastering services by request
for numerous area studios, as well as for individuals working in
music composition and arranging. In addition, he offered "educator-consultant"
services, assisting others in properly setting up their studios,
in particular advising about acoustics and recording techniques.
Eventually he
saw the need to establish his own studio, with the first iteration
carved out of a room in his home to keep overhead under control.
Later came the process of developing a "purpose-built"
studio of his own design, located in a separate, new building constructed
on his home property. "After
spending a lot of years compensating for difficult situations, particularly
in terms of acoustics and limitations of monitors, I wanted both
a room and monitors that would eliminate all of the guesswork in
what I was hearing," Roskelley explains. As a result, his new
studio is expressly designed with a critical eye on both factors.
And in addition, he doesn't work with a mixing console, preferring
to eliminate surfaces with unpredictable acoustic reflections. This
keeps the direct sound waves from speakers to listener as pristine
as possible, as well as taking advantage of his fluency with alternatives
like Digidesign ProTools.
Just before
construction of the new studio commenced in October of last year,
Roskelley began evaluating monitoring systems, and subsequently
had several potential candidates shipped to him for critical listening
and comparison. His preferred choice proved to be ATC SM 20A compact
two-way monitors, but he was concerned about not hearing the extra
lower octave of the bass and kick that is so prevalent in the house/dance
tracks he mixes.
"The reproduction
of high and mid-range frequencies of the SM 20A is among the best
I've ever heard, and the imaging is stunning," he notes. Attention
then turned to the three-way SCM 110A, which offers identical mid
and high performance, in addition to a 314mm bass driver in a larger
enclosure.
"After
all of the personal time and money that went into this studio, I
was a little concerned with specifying monitors that I hadn't heard,"
Roskelley says. "But when we set them up and threw the switch,
the sound was breathtaking, simply amazing. I might be biased when
I say this is the best listening environment I've ever been in,
but this has also proven to be the consensus among all the colleagues
who have come by to listen."
Specifically,
what Roskelley seeks most in an acoustic environment is accuracy.
In addition to the obvious, (the bass modes that are inherent in
even the best rooms), he was equally concerned about the high-mid
and low-mid frequency ranges, and finds that these are often the
first victims of smearing characteristics produced by improper acoustic
design and poor loudspeaker reproduction.
Utilizing three
acoustical software packages to assist in the math for the design
of his room, combined with his own extensive experience, he worked
in particular to avoid surfaces like glass that add and magnify
reflections.
And, the room was designed specifically around the ATC loudspeakers
in a standard 5.1 configuration, with three mains equidistant at
the front, two mains equidistant at the back, and the dual subwoofers
(for added bass presence when desired) on the floor left and right.
"I attribute
the quality of this listening environment to the monitors working
with the room design," he says. "There are three specific
aspects of the ATC monitors that I really like. First, the center
image is rock solid. While listening to a vocal panned center in
a stereo track, I have had clients actually think the center speaker
was on. Toggling back and forth between stereo and mono, the center
image remains completely in tact, absolutely no phasing. Second,
the clarity of reverb is amazing, from trigger point all the way
through the very end of decay. And third, the midrange is so detailed,
revealing so many subtleties. For example, I can hear a half-dB
of attenuation or boosting in the midrange while equalizing or compressing
because of the clarity of three-inch mid-dome in the 110."
Roskelley has
been involved with an interesting project of late, collaborating
with fellow Salt Lake City resident Donny Osmond on remixing the
audio tracks in 5.1 surround for an upcoming DVD release of highlights
of "Donny & Marie," the popular 1970s television show.
Working between their two studios, Osmond and Roskelley found that
the quality of the original recordings - most of them 16-track and
24-track - varied dramatically.
"Another
challenge is that many of the original multi-tracks could not be
found leaving us with only a mono source for a good portion of the
cues,"
Roskelley adds. "Our concern was that seamlessly combining
the new surround mixes with these mono cues would be very tough
to do without possibly inducing 'whiplash' on the listeners."
He and Osmond
hunted for potential solutions, landing on the Z Systems z-K6 multi-channel
processor. "Donny went ahead and acquired a z-K6 and sent it
up to me for evaluation," Roskelley says. "I put in a
call to Bob Katz, who designed the processor's algorithms, to get
a feel for it. After about ten minutes of clear instruction from
Bob, I had a pretty good understanding of how to get around in the
box and started experimenting on the mono tracks.
It was quickly obvious that this box was going to work for us, and
in some cases, the fold-outs from mono to surround were quite remarkable."
Roskelley has
been handling the mix of the music tracks, with Osmond doing the
rest, including the overall final mix. The first of the planned
three DVDs has been finished and sent to mastering, with the other
two following shortly.
"One of
the great things about working in a market like Salt Lake City is
that you get to do a wide variety of projects and musical styles,
as evidenced by this project," Roskelley concludes, highlighting
his point by noting that he will soon be returning to his new studio
to begin work with Kaskade on a new release. "You don't get
typecast into one particular genre, which keeps it fresh and challenging."
ATC drivers
are manufactured in-house to exacting tolerances and are legendary
for their many design innovations, such as the innovative SL magnet
system and the company's renowned Soft Dome midrange driver, which
achieves exceptionally broad and even dispersion to produce a flat
response anywhere in the room. Situated in Aston Down in rural Gloucestershire,
England, ATC was established in London in 1974 by acoustics engineer
and musician Bill Woodman.
For more info on ATCs,
please email Brad Lunde
at LVPA or Phone (702) 307-2700
Las
Vegas Pro Audio is the direct sales division of TransAudio
Group. The goal of LasVegasProAudio.com is to provide a personal
long-term relationship with top engineers delivering insightful
and accurate advice, unique equipment and long term support.TransAudio
Group, founded by industry veteran Brad Lunde, has quickly become
the premier US importer/distributor for high-end audio. visit the
web sites at: www.lasvegasproaudio.com
TransAudio Group's
product lines include A-Designs
(USA) AEA ribbon microphones (USA), ADT
Toolkit, AEA,
ATC
Loudspeakers (UK), Brauner
microphones(Germany), Drawmer
(UK), Geoffrey
Daking & Co. (USA), George
Massenburg Labs (GML) (USA), Heil
Sound (USA); Mercury Audio (USA) Mission Audio (UK) Phoenix
Audio (UK), PAULY
Superscreens(Germany), SABRA
SOM(Brazil), Soundelux
(USA), SoundField
Microphones (UK), Z-Systems (USA) and Weiss
Engineering (Switzerland) and Z Systems (USA).
Busy May
For Paramount Encore Ameaycan Studios
Producer Cameron Webb (Social
Distortion, Motorhead, Silverstein, Over It) above-- with Lemmy,
bassist & vocalist of Motorhead, at Paramount Studio A hard
at work and listening to slabs of sheer volume on their mixes off
the studio's SSL 6000 series console.
Legend, John Legend parked in Studio B writing for an upcoming release.
The sessions were engineered by Geoff Gibbs. Actor/Rapper Jamie
Kennedy tracked and mixed in Paramount
C for his debut Warner Brother CD. The sessions were filmed for
his accompanying TV show. The dates were helmed by Ethan Willoughby
and Geoff Gibbs. Bay Area punk rockers AFI were in studio A mixing
tunes for their new Interscope release with engineer Chris Fudurich.
Erik Reichers assisted.
ENCORE!
J Records superstar Christina Aguilera tracked vocals for a new
release in studio B with engineer Oscar Ramirez and assistant Scott
Elgin. Jack Johnson's label-mate at Lost Highway Records, Donovan
Frankenreiter, mixed his debut release in Studio A with the maestro,
Neal Pogue, manning the board . Chuck Wilson assisted. Will I Am
(Black Eyed Peas) collaborated on new tracks with rapper Nas in
Studio B. Padraic Kernin engineered with Nick Fournier assisting.
AMERAYCAN
Multimedia
megastar Paris Hilton tracked vocals in Studio B with producer J.R.
for her debut Warner Brothers release. Oscar Ramirez engineered
while Richard Reitz assisted. Dave "Bangin" Bianco mixed
a new Sparta track for their new Hollywood Records release. Jamie
Seyberth assisted. The legendary Motorhead overdubbed and tracked
vocals for their latest in Studio B with "the master,"
engineer Cameron Webb.
It's Alive
Linett &
API On The New Cars Live Album
l-r:
Todd Rundgren and Elliot Easton (New Cars), Mark Linett and Prairie
Prince (New Cars).
Over the course
of a career, Mark
Linett has worked closely with such seminal artists as The
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Love, and, most
recently, the New Cars.
Linett and the
New Cars - Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes from the original band
in addition to Todd Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince and singer/bassist
Kasim Sulton - set up shop at Sound Stage in Burbank, California
for three days of rehearsal in front of an invite-only live audience
in January. "They are going out on tour so we did a live recording
to hear how things were coming together, as well as to record a
live album," Linett explains.
The New Cars
performed a handful of hit Cars songs, including "Just What
I Needed," "Best Friend's Girl" and "Drive,"
as well as three new songs titled "Not Tonight," "Warm"
and "More." An 18-song release from the performances penned,
"It's Alive," is due to be released in early May.
During the recording
process he turned to a rack full of API
312s that were modified to be slot mounted along with the original
version of the 312s that use the 2520s in a remote system. "It's
not the most mobile of racks, but it's worth the hassle of hauling
around a rack that weights about 175 lbs.," he says with a
laugh. "We have about 48 of the 312s in the rack. I just like
the way they sound. It's what I've always used."
"The last
big change I made came when I commissioned entirely new input modules
for the board, which would give me everything that I wanted,"
he says. "So, now I have 12 echo sends and three stereo busses
that are all switch-able." The board now features 44 550A discrete
three-band EQs, four 560 discrete ten-band graphic EQs and a handful
of 525 discrete compressors.
Building a studio
around the API console was important, Linett explains, "because
I am not a believer of mixing in the box. Even as I've graduated
from no Pro Tools, to having a Pro Tools system for ancillary work,
to a full-blown Pro Tools HD system, I still treat it as a tape
recorder and I use the console for mixing.
"So, even
some of these bigger projects where I have up to 62 channels of
Pro Tools playing back, we'll sum a few things down, but I'll still
bring it up on the API as individual channels and mix that way,"
he continues. "I've never heard a digital summing system in
a box that seems to work quite right. Maybe I'm old school, but
I like to think of Pro Tools as a big fancy ultimate tape machine
that will do all the things that a tape recorder can't."
Phil On ITunes
Los Angeles Philharmonic/Reinbert
de Leeuw Minimalist Jukebox - Andriessen/Pärt; Stefan Asbury
Minimalist Jukebox - Steve Reich; Los Angeles Philharmonic/Esa-Pekka
Salonen Beethoven: Symphony No. 5; Leonore No. 2 Lutoslawski: Symphony
No. 4
New releases from Universal Music Classics and available from the
ITune store, is splendid recordings with Music Director Esa-Pekka
Salonen leading the
LA Phil in Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 live at the Beethoven
Unbound concerts April 28-30. CD #2 features Reichs Variations
for Winds, Strings, and Keyboards; Three Movements; and Tehillim
and #CD1 features the U.S. premiere of Andriessens Racconto
dallinferno, Andriessens De Staat; Pärts
Tabula Rasa.
Hard Radio
Celebrate 10 years
HardRadio
has continued to innovate for the past ten years and currently has
the largest volume of audience with nearly 600,000 unique visitors
per month hitting over 85% of the much sought after 25-44 demographic.
has produced over 30 Global CD Music Premieres in conjunction with
the artists, management, and labels. It features such artists as
Metallica, KISS, Ronnie James Dio, David Lee Roth, Iron Maiden,
Bruce Dickinson, Jackyl, Judas Priest, Yngwie Malmsteen and Great
White. Also over a dozen concert web casts have been streamed including
a pioneering video Web cast with Metallica in 1996.
Founded by radio
veteran and Internet pioneer, Tracy Barnes, who serves as the companys
president and general manager, is adding many new features to the
site including continuing to evolve with the latest Apple technology.
In addition to some design changes for the site overall, there will
be a new section with a community focus, HardAxe, We
will now be able to give fans of metal music an even better experience
as we push full speed ahead into our tenth year,
sats Barnes.
DJ Dylan On
XM
Revolutionary.
Intelligent. Rebellious. Different. Timeless
.and oddly enough
he wrote our anthem in The Times They Are a Changin.
For 64-year-old
singer/songwriter (Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde)
Bob Dylan, once thought of as a bit of an enigmatic reclusive, things
are a changin.
There was the advert for Victoria's Secret that he starred in, there
was the autobiography, there was the record deal with Starbucks,
there was the auction of his early poems and, most importantly,
the feature-length Martin Scorsese documentary all about Bob Dylan.
And now Bob Dylan presents a weekly one-hour radio show for satellite
company XM -- Wed 10am ET Deep Tracks
- XM40. The show - a mixture of music, talk, interviews and
a crazy phone-in competitions?
For XM, the
deal is major coup and gives it a boost against its rival Sirius
Satellite Radio, the new home to high-profile shock jock Howard
Stern. Sirius has also attracted the likes of Eminem and Jimmy Buffett,
who have lent their names to stations on Sirius, while XM has signed
Snoop Dogg to create a rap channel. The Dylan show debuts on May
3 on XM's rock album channel Deep Tracks. The man who wrote a dozen
or so meteorological titles -- "Blowin' in the Wind,"
for example -- has chosen the weather as the theme of his first
show. Thus, he makes a number of pointed but low-key comments about
Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. And thus, Muddy Waters sings
"Blow Wind Blow"; Jimi Hendrix, "The Wind Cries Mary";
Frank Sinatra, "Summer Wind"; and Dean Martin (with a
Dixie brass band), "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine."
Dylan also tells the story of Johnny Bragg, sent to a Tennessee
penitentiary for rape in the 1940s, when "rape could have meant
just looking at a white woman in the wrong way." While a convict,
Bragg formed a singing group and had a hit called "Just Walkin'
in the Rain." "A sad story. A beautiful song. 'Just Walkin'
in the Rain.' The Prisonaires," Dylan announces. Weather never
sounded so good!
Songs
and music have always inspired me. A lot of my own songs have been
played on the radio, but this is the first time Ive ever been
on the other side of the mic. Itll be as exciting for me as
it is for XM, Says Dylan. can only say that in todays
changing environment, that the balance of science, business and
art has never been more critical. Its the art part that needs
a kick in the ass," says lee Abrams, XM's chief creative officer.
XM Satellite, with a market value of about $5.8 billion and more
than 6.5 million subscribers, hopes to use stars like Dylan to maintain
its lead over Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., which has f about 4 million
subscribers.
Ascend Promotions
Ascent Media,
The worlds largest sound services company with facilities
in Los Angeles, New York and London, announced promotions in its
Creative Sound Services (CSS) division Duke Lim has been named to
a newly created position of Vice President of Todd-AO Studios. Lim,
who formerly served as Todd-AOs Vice President of Scheduling,
will now be responsible for the day-to-day operational oversight
of all five Todd-AO facilities in the Los Angeles area.
Kotkin, previously
Managing Director of Ascent Medias Modern Music unit, is assuming
the position as Vice President of Operations for the Soundelux group
of business units, including Soundelux Hollywood, Soundelux Design
Music Group, Modern Music, Signet Sound, The Hollywood Edge and
Soundelux Microphones.
Both executives
will be reporting directly to Robert C. Rosenthal, Chief Operating
Officer of Ascent Media Creative Sound Services. Representing every
aspect of audio post-production, the CSS division services all types
of feature films, television programming, promotional trailers,
independent and documentary films, commercials and interactive games.
Collectively, the Creative Sound Services division has garnered
more than 20 Academy Awards® for excellence in Sound.
66-piece
Orchestra with Avatar's Decca Tree!
Avatar
A (Neve 8068) hosted a number of projects: Music for a play
in development called "The Thief" was recorded with producer
Joe Church, engineer Lawrence Manchester, assistants Eddie Jackson
and Peter Doris. A 66-piece orchestra was recorded with Avatar's
own Decca tree! David Foster with engineer Humberto Gatica recording
Peter Cincotti for Warner. Peter Doris was Pro Tools Operator/ Assistant.Japanese
artist, Arashi, with producer Sushi Kosugi, engineer Roy Hendrickson,
assistant Chad Lupo.
Engineer Rob
Marks, producer Jim Johnson mixing Sean Paul for Atlantic.
were in.Avatar's Studio B (9000J). Also, James Farber mixing Joe
Lovano for Blue Note and Arist/producer Ryan Adams recording and
mixing with engineer/producer Jamie Candeloro. Jim Anderson mixing
Von Freeman for Premonition Records. Joe Barbaria mixing John Patitucci
for Concord with Jim Keller assisting. Thalia recorded vocals with
producer Jodi Marr. Avatar's Peter Doris engineered assisted by
Eddie Jackson. Goo Goo Dolls mixed a VH1 Live performance with engineer
Paul Hager, assisted by Anthony Ruotolo.
Studio C (NEVE-VRP72)
hosted Joshua Bell - Voice of the Violin, recorded with producer
Grace Row, engineer Charles Harbutt for Sony Classical. Brian Montgomery
assisted
Engineer Carl Glanville and producer Steve Lillywhite were in Studio
G (SSL 4000G+) mixing live Billy Joel performances for Columbia
Records, assisted by Brian Montgomery.
Kevorkian Mastering
was busy as well. Projects included: Trey Anastasio's new, upcoming
studio album. Thwak! Music (Avatar Studios 2nd Floor) also was busy
with projects...Composing music for Office Depot (TV/Radio Spots)
with Kaplan Thaler Group - NY. Music and Sound Design for new TV
Spot featuring Maria Sharapova for Y&R NY. Producing Music for
Victoria Secrets - CPB Group - Miami. Remix project/Loop project
- Tower of Power/David Garabaldi (Hudson Music)
Weird Al
Mastering at Bernie's
Demonstrating the 5.1 immersive sound experience
are (L-R) recording engineer Tony Papa, "Weird Al" Yankovic,
and mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. Photo by David Goggin.
Weird Al"
Yankovic, the world's leading humorous song parodist and multimedia
explorer, has mastered new tracks in 5.1 Surround Sound at Bernie
Grundman Mastering Studios. Yankovic's catalogue includes such enduring
songs as "Eat It," "King Of Suede," "Like
A Surgeon," "Smells Like Nirvana" and "Amish
Paradise." Yankovic's new songs are especially suited to exploring
the full potential of the Surround Sound experience, as assorted
instruments and sound effects travel throughout the entire 360º
sonic panorama. The as-yet-untitled Way Moby/Volcano Records album
features a wealth of Weird Al bonus material, and is scheduled for
release later this year.Bernie Grundman Mastering: 323.465.6264
Gin Blossoms
At Ardent
(L-R)
are lead vocalist Robin Wilson, Hybrid Records president Al Cafaro,
guitarist Scott Johnson, engineer/co-producer John Hampton, assistant
engineer Curry Weber, manager Doug Merrick, and guitarist/background
vocalist Jesse Valenzuela.
Photo: Mr Bonzai
Power pop alternative band The Gin Blossoms have returned to Memphis'
renowned Ardent Studios, the home of many of their hits. Engineer
John Hampton, who produced two previous albums (1992's New Miserable
Experience and 1996's Congratulations, I'm Sorry) was back at the
console with assistant engineer Curry Weber. Hampton is co-producing
with Jesse Valenzuela the as-yet-untitled album, slated for June
release.
Shawn Murphy's
Microphones
CO-100K Now Shipping -- Shown at NAB 2006 in April
Scoring engineer/mixer
Shawn Murphy has employed Sanken's new CO-100K microphone for two
recent projects: John Williams' score for Munich and Mark Isham's
score for Eight Below. An Academy Award-winner, Murphy has recorded
and mixed the scores for more than 250 feature films, and has been
using Sanken microphones for more than two decades. http://www.plus24.net
Farewell
O'Henry
Late last year,
owners of O'Henry Sound Studios, Jacqueline and Hank Sanicola said
goodby to their clients of 13 years. "We have enjoyed playing
our part in the film, television, commercial and record businesses,"
they said. We would like to hear from Hank and the staff. Please
write to us and let us!
"I
truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will
be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution,
and what we did or did not do to put the fire out in Africa (referring
to AIDS)"
--
Bono remarks at the US National Prayer Breakfast in April 06
Ever wonder
why every generation is fascinated by photos of its era before...Maybe
it's the stylish clothes, the dusty yet innovative technology or
the brilliant talents and attitude of the subjects.
No matter what, when these qualities are expressed well, voila,
they become ageless.
We were reminded of this with Eddie
Kramer's photos this last week and found a few more by Ms Aretha
Franklin (courtesy of Sony).
Here's to all the Kings and Queens In Waiting.
KISSES from
studioexpresso. Thanks for reading...Until next month,
stay inspired and in touch!
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