production and recording for musicians » The Producer Series

The Producer Series – 2.7 Brian Eno

garethstuart — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:42:11 +0000

The father of ambient music, Brian Eno nobably tried to save us from muzak, through thoughtful, creative and sympathetic soundscapes/”musical installations”.

Apart from solo compositions he worked as producer and collaborator with a range of artists including David Bowie, U2 and Talking Heads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno

Eno undoubtedly ’suggests’ or opens up a link between the ‘vertical’ world of formulaic pop/rock structure and production and the esoteric possibilities ‘granulating’ in those mainstrseam cracks.

A short clip of his thoughts behind “Music for Airports” (1978):

“Music for airports” linear notes

http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/MFA-txt.html

His production approach comes across as experimental or creatively disruptive, here’s an interview with Eno and Daniel Lanois working as a production duo with U2:

Prior to working with U2 he produced Talking Heads

…and went on to work with Talking Heads’ David Byrne on the more esoteric “My life in the bush of ghosts”:

Producer Series 2.6 – Glyn Johns

garethstuart — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:14:46 +0000

A major player in the early 1970s, Glyn Johns worked in both an engineering and production capacity with a host of amazingly successful bands including The Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones and The Who.

Apart from watching, listening to and reading through the attached links and videos, pay particular attention to Glyn John’s minimal drum micing technique.

We’ve covered how to compensate for phase cancellation in a multi-mic setup (using sample delays), however this technique, using just four microphones, is intended by design to avoid the comb filter effect caused by phase cancellation.

While it’s inevitable that controlling the drum balance post-recording is limited, the sound achieved is ‘open’ and ‘authentic’, perfect if your aim is to capture a true-to-life representation of a kit, rather than ‘manipulating’ or ‘crafting’ close-miced elements (of the kit) electronically.

So, a couple links about the man himself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyn_Johns

http://www.answers.com/topic/glyn-johns?cat=entertainment

….a few videos / recording of tracks he produced:

And finally, a video and link or two about the Glyn John’s drum micing technique:

http://www.equationaudio.com/engineers/?p=5

http://www.wikirecording.org/Guide_to_Recording_Drums

The Producer Series 2.5 – Trevor Horn

garethstuart — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:37:42 +0000

Trevor Horn made a massive impact in the 1980s with lavish productions, making full use of the technology available at the time….watch out for that sequenced slap bass and massive reverb.
Refer to “8.3 Recommended Listening” in the module guide and see what tips you can pick up from: Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Welcome to the Pleasuredome”, Art of Noise “The seduction of Claude Debussy”, Propoganda “Dual” (especially, the ‘bitter, sweet’ mix) and ABC “The Lexicon of Love”.

Also, follow these links and make a note of as many production techniques, of Trevor Horns and the other producers discussed to date to share in class on Tuesday and Wednesday March 11th & 12th:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Horn

http://www.trevor-horn.de/

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar05/articles/trevorhorn.htm

As a contextural ‘aside’ to get a real taste of Eighties culture, have a look at the darkly satirical film “American Pyscho” – Horn’s fashion sense in the glasses department should come into focus………excuse pun / cheesy humour.

2.4 Producer Series – Alan Parsons

garethstuart — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:28:48 +0000

Music aside for one moment, the interesting thing with Alan Parsons (especially for the iconic albums he’s worked on) is his role / job description – engineer (not producer). He was undoubtedly at the right place at the right time, just wearing the wrong hat and this has almost certainly cost him dearly (which is a great pity), although he has a world-class reputation and is still ‘going’ strong, in his 60s.

So, take a look at these links and jot down a few more invaluable production / recording techniques:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Parsons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon

http://bartoszmusic.uniblogs.org/category/fm-favourite-music/

And just before you get going on the making of “Dark Side of the Moon”, take a look at ARU’s own “Aspects” Alumni magazine, featuring an article on Pink Floyd playing at Cambridge School of Arts in their student days (here) – a gig “in what is now Ruskin room 208″.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtj8she1mgg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Q2O-Rrbkk&feature=related

Producer Series 2.3 – Phil Spector

garethstuart — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:47:30 +0000

Phil Spector was one colourful character who created a ‘brand’ in production terms, labelled his “Wall of Sound”.

Enjoy the links which cast a little light on the man behind the myth:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8993130

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Sound

http://www.answers.com/topic/phil-spector?cat=entertainment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ov3ZcJ9UbU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoHclWVc7b4&feature=PlayList&p=8C8756CB458EC276&playnext=1&index=5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Qpo1Y3NGY

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/4KkMSkmx7sM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /

Producer Series 2.2 – Arif Mardin

garethstuart — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:12:16 +0000

Okay chaps, a great link – an interview with Arif Mardin talking about his role as a producer:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5061890

The first two links that follow are actually about David Gamson, the keyboard player with Scritti Polliti (a producer in his own right). Mardin produced Scritti’s “Cupid and Psyche ‘85″ album and I’m sure some of his production magic rubbed off on Gamson, especially on their follow up album “Provision” which they produced themselves.

http://www.uaudio.com/webzine/2004/september/text/content3.html

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_bedroom_control_room/

Okay, now the remaining links are all about Mardin.

http://bibbly-o-tek.com/category/producers/arif-mardin/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arif_Mardin

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5061890

http://www.dosswerks.com/scc/articles.htm

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul04/articles/arifmardin.htm?print=yes

http://www.lightmillennium.org/summer_fall_01/mdede_arifmardin.html

http://www.songwriteruniverse.com/mardin.htm

2.1 The Producer Series – George Martin / The Beatles

garethstuart — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:56:13 +0000

A few useful links, have a read and listen.

The main reason for listening to the work of a variety of producers this semester is that you ‘absorb’ their production techniques and develop your own ‘palette’ of treatments and approaches (with assessments 4 & 5 and your own projects in mind).

Just bringing three songs to your attention here: “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “In My Life” and “I am the Walrus”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Martin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Fields_Forever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywg-PdeGVL0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNM4hgjxLSU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqOKvonLrH8

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=george+martin+interview&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#

George Martin on \”Strawberry Fields\”