Check Terell out on Twitter at @TerellSafadi

The Review:

Taken from: http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/quickspins/archive/2010/07/29/pigeon-hole-age-like-astronaut-urbnet.aspx

The third of a trio of Sweatshop Union presents releases is absolutely essential for any hip hop fan looking for something that marries an Eminem-esque confounding about relationships, funked up club jams and some really hilarious beat loops to boot. To date, I haven’t heard a better party track from a Canadian hip hop artist this year than “Light Show.” With its ragga-ized vocal, the tune just bops along furiously and will have all but the paralyzed shaking what they got. Truly, an excellent disc and some of the titles, “Jercules” as a case in point, are witty and feature a telling social commentary. Grade: A-

Positive Feedback

I am pleased to report some more good feedback on the Sweatshop Union front: The Vancouver Province gave Pigeon Hole’s “Age Like Astronauts” an A- in the latest edition of Vancouver’s biggest newspaper. Also pleased to note that both the Pigeon Hole and the Dirty Circus records are still holding strong on the College Radio Charts, with Pigeon Hole’s “Light Show feat. D-Sisive” claiming top spot on the hiphop singles chart this week. Big ups to all the hiphop DJ’s out there giving theses records support.

I have also had some great feedback about the engineering on the records from many of you in the industry, and I’d like to thank you for the encouragement and taking the time to remind me that our countless hours in the studio focused on finite details are worth it.

- Jamie

Pigeon Hole & Stuey Kubrick Present:

New video from Pigeon Hole, directed by our friend Stuey Kubrick. This song was one of the most fun to make on the record – it’s a real trip. The build up at the end has literally dozens of layers of little percussion sounds building into a giant crescendo. This video features hidden treasure, space men, and…. bonfires.

Check out Pigeon Hole’s new album “Age Like Astronauts” on iTunes

Sara Brudner is an amazingly graceful singer/songwriter residing in Vancouver, Canada. I had the pleasure of working with her, engineering a 6 song EP which is set for release August 27th, 2010. The record has a very lush and organic vibe. Production was handled by Josh Parsons, who brought a very unique and effective sensibility to the boards.

Catch Sara Live

For a taste of what you can expect, you can check out Sara this Tuesday, July 13th at the Biltmore. Sara’s live performance is a very true and well crafted representation of her studio efforts. For more info on the event, click HERE.

Listen to Sara

Two singles have been leaked so far, including her latest single “Two Tequila Shots & A Black Hole”

Coming Soon: A Behind The Scenes Look

Josh Parsons & Jamie Kuse at work on Sara Brudner's debut EP.

I will be providing an in depth behind the scenes look into the creation of the EP closer to the release date. The album has a lot of organic elements, and features some contributions from some of Vancouver’s finest studio musicians.

Keep your eyes out for Sara… she’s got that “it” factor.

www.sarabrudner.com

Me and Marmalade working with the MPC 2000, the source of all things pigeon hole.

It was a busy spring. Sweatshop Union was working diligently in the studio, recording three new albums that were released on Urbnet records June 15th. It was an interesting marketing plan, brought on by the necessities of factor deadlines. Two of them debuted in the Top 10 of the Canadian iTunes charts. All three were mixed here at Creativ Recording Studios, and while two of the albums were primarily recorded elsewhere, the Pigeon Hole album was recorded here with me.

It’s always a treat to work with such a diverse and talented bunch of people. I had the pleasure of first working with them on their third studio album, “Water Street”, as the mix engineer on the project.

The hiphop collective that is Sweatshop Union is comprised of 7 people, all with creative input and valid contributions. As one would assume, this allows some amazing creativity and melding of ideas. As an engineer, I am extremely appreciative of the freedom they grant me to experiment with sounds and textures. As many engineers can tell you, being stifled creatively during mix can be a problem, when dealing with an artist or a group that for whatever reason do not want to relinquish any form of creative control. I suppose the guys in Sweatshop Union have learned to work this way out of necessity, considering the number of independent minds in their group. Any way you look at it, their open-mindedness sets an example for anyone working in a group environment, and it’s a very positive thing for the music and their end result.

Pigeon Hole “Age Like Astronauts”

Debuted at #8 on the iTunes Hiphop Charts

The Pigeon Hole album was the project I was most hands-on with, seeing it through from recording until the mastering stage. I learned a lot working with Pigeon Hole’s two members, Dusty Melo & Marmalade. In their production, they have mastered the art of “shitty is pretty”, a low-fidelity type of perfection. For example, the drum sounds on the closing song “Bonfire” were all recorded by them on a children’s toy drumset in Dusty’s living room through a pro-sumer mic, then run through the MPC. The result is a crunchy, vintage tone that is completely one of a kind. Working with their great sounds made it fun and easy for me to get the most out of the record.

The songs on this record vary from hiphop bangers to prog-rock/psychedelic. They combine moody vinyl samples with tactful doses of live instrumentation. The live instruments often blend seamlessly with the samples, which is often the achilles heel of producers working with samples who want to add sounds, without taking away from the vintage vibe. We maintained dusty feel across the board with heavy use of ribbon mics, tape saturation and heavily driven 1970′s preamps.

The process on this record was the most “analog” of the three: the crunchy synths are analog sourced, tracked to heavily driven tape. The (in)famous cranky old DBX160 compressor played a key role in the clicky attack of drums and percussive instrumentation. The Roland RE201 space echo is all over this record, providing spooky delays and lofi tape crunch.

An interesting side bar: I often give myself small personal challenges or “missions” when mixing a project, a cue taken from a David Bowie interview I once read. For this album it was “I am going to use Plate Reverb on every single song on this record.” I stayed true to my goal, whether on vocals, synths, samples or all of the above, so special shout-outs to a certain company and their certain amazing EMT plate emulation.

All in all, a very fun mix project that allowed me to pull out a lot of “colour pieces” to add to their already amazing tones. Special mention to our friend Alex DeGrace over at Suite Sound Labs who did a great job on the mastering.

Click here to preview or buy “Age Like Astronauts” on iTunes.

Dirty Circus “Alive and Well”

Debuted at #9 on the iTunes Hiphop Charts.

This record was partially recorded elsewhere, with the remainder recorded up here at Creativ with me. It’s a true boom-bap project, produced primarily by Metty The Dertmerchant and Mos Eisley. There’s some guest production from Chin Injeti (Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Eminem, Nas), Rob The Viking (Swollen Members) and Slakah The BeatChild (Divine Brown).

Metty’s style of production is pretty straightforward: sample(s), drums, bass, percussion and sound effects. Though this format is simple in its approach, it can present its own challenges when it comes time to mix. In this situation, I’ve got to present a select amount of sounds that translate big and wide. Thankfully, Metty’s sound selection is great and the samples all sound good coming out of the MPC2000, so it all came together perfectly.

Mos Eisley & Chin Injeti produced one of my favorite tracks off the record, “Where I’m From”. Mos had the beat all laid out, with a basic synth part, the Rhodes and the drums, but knew he wanted to take it a step further. We laid Mo’s vocals down after tracking the beat out, and then he called up Chin, who always seems to know what to do to take a track to the next level. Within the next day or two, Chin laced the hypnotizing bass line and synth parts, as well as some skanky electric guitar stuff. He sent over the stem files and we loaded them up, and I was instantly like, “Ok… now this is a banger!”

Metty and Mos trade off verses extremely well throughout the record, so that in itself creates a great cohesion. I did the mastering on this record with a combination of my favorite analog and digital flavors, overall doing my best to get the most punch and bass while maintaining high end crispiness – straight 90′s hiphop mindstate.

Click here to preview or buy “By Hook Or By Crook” on iTunes.

Trillionaires “By Hook Or By Crook”

Debuted at #14 on the iTunes Hiphop Charts

The Trillionaires, comprised of Metty The Dert Merchant and Evil Ebeneezer, is perhaps the largest departure from the traditional Sweatshop Union sound. The large majority of this album was recorded in a few weeks at another studio, with any last-minute additions being recorded by me here at Creativ.

In this project, Metty and Evil have created what I would call a concept record. It’s a tongue in cheek satire on the state of affairs in our floundering music industry. The production was handled entirely by Metty, and again highlights his golden era approach – load the MPC with some hot samples and chop it up. The track count on the instruments on this record probably never exceeded 8, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sound big.

Like I mentioned before, working with a single (and possibly mono) sample and some drums presents a challenge when it comes time to get some width out of the mix. The use of stereo delays, a vintage Roland chorus unit and big fat plate verbs were mainstays: creating ambiance and a sense of depth for the listener. My favorite example of how these techniques came together would be on the track “Looks So Good”, which is also probably my favorite cut on the record.

This record is especially cool because of the way it is sequenced and put together. Metty had planned out the form of the record well before we did the master disk sequence. It flows together in a very cinematic way, with songs bridged by amusing movie clips, skits and sound effects. The end result is a very listenable and amusing record from start to finish. During the mastering process, I took a lot of care to see Metty’s big picture vision come together just how he wanted it.

Click here to preview or buy “By Hook Or By Crook” on iTunes.

In the end…

The end result is something we are all proud of. The albums all debuted with strong numbers, and are continuing to do so during this crucial first week. A big thanks to all the guys: Colin, Lee, Metty, Mo & Evil, for including me in the creation of these great records. Shout-outs to Urbnet Records for their progressive approach to the releases, and making it work for everybody. To those reading this who haven’t heard the albums, go give them a listen, and if you like it, support hard-working Canadian artists and buy the records.

Stay in touch and follow me on twitter at @jamiekuse!

12 Albums Released in 2009 Sold More than One Million Units
Of the 97,751 albums released in 2009, only 12 of them sold more than one million units last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The number of titles to reach one million units in previous years was 35 in 2006, 27 in 2007 and 22 in 2008. Clearly it is getting more difficult for an album to sell one million units.

The new releases that do sell over one million units in the year of their release, however, are maintaining their average. Between 2006 and 2009, the average annual tally for titles reaching the one million mark has ranged from a low of 1.42 million in 2008 to a high of 1.61 million in 2009. In years past, there were far more titles in the one million to 1.4 million range. Now such titles would probably not reach the one million mark and as a result would not be included in these calculations. So, the average of the titles in this million-plus ground stays about the same even though there are fewer sales and less revenue from these million-plus sellers.

A side note: Albums routinely sell well after their year of release. In the case of Taylor Swift, her 2006 debut sold over one million units in both 2007 and 2008 after selling less than 300,000 units in the year it was released. Zac Brown Band’s The Foundation, released in 2008, sold over one million units in 2009. And Michael Jackson’s catalog sold millions in 2009 but was not counted in these figures.

CORRECTION:Only 2,050 of 2009’s New Albums Sold Over 5,000 Units
The numbers are enough to make you stop and think. Only 2.1% of the 97,751 albums released in 2009 – or about 2,050 unique titles – reached a threshold most people would assume is within reach of just about any artist.

The Number of New Albums Actually Dropped in 2009
If 97,751 new releases seems high, consider it’s actually a lower number than the 105,000 new releases that came out in 2008. Expect the number of new releases to hold steady or decline in the coming years. In recent years, digital distributors flooded online retail with foreign catalogs being licensed to new territories. In effect, these distributors are catching up to all the music that’s available from around the world. As with most games of catch up, this one won’t go on forever. As fewer and fewer old recordings find their way to U.S. retailers for the first time, the unique number of titles released in a given year will fall. There may be an increase in the number of domestic recordings, but it may not be enough to make up for the fall in new foreign catalogs.

Albums’ Second-Week Fade Are Getting Bigger
The median second-week fade was 62.8% in 2009 and had steadily dropped each year from 33.9% in 2000. Nielsen’s explanations are good ones: marketing budgets are more limited, pre-sales are more common, core fans are more aware of new releases, piracy may be eroding sales of casual fans.

These are the results of the last decade’s shift from physical to digital sales. Internet sales – both physical and digital – mean a greater percentage of total sales will come from pre-orders that SoundScan counts as first-week sales.

Here are a few other thoughts. Because radio plays less of a role in album sales, few albums get the lasting benefits of radio promotion that helps sales after the initial push. And because there are fewer marketing dollars being spent at physical retail, there are fewer titles enrolled in price-and-placement programs that used to position a sale-priced CD for the first two or four weeks of release.

These factors combine to create a retail environment in which it is easier to get core fans’ attention but difficult to market beyond those core fans.

From Glenn Peoples / Billboard.biz

To read some good insight on how to thrive in today’s industry, check out Bob Lefsetz’s article “The Long Haul“.

Developed in the 1980s by Hugo Zuccarelli, Holophonic Sound uses the same “multiple exposure” premise as that used to create holographic images. The recorded sound produced is so realistic, some people claim they can smell sulphur when they listen to a holophonic recording of someone striking a match. It appears that Holophonic Sound waves stimulate our brains to reproduce very realistic and truly three dimensional sound within us, thereby stimulating other responses that our brains expect to accompany the sound. Even more interesting is the fact that researchers report that some hearing impaired people can “hear” Holophonic Sound – again because it stimulates their brains even though their audio receiver mechanisms are not working properly.

Listen To Holophonic Sound

You should listen on headphones, and close your eyes for best effect.

Food for thought: Why is this concept not used more in Film/TV and in music production? Share your comments and thoughts below.

From NYDailyNews.com: Guru, a the pioneering Gang Starr rapper who pushed hip-hop to new boundaries by blending thumping beats with jazz rhythms, has died. He was 43.

The rap star, whose real name is Keith Elam, died after a long battle with cancer, his longtime professional partner DJ Premier said.

Guru’s death came two months after he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized in New York. He reportedly fell into a coma after undergoing surgery.

Guru rocketed to stardom in the late 1980s when he partnered with DJ Premier to create the group Gang Starr.

The partnership helped define East Coast rap, with its complex, socially-conscious lyrics and jazz-heavy samples.

In the 1990s, Guru received further acclaim for his solo albums dubbed “Jazzmattaz,” which featured collaborations with such jazz sensations as Branford Marsalis and Donald Byrd.

On his Web site, DJ Premier published a letter purportedly written by Guru, which stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal.

“I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting,” the letter reads.

1. Come prepared

Excuse me for being so obvious. Coming prepared to the studio is the number one way to save money, because you are saving time. Having your parts worked out and songs properly arranged before coming into the studio is crucial. Not only does it save time, but it lets you focus your efforts into finessing the finer points that make good songs sound great. It is also recommended that you have charts written out for any other musicians playing on your record. This is not only common courtesy, but keeps communication simple and the creative momentum up.

2. Use Proper Session Musicians

This is a point I run into the ground at any recording seminars I speak at, or whenever talking to clients who are new to the recording process. It’s so important! Recording is a whole separate art, beyond just having the chops to play a song well. To get the best results for your record, use a professional with a lot of recording experience under their belt. A professional truly grasps how certain tones sound on record, and have a greater understanding of how the subtle nuances of their performance can affect a recording. Initially it may seem counter-intuitive that spending money to hire a professional can save you money, but it’s almost always true. Professional session musicians require far less editing, mixing, processing, etc, and therefore save you money in the long run, plus give you a superior final product.

3. Time Management & Expectations

Many people who are new to the recording process make the mistake of thinking that the recording process only takes as long as you spend actually putting down your takes. Be aware that the editing and mixing process comprises the largest portion of time spent on a professional recording. Though every situation is different, a safe assumption is that for every hour you spend tracking your record, you can expect three more on the back end for editing & mixing. By budgeting your time properly and maintaining your expectations of the outcome, you can come out of the recording process with everything you needed done without going over budget.

4. Live Drums vs Programmed

Recording and mixing a professional drum sound is one of the biggest challenges for an engineer. It is what separates a professional studio from the weekend warriors. You need a good room, a good kit, a good drummer, and the proper equipment. No matter who you are, it’s a time-consuming process. The setup, tracking and mixing of drums is very labour intensive. Though a real drummer playing a real kit is sometimes irreplaceable, in many cases you have other options. A lot of modern pop/rock drum sounds are not recorded live anymore, and if they were, chances are they are so sample replaced and quantized that they bear no resemblance to the original recordings.

Drum samples & VST instruments have come very far in the past few years. We now have the freedom to hire a drummer to trigger samples using a good MIDI drum kit. Because of the quality of the drum samples, not only can you get a professional drum sound almost instantly, but you have the freedom to swap sounds around and quantize takes at a whim. Though it’s a a bit hard for some people to wrap their head around, I highly recommend considering this option for certain genres, especially where budget is an issue. At the very least, keep an open mind, because this technology is already an industry standard, and is improving greatly every year .

I hope these points help you in the planning of your next recording project. If you have any thoughts or tips to add, please do so in the comment section below.



These schools are far from cheap. The program I enrolled in cost over $10,000 for a full-time, one-year course.  Some comparable institutions charged up to double that. As with most post-secondary education, that is a lot of money. What exactly are you getting for your five-figure tuition fee?

Things to look for…

Up to date equipment:

You have to be learning on equipment that is relevant to the modern workplace. Yeah, knowing how to switch tape heads on that 2″ Studer tape machine they have there is cool and all, but chances are you aren’t going really utilize that knowledge in 2010 (diehard tape users, please spare me the hatemail). Are you using the latest versions of DAW software and industry standard plugins? Why learn on antiquated systems, when people are using the latest and greatest everywhere? It doesn’t make sense, yet I find that a lot of these schools are training on tools that are many years out of date.

Maintenance:

Many recording schools skimp on maintenance budgets. Large format consoles have broken channels, patch bays and more. Computers are slow or out of date. This is not a good learning environment. Look for a clean school with nice amenities.  This indicates a school that is taking their revenue and putting it back into proper operation and education.

Quality Instructors

Common sense says that you want to learn from someone who has practical knowledge and experience. This was where I found a huge flaw in my school. I recall asking a question about a compressor, asking about the details of the different parameters. Only ONE teacher in the whole facility was even able to give me a semi-logical explanation of one of the most fundamental tools of the trade; the rest just stuttered around the question or gave me blank stares. In fact, from my understanding, 1/3 of them were fresh graduates from the program. Call me a cynic, but sometimes the saying “those who can’t do, teach” can ring true….

Entry Credentials:

My entry exam to the program was maybe the most ironic part of the whole process. Imagine me, a music student with moderate recording experience being faced with the question “What does www stand for?” on the entry exam for my $10,000+ recording school. Why even bother trying to act like there are standards here? I knew right then and there that this was a high-turnover business looking for anyone’s money. I have heard similar stories about other institutions across the continent.

The plus side: You Get What You Put In

A major benefit of time spent at a recording school is the hands-on experience. They are generally equipped with large tracking rooms and large format consoles. If you want to make the most of your time, make sure you are right in the middle of any sessions recording the bands and musicians that will inevitably be coming through the school’s studios. Make sure you put in the hours to become really familiar with the equipment, experiment with microphone placement, and learn what the different pieces of gear do. This is probably the most usable knowledge you will take from your program. If your instructors are any good, you will walk away with some great theory knowledge as well, but in my opinion is this nothing you cannot learn from a recording text purchased from amazon.

Your Alternative: Hands On Approach

Use that $15,000 tuition fee to buy yourself a recording setup. That is a big chunk of change — enough to get you well on your way to professional recordings. Buy a quality recording interface, microphone, compressor, DAW and applicable software. For example, you could buy Cubase/Logic, a Nuemann u87, Apogee Duet, UA1176 Compressor, and a full toolbox plugins… and still have money left over. Now you have everything you need to gain practical knowledge. Spend that year or two you would have spent in school recording yourself and others — and do not expect to get money for your time. This is all about learning. Read books on recording to flesh out your theoretical knowledge, and learn how to understand and control what you are hearing.

In conclusion

Full disclosure: This is obviously a biased article. I am merely sharing my experiences and thoughts, and that of some others I have spoken with on the subject. Though I remain skeptical of the validity of the average recording school, I urge you to keep an open mind. Whether it is worth the money and time is up to you to decide.

Did you attend a recording program? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.