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

It was a fun session recording this track. Noble was literally fresh off the plane from Australia, and arrived at the studio right from the airport. Hadn’t seen him in what was probably a couple years, so this was a great “first time back” type of occasion. Noble knew all his parts perfectly because a year or two prior, a rough demo of it had been cut back at the Ephin studios.

Watch video from the recording session:

The Recording Process:

After a couple rye and cokes and some catching up, we were all ready to get cas in the booth. If i remember correctly, his verses went down in just one or two takes each, with full double layers thrown on for an extra thick sound – something that I almost always do with Caspian. He also recorded his parts of the chorus, with the holes left in in for Noble to slide in his vocals.

When Noble got in the booth, the process was just as smooth, again because he had all his parts already worked out. I picked a suitable mic / preamp combination for his voice and we were right into it. We filled in the his chorus layers first to get the vibe going, then took it from there. His bridge leads were done in a few takes, with me slicing it up on the fly and choosing the best lines from each take. Everyone in the studio was excited about how it was coming together, and knew right away we had a great single on our hands. A few adlibs later and we were done the recording. After another couple drinks with the guys and some catching up, we called it a night.

After we wrapped it up, the track ended up sitting for a several months before we ended up mixing it (the video footage is from 2009). When cas gave the go-ahead, i spent an afternoon on it. Didn’t go overboard, just made sure the vocals were sitting right: crisp and clean, and that the beat banged. My main focus on the instrumental was to ensure the string loop floated along, anchored by a smacking snare right in the middle of the mix to create the “head nod” feel. A quick master with my favorite pieces to get it up to volume, and we had our selves the final product you here now.

The Final Product:

Special mentions to Caspian, Noble, Vision, Ephin, Heera, Janet & Wisers Wiskey.

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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!

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.

1. Microphone Placement

I am putting this one first, because it is the most important AND the most overlooked. The position of a mic relative to its source can have as much, or more impact on the tone of a sound as liberal amounts of EQ. For example… large diaphragm condenser mics (with cardioid pickup patterns) are especially sensitive to the “proximity effect”, which states that that the closer a source is to the mic, the more bass is going to be captured. If your recording is sounding a little thin, before trying additive EQ, try moving your vocalist closer to the mic. Some mics have more exaggerated proximity effects than others, so experiment. It is not uncommon for me to go back into the iso booth two or three times during level check to change the placement until I am happy. Do not worry, you are not annoying your vocalist/client by striving for the best sound possible.

2. Tracking With Compression?

There have been countless debates about tracking with compression vs tracking without compression. Though we won’t open Pandora’s Box of compression techniques today,  my simple answer is: Yes… but don’t overdo it. Running compression while tracking is important because you do not want your levels to peak during the louder sections of a pass. Equally important is the psychology involved — you do not want the vocalist to hold back. If you have a smooth compression in the chain while they are recording, their levels are going to sound more “in the pocket” to them in their headphones, and your vocalist can belt the big sections without fear of peaking. This peace of mind and better-sounding monitor mix generally translate into better takes. Plus, as we all know, as singers settle into their takes, their levels often get louder than those during level check. A compressor is going to save you from clipping when that perfect take comes. This said, its generally best not to commit to any sort of heavy compression that is dramatically affecting the tone or the dynamics of the recording until mixing.

3. Tracking With EQ?

You should not need to use dramatic EQ while recording. If you feel you do, you should first look at both your microphone selection and microphone placement. If you feel with certainty that an EQ is complementing your vocal sound, then go for it, but err on the side of caution and be conservative. Do not record your vocals with a high pass filter engaged, as you can do this later just as effectively.

4. Avoid Sibilance

This point is directly related to my first tip. Sibilance is the harsh high-end “esss” sounds in a vocal that are caused by “S” and similar consonant sounds. Before reaching for a DeEsser plugin, EQ, or multiband compression, try moving your mic. You will be surprised what lowering your microphone one inch can do for your sound. It can be the difference between harsh and smooth. This is not to say that you may not need to further treat your vocals with processing, but the less you have to do during mixing & editing, the better.

5. Know your Microphones

Finally, knowing what your microphones sound like can help you get the most out of your recordings, and make educated and efficient decisions based on what you are hearing. Everyone has a “go to” mic or two that they start with, but if its not working, you need to be able to assess why, and think of what mic could better complement the source. If your vocal is sounding too harsh, what mic do you own that has a less accentuated top end? If you do not have more than one good vocal microphone, make sure to utilize proper placement techniques if you aren’t getting the sound you want.

I hope that these tips help you in your vocal recordings. In future posts, I hope to dive further into detail about specific proccesses of vocal recording. The bottom line is to capture a great sound that sounds like great product right off the bat, while still giving you and/or your mix engineer room to work when the mixing stage comes. Good luck!

If you have a good topic of discussion for Learning Curve, please send it over in the Contact section.