FEATURES
Danny Kortchmar & The Immediate Family
By Robyn Flans. When Niko Bolas walked into Jackson Browne’s Groove Masters Studio last October to begin engineering Danny Kortchmar’s upcoming album, Honey Don’t Leave L.A., he was convening with musicians he viewed as big brothers and heroes. “I had to make them proud. I was very excited and nervous,” Bolas says. “They’re the cats.”
Hitmaker Howard Benson
By Lily Moayeri. Every sprawling property on the street outside Howard Benson’s West Valley Recording Studios is gated. The legendary producer, who is in his fourth decade of hitmaking, is also behind gates in this affluent neighborhood of Los Angeles. Benson, welcoming and unassuming, leads a tour through this space, whose many hallways are adorned floor-to-ceiling with gold and platinum records he has produced, and it is clear that this live/work space is about the making of music.
‘Jagged Little Pill’ Takes the Stage
By Paul Lehrman. The dazzling new musical Jagged Little Pill is built around the songs from the iconic multi-Grammy-winning album of the same name by Alanis Morissette. Unlike many musicals built around pop albums of the past, the characters and plots are more than just a vehicle for the music.
MUSIC
Mikaela Davis’ ‘Special Delivery‘
By Barbara Schultz. John Congleton works with plenty of established artists, with recent credits including The Decemberists, St. Vincent and Blondie. But there’s a special place in this producer’s heart for young talent like harpist Mikaela Davis.
Classic Track: Semisonic “Closing Time”
By Robyn Flans. If it had not been for producer Steve Lillywhite, Semisonic’s “Feeling Strangely Fine” and its hit single “Closing Time” would never have seen the light of day.
Tour Profile: Modest Mouse
By Tom Kenny. Modest Mouse has played it big and played it small, ridden the hits and slummed it in clubs, seen members come and go and held steady around their core. They’ve been around the world a few times. Yet this past spring tour of the United States was the first time the band carried production, hooking up with Thunder Audio. Through it all, FOH engineer Jacob Feinberg kept the tour on track.
REGIONAL: BAY AREA
Mix Regional: Canada
By Barbara Schultz. Spotlight on Toronto’s Noble Street Studios and Revolution Recording.
Mix Regional: Canada — Sessions and Studio News
By Barbara Schultz. Updates from Iguana Studios, Planet Studios, Studio Loco, Rose Room Recording and Afterlife Studios.
TECHNOLOGY
Technology Profile: Studio Consoles, Boards and Desks for 2018
Console or controller? It’s a silly argument. You want to record clean tracks and you want to mix quality recordings. Some prefer faders, some prefer all in-the-box. It doesn’t matter how it’s done. We live in a hybrid world. That said, here we list the most recent introductions from some of the key players in recording and mixing consoles. Consoles with a capital C. There might be fewer of them these days, but they are only getting better in terms of quality, workflow and control.
New Products for August 2018
New studio and live sound products from TransAudio Group, PreSonus, Vienna Symphonic Library, Avantone Pro, Genelec, Roland, Solid State Logic, RCF, VUE Audiotechnik and Clair Brothers.
Review: PreSonus StudioLive 32
By Brandon T. Hickey. Stage and studio, console and controller, with DAW control.
Review: Steinberg Cubase Pro 9.5
By Gary Eskow. 64-bit DAW adds features, direct offline processing and much more.
DEPARTMENTS
From the Editor: So Many Ways to Play the Game
By Tom Kenny. Every single month, in putting together issues of Mix, I am reminded of just how many and varied styles there are to bring music and sound to life.
Back Page Blog: August 2018
By Mike Levine and Steve La Cerra. Notes on control, survival and networked audio.
