Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
He Stopped Loving Her Today: It's the saddest song, and the most mournful voice, and the most histrionic production and the cruelest punchline in...
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Joni Mitchell’s “Help Me”
Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark is exceptional among her greatest records as it has her one Top-10 pop hit, “Help Me.”
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: War’s “Low Rider”
War’s “Low Rider” is a song about a car—one of the coolest, most groove-y, sultry car songs ever, in fact.
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Frank Zappa’s “Dancin’ Fool”
You can thank Disco for bringing Frank Zappa to the singles chart in the late 1970s with his first hit, “Dancin’ Fool.”
Business
Mix’s Recording Studio Class of 2023, Part 4
It's the conclusion of Mix’s annual look at studio design, where we present some of the most exciting new or refurbished studios that have...
Facilities
Mix’s Recording Studio Class of 2023, Part 3
In Mix’s annual look at studio design, we present some of the most exciting new or refurbished studios that have opened during the past...
Business
Mix’s Recording Studio Class of 2023, Part 2
In Mix’s annual look at studio design, we present some of the most exciting new or refurbished studios that have opened during the past...
Facilities
Mix’s Recording Studio Class of 2023, Part 1
In Mix’s annual look at studio design, we present some of the most exciting new or refurbished studios that have opened during the past...
Facilities
Inside The Revitalized Q Division Recording Studio
Take a deep dive into Q Division in Cambridge, Mass., which is a key part of Mix’s Recording Studio Class of 2023.
news
L.A.’s Unsung Studio Heroes
Remember when engineers weren’t even credited on albums? Labels haven’t always acknowledged the essential role players on both sides of the glass. But at...
news
Double-Dose of Lucinda Williams: ‘Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone’
Lucinda Williams first visited David Bianco’s North Hollywood Studio, Dave’s Room, in December 2012. Bianco had agreed to donate studio time for a benefit...
news
Benjamin Booker: Explosive Debut for a Newcomer With an Old Soul
Blues rocker Benjamin Booker is on the road spreading the word about his eponymous debut—sometimes playing his own club dates, other times serving as...
news
Dom Flemons, After the Chocolate Drops
A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom Flemons plays guitar, banjo, jug, and an assortment of reed and percussion instruments, in old-time...
news
Heaven’s Jail’s ‘Ace Called Zero’
Engineer/producer Ben Greenberg says he enjoys working in “proper studios,” but he’s equally fond of the way he recorded alt-rock band Heaven’s Jail earlier...
Live Sound
Imelda May’s North American Tour
Irish rockabilly artist Imelda May’s new album, Tribal (Verve Records), won’t be released in the U.S. until the fall, but it’s already reached into...
news
Morrissey’s Flair for the Dramatic: ‘World Peace Is None of Your Business’
When producer Joe Chiccarelli describes the Morrissey album he produced last winter as “musical theater,” he doesn’t mean it in the Showboat way. It’s...
news
Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas at Sonic Ranch
Producer Milo Froideval spent a month in Detroit, working on pre-production with Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas before bringing the band to residential Sonic...
news
The Muffs: ‘Whoop Dee Doo’
L.A. punk outfit The Muffs haven’t released a full-length in a decade, but Whoop Dee Doo is worth the wait.
news
OK Go’s Electronic Art: EP Previews the Elegant Pop Noise of ‘Hungry Ghosts’
Out this month is Upside Out, a four-song OK Go EP that coincides with the use of one song, “The Writing’s on the Wall,”...
2014
Classic Tracks: ‘So Into You,’ Atlanta Rhythm Section
Success is measured in all kinds of ways, but it’s probably fair to say that when “sidemen” take the spotlight, the results are mixed;...
news
Rebirth Brass Band, ‘Move Your Body’
“The process was basically, ‘Just play,’” says Tracey Freeman, who produced and mixed the Rebirth Brass Band’s latest release, Move Your Body. Freeman and...
Facilities
Class of 2014: A Collection of This Year’s Hottest New Studios
“As a lifelong musician, producer and engineer, I have to say, Think Loud Studios is the ultimate reward for all those years of hard...
news
Matisyahu’s ‘Akeda’
“When a performer forgets where they are and really puts it down the wires—that’s what we try to preserve at all costs,” says Joel...
news
Joseph Arthur’s ‘Lou’: Artist’s Tribute to Unforgettable Songs
A couple of months after Lou Reed passed away, A&R rep/music producer Bill Bentley suggested that Joseph Arthur record a tribute to their mutual...
news
Ben and Ellen Harper’s ‘Childhood Home’
“They’re both excellent wordsmiths, and when they harmonize, you can definitely tell there’s that genetic vibration that happens only when people who are related...
news
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, ‘Goin’ Home’
Guitar master Kenny Wayne Shepherd made his aptly named new release in his hometown of Shreveport, La., bringing his band—singer Noah Hunt, drummer Chris...
news
The Old 97’s ‘Most Messed Up’
The Old 97’s new album, Most Messed Up, is a raucous, debauched rock-on-the-road concept album. Yet, the band recorded in a private, light-filled villa...
news
Rodney Crowell: ‘Tarpaper Sky’ Follows Grammy-Winning Duets
I felt like we were making a record that lived someplace between Memphis and New Orleans,” says engineer Justin Niebank about Rodney Crowell’s new...
Facilities
Southern Ground Studios: Zac Brown’s Production Home on Music Row
When Zac Brown and producer/engineer/musician Matt Mangano began searching for a studio base for Brown’s Southern Ground Artists label, they envisioned purchasing and converting...
news
Katie Herzig and Cason Cooley ‘Walk Through Walls’
Katie Herzig’s Walk Through Walls—her third project with producer/engineer Cason Cooley—blends acoustic and electronic sounds that grew from a process the pair have developed...
news
Eric Hutchinson’s ‘Pure Fiction’
Nick Radovanovic mixed Eric Hutchinson’s infectious new pop album in Skies Fall Studios
Live Sound
On the Road with Neko Case
Singer/songwriter Neko Case has added another leg to her tour, promoting her Grammy-nominated album The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder...
2014
Classic Tracks: “Beds Are Burning,” Midnight Oil
Australian rock ’n’ roll band Midnight Oil broke into the U.S. charts with an explosive single from their album Diesel and Dust. “Beds Are...
news
Lost in the Trees: Everything Changes in ‘Past Life’
Lost in the Trees leader Ari Picker thought he had a well-thought-out map for his band’s latest ethereal prog-folk album, Past Life (Anti). For...
news
The Continental Club: Austin’s Home Base for Performing Musicians
Jamie Wellwarth, production manager at Austin’s Continental Club, has been mixing shows, advancing dates and maintaining gear at the venerable roots-music house for more...
Live Sound
Dwight Yoakam on Tour
Dwight Yoakam and band—guitarist Eugene Edwards, bassist J.J. Clark, drummer Mitch Marine and multi-instrumentalist Brian Whelan—have been hitting the road hard since he released...
news
Linnea Olssen, ‘Ah!’
Linnea Olssen’s beautiful cello-and-voice album was recorded and mixed in Studio Gix (Halmstad, Sweden). The artist did all of her own recording in Logic,...
news
Eternal Summers, ‘The Drop Beneath’
Distorted guitars and punchy drums create an almost harsh sonic environment for Nicole Yun’s ethereal voice, making Eternal Summers’ new release, The Drop Beneath,...
news
A.J. Croce Tells ‘Twelve Tales’
Artist/songwriter A.J. Croce’s latest comprises a dozen songs, made in pairs with six different producers: Allen Toussaint, Mitchell Froom, Kevin Killen, Tony Berg, Greg...
news
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: Rhythm & Soul Greats ‘Give the People What They Want’
In an interview for Electronic Musician magazine last summer, Questlove of The Roots mentioned that he’d learned some eye-opening drum-miking techniques from Gabe Roth,...
news
Springsteen’s ‘High Hopes’
The powerful title track from Bruce Springsteen’s new album was recorded with engineer Nick DiDia, mainly at Studios 301 in Sydney, Australia. Producer Ron...