Hollywood, CA (July 24, 2018)—Primal Kings created the digital masters for the group’s eponymous debut album, recorded and mixed in analog by producer and engineer Lenise Bent and lead singer/songwriter Chris Wilson at United Recording in Hollywood.
“It was critical to maintain the warmth and feeling of these analog mixes,” said Wilson. “We needed someone who truly understood our vision. Mastering engineer Warren Sokol not only maintained the spirit of the mixes, he managed to highlight the best qualities. As much as we look forward to a vinyl release and a truly all-analog product, we are grateful to Warren for the incredible work on these digital versions of our mixes.”
Primal Kings project began five years ago when Bent visited Los Angeles’ live music venue The Mint and was impressed by the band’s performance and Wilson’s original songs. A year later, after watching the documentary Sound City, Wilson was determined to capture the band’s music in an all-analog format. He reached out to Bent due to her successful track record with the format.
“We were determined to produce the best all-analog recording possible,” said Bent. “The budget was tight, so we were quite judicious. Primal Kings is the perfect band for this type of recording. The songs were strong, and most tracks were first or second takes. The key to recording analog and staying on budget is to prepare with ample rehearsals and then commit to a performance and move on.”
Primal Kings sessions were recorded to ATR Master 2-inch tape on a Studer 827 24-track tape machine and mixed to ATR Master 1/2-in. tape on an Otari MTR 10 2-track with 1/2-in. heads. The playback machine for mastering at United Recording was an Ampex ATR-100 1/2-in. 2-track.
“The mixes translated perfectly,” according to Wilson. “Being able to create such a satisfying record with the budget limitations and the unforgiving nature of analog/destructive recording just made the whole process and final results even sweeter.”
United Recording • www.unitedrecordingstudios.com
