2016
The Pines, ‘Above the Prairie’
Above the Prairie is the perfect name for The Pines’ album, which couches acoustic sounds in an airy atmosphere of ethereal synths. “That’s the...
Profiles
2016
Skilled Mechanics Blend Organic Instruments With Studio Wizardry
It’s hard to pin which city Tricky is currently calling home as the Bristol, UK-bred artist flits his way from continent to continent every...
2016
Leland Sundries at The Creamery
“What compels me about Nick’s music is his storytelling,” says engineer/studio owner Quinn McCarthy; he recorded and mixed Music for Outcasts from Leland Sundries,...
2016
Cool Spin: John Newman, ‘Revolve’
John Newman is perhaps better known as a feature vocalist than a singer/songwriter in his own right, but that is doing the multi-talented Newman...
2015
Mix Regional News: Los Angeles
COMPOSER TURNS SUBARU INTO MOBILE RECORDING RIG When composer Cody Westheimer wanted to untether from his home studio (New West Studios) in Los Angeles...
2016
Sam Sparro, ‘Quantum Physical Volume 2’
Sam Sparro is identified by his smooth and soulful vocal style, but unlike others in his musical bracket, he does all the parts himself....
2016
Dave Gahan & Soulsavers, ‘Angels & Ghosts’
Listening to Dave Gahan and Soulsavers’ latest album, Angels & Ghosts, it’s hard to believe it was created between their home studios—all but the...
2016
Cool Spin: Yacht, ‘I Thought the Future Would be Cooler’
By the time you get through the second full play of I Thought the Future Would be Cooler, you’ll have decided whether you love...
2015
‘A Very Swingin’ Christmas’ with the Count Basie Orchestra
Music being one of the season’s greatest gifts, we interviewed the seven-time Grammy-winning producer/engineer/musician who made one of this year’s grandest Christmas albums: The...
2015
Cool Spin: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, ‘It’s a Holiday Soul Party’
No one else working today makes real soul records like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. And now, in the great tradition of the big...
2015
Cool Spin: Sam Phillips – The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll
Just cross everything else off of your Christmas list and buy these two things for every music lover you know: Peter Guralnick’s upcoming biography...
2015
Bellfuries, ‘Working Man’s Blues’
The Bellfuries’ latest album was recorded in Hi-Style Studios (Chicago) by engineer/musician Alex Hall. Working Man’s Blues reflects what Hall and Hi-Style capture so...
2015
The Stone Foxes, ‘Twelve Spells’
Engineer George S. Rosenthal’s parents assembled a demo studio in their live/work warehouse in the late ’70s, when the elder Rosenthals were musicians in...
2015
John Lousteau & Teenage Time Killers Keep It Raw, Angsty With Debut
Channeling their inner teens—that’s what the members of metal supergroup Teenage Time Killers had in mind for recording their debut album, Teenage Time Killers:...
2015
Sound Explosion!
While most books that accompany documentaries simply repeat images and interviews from the film, Sound Explosion! Inside L.A.’s Studio Factory with The Wrecking Crew...
2014
Mix Regional Sessions: New York City
FLUX STUDIOS Questlove was working on new material in the Dangerous room with engineer Ryan West…Late Show With Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste was...
2014
Mix Regional News: New York City
The Mastering Palace Adds Second Studio Mastering engineer Dave Kutch built The Mastering Palace in 2007 as a one-room mastering facility in Harlem. Kutch...
2015
New York, New York 1975: Oh What a Year!
It’s hard to believe that Saturday Night Live, the long-running variety show that carries a New York City vibe at its heart, debuted 40...
2015
Jim Lauderdale, ‘Soul Searching’
The latest from Grammy-winning artist/songwriter Jim Lauderdale is a double-album of original songs offering two takes on soul music: On Disc 1, Lauderdale went...
2015
Josh Hoyer’s ‘Cooked Raw’
Soul singer/keyboardist Josh Hoyer and band capture the essence of live performance on their new album by recording direct-to-disc in Welcome to 1979 Studio...
2015
Cécile McLorin Salvant, ‘For One to Love’
With a voice so versatile and beautiful, there’s nothing this young jazz singer can’t do. On her second album, For One to Love, she...
2015
Cool Spin: Ghostface Killah/Adrian Younge, ‘Twelve Reasons to Die II’
Prolific super-producer Adrian Younge personally crusades against mass-produced hip-hop and R&B by playing analog-only instruments recorded to analog tape with no plug-ins. He’s the...
2015
Mercury Rev’s ‘The Light In You’
For Mercury Rev’s eighth studio album, The Light In You, vocalist Jonathan Donahue, recorded his initial ideas at home into a 1970s mono cassette...
2015
Metric’s Daily Jams Create ‘Pagans in Vegas’
Over the course of six albums, Canadian foursome Metric has evolved into a heavy-hitting contender in modern rock. Which makes the group’s resident gearhead,...
2015
Jaga Jazzist Records ‘Starfire’
Jaga Jazzist is a prog-rock band, a jam band, a jazz ensemble and an electronic outfit all in one. The eight-piece Swedish group records...
2015
James Taylor, ‘Before This World’
James Taylor’s Before This World, out this month on Concord Records, is the Grammy Award–winning singer/songwriter’s first album of original music since 2002’s October...
2015
George and Chico Freeman at Southport for ‘All in the Family’
Guitarist George Freeman has crossed paths with Southport Records owner/engineer Bradley Parker-Sparrow many times since Sparrow founded the label in 1977. Freeman’s latest album,...
2015
Cool Spin: Foals, ‘What Went Down’
For What Went Down (Warner Music), the follow-up to Foals’ career-defining album, Holy Fire, the Oxford, UK quintet decamped to Saint-Remy-de-Provence in the South...
2015
Corsica Arts Club Releases Self-Titled Debut
What you hear is not what you see with Corsica Arts Club. The Los Angeles-based duo of Arash Parsee and Brendan Thompson (expanded to...