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Sphere Studios Relocates to L.A.
After 13 years in London, Sphere Studios recently made the journey across the pond, closing up shop in the UK with plans to reopen...
Profiles
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Rickey Minor & Red Lotus Studios
Jazz saxophonist Dave Koz stands beside the console, listening to a mix in Rickey Minor’s new Red Lotus Studios on the historic Sunset Gower...
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Brian Wilson and Friends at Ocean Way Studios
Between Brian Wilson and Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, you’ve got a whole lot of history, and a lot of musical possibilities.
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A Year at Panoramic House
Panoramic House is a personal recording studio and vacation home owned by John Baccigaluppi and Bobby Lurie, located on the western Marin County coastline...
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Marcella Araica: Making Waves in Miami Recording
Even as women continue to make great strides in areas from politics to corporate boardrooms, they are still rare in the recording business outside...
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Carole King Is Beautiful on Broadway
Carole King burst onto the music world from nowhere in 1971 with her huge-selling album, Tapestry
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Miami Session News 2014
Gospel singer/contestant on The Voice Donna Allen worked on new material with producers Jeffrey Davis and Jody Hill (Allen also produced) and engineer Fredric...
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Miami News & Notes 2014
n Studio A at Miami’s Hit Factory Criteria, multiplatinum hitmaker Timbaland continued production on the soundtrack for the new drama series Empire, from Imagine...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Richard Thompson: Home Alone for ‘Acoustic Classics’
Richard Thompson’s latest album, Acoustic Classics, is an unexpected gift to his many devoted fans—solo acoustic versions of 14 of his finest songs, spanning...
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First Aid Kit: Haunting Americana from Sweden (and Nebraska)
Like a lot of people, my first exposure to the duo known as First Aid Kit—Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg—came from seeing their...
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Giving Back by Helping Kids: Road Recovery, Masque Sound and At-Risk Youth in NYC
One of the all-too-true clichés of the music and entertainment industry is that it is riddled with temptation. Drug use, alcohol consumption and countless...
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Canada Session News 2014
Videogame developer Ubisoft worked on material in Studio A with producer Dave Gossage and engineer Padraig B. Schnirer
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Canada News & Notes 2014
Revolution Recording has ordered a Neve Genesys G96—with 48 1073 mic preamps, 24 1084 equalizers, 24 88RS EQs, full dynamics, full recall, DAW control,...
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Crisis Management in Mixing: Quick Remedies for Shabby-Sounding Tracks
The process of mixing can be broadly divided into two primary challenges: whipping individual tracks into shape and achieving a proper overall balance when...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Chris Pelonis: Music, Design, and a Life of Truth and Passion
There are people who know Chris Pelonis the Musician, and he is a monster guitar player. Others know him as Chris the Engineer/Producer or...
archive
Canadian Cred: Garth Richardson & Mike Fraser
With nearly eight decades of experience between the two of them—including seminal projects for Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Van...
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Atlanta Mixer/Engineer Miles Walker
When you look at all that Atlanta-based mixer/engineer Miles Walker has accomplished in the decade-plus since he graduated with honors from Berklee College of...
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Railroad Earth Hits Its Stride with ‘Outlaws’
Those who describe the music of Railroad Earth as “jamgrass” are to be forgiven. After all, the band’s sound is often dominated by a...
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Deconstructed: Bob Clearmountain and Chris Lord-Alge
Though they both live in L.A., both at the peak of their craft in the rather small world of professional hitmaking mixers, Bob Clearmountain...
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On the Cover: The Cowboy Rides Away
This month’s cover is a tribute to a man who has lived a most wonderful life in music: George Strait. The Troubador. The King...
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Atlanta News & Notes 2014
Owner Nick Chahwala recently moved Bravo Ocean Studios into a new 2,200 square-foot industrial loft in downtown Atlanta.
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Atlanta Session News 2014
R&B singer/songwriter/producer Ne-Yo has been in Tree Sound for past few months working on new material with engineer Moses Gallart
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Robair Report: Give the People What They Want
There’s a certain level of artist who doesn’t have to think about flogging their own merch at shows. Then, there’s the rest of us....
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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.
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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,”...
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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...
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Chicago Session News 2014
Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan of jazz/rock/fusion duo Painted on Water recorded their EP Chicago Issue in Studio A with Andy Shoemaker and mixed...
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Producer/Engineer/Musician Bryan Bell: Making a Laptop/Studio Hybrid Work
If you’ve never heard of Nestler & Hawtin, a pair of soulful young singer-songwriters from Oregon, don’t fret. They’ve barely ventured outside of their...
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Chicago Producer Brian Deck
Brian Deck has been a leading light of the Chicago music scene for going on three decades now, one of those classic multi-hyphenates: musician-engineer-producer-studio...
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Columbia College, Chicago
Colleges, especially long-established ones, tend to develop their own cultures. For Columbia College, founded as and Oratory School in 1890 and today a four-year...
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Chicago News & Notes 2014
Chicago Recording Company recently started a project called CRC Live, which takes a close and personal look at music and the stories behind it....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Artifact Audibility
As professional recording engineers, our job is to capture musical performances as clearly and accurately as possible, especially acoustic music. Sure, when mixing pop...