(click thumbnail)“Carrying Over” DeadsySingle: “Carrying Over”
Album: Phantasmagore (Elementree/Immortal)
Date recorded and mixed: July 2006 at Henson Recording Studios and Westlake Recording Studios, both of Hollywood
Producer: Elijah Blue
Co-Producers: Carlton Bost and Brian Virtue
Album engineers: Rob Brill, Carlton Bost, Ashburn Miller, Tim Harkins, Bill Kennedy, Brian Humphrey, and Brian Virtue
Single mixer: Brian Virtue
Mastering: Stephen Marcussen of Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood
Other Projects: Alongside his involvement with Deadsy, Bost — a songwriter, guitarist, MIDI instrumentalist, producer/engineer, and performer — has worked with artists such as Berlin, Lunarclick, Ashesdead, Cleanse, and Shades of Scar, a solo project.
Single Songwriters: Deadsy
Consoles: SSL 9072J (Westlake Studio E) and SSL 9080J (Henson Studio A), and SSL 6032 E/G (Henson Mix Room)
Recorders: Pro Tools|HD
Monitors: Dynaudio BM5A
Vocal microphone: Neumann U67
Vocal microphone preamp: API 512C
Vocal processing: Empirical Labs DistressorPhantasmagore was released after a long period of anxious anticipation on the part of “the Legions,” defined as fans of “Undercore,” a musical genre named and created by unique rock act/art project Deadsy.
Confused? Don’t be. If you appreciate the Darkwave and Metal of Gary Numan and Type O Negative, respectively, as well as subjects including (but not limited to) academia, special knowledge, and Urantian philosophy, then you’re pretty close to grasping the work of Deadsy… or, most likely, you are ‘Legion’ already.
Musician/producer Carlton Bost — band member, engineer, and coproducer for Deadsy’s latest effort — is currently on the road with the band for the 2006 Family Values Tour and is more than excited about the new record and the musical evolution it represents for the band, which is well exemplified in its first single, “Carrying Over.”
“It starts off with an acoustic 12-string — it’s a little more classic rock-influenced — and has some elements of Bowie,” explains Bost. “Actually, the whole record incorporates more elements of classic rock; there are things influenced by Cheap Trick, the New York Dolls, and Lou Reed, to name a few. All of that worked its way into what we were already doing.”
(click thumbnail)Carlton Bost
“Carrying Over” was deemed a last-minute addition to Phantasmagore when vocalist, guitarist, and bandleader Elijah Blue presented its impetus to the others. The song was tracked via Blue and drummer Alec Pure, overdubbed with bass guitar, additional guitars, and vocals at later sessions, and then topped with keys and other MIDI-based accoutrements.
Elijah’s distinctive baritone was tracked using a Neumann U67 and an API 512C and Empirical Labs Distressor served as its signal chain straight to Pro Tools|HD. “We also tried an AKG C12 and a Neumann U47,” tells Bost. “Out of those three, the U67 was the obvious choice. He has a rich voice as it is, and the U67 enhanced the natural characteristics of his voice.”
Guitars, performed by both Blue and Bost, were treated with a bevy of textures, thanks to a collection of great amplifiers including the Mesa Boogie Rectifier, classic Marshalls, and others, most notably a custom model built especially for Blue. “Orange, the amp company, built the ‘Blue’ amp,” describes Bost. “It has a unique, gritty, almost Black Sabbath-type sound. The Fender Twin and a Roland JC-120 were for tasty ‘icing on the cake’ guitars.”