Burbank, CA—Bonneville has carved out a reputation for its retro-soul, funky R&B sound, and ‘Undercover Woman’ is the first single from their second album ‘Flying Machine.’ Recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, by Producer Starita and FAME’s lead engineer Wes Sheffield, the song was recorded entirely on Royer ribbon microphones with the exception of two dynamic mics used for snare top and kick inside.
What Starita calls “a funky, groovy, greasy soul jam” is a product of the band’s openness to taking an innovative approach to getting a more authentic retro sound. Starita, who has worked with Childish Gambino, A Tribe Called Quest, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and others, says he is accustomed to this sort of improvisation when working with Bonneville. “I’m always excited to produce Bonneville,” says Starita, “because we are starting to push the envelope of what soul and funk music can be.”
“Royer’s past collaborations have traditionally been with big established bands” says Starita. “For them to be supporting an emerging band like Bonneville in this way is HUGE. Not only were we excited, but the president of FAME Recording Studios, Rodney Hall, was also watching closely. For many years, Rodney and the FAME engineers wanted to experiment with this kind of microphone set-up in their studios.”
In an attempt to capture a more “organic” sound in the studio, Starita and lead engineer Wes Sheffield experimented with the unique mic setup to bring added richness and depth to the recording. “Recording this song with all ribbon microphones is not usually done,” says Starita. “With that many ribbon mics live in a room, I would typically expect to have a mess given that ribbons pick up sound from the front and back of the mic. To our surprise, when we pulled up the faders, there was this rich, warm, and very natural sound as if you were actually in the room with each instrument. The sound was just simply beautiful.”
FAME engineer Wes Sheffield added, “I love using ribbons, and especially Royers, but every ribbon is naturally a figure 8. So, I had some concerns about bleed and phasing issues. With a little thought towards how everyone was positioned and which mics to place where, we actually wound up with a gorgeous, rich sound that had a super low noise floor with very three-dimensional imaging. That was a true selling point for me. That you could have so many ribbons in a live room, not only without hiss and bleed overpowering the sources, but also tonal quality that was phenomenal.”
“I’ve known Starita for many years,” says Royer’s John Jennings. “So, when he called us about an all-Royer recording of Bonneville at FAME Studios, we were all in. We love the way this recording turned out. The band killed this song and there’s ribbon warmth and power throughout the recording.”
Microphones used on the session include; R-122V tube ribbon on lead vocal (“Outstanding!” says Starita), R-122 MKll on background vocals, SF-24V tube stereo ribbon on drum overhead, SF-12 stereo ribbon on drum room and another over the percussion setup, R-122s across the horns, R-122s on toms, R-121s on snare bottom and outside the kick drum, and R-121s on electric guitars.
Bonneville’s ‘Undercover Woman’ single was released across all digital service providers on Wednesday, October 4th, 2023. Visit http://bonnevilleofficial.com/ for more info on the band.
About Royer Labs
Located in Burbank, California, Royer Labs’ microphones are a staple of leading recording and broadcast facilities. Royer ribbons can be found on countless albums, and they feature prominently on projects such as the Academy Awards and other high-profile events. Additional information about the entire line of Royer Labs microphones can be obtained at www.royerlabs.com.
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