Ross Hogarth Records Dynamic UK Duo’s Second Album
Pictured (L-R) in United Recording’s Studio B are recording engineer Ross Hogarth, artists Miles Kane and Alex Turner, string arranger/conductor Owen Pallett; and producer/drummer/band member James Ford. Photo by David Goggin.
The Last Shadow Puppets worked with engineer Ross Hogarth at United Recording to record the string parts on their triumphant new album, “Everything You’ve Come To Expect.” Fronted by Miles Kane and Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), the new long-awaited second album was helmed by the band’s drummer James Ford and also tracked at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La Studio in Malibu.
“The Last Shadow Puppets were looking for an iconic sound for their new record,” commented Grammy Award-winning engineer/mixer/producer Ross Hogarth. “Producer James Ford and masterful string arranger Owen Pallett desired sonic landscapes harkening back to 60s and 70s retro with some avant garde thrown in. A studio like United Studio B has such a definable sound with the addition of its live chambers and echo plates. It gives an engineer the raw tools to deliver that vision to a project like this. I was extremely impressed with the depth of feel and musical intuition that Miles (Kane), Alex (Turner) and James (Ford) have as writers and artists. A rare chance for me to see the next generation of young artists that I suspect will be around for years to come, because they are the real deal.”
Both Kane and Turner now live in LA and the city informs much of the new material, moving on from their debut “The Age of Understatement” (2008), which went straight to #1 in the UK charts. Since then, Turner’s Arctic Monkeys have had three hugely successful albums and Kane has had solo success following the end of his band The Rascals.
“I wish I had a more flowery answer, but there just wasn’t a chance to do a second album before now,” Alex Turner says. “‘The Age of Understatement’ exceeded our expectations, but it was cut short because we had to get back to our other bands.” Several of the songs have been germinating since the Monkeys finally came off the road in November 2014. “We’ve been writing these tunes sporadically over the last couple of years.”
“I think what makes this record slightly different is that me and Al have found our voices more from when we did our first one,” says Miles Kane. “Obviously we’ve done more singing in that time, so we’d each sort of sit back and let the other one do his bit on the right songs. Like on ‘Sweet Dreams’, I think Al’s vocals are unbelievable, the way he soars on it and the way he croons. Whereas I can deliver the slightly punkier things like ‘Bad Habits’, I find that easier. But then you have that middle ground of songs like ‘Used to Be My Girl’ and ‘Aviation’ between those bookends. With the close harmonies on, say, ‘Dracula Teeth’ and ‘Element of Surprise’, they sort of blend into each other, so on those more sparkly tunes that was a new thing that developed for me.”
From the Domino Recording Company, “Everything You’ve Come To Expect” is now available worldwide. The band will be touring in support and appearing at The Coachella Music Festival.
About United Recording
United Recording was founded in 1957 by the legendary recording engineer and electronics inventor Bill Putnam with the backing of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. The studios were acquired and renamed Ocean Way Recording in 1977, and after acquisition in 2013 by Hudson Pacific Properties, re-launched under the original name in 2014. United Recording, one of the world’s most recognized music recording studios, with more awards than any other recording enterprise, is responsible for record sales of more than one billion units.
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