Recording in the Summer - Day 1
Photo: Ed Townend // ELT Music
This summer I recorded my second EP at the fantastic StudiOwz, in the beautiful, peaceful Pembrokeshire countryside.
I’ve lived in the capital city for nearly a decade now. It’s a little scary to think about. I’ve been having a few existential crises about the passing of time and a few spirals about how much has changed in the world, in my life and in my inner world over the last 10 years. I barely recognise the 19-year-old on the starting line of adulthood, stepping into my new life. I fell in love with Cardiff as I was scoping out universities in my late teens; the excitement of a city that was much bigger than the countryside villages and towns I’d grown up in, but small enough that it wasn’t overwhelming.
(Nearly, but not quite).
There was even a slight air of familiarity I felt for this part of the world, having spent a few years of my earliest life just a 30 minute drive away. I loved spending the first part of my adulthood in the city but as I swiftly approach my 30s and enter another exciting decade of my life, being in the countryside is something that my heart has been yearning for (ever quietly) but I hadn’t been listening.
I remember it every time I step into the peace of a green field that stretches out to the horizon, punctuated by ancient bending trees stretching up into the sky, with just the drifting wind in my ears (and maybe a distant cow).
It’s how I feel whenever I visit Pembrokeshire, or Bannau Brycheiniog.
Wales is utterly beautiful. I’m so grateful to have been able to record this new project in such a gorgeous place.
Reflecting on the past and working on letting it go has been a mindset I’ve been sitting in for over a year now. Some of these songs I wrote last summer, and are on their way to exist on the airwaves, to be shared with you all. Feelings of regret, existentialism (what’s new), wondering about paths untaken, gratitude for your intuitions, being able to walk away from toxic worlds, battling with your own flaws and demons - these are all themes I’ve explored in these songs. Some of it could be painful, some of it could be healing.
These songs are here to say “I hear you, I see you, you’re doing the best you can, and that’s okay.” These are my offerings to the universe, and to you. It’s all I can give.
StudiOwz - Day 1
Ed and I travelled up the night before day 1. It was the best way for me to relieve any anxiety about arriving on time for start of the recording day, to feel settled in a new place, to meet the lovely studio owners Owain and Jodie (and Basil the dog!), and to mentally prepare and put on my ‘producer hat’ in an entirely new setting. (As well as take in the beautiful scenery for a while).
I’ve been so used to mainly working solo as a composer and producer; it’s one of the best ways I work. I can totally hyper-fixate on a project until it’s finished, so this is a type of musical working I’ve had slightly less experience in and yet it’s essential for the aim of this particular project. I wanted to collaborate with excellent musicians and engineers who have been great with taking the musical fragments of my songs and enhancing them, and bringing it all together like magnets slowly clicking together into place…
… and in such a beautiful studio too.
StudiOwz is a converted chapel from the 1800s, renovated about 6 years ago by Owain and Jodie, whilst keeping its original charm and ethereal but intimate space. It’s super cosy too, despite the high ceiling with gorgeous long windows that look out onto the green fields. It’s utterly peaceful, with just the occasional tractor or hedge cutter trundling past.
Day 1 was for simultaneously recording the drums (Zach Breskal) and the double bass (Richard F Jackson), laying down the foundations for three songs. Owain had already set up the drumkit the night before, going off guidance from my extensive (!) playlist of songs to use as drum references. Even then I still spent a good amount of time going back and forth on specific snare sounds just to make sure everything felt right with the timbre and tone that we were aiming for. (Thanks for being patient with me, everyone!)
Photo: Ed Townend // ELT Music
We had a little time before the recording to run through the songs again together, to make sure everyone was comfortable with the parts and any extra tweaks we’d made since I’d created the initial scores, as well as finalising sound checks and finishing general set up.
The double bass & drums were recorded together in the same room with some damping in the panels around Rich and the glass doors between Zach and the main room.
Never underestimate unusual techniques to help the recording process.
“If in doubt, use a jumper”
Ideal for preventing some mystery frequencies coming from the bottom of the double bass instrument.
We used various, intriguing looking microphones. My favourite was a dual omnidirectional mic set up, positioned in the same distance away from each other as the human ears to get the sense that you’re ‘in the room’ with the performer.
Photo: Ed Townend // ELT Music
Real ‘space’ is a big part of this process that I really wanted to capture with these new recordings and I think this was the perfect place for it. Having created a lot of music mainly alone for the last few years, there’s only so much you can then create in terms of space within a piece of recorded music without recording instruments in a real place, rather than solely inside a digital programme, a virtual space.
The decisions you make at the recording stage can really determine the ‘feel’ of the entire song at the mixing stage and this is something I really wanted to explore in this project.
Photo: Ed Townend // ELT Music
I was nervous but so excited about getting the process started. I had every faith in the brilliant musicians that I have had the joy to work with, and no doubt that they would be able to help bring these songs to life.
The nerves came from finding the confidence to put on my own producer hat and lead the sessions in a way I hadn’t really done before.
I felt the parallel with leading workshop sessions for my contemporary classical compositions whilst at university studying music, and similarities with recording a few of my initial ‘pop’ songs for studio projects.
Yet, this was a new world for me, producing in a professional studio and working with experienced session musicians and a recording engineer.
However, quite quickly I did feel comfortable enough to be able to say ‘Can we try this?’ or ‘Let’s try this sound or melody’, and to do a couple more takes until it really felt right. In the process, I’ve been able to learn more about recording capabilities and new technology to expand my knowledge when it comes to production.
Ultimately, being in a beautiful space like this with other kind and musical people who also want to build something great lends itself to being able to create art and letting go of your creative inhibitions.
It was a nice surprise with how efficient we were with recording these first two songs. I was able to let go of any perfectionism and let the piece just ‘be’. If a take is great already, you don’t need another one! Use the time wisely and record what you need. Unless you want a couple of options or a slightly different performance on a particular section, you can move onto the next part.
The priority was laying down the essentials of the bass & drums, but we were also able to achieve an element of improvisation and experimentation which is one of those things that you can feel at liberty to do when you’re in the recording space. Rich and Zach’s performances brought a whole extra level of energy and momentum to each song to drive it forward.
Photo: Ed Townend // ELT Music
The third song was a ‘hopeful’ - if we had time, we’d lay down some of the tracks for it, and I’m so glad we did. I’ve been able to hear what is at its heart a very sparse, delicate and bare song in an entirely new light.
It was the first time that Zach and Rich had played through this third song, and I’d been going back and forth between demo versions for months, so I had to make some quick decisions (mainly about where I wanted the drums to come in. It’s a simple decision like this that can change the whole vibe of a song.)
Of course, they both performed brilliantly and it was so satisfying to hear these ‘real’ instruments start to replace the VST (virtual) instruments and loops that I’d had as placeholders in the demos, developing into something so much more tangible and beautiful.
Over the full three days of recording, it was an amazing experience to be able to hear each layer added, developing each song from its demo version.
It’s become something I could only have dreamed of creating and I’m really excited to show you more…