I am very pleased to announce that Chutes have (again) managed to secure a 'hottest record of the week' on BBC Kent Introducing for their new single Brighten Up, due to be released via the web on June 1st, for which the event invite is here http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173491316037548&ref=ts - it's great to see a band you've worked so closely with, who are on your doorstep and are blowing up into something bigger right in front of your eyes, well done Chutes.
The new material from Centuries is now mastered and sounding like Godzilla, smashing its way through a quarry full of corpses!
The Penthouse stuff is very nearly mixed, and once given the 'ok' will be off for mastering and popping up on the Anchor Baby website.
This week will see me doing an interview with the Canterbury Times for their 'Canterbury Tale' section, where I will be talking about my recording business, musical endeavours and bands that I have had in the studio, watch out for that soon.
In other news (non studio related) I have joined the legendary Babies Three (now sounding like a cross between Black Elk and Dinosaur Jr!) from Margate as their drummer - so as soon as we're ready you can bet your bottom dollar that some earth shattering recordings will be appearing online ;)
Off to the printers now to pick up some new posters, designed by Calfyn Ap Bryn and looking bloody marvellous.
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Guitar sound of the Centuries ;)!
Good afternoon, from Googies - again.
The week before last saw new Folkestone metalcore band Centuries in the studio to record two tracks, and what a guitar sound! The good old JCM800 2205 again, through a Marshall 4x12 (with Celestion Greenbacks) and a bit of help from an API compressor - it is earth shatteringly heavy! The songs are being mastered on Thursday and will no doubt be online later that day, check their video out (featuring a rough mix of the song) here:
In fact, in the spirit of videos: Check out Penthouse, a new Dover-based band who were in the studio on Sunday. Absolutely amazing stuff, and the songs are of epic proportions! I am in the middle of sending them over a first mix now. Once it is given the 'ok' and mastered you can be sure that it will be appearing on the Anchor Baby website!
And last but by no means least, Yamaharahara have finally uploaded their video for 'Ribbons' - all filmed during the recording process at Anchor Baby last October, enjoy!
And as if those videos weren't enough, NEXT week I will be filming a 'drum mic placement' tuition video, with the incredible Symon Minter playing the kit! Nice!
The week before last saw new Folkestone metalcore band Centuries in the studio to record two tracks, and what a guitar sound! The good old JCM800 2205 again, through a Marshall 4x12 (with Celestion Greenbacks) and a bit of help from an API compressor - it is earth shatteringly heavy! The songs are being mastered on Thursday and will no doubt be online later that day, check their video out (featuring a rough mix of the song) here:
In fact, in the spirit of videos: Check out Penthouse, a new Dover-based band who were in the studio on Sunday. Absolutely amazing stuff, and the songs are of epic proportions! I am in the middle of sending them over a first mix now. Once it is given the 'ok' and mastered you can be sure that it will be appearing on the Anchor Baby website!
And last but by no means least, Yamaharahara have finally uploaded their video for 'Ribbons' - all filmed during the recording process at Anchor Baby last October, enjoy!
And as if those videos weren't enough, NEXT week I will be filming a 'drum mic placement' tuition video, with the incredible Symon Minter playing the kit! Nice!
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Other Services (not THOSE kind!)
I am now pleased to offer other services via my recording business. These include music production tuition, live recording, musical instrument tuition, mixing and plenty more. Please have a look at the 'other services' tab on www.anchorbabyrecordings.com
Monday, 2 May 2011
One heavy April...
Well I'm back in Googies again - the coffee is good, the Wi-fi is quick, and there's always people I know in here. If you're local to Folkestone you should check it out!
So, plenty has happened in the life of Anchor Baby the last couple of weeks. I've been in Brighton, recording the drums for the new Phoria EP (more like a mini album).
We had initially planned to book a church hall in order to capture a nice lively drum sound, with a view to recording the dryer-sounding drums in the Phoria household - however, after getting an AMAZING drum sound in Trewin's bedroom (thanks to the pitched roof no doubt!) we decided to track everything there rather than pack all the gear down again and go to the hall! With a make-shift control room downstairs, and a little help from a Beta 52, some Sennheiser e604's and a trusty SM57 amongst other mics, we have managed to capture some very nice drum recordings! Guitars and most other parts are being recorded by Trewin as I type, and then I will be back off to Brighton for some strings/brass recording and mixing! You can see a brief video clip of Trewin recording a guide vocal for Ross to track his drums to here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xus8nd2jcA
The new single from Chutes is now finished, and has come back from the very skilled hands of Pink Floyd's head engineer, Andy Jackson - who has handled the mastering duties this time. It sounds very rich, and very analog, for a digital recording!
I have finished mixing the new Great Ancestors tracks at home, thanks to the loan of some Alesis M1's from my buddy Tom and am looking forward to those being mastered and made available on my website.
This week sees me starting to track drums for the new Magnets EP, guide guitar and bass tracks were done at Simon's flat last week - and then next week will see the recording of a single of EPIC proportions by new Kent based band Penthouse - you can definitely expect to hear THAT on the site soon!
In other news: I have an amazing new poster being designed by Calfyn Ap Bryn, so if you're local to Kent you will see that EVERYWHERE soon, as well as online of course! ;)
Cool.
So, plenty has happened in the life of Anchor Baby the last couple of weeks. I've been in Brighton, recording the drums for the new Phoria EP (more like a mini album).
We had initially planned to book a church hall in order to capture a nice lively drum sound, with a view to recording the dryer-sounding drums in the Phoria household - however, after getting an AMAZING drum sound in Trewin's bedroom (thanks to the pitched roof no doubt!) we decided to track everything there rather than pack all the gear down again and go to the hall! With a make-shift control room downstairs, and a little help from a Beta 52, some Sennheiser e604's and a trusty SM57 amongst other mics, we have managed to capture some very nice drum recordings! Guitars and most other parts are being recorded by Trewin as I type, and then I will be back off to Brighton for some strings/brass recording and mixing! You can see a brief video clip of Trewin recording a guide vocal for Ross to track his drums to here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xus8nd2jcA
The new single from Chutes is now finished, and has come back from the very skilled hands of Pink Floyd's head engineer, Andy Jackson - who has handled the mastering duties this time. It sounds very rich, and very analog, for a digital recording!
I have finished mixing the new Great Ancestors tracks at home, thanks to the loan of some Alesis M1's from my buddy Tom and am looking forward to those being mastered and made available on my website.
This week sees me starting to track drums for the new Magnets EP, guide guitar and bass tracks were done at Simon's flat last week - and then next week will see the recording of a single of EPIC proportions by new Kent based band Penthouse - you can definitely expect to hear THAT on the site soon!
In other news: I have an amazing new poster being designed by Calfyn Ap Bryn, so if you're local to Kent you will see that EVERYWHERE soon, as well as online of course! ;)
Cool.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
- like a monkey with a miniature cymbal...
The title of this blog is fitting, in the sense that it has been non-stop studio recording/rehearsing/gigging/mixing/pre-production/meetings - over and over and over and over. Today is my first day off and I am enjoying a coffee in Googies whilst updating this, ahhh...
The new Chutes single is now recorded and mixed and is absolutely fantastic! I think this song will make a real impact on people when they hear it. It's catchy, with great vocals, great lyrics, it's a good length for a single and ticks all the boxes, good luck guys and gal!
Thursday this week sees the laying down of some guide guitars/bass at Simon's flat for the new Magnets EP - we're recording the majority of it in an awesome Church/Theatre over the next month, better get the old Ipod touch out for some HD filming of that...
Thursday and Friday NEXT week will see me heading down to Brighton for the initial drum recordings for the new Phoria EP, again in some church, they seem to be the way to go!
The new Great Ancestors songs have now been mixed, and they're off to be mastered in the next couple of weeks by Andy Jackson, of Pink Floyd fame - these new songs are awesome, and really energetic. I guess that's what you get when you let a band record at gig volume in the same room together!
I am still offering one to one Music Production/Mixing/Recording tuition. You can either come to me at the studio, or I can come to you.
I will teach everyone from beginners to people who are advanced in the field - You may want to just learn the basics of recording, or you may want to brush up on polishing up your mixes, learn about advanced EQ/Compression techniques, mic positioning on a drum kit etc. If you have a home/project studio I can come along and show you how to make the most out of your mics/gear.
I am very experienced within this field, and currently very active within it - my recordings have been played on BBC Radio One, KMFM, and are played weekly on BBC Kent Introducing.
I charge £15 per hour, and you can hear some of my work/read about my musical background at www.anchorbabyrecordings.com - it'd be wise to check this out as you don't want to be learning from someone who's recordings you don't like the sound of!
Contact details are on the website.
More news as and when it happens!
The new Chutes single is now recorded and mixed and is absolutely fantastic! I think this song will make a real impact on people when they hear it. It's catchy, with great vocals, great lyrics, it's a good length for a single and ticks all the boxes, good luck guys and gal!
Thursday this week sees the laying down of some guide guitars/bass at Simon's flat for the new Magnets EP - we're recording the majority of it in an awesome Church/Theatre over the next month, better get the old Ipod touch out for some HD filming of that...
Thursday and Friday NEXT week will see me heading down to Brighton for the initial drum recordings for the new Phoria EP, again in some church, they seem to be the way to go!
The new Great Ancestors songs have now been mixed, and they're off to be mastered in the next couple of weeks by Andy Jackson, of Pink Floyd fame - these new songs are awesome, and really energetic. I guess that's what you get when you let a band record at gig volume in the same room together!
I am still offering one to one Music Production/Mixing/Recording tuition. You can either come to me at the studio, or I can come to you.
I will teach everyone from beginners to people who are advanced in the field - You may want to just learn the basics of recording, or you may want to brush up on polishing up your mixes, learn about advanced EQ/Compression techniques, mic positioning on a drum kit etc. If you have a home/project studio I can come along and show you how to make the most out of your mics/gear.
I am very experienced within this field, and currently very active within it - my recordings have been played on BBC Radio One, KMFM, and are played weekly on BBC Kent Introducing.
I charge £15 per hour, and you can hear some of my work/read about my musical background at www.anchorbabyrecordings.com - it'd be wise to check this out as you don't want to be learning from someone who's recordings you don't like the sound of!
Contact details are on the website.
More news as and when it happens!
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Spilling not only my coffee, but my latest news too...
My Mother had a nickname for me when I was a kid, I won't repeat it - but it was based on me spilling everything I drank/ate. At 28 I haven't changed, and have managed to spill half of my coffee on my laptop before I've even taken a sip. So if this update ends short, it means the coffee has seeped through to the circuit board and my charred and skeletal corpse, hair sticking up even further than usual, is sitting in the corner of Googies ;)
I've had a really busy few weeks, ridiculous in fact, hence the lack of updates. Burning the candle at both ends doesn't quite cut it!
So what's been going on? I've been working on this Gospel album, with an extremely talented MD by the name of Ira Jackson. Unfortunately though we had a bit of a nightmare with the musicians on this project, and it took twice as long as it should have. But it's done now, and has been mastered by Andy Jackson, Pink Floyd's head engineer.
10 days ago I was fortunate enough to spend the day in Brighton with Phoria, doing some live demo's as pre-production for their forthcoming mini-album. We set up in their house and tracked everything live with the help of a Tascam US1800 (16 channel USB audio interface which sounds just great) and my laptop. Then we spent the rest of the evening planning out where to do the proper recording, and looks like we've narrowed it down to a lovely church hall and a cool wooden-floored apartment with high ceilings! The plan is to start work on that next week, which is something that I can't wait for. The new songs are great, very dark and have an even more textural vibe going on than last years EP 'Yourself Still'.
Also taking place next week will be the finalising of dates for the Magnets EP, another record that is going to change people's lives this Summer ;)
On Sunday 10th we will be finishing off the new Great Ancestors recording (seriously dirty!) and on Monday 18th it's the recording of the new Chutes single.
On top of all of the above Jairus have some recordings for the near future once the new song is finished, and for all of you in Brighton please be sure to check us out at the Green Door Store on Friday 8th April with the fantastic Run, Walk! We are also please to be performing at the Westcoast Bar on April 12th with Piano's Become The Teeth and Monarch, be there!
I've had a really busy few weeks, ridiculous in fact, hence the lack of updates. Burning the candle at both ends doesn't quite cut it!
So what's been going on? I've been working on this Gospel album, with an extremely talented MD by the name of Ira Jackson. Unfortunately though we had a bit of a nightmare with the musicians on this project, and it took twice as long as it should have. But it's done now, and has been mastered by Andy Jackson, Pink Floyd's head engineer.
10 days ago I was fortunate enough to spend the day in Brighton with Phoria, doing some live demo's as pre-production for their forthcoming mini-album. We set up in their house and tracked everything live with the help of a Tascam US1800 (16 channel USB audio interface which sounds just great) and my laptop. Then we spent the rest of the evening planning out where to do the proper recording, and looks like we've narrowed it down to a lovely church hall and a cool wooden-floored apartment with high ceilings! The plan is to start work on that next week, which is something that I can't wait for. The new songs are great, very dark and have an even more textural vibe going on than last years EP 'Yourself Still'.
Also taking place next week will be the finalising of dates for the Magnets EP, another record that is going to change people's lives this Summer ;)
On Sunday 10th we will be finishing off the new Great Ancestors recording (seriously dirty!) and on Monday 18th it's the recording of the new Chutes single.
On top of all of the above Jairus have some recordings for the near future once the new song is finished, and for all of you in Brighton please be sure to check us out at the Green Door Store on Friday 8th April with the fantastic Run, Walk! We are also please to be performing at the Westcoast Bar on April 12th with Piano's Become The Teeth and Monarch, be there!
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
So many plans, so little time!
Well I have finally managed to update my website with some more recent recordings and reviews! Check out new songs from The Ambience, Chutes, Rubys Wishes and Elephants on www.anchorbabyrecordings.com
The coming months are looking to be very busy, with brand new EP's from amazing Brighton band PHORIA and Folkestone lads MAGNETS, a gospel album coming in from highly skilled MD IRA JACKSON, the start of a mini album from folk/jazz/whatever artist BERNARD EVELEIGH, a two-tracker from GREAT ANCESTORS and loads more to be announced!
I'm getting into a lot more location recording recently, and am always on the lookout for cool spaces to use. So if you have a very dead sounding room, or a very lively sounding room, or access to a church or cool sounding space please drop me an e-mail at anchorbabyrecordings@live.co.uk
I am currently looking for a CHURCH HALL to use for recording some drum parts and ambient guitar/vocal parts on the new PHORIA and MAGNETS records, please get in touch if you know of any!
I have recently managed to obtain a bundle of URS plugins, which I can highly recommend, they sound absolutely AMAZING and since their discovery I have barely touched my Waves bundle (aside from the Waves SSL buss compressor, which I swear by across the mix). So any future recordings will feature the sound of URS, see how different they are to my current mixes!
So recent activity around Anchor Baby includes a cool band coming in by the name of The Taints, pictured at the top of the page, outside the studio - Like the Libertines with a kind of Sheffield sound too! And this coming Sunday an acoustic live session from Ruby's Wishes on KMFM, to be broadcast at 1:20pm and also a short interview with myself and the band! Make sure you tune in!
On top of all of the above, I have now been asked to join Tener Duende, the Folkestone based Gypsy Jazz/Flamenco trio as their bass player, to replace the amazingly skilled Chester Boyd who is off to Uni in September. So lots of practising to do!
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