Fentek Audio

Time for another wee Fentek news update for you. Term time has come to an end and gigs in the city are dying down a bit as we wait for the lanyards to take over the city. Despite this, I seem to have got myself a healthy dose of recording and production work over the next month or so.

I recently produced a couple more tracks for Bathgate singer-songwriter, Ewan Butler. We had a great recording session and the combination of Ewan’s performance and the extra parts we added really worked in making the best of the songs. You can have a listen to the tracks below.

Smile Again

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Say You’d Get Married

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Shooting Stansfield have come back to do a new EP which we’re in the middle of recording at the moment. Despite some obstacles to overcome, the guys have some great songs and their playing is much tighter. Looking forward to mixing this one. Watch this space for more news soon.

This week I’ve been mastering a track for a guy called Jason Singh. His solo R&B track, Down To You is a groovy and well designed tune and I’m really happy with how the master came out. Not usually my style but adaptability is the key!

There’s a couple of upcoming gigs I’d like to point out. This Thursday (1st July) sees the long awaited single launch for The Last Battle having signed with 17 seconds records. I love their music so really looking forward to this one, and I’m recording it too.  The support acts are top notch as well – Meursault (solo), and Jonnie Common. Get yourselves down to the Wee Red Bar for 7pm to get a piece of this quality Scottish showcase. The end of the month sees the album launch for Mammoeth (formerly Team Turnip), 24th July at the Wee Red Bar. This band is the product of musical genius, Russell Kostulin, who also plays in the Kays Lavelle. Check these bands out. You won’t regret it!

Also on the horizon is another EP for Tony Taylor aka X Lion Tamer. Having produced two tracks for him for his last release, Neon Hearts EP, we’re making a start on his new work in July.

Think thats it for now. Enjoy the sunshine whilst it lasts!

AF

The Wee Red Bar is currently looking to fill up its dates for the Edinburgh festival in August. Suitable for bands, clubs, promoters and shows, get in touch with the manager, Colvin, for more information.  And because I’ll be doing the sound, I’m offering live recordings of your show for a discounted price.  Get in touch for more details.

www.weeredbar.co.uk

Check it out. EdRock.net interview with Chris from Great Junction Street rehearsal rooms. I gatecrashed the end of the interview, muttered something about the music scene then did some very shameful plugging! Worth a listen anyways.

Check it here – edrocknet.blogspot.com/2010/06/bainbridge-music-interview.html

Time for another Fentek update. Plenty going on at the moment.  Things slowed down a bit due to my wedding a couple of weeks ago but I’m back in action now with a load of recording projects in the pipeline.

First up, here are some recent recordings you can have a listen to. There’s tracks from the Shooting Stansfield EP, recordings for new Edinburgh band Screen Kids plus tracks from the upcoming Kays Lavelle album, Be Still This Gentle Morning. More on some of these artists below.

Shooting Stansfield -- Human Static

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Screen Kids -- T3

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The Kays Lavelle -- The Hours

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Final mixing is taking place at the moment for the Man Gone Missing live album. It was recorded in a church in Dundee a couple of months ago, and after Simon taking a while to consider which takes to use, we are finally getting it finished. Tracks will come soon.

Last Friday saw the album launch for punk rocking Edinburgh outfit -- A Fight You Can’t Win.  The Wee Red Bar was totally packed from early on and extra gear was brought in for the show.  The supports we’re great and included one of my favourite energetic bands, Hagana.  I recorded the show for the guys and videos we’re taken too so expect to see some footage in the near future.  For now you can check their ‘making of’ video below.

One of the main projects I’ve been working on in the past few months is the Kays Lavelle album. It’s finally finished, mastered by Jonnie Common and awaiting delivery from the duplicators for physical release on 17th May. I’m really happy with the results and several reviews have come in already of the two download singles and the album itself. The launch nights are this weekend, Friday 7th May at Stereo in Glasgow, and Saturday 8th May at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh. Advance tickets can be bought here and here.

Take a listen to the most recent single, Ten Times, below. The track plus an excellent remix by The Japanese War Effort are available for free download on the Wiseblood Industries website.  I also played a couple of gigs with the Kays, including one at Hinterland festival. Really enjoyed it and was good to get on stage again. Makes me even more keen to get my solo material finished.

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Here are some Kays Lavelle reviews:
Love Shack Baby album review
Radar Scotsman track by track
Aye Tunes single review for Ten Times
Last Year’s Girl Hinterland Review

I had a strange work request recently and ended up composing some music for a short video viral on knife crime commissioned by the Scottish government.  My neighbour asked me to throw something together -- he works for the Leith agency (the ones who did the new Irn Bru advert with the butcher!).  After finding out about the project only two days before the deadline, I felt a bit rushed but did manage to get something in to go forward as one of the possibilities to get used for the final film. Unfortunately I didn’t get it this time but there may well be more of the same kind of work to come in the future.  Don’t think I can post my attempt until the official one has been launched but I’ll see if I can at a later date.

And finally some news on some upcoming projects. I’ve started recording the Stormy Seas album. Progress is good and I can’t wait to get stuck into the mixing. Great bunch of guys. I’m also doing another EP for Shooting Stansfield and some more recordings for Ewan Butler.  Keep an eye here to follow the progress.  Thanks for reading!

Alex

Euan McMeeken of Kays Lavelle/Trampoline/mini50 records has kindly interviewed me for his blog – the Steinberg Principle. The questions are on a mixture of Fentek stuff, the Edinburgh music scene an my own music.  Thanks to Euan for choosing to give me the exposure.

You can read the full interview here.

I haven’t posted a news update in a while so this is quite a lengthy one. I took on a lot of work in the last couple of months so there’s plenty to talk about.  Where to start …

One of the main projects I’ve been working on is an EP for new Edinburgh band Shooting Stansfield.  After sitting in on a rehearsal at Banana Row, we booked in some recording dates and had three great sessions laying down the three tracks.  I suppose you could describe them as having an indie pop rock kind of sound but their tunes are melodic, epic and really well crafted.  They make simple riffs sound so much more.  Later on today the guys are coming round for some final mixing tweaks and I’ll master them tomorrow.  They are planning an EP launch for 1st March so keep checking their myspace for details.

At the end of November I went to the Music Box at Stevenson College to talk to a class there about working in the tech side of the music business.  Annette Chapman (singer in Nobody Else) asked me to come and answer questions from the class – I’ve previously done sound for her band and done a live recording which you can find on the videos page.  The time seemed to go very quickly and there was plenty we didn’t get through so I might be going back later in the year to do a similar thing on a bigger scale.

Also in November, I recorded a set of live demos for Additional Pylons.  The guys from White Heath passed my name on to them.  Their experimental shoegazey sound lead by Chris Charles’ keys and vocals reminded me a bit of Ben Folds.  You can hear the demos on their myspace.

As well as engineering the usual gigs at the Wee Red Bar, I’ve done a few live recordings as well.  One for the amazing acoustic sounds of esperi, one for indie pop rockers Lead By Example, and one of the EP launch for catchy alternative pop band Windlestray.   You can check out tracks from the first two gigs on their respective myspace pages, and I’m just finishing the mixing for the Windlestray gig so it will likely be available in the next couple of weeks.

One of the highlights of December was the Trampoline all day gig featuring no less than 8 acts – The Last Battle, Conquering Animal Sound, Jonnie Common, esperi, Debutant, lyons, The Scottish Enlightenment and Mitchell Museum.  It was an epic day work-wise for me but the music was truly wonderful.  Such a diverse range of well performed musical styles constantly held the crowds attention.  The fantastic guys at Glasgow Podcart covered the whole day, interviewing all the bands and they have a set of recordings from the desk which will undoubtedly make it into their future podcasts.  You should definitely check out their work.  And talking of Trampoline, there’s a gig this Saturday 16th featuring How To Swim, Over The Wall and Thomas Western.  Don’t miss it!

Ok, we’re almost done with the update!  I recorded some tunes for Bathgate indie band Pedantics.  Three songs which you can hear on their myspace.  Aparently they’ve shifted over 300 copies already.

And finally, there’s the ongoing work on The Kays Lavelle album.  After several recording sessions at the end of last year, almost all the recording is now finished and mixing is about to start.  I’m really excited about this one.  I’ve worked with Euan for ages but this is a project I’ve been looking forward to more than most.  I love their music.  It feels fresh and exciting each time I listen to it and I really feel we’re going to end up with an amazing album.

So now to 2010.  Many things to come.  I’m recording a live album in a church for modern blues artist Man Gone Missing, got another single to do for Ewan Butler, and there’s my own solo music which I am determined to make more of an effort on this year.  Tunes to come soon.

That’s all for now.  Happy New Year!!

Here you go everyone. Ewan Butler‘s new single is done and we’re both really happy with it. I enjoyed working with Ewan. He’s a great guy and easy to work with. And it was really nice to let my musician side out as well, adding a few parts to fill out the sound. Ewan says he will probably be coming back at some point so hopefully there will be an EP or album on the horizon. If you want to catch him live he’s playing the ABC2 in Glasgow on the 19th November and the Bentswood Inn in Stoneyburn on 12th December. You can find his myspace here but for now, kick back and have a listen to his tunes.

I did the sound for Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers single launch back in July and a video has been uploaded to youtube. It is of the single itself, ‘Hang The Noose’ performed with the Parsonage choir. Don’t know who took the vid but it gives a good vibe of the night so I thought I’d post it here. You can check out their other videos and upcoming gigs here. Enjoy!

On Tuesday I was drafted in to setup and engineer for a lecture/performance by Turner Prize winner, Mark Leckey. His talk was loosely based on ‘technology’ and he gave an almost psychedelic display of thoughts and theories on how things like youtube and social networking have opened the floor to the artists of the many -- the long tail. I was there to provide a pa and apply some delay to sections of his speech. Despite some hassle from a DVD player when setting up, the talk went really well and I was somewhat inspired by what Mark had to say. I use technology all the time, from engineering and recording to composition, production and even writing this news post right now. It made me think that all too often, us in the music industry and other arts fail to fully examine exactly how technology affects our creativity. Its influence, I feel, is greater than we are aware of.

Mark is a really nice guy, and clearly a deep thinker. If you get the chance to hear him speak or see any of his work, I would highly recommend it.

Yesterday I recorded a few songs for Ewan Butler’s new single. He’s an extremely talented singer-songwriter with a unique style of playing and an enchanting tone (and accent) to his voice. I’m looking forward to mixing this one because there’s no band so it’s going to be a back to basics kind of thing. Acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocal. I’m going to add a few parts I think, just to thicken up the sound in places but to be honest, Ewan’s songs will do most of the talking. As usual, check back to have a listen once I’ve finished mixing them. They should be done by the end of the month but for now you can check out his myspace here or take a look at the video below for a taster.