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.
The Wee Red Bar’s monthly rock gigs (The Mine) are taking things up a notch. Chris and Angus (who also run Great Junction Street Rehearsal Rooms) are very keen to give bands that little bit extra for playing gigs. So far, bands who have played the night have walked away with music videos, professional photos and rehearsal time. The next offering will be live recordings courtesy of me! I will be recording all the bands that play each gig from now on then passing the files on to Angus to mix them, meaning each band will receive a quality live recording of their performance. The next gig is on the 9th October. Check out their myspace to find out who’s playing and how to get on the bill.
Trampoline gigs are one of the longest running regular nights we have at the Wee Red Bar, and I personally always enjoy the music. I’ve worked with Euan who runs the nights for a couple of years now, both with Trampoline and his band, The Kays Lavelle. For the festival this year, there were three Trampoline shows, each with the usual high quality artists. Euan was keen to have them recorded so thats what we did. I recorded all the shows and we’re just in the process of deciding which tracks will go on the final cd. It’s maybe a little while off yet but when it’s ready it will be released on Euan’s label, mini50 records.
Recently, and not for the first time(!), Euan has been thinking of stopping the Trampoline gigs. This would be a tragedy and a massive loss to the Edinburgh music scene. Luckily he seems to have found some people to help him out with some of the organisational stuff so for now it’s back on. But I would like to urge all you Edinburgh music lovers to get yourself along, support the night and spread the word. There are some great upcoming shows which you can find out about here.
It’s another hectic Edinburgh festival with loads of work and more people, flyers and lanyards than ever! This year I am mostly at the Wee Red Bar where there are gigs almost every night. For information on the remaining gigs check the website – weeredbar.co.uk. In addition, I’m also working for Capture who film the infamous Late ‘n’ Live comedy show. Every night is different so fire down if your up for a giggle. Tonight sees the end of the fantastic record label Benbecula. They’re going out with a bang – 4 live acts (Christ, Frogpocket, Plum, Araya), DJs, Visuals and special guests. And it’s all being recorded for a future release. Should be a highlight of the month!
After working on the tunes for so long, Tony T was struggling with his mixes so he gave me a call and we hooked up for a mixing session. Tony makes great electro pop songs with a well crafted and distinctive sound. We seemed to work really well together and made quick progress in tightening up the bass end and doing some finer level automation tweaks. Tony seemed really happy so I gave it a day or two then mastered the tunes and got them back to him. ‘I Sad Stop’ and B-side ‘Tugboat’ are available for download now on iTunes and they will also be added to a couple of other tunes to form the Neon Hearts EP. Have a listen on his myspace or better still, catch him live with The Pineapple Chunks @ Electric Circus on 8th September.
Back in June I recorded the new EP for White Heath. We’d been planning to record together for a while so as soon as the guys had finished their degrees we were all set to go. They were very keen to record everything live – a method which I am fond of myself. By keeping elements of the recording process live, it creates an energy which truly reflects the bands character. And this is exactly what they wanted given the unique collection of instruments they play. With one of the tunes (7:38am) we even kept the original vocal with mic spill and everything! The record turned out really well and the guys are happy that it sounds like them. They held the EP launch at the Forest Cafe during August which was packed and a good night all round. As usual you can have a listen to the results on the band’s myspace.
Last weekend saw the long awaited launch of the new Woodenbox With A Fistful of Fivers single – ‘Hang The Noose’. I’ve done the sound for Woodenbox for a while now but this was by far the most exciting gig. King Tut’s filled up very quickly and before long was totally packed. Supporting bands Wilson Tan and The Parsonage choir provided a great build-up and Woodenbox we’re totally on form. Video and audio was recorded on the night so watch this space for some footage soon. You can download the single here.
"Alex was easy to work with and from the outset was honest, enthusiastic and open-minded. Alex also showed several innovative master strokes during both the original (recording) sessions and the production phase, which allowed our songs to become more melodic, dynamic and striking."
"Alex was easy to work with and from the outset was honest, enthusiastic and open-minded. Alex also showed several innovative master strokes during both the original (recording) sessions and the production phase, which allowed our songs to become more melodic, dynamic and striking."
