Fentek Audio

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

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!!