matt leon

In this week of class we delved into the technology of music production and how studio recordings became more and more hi-tech and gained quality as the equipment used advanced throughout the years. In particular we looked at the progression of analogue to digital recording and the beginning of full stereo sound.

One of the earliest techniques for studio recording was the use of wax cylinders. In the studio, performers would gather around a microphone or horn as a phonograph engraved their sounds onto rotating wax.These cylinders allowed immediate playback for review or duplication, but their fragile nature and limited sound quality posed challenges.

Some of these challenges included being unable to mix or modify post-recording and being fully mono. The inability to mix the track after recording meant the performers had to rely on their instincts to position themselves in the live room so they were heard, and to move around when there was a solo for example. You can see this in the photo above.

With the invention and introduction of tape recording into recording studios the ability to record additional tracks and overdub instruments gave producers and artists alike much more creative freedom in the production process. On top of this tape recordings were much easier to store and contained quite a lot more audio data.

One of our main points of talking was Pink Floyd’s ”The Dark SIde Of The Moon”. This concept album pushed the boundaries of studio recording in several ways. The album’s production set a new standard for creative studio work, showcasing the potential of sound engineering as an art form in itself with the tape editing, samples and dozens of layered guitar riffs and vocals.

In our third friday class of the term, we looked into how songs can drastically change from their demos to the fully fledged studio recording. We looked at a select few tracks and were asked to discuss their sound, instrumentation and overall audio spectrum. For our blog this week we were tasked with choosing any song of our choice and completing an analysis.

I have decided to go with the song ‘Orange Peeler’ by the American slowcore band Horse Jumper Of Love, who I recently saw in concert. I chose this song because even though it only has 3 main instruments, the sound that is created is absolutely massive.

The song starts out with this heavy reverb drenched chord progression from the guitar player that sounds almost synth like before the laid back vocals come in as if he is telling us a story, quoting a girl in his lyrics singing “She said ‘Baby, don’t be so down on yourself. At least not tonight please”. Following on from the first verse the instrumentation stays the exact came but the tone is completely changed. Instead of this reverb heavy synth guitar we are instead greeted with a very overdriven sound before the instrumental outro of the track.

What I adore about this song is the switch up tone wise hits you right in the face and brings the energy of the song way up. Comparing this with the demo version which does not have this, you can really hear the difference in what it accomplishes for the song.

With the over 2 and a half minute outro to this song, they ramp up the distortion with multiple overdubbed guitars all playing the same thing creating this wall of noise that sounds like it’s coming at you from all angles. Accompanied with the post-punk esque drums and low rumbling bass line it really makes you feel like you are in a room right next to them.

I have linked each version of the track, including an epic nine minute live version (linked below) with some crazy sample loops and even fatter sounding fuzzed out guitars than the original studio recording. What I love most about this version is Dimitri’s use of his pog 2 octave pedal in combination with a roland space echo creating these huge soundscapes that encompass all of your ears hearing frequencies.

During the second Friday class of the term, we were assigned the task of delving into a selection of popular mainstream songs and dissecting them to figure out the overall structure within each track. Following on from this we were asked to choose any song we liked and write about it in our blog. I have gone with the song ‘Blue Hawaiian’ by the American Indie Rock band ‘Pavement’.

The tune opens with a mellow keyboard riff before the hypnotic drum groove comes in followed by the lazy monotone vocals which give the song a heavy slacker vibe, accompanied by the catchy driving bass line that sticks in your head on repeat. The first verse is quite laid back instruments wise, with the jangly open tuned guitar not even coming into the song until the pre-chorus around 40 seconds in. The gradual buildup from the first verse to the pre-chorus and the introduction of the guitar adds an element of anticipation and engagement for the listener.

Following on from the pre-chorus the energy amps up for the first chorus, bringing in some distorted lead melody riffs and ending with almost opposite feeling transition back into another grooving short instrumental before returning to the verse section. The next pre-chorus section comes in with different lyrics and a louder vibe including samples and lead guitar to add a sense of progression.

After the final chorus comes the solo / instrumental outro. What I love about the solo in this song is that it is almost completely atonal and even out of tune at certain points. This emphasises the lo-fi slacker rock vibe of the tune, as if it sounds bad on purpose. And with that the song fades out with the same verse groove we are used to.

During our very first Friday class of this week, we were tasked with answering what we had originally thought was a simple question that turned out to have a very open-ended answer. We were split into small groups with around 3-4 people and given a short amount of time to discuss amongst ourselves before presenting a conclusion to the rest of the class.

What is music production? Well, in my eyes the first thing that came to my head was someone like Butch Vig or Nigel Godrich. From my thought process, they were the quintessential examples of your average producer. What their job entails is to bring in bands with song ideas/demos and bring those ideas to life. This involves producing, mixing and mastering, engineering, and occasionally even helping out the with arrangement and structure of songs to a certain extent. Someone in the class had an excellent analogy for these producers, describing them as ‘bringing nothing to something’, creating ideas, and bringing them to fruition. Other people in the group had a different understanding of the term ‘music producer’.

Another producer that was discussed was Rick Rubin. His production style is completely different, taking a far more reserved role within the studio focusing more on guiding the artists into shaping their sound rather than someone like Butch Vig and Smashing Pumpkins, who had a clear idea of what they wanted to sound like so Butch focused on engineering the record and letting the artist choose the sound they wanted.

With our discussion concluded our group virtually came to an agreement that defining a music producer was too vague to answer and that almost everything we came up with could be considered correct in this decade.