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Despite the recordings taking place in a live studio setup, the decision was made to dedicate a session to overdubs. This adding of parts to the core performance enhanced the original recording, without affecting the feel of the track and not making the live performance impossible to perform! 

(The setups for the overdubs were as close to the original setup where applicable), to get the same sense of space and reflections in the room. Once they were recorded, I edited the takes chosen by the band into the respective tracks and came up with some ideas about how to incorporate different elements. Making sure the overdubs felt like part of the original performance was key.

So, the recording went well! James and I set up before the band arrived with time to spare, all being well besides a couple of channel input changes on the Neve for one reason or another. So far, so good!

Daniel, Alex and Jamie loaded in as normal and once everyone was set up, we put mics in place and then got the band back in to start all the usual checks. Level checks, tone checks, phase checks, more phase checks. Move some stuff, more tone checks, more level checks. Done. We were ready to rock (well, jazz).

First up was the heavier of two tunes, slightly rocky yet with chilled sections in between; hints of Rage Against The Machine were evident in places! Their dynamism and chemistry eventually culminated in a couple of stellar takes that everyone was happy with, one down, one to go! 

The second track is a down-tempo take on Once In Royal David’s city, a beautiful one I might add! An adjustment in placement and levels was required for the second track, set for the loudest levels and ride the faders for everything else and we’re good! The band use a variety of pedals, handywork and sandpaper (yes, you heard it right) to create flowing, seamless textures that offer up a taste of what each member has to offer. Capturing every detail and nuance in the highest fidelity was my aim as an engineer and a professional; I felt I carried that role out well.

As previously mentioned, the ‘live studio’ approach to recording this fantastic jazz trio was decided by myself after listening back to and mixing the jam session that took place. Now it was time to plan for the recording itself. 

The only reason the jam session took place in the SSL studio at Futureworks was due to the Neve being temporarily out of action. With the mighty Neve and it’s glorious live room being at my disposal I deemed it necessary to use it! The live room is more suited to a full band and gives everyone a little more space. 

Apes Grapes on Facebook

One of the big positives about the jam session was that the room planning paid off well, with the drums and guitar having great separation from each other. I stuck to that plan for the recording, albeit with a few slight changes in microphone choices. The bass, specifically the amp in the live room, was something to address for the main recording, as spill from the drums and guitar interfered with the bass mics; fortunately the line out of Jamie’s Mark Bass amp was very usable (and great sounding)!  

For my recording module this year, I thought I’d try something a little different, a little jazzy.. Fortunately, I know a few people! Apes Grapes are a jazz trio from Manchester that consists of Alex Tod, Daniel Brew and Jamie Brewster. Over the past months and I’d checked out some of their material online and loved what I heard. When I got in touch, it was convenient that they just about had enough material to record. Bring it on! 

First things first I gathered as much research material and information from the band as I could and thought it would be a good idea to organise a jam session to get a better idea of how to best record the trio. So I did! With assistance from the wonderful James Walker, we embarked on a full-day session in the SSL at Futureworks where the band laid down some beautiful riffs and I got to hear the new material. 

This blog post marks the start of my online presence for the academic year. The aim is to try and maintain a stream of information about degree and Noise Four projects along with a couple of other (most likely film or music related) entries. I will try and incorporate other social media platforms into this blog such as Medium; it seems like a fresh approach to writing articles and interacting with other users.

Time is already at a premium due to various commitments but I feel that utilising this blog will help develop my writing skills and therefore provide a helping hand with my dissertation. This post may only be brief but I will be coming back here as often as I can to keep the content up to date. For now, please take a look at the following links to see what I’m up to!

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