Song: Fixed
I took a collage approach to writing when I set the drums up in my studio for this song. I played along to a metronome set at four difference speeds to achieve four different potential frameworks to build upon. This, I believe, is the third performance. I smiled at their cardboard sound and nodded at the space I left for other potential cutouts. I then played bass. I chose notes that simply felt nice to me. These were the larger scraps of paper. I tried not to think too much about patterns. Instead I let the drums guide me and help me establish a mood with a nice balance of tension (the low end on the Tascam 388 coupled with the flabby drums helped too). Once the framework was set, I asked, Where does space remain in this piece and where should it be sacred? I worked out a simple ascending piano line to further capture the mood and tone set by the rhythm tracks. This felt like a long jagged tear right through the middle. My 12-string electric added shimmer like scissors threatening subtle manipulation. I let the glue dry for a few weeks before returning to the piece.
I have had an old accordion 10-inch record set that I have never bothered to listen to. I placed it on my old school-house record player which was mic'ed up and ready to go. Now I love serendipities as much as the next guy, so please imagine my smiling face as the first track of the first record just happened to tonally wash over the entire piece. I lifted the tone arm up and down in rhythm and felt where it needed to be. Then I was finished.
Technical Specs
Machine: Tascam 388 finished on Pro Tools First
Pre-amp: Art Tube Pre (the one with presets for about $75)
Microphone: Audio Technica 4033, Sure SM 57, Cascade M39 stereo pair
Lead Guitar: 12-string Danelectro
Bass: 1970s Univox Beatle copy
Drums: Rewrapped sparkle kit made from junk shells
Keys: Yamaha console piano
Recorded and produced at home by myself. Mixed and mastered by Warren Gardiner at Gardiner Audio in Melbourne, AUS. Warren is a great engineer. He will do a great job on any audio project you bring to him - highly recommended! Please contact me for more information.