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Stuart - Bless ya' buddy! Glad you like it!
The truth is, I didn't, but, everything you've just heard was indeed engineered, recorded, mixed, and produced in here!
1st thing to point out is that the guys involved are truly 'world class players' and can sight-read fly shit!
So - Piano Bass Drums went down on the
Monday. Dave Olney in my voice over booth (with halogen heater for his beautiful double bass) Griff in my control room on my new Previa fully weighted Piano, and Andy in my live room banging shit out of my 9000 recording kit!
Me controlling the session with wireless Mac mouse and keyboard. I only fed the click to Andy, but all three of them could see and hear each other perfectly, as if they were on a gig! It was 'routing hell' I can tell you!
Now, to you, and anyone else, please remember that these guys had NO brass to play with at the time, so had to sight read all the stabs, pushes, endings, phrases etc as if the sections were present!!!
Tuesday - Top and tail the rhythm section, clear out live room and re-jig ready for Trumpets!
Wednesday - The Dudes show up and lay down all the Trumpet parts. Both chaps being Tpt 1 & 3 on first pass, and then Tpt 2 & 4 on second pass to give the four parts written! All the high note greatness was proviided because Tom was on it, and they were both having such a bloody laugh (exactly what I wanted!) And they did a 'stellar' job because, of course, they too, had nothing to listen to other than the mix of the rhythm section I fed them in their cans! Awesome!
Thursday - Trombone gurus Nichol Thomson and Andy Wood turn up and do their thing in exactly the same way! 1 & 3 then 2 & 4, then Andy added the Bass Trombone part! At least they had the Trumpets to listen to as well!
Friday - Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones show up to complete the painting!
So, all of the brass was actually played by just six wonderful chaps!
Now, this all happened the last week before Christmas, and we did four tracks in total!
January - Lead vocal / Client pops over to lay down the vocal track! 10 hours (for all four!)
Last four weeks on and off? I sit and cut, move, lengthen, push just about every note to 'create the illusion' that they were all here at the same time, but in a sensitive way that maintains both their outstanding musicianship, but also of course - the 'Live Feel'
Or as I much prefer, have gone on my nerd thing to bring absolutely everthing 'into focus'
It was such a challenge, headache, nightmare - Whatever, but so much fun 'pulling it off' Bus assignment/panning, oh, and writing all the automation panes - Yeah that was fun! And NO COMPRESSION OR LIMITING ON ANYTHING! Just panning EQ, and impulse response reverb - That's it!
The guys love it - Their collective CV's read like the Old & New Testament put together!
I'm both proud, honoured and very lucky to have been asked to do this, but I just wish my Mum could have heard it - She adored this kind of stuff!
That's it - Hope, as always, that explanation helps someone else later!
All the best guys! Because none of any of this would have happened without the help and support I received here!
Lou.
(The screen shot is just the brass btw - the other 19 tracks of rhythm section, drums and vocals are above!) Haha!
(Shit!)