24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Studio Portfolio 2 & Log Book.

by

Ryan Smith 24100880

Commercial Pop Track

24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Commercial Pop TrackDownload

Pre Production

As commercial pop was not a genre strongly represented within our groups usual production work, we made the decision to collaborate with an external songwriter in order to guarantee stylistic authenticity and strong foundational material. This also reflects common industry practice, where commercial pop producers frequently work alongside dedicated songwriters to produce commercially viable tracks.

First year songwriter Phoebe-Rose expressed interest via the platform LIFE. Initial conversations established a clear stylistic direction, referencing artists such as Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams. These references informed both Phoebe’s approach to songwriting through vocal delivery and harmonic choices, as well as our arrangement of the track.

The initial guide recording session took place on 04/02/26, consisting of acoustic guitar and vocals. As these recordings were for writing around only, we focused on achieving a solid, well timed performance to work from.

Following this session, we approached the arrangement of the track in a more iterative nature, developing the sound over the course of the semester. Each group member contributed additional elements each week, allowing for time between sessions to research or listen to changes and compare to industry standard releases.

Team Roles

The responsibilities of this project were shared, however within individual sessions we fell into roles which suited each members strengths. Myself and Joss focussed on the creative direction of the track, being responsible for the majority of the guitar and synth parts. I contributed to the development of the tracks arrangement by communicating with the songwriter, ensuring additional layers were appropriate with her vision.

Recording

As most of this production was in the box, our use of microphones was limited compared to a typical production. All synths present in the final production were virtual, using a range of Plugin synths like Vital and Polymax. This allowed for a greater control over the production, allowing the tweaking of certain sounds when needed, as opposed to locking us out of this by bouncing the tracks or using hardware synths.

For the vocals we used both the AKG C414 and JV Vintage 67 side by side, in order to provide greater variation in sonic qualities at the mix stage. These were recorded in studio 104, with myself communicating with the vocalist about vocal delivery and takes, and Joss acting as DAW operator and engineer. (22/04/26)

The guitar parts were re-recorded at my home studio setup (21/04/26) by myself with Joss engineering, primarily to avoid time pressures and allow the use of my own guitar, as it had the brighter sound I felt was needed for this track. We used a Sontronics STC-2 and AT2020 spaced over the sound hole and 12th fret respectively. this allowed for more control over the stereo placement and width of the guitars at the mix stage. Despite the lack of acoustic treatment, we managed to achieve a good recording as we positioned the setup in an acoustically deadened part of the room.

For the Rhodes sound we used a Nord Keyboard, and collected both the MIDI and Audio data, in case we wished to adjust the sound at a later date. We utilised the audio in the final production, applying some stylistic saturation to give the overall track more variation in sound.

(22/04/26)

Mixing

My main goals through mixing were to create excitement and development between structural sections, particularly in helping choruses land well. I did this through a variety of methods, including using filter sweeps, high feedback delay and volume swells to connect sections more effectively. I also researched extensively to compensate for my lack of experience in this area, particularly for my approach to vocal production, arguably the most important part of commercial pop. For instance, The Haas Effect informed my approach to vocal doubles, having the vocalist record 2-4 different takes of each chorus. This was to allow for more width in the choruses, creating clear sectional contrast.

Evaluation

I believe that the production achieved a convincing commercial pop track with strong melodic focus and momentum. However, I feel that the arrangement process could have benefited from more structure. While our approach allowed flexibility, it reduced efficiency and would have benefited from earlier research into commercial songwriting workflows.

Acoustic Track

24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Acoustic TrackDownload

Pre Production

I had already been working with third year songwriter Phoebe Dee Little, whose style I felt would be well suited to an acoustic recording. I presented several demo tracks of hers to the group, allowing us to evaluate the suitability in terms of arrangement, sonic identity and potential for development. We settled on the track ‘Your Ring’ because of its intimate and natural sound, as well as clear influences, those being songs such as ‘Run’ by Stephen Fretwell or ‘Iris’ by the Goo Goo Dolls. In particular, these references helped to focus on the authenticity of performances, using more natural processing and retaining natural dynamics and articulations across the production.

Original Demo

Team Roles

Generally within sessions I focussed on the creative aspects of the track due to my closeness with the songwriter and prior experience with the music. This generally consisted of either communicating the groups intentions to musicians, or arranging / recording parts myself. This allowed the rest of the group to focus more on the practical engineering side of the sessions, allowing us to achieve consistently high quality recordings.

Arrangement of Materials

We largely stuck to the original arrangement of the demo in terms of structure, with our approach involving gradually replacing each element of the demo with higher quality recordings, as well as adjusting elements like the guitars and bass throughout the process. This allowed us to retain the core emotional character of the track.

An example of these improvements would be my re-recording of and re-arranging of the guitar parts, focusing on textural depth inspired by the reference track ‘Iris’. This involved layering 6 string parts with 12 string, allowing for a fuller and more varied texture than the demo.

Recording

We recorded the drums and bass together on 16/02/26 using the session musicians provided by the Conservatoire. During this session I took the role of communicating with the musicians, being responsible for talking them through the track as well as discussing any changes regarding the arrangement. I produced a guide drum sheet containing structure and an outline of the Midi drum track of the demo, and Joss produced basic notation for the bassist to follow and add interpretations where needed. Below is the Mic list for this session.

MicInstrument
Kick InAudix D6
Kick OutAudio Technica ATM250
Sn TopShure Sm57
Sn BottomOctava MK-012
Rack TomAKG C414
Floor TomAKG C414
OH LNeumann Km184
OH RNeumann Km184
OH CentreSontronics Delta 2
Bass NeckNeumann Km184
Bass Bridge 1Sontronics Delta 2
Bass Bridge 2AKG C414

The piano part was recorded on 15/04/26 in studio 104 in order to use the grand piano. We used a XY stereo pair of Calrec CM1050Cs as well as a Sontronics orpheus to capture both a close and a room sound. This was to allow control over both the stereo positioning and distance of the piano at the mix stage.

The guitar parts were recorded using a Sontronics STC-2 and AT2020 at my home studio setup, in the same session as the pop track. This was primarily to create a creative environment and remove time pressures, as I was wanting to arrange parts as I was recording to keep cohesion across sections.

Mixing

As for mixing the project, I focused on creating a musical and natural balance across all the instruments first, before delving into creative processing. Notably, I felt many of the guitar parts sat in too similar of a frequency range (being the same guitar and mic setup). To combat this, I processed some of the more textural parts through an amp sim, to give them a more characteristic sound, rather than risk them blending into the rhythm parts.

I also used automation to create space for each part, such as the bowed and pizzicato bass, which I automated the low cut frequency in order for both sounds to be clearly audible when overlapping.

I wanted to create movement across the mix without compromising on the presentation of a believable arrangement. To do this, I made note of the ‘highlights’ of each musical part, automating the levels to create a consistently equal balance.

Evaluation

I believe we achieved our goals of creating an authentic and texturally interesting arrangement of the track, without straying too far from the original ideas of the demo. However, there are some performance / arrangement issues in the piano and guitars in places, with too many close/similar voicings in quick succession. I also feel more time and attention could have gone into the guitar recording, and would have allowed for using multiple guitars for more sonic variety rather than achieving this variety through musical means.

Location Recording

24100880 MPR5C001R~003 Location RecordingDownload

Pre Production

The idea for our location recording came from a group meeting, in which we discussed what genres / ensembles of musicians would be appropriate, as well as an interesting location with a unique ambience which would be fitting for the music. We settled on the idea of recording a folk ensemble, with Joss going on to find a group of the Leeds Conservatoire Folk Society who regularly host traditional folk jams at the Chemic Tavern. Our point of reference for the atmosphere and overall sonics of this recording is the ‘Music at Matt Molloy’s’ album, a series of traditional Irish folk recordings conducted in a pub environment, which the Chemic Tavern would prove perfect for.

We conducted two recording sessions in total, as we felt our first session lacked the quality we had hoped for. This is for a variety of reasons, one of which being our lack of prior research before conducting the first session. As a group we ensured our second recording would be of higher quality by conducting more research and improving the positioning of both the instrumentalists and the microphones.

Session 1 – 24/03/26 // Session 2 – 28/04/26


Due to the informal environment of the sessions we opted to record the full session, allowing us to go in later to cut out the sections appropriate for this submission. This was highly effective as it avoided the recording process from intruding on the environment, and potentially compromising the quality of the performance of the musicians.

Team Roles

Joss took on the responsibilities of organising the recording of these sessions, with myself, Joss and Louis sharing engineering responsibilities within the sessions themselves. I prioritised checking our mic placement through monitoring, correcting certain placement to ensure as much isolation and bleed reduction as possible in the tavern environment.

Recording

We opted for a mix of highly directional, cardioid microphones, with the orpheus in omni to ensure we captured the rooms ambience. The C451 in particular proved to be exceptional at isolating instruments due to its cardioid pattern, small diaphragm and frequency response picking up more high mid information.

MicInstrumentalist/ Placement
Sontronics Orpheus in OMNI Configuration Central
Km184Guitar
C451Banjo
C414Fiddle
Km184Percussion
C451Melodeon / Flute
C414 Harp (Did not play in the submitted pieces.)

We positioned the musicians in the centre of the room, with the majority facing the padded booth seats. This proved to be perfect for both the comfort of the session, as well as taming the acoustics of the room. Particularly the banjo, which was seated on the padded seats was isolated very well, due to the padding absorbing much of the bleed which would have otherwise reflected off of the wall.

We used the two C451s on the two individuals in the group who would be singing, due to their more directional nature. Whilst the pieces submitted did not include singing, the directional microphones still proved very useful at isolating the banjo, key flute and Melodeon.

Mixing

When it came to mixing I took a minimal approach, both to retain the natural sound we were aiming for, and to create a realistic sound stage expected from a traditional folk recording. My main concern was in the transition from the first tune to the second, in which the Melodeon player switches to a tin whistle. I used panning to adjust the sound stage, shifting the guitar closer to the centre and the fiddle to the side to provide more room for melodic information, whilst having the guitar fill the harmonic space left by the lack of the Melodeon. As well as this I used general EQ and compression where needed, largely to remove room or low mid information, and to tame dynamics to a more listenable level.

Automation for the Melodeon to Tin Whistle Switch

I consistently checked these decisions against the Music at Matt Molloy’s album, which inspired my overall mix decisions, such as stereo placement and the embracing of the tavern ambience.

Evaluation

I believe we captured the ambience and instruments effectively, creating a believable sound stage for this type of recording. I feel we could’ve utilised almost exclusively pencil condensers for close mics, and another omni or wide diaphragm condenser for additional control over the room sound, rather than the room sound accumulating over the wide diaphragm condensers we used.

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