Commercial Pop Track
Pre-Production:
Track Development:
Leon initially produced parts of the track to be used with a different artist, aiming for a Kali Uchi sound. Building a rough demo. He built up a loop focused around two synths and resampled them to play with texture. Then, adding drums and filling in spaces with guitar/piano parts.
He then brought the track to the group, and we realised we could make it work for the assignment. We spent a session going through the arrangement and decided on a structure.
We also spent a session with analogue synthesizers, finding spaces for them within the track. We used a Moog Matriarch and Korg Monologue.
Session Planning:
I then suggested that Raff contact Ivania to see what her availability was for writing/recording vocals.
Recording:
When recording the synthesizers we used a Neve 1073 and SPL Goldmic, adding saturation.
- Vocals:
Micorphone Choices:
AKG 414 – adaptable during recording.
Room Setup:
Vocals tracked in 108b.
Musician Management:
After some deliberation over the first vocal recordings, I felt like it should be more energetic.
Raff coached Ivania into feeling more comfortable delivering vocals as a performance instead of spoken.
Mixing:
Mix Plan/Concept:
I knew I could try more experimental techniques. Inspired by elements of Delete Ya – Djo.
Balance:
As it’s a pop song, I needed the vocals, bass, kick and snare to be prominent/punchy. [10 Tips for Mixing Pop Music].
Pan:
Got more creative for this song, using Soundtoys Panman on synths to create movement, whilst not being distracting.
Vocal parts are panned to develop more width.
Placed risers in different locations to pull attention.
Tone:
This track needed to be polished with a crisp high end so it can translate well to smaller speakers/phones.
- Mix Bus:
Polishing the high end.
FX:
Able to get a lot more creative on this track. Using various reverbs/delays.
- Vocal:
Parallel Slapback, Compression, Reverb.
Ending vocals extra delay.
- Drums:
I wanted the drums to have more character. Using gated reverb, inspired by Phil Collins. Helping them sit with the track.
- Bass:
Compressor 1 is sidechained to the kick, ducking it.
Project Management:
Time Management:
This was the last track to be finished due to Ivania’s availability.
Communication was clear throughout production, with files being shared promptly.
Next time, I am going to leave myself more time for comping/mixing.
Planning:
No significant planning was required due to the tracks ‘in the box’ nature.
Roles and Responsabilities:
Acoustic Track
Pre-Production:
Demo Recording:
Raff recorded a demo over Christmas.
Arrangement Decisions:
We kept the structure and made note of elements we liked, then recorded drums/bass to the demo.
After one listen, the session musicians almost immediately played perfect parts; requiring light guidance with timings for certain ideas. We then recorded percussion with the drummer.
We wanted strings similar to those in Perfect Dark (New York Version) – Flyte. I contacted Lauren Askew to see if she would be willing to record improvised takes to capture odd and textural sounds.
The song starts small and builds, ending small again. Cyclical structure.
Session Planning:
Used seminars, session musicians pre-booked, strings recording booked 422 9-5 19.04.2026, asked Lauren to drop by whenever she could.
Recording:
Drums & Double Bass:
Microphone Choices:
Room Setup:
104, twisted drums to face piano to avoid low reflection off the wall.
Bassist in booth, providing isolation.
Musician Management:
Professional session musicians, easy to work with.
Violin & Cello Session:
Micorphone Choices:
When recording the strings, I chose large condenser/valve mics, providing warmth, helping them sit with the rest of the track.
Used the Beyerdynamic MC742N, a stereo microphone, in Blumlein. Helping capture the complex spatial, acoustic nature of strings. [What is Stereo Recording and When Should You Do It?]
Used the same microphones to record more instruments such as, harmonium, resonator, piano, and vocals.
Used guitar pedals as an FX send, Deco tape emulation in stereo created a slapback sound on the strings. Helped create a unique space that sat nicely in the context of the song.
Room Setup:
Due to the improvised nature of the session, Lauren went in the middle of the room, allowing clear visual communication. This helped with the ambience of the recording.
Piano, kept the mic far away to capture room sound, providing the part with depth.
Recorded vocals in the centre of the room for a natural sound.
Musician Management:
Everyone arrived on time. Communicating ideas with Lauren was simple, as she knew what we were after.
Mixing:
Mix Plan/Concept:
Inspiration from artists such as Flyte. An eerie sound with sounds jumping out. Meaning I would need to make clever use of panning. Also meaning there wouldn’t be much automation as Flyte tracks have a fairly flat mix.
Balance:
Wanted acoustic guitars and vocals to be prominent; bass and drums in a subtler position to reinforce the rhythm section. Then, finding gaps to place other instruments.
In the intro/outro, I wanted the ambient strings to be prominent.
Pan:
Required lots of careful panning; as many instruments share frequency responses, had to ensure they weren’t clashing.
Keeping vocals, bass, kick, snare, and acoustic more central for a strong foundation. Then finding spaces for each instrument to fill, e.g mandolin hard panned left, and plucked acoustic guitar panned hard right.
Tone:
To match the acoustic elements of this song, I was looking for more warmth than usual. I used tube EQs and a tape machine to boost the low/high mids. Also used ProTools’ LoFi plugin at 0.1, providing a presence boost.
Reflected when mastering. Using colourful plugins.
FX:
I made sure that I wasn’t doing anything too severe that would drastically alter the sounds of the recordings.
- Vocals:
Pedals used for slapback.
Reverb/width bus.
- Acoustics:
- Mandolin:
Bricasti M7, opening mandolin up.
- Strings:
Slapback
Reverb bus. More space.
- Bass:
Boomy and needed taming.
- Drums:
Compression/gating through SSL 4000G. Processed OHS lightly through API 2500.
Drum bus.
Kicks.
OHS
Talkback.
Parallel Compression.
Project Management:
Time Management:
Whilst there were gaps in between each recording session, this shows we had time to spare and that sessions were planned thoroughly. We had time to review/amend elements with Dan.
Communication was efficient/files shared promptly.
Planning:
Mostly fell on me, creating input sheets for sessions and contacting musicians/arranging a schedule.
Roles and Responsabilities:
Location Recording
Pre-Production:
Rehearsals:
Jeanine frequently rehearses; I have worked with them before, so knew that they could provide a good result.
Arrangement Decisions:
This song’s intro is normally longer; we cut this to meet the assignment’s length criteria.
Session Planning:
I contacted their drummer, as our previous plan cancelled. I suggested Friday 17th of April, luckily the band were available.
Recording:
Micorphone Choices:
Outside recording meant we used directional microphones.
No MD441s, chose to use AKG C414XLII instead, because of its hypercardioid setting. Some bleed from the drums, but this created a nice texture.
DI from the bass/guitar in case of issues (wind/bleed).
Room Setup:
Due to the minimal setup and lack of headphones, we had to ensure the band could hear each other. Placed the band in a triangle and had amplifiers facing inwards, allowing the band to communicate visually, meaning we needed to be mindful of bleed.
Musician Management:
Louis forgot to bring his pedalboard, gave him mine.
Mixing:
Mix Plan/Concept:
Clean/organic, sounding similar to how it did on the day.
Balance:
Needed to ensure each instrument was clear, as there are only 3 musicians; each instrument makes up a big part of their sound.
Focused on vocals and then brought the rest up.
DI guitar was harsh in high mids, used more mic and reamp.
Pan:
- Guitar off left, providing space for vocals.
- Automated vocal pan so harmonica was sitting on the right to complement the guitar and recreate Louis’ movements.
- Mono drum overhead, meaning the mix as a whole doesn’t have much width.
- Vocal effects creating more width.
Tone:
Needed the song to sound like it was recorded outside, whilst maintaining a professional sound.
Treated this mix more like live sound.
FX:
Subtle processing, keeping the sound organic.
- Vocals:
Vocal compression, Distressor.
Vocal Slapback TC, Dark Hall Lexicon.
- Guitar:
Reamped guitar/ harmonica adding reverb.
- Bass:
Bass compression Drawmer DL241.
- Drums:
Drum compression Drawmer 1968.
EQ/compression. Drums Bus.
Drum bus through 1073 for saturation/punch.
Recorded stems through console.
- Mix Bus:
Minimal mix bus processing, maintaining authenticity to the recording.
- Parallel Compression Bus:
20-30dBs gain reduction.
- Parallel Reverb Bus:
Providing unity.
Project Management:
Time Management:
Even with one project cancelling, we still had plenty of time to find/record an alternative option.
Initially worried about rain giving us less time. However, on the day of the recording, time management was amazing, with setup 9-10, and recording 10:30-1:30. We captured plenty of takes and finished quickly avoiding rain.
Planning:
My responsibility, contacting the band, arranging a time to record, making an input sheet and booking out the equipment with resources.
Roles and Responsabilities:
Structure and Organisation:
Could have arranged for a different day where more could attend, but we were beginning to worry about deadlines.
Bibliography:
- Djo: AWAL Recordings (27.02.2025) – Delete Ya.
- Flyte (25.10.2024) – Perfect Dark (New York Version).
- Izotope: Chrissy Tignor (20.10.2021) – 10 Tips for Mixing Pop Music. https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/10-tips-for-mixing-pop-music?srsltid=AfmBOoo27dY2I8Sl4NQR9S9y3pL259UG8sqAJL2tRsubg-I0R45H4vbj
- Lewitt (21.03.2025) – What is Stereo Recording and When Should You Do It? https://www.lewitt-audio.com/blog/stereo-recording-techniques
