Track 1 (Guitar-based band production)
The Guitar-based track consisted of us working with a songwriter and her backing band, which were a bass player, guitarist and drummer. For this track, we made sure to plan a recording session, with the band laying down a bed track and overdubbing different elements on top. We had to communicate with them to help figure out when they were available to record for us, with Rupert being our connection between us and the band, in order to find a date that suited for both of us.
Once we had a day planned, we made a list of microphones we would use to record each instrument in that session, and we would use it as a reference for any additional sessions we booked for any overdubs that we could do later. The band provided us with their own rough bed track for us to use as our means to overdub on, but due to the structure not being defined, we had to plan out the structure with them and record a better rhythm section on top of that, before considering placing any additional overdubs.
After that, we overdubbed a lot of guitar parts and additional backing vocals on the track, as the song itself had a lot of space that needed filling. With these elements added onto the project and leaving us with everything we needed laid out for us, we each got a copy of the project for us to carry out our individual mixes.
For my mix of the overdub project, I wanted to achieve a clean and rich quality, with each part heard in the song standing out without trying to overshadow any other elements within the song. Before applying any processing, I made sure to set the levels right with the faders and organize each track to my liking, placing them in to an order I wanted to mix the different parts in. I started mixing the drums by placing each part in a track stack, meaning once I had mixed each part, I would be able to get that final balance with all the parts placed together. With the snare being slightly lost in sections like the chorus, I double tracked the snare with a MIDI snare, to help bring it out in the sections where the dynamics are more higher than the more laid back verses. Together, I made sure to have each part of the drums panned appropriately, creating a stereo image for the listener and making the drums sound larger in it’s presence, rather than leaving them to sound thin and compact with the track.
Similar to the snare being bought out more, I wanted the same effect with the vocals. Since they weren’t double tracked, I created the illusion of having them double tracked, by copying the vocals on another track and adding a heavy sample delay, a good amount of reverb to it and panned them hard left and right, creating that similar large feeling you’d get from double tracking vocals normally. Additionally, with the backing vocals appearing in the bridge section and creating a harmonization together, I made sure to pan each backing part, making sure that harmony heard with the backing vocals didn’t get lost when listening to the track. As well as that, I made sure the levels were set accordingly, to help all the vocals parts sit well together, once it reaches that bridge section.
With a large stack of guitar overdubs, I mixed each guitar part differently, to help achieve what each one is trying to do in the song. The main guitar part playing the one of the recurring riffs and playing the rhythm section was kept at constant dynamic level and never getting lost by the other guitar parts. During the bridge section, one guitar overdub acts as in a similar manner to a pad synth, and to help emphasize that idea, I sent a reverb plugin through a bus channel and then sent that to the ‘padding guitar’, giving it a much more larger sound to it. I did the same thing for another guitar part, where it creates a crescendo effect to accompany the drums when building up to the last section of the song. I added reverb and delay effect on this guitar part, to help build up tension and release that leads into the next section.
Since the bass guitar was recorded through an amp and through a DI box, I took the take we got with the DI and mixed that within the song, as it allowed me to have more creative control with the tone, meaning I could figure out how I wanted it to sound and whereabouts I would want it to sit in the mix. I used the amp modeler in Logic, to help me achieve a tone I thought was appropriate for the bass and applied additional processing afterwards, adjusting the part to sit right within my mix.
Track 2 Live in the studio (jazz/folk ensemble)
For the Live Recording session, I organized a session with a Jazz band, with connections I have with the drummer. We organized a date to record the band, and landed on date that was both suited for us and the ensemble. I booked a studio that was best suitable for a five piece, while Ruben presented us with a sketch of the layout of where would position the instruments, providing that we would prevent less bleed coming through on different tracks. We made a rough plan of what microphones we would use for each instruments as well. To help our goal to avoid having a lot of bleed, we placed acoustic panels for the piano and chose to use a DI Box and DM1B for the bass guitar, giving us options between which bass track we preferred and would use for our outboard mix.
When it came to our session, we had the band arrive later than us, giving us time to setup the microphones and their positioning. Due to issues that were out of our hands, we were only able to record one take, without overdubbing anything, as some of the musicians weren’t able to stay for the full session, meaning we had only one take to work with.
After our session, we chose to mix the recording we had using outboard gear in the studio. For our mix, we wanted to emulate a mix that sounded akin to a typical jazz track. Without using digital plugins and a DAW to help our mix, we had a limited selection of gear to use for our group mix, meaning we had to make cut throat decisions with what tracks within our project that needed compression to create a dynamic balance, noise gates to eliminate any bleed etc. To combat this limitation, we used the desk to group the drums into one track and applied any effects we were using on the outboard to have effect on the whole drum kit, rather individual parts from it. We were able to pan and manipulate the EQ settings on tracks with the desk, but any external changes and creative choices we wanted to make had to be done with the outboard gear that we were provided.
Track 3 Remix track
The Remix Track for How Deep is Your Love, is a more ‘Dance-Punk’ centered and ‘New Rave’ track,For the given acapella, I transposed the vocals up by two semitones, and remixed the vocals by using EQ plugins to make it more brighter and more stuck out in the project. To give the acapella more flare, I added a hint of reverb, mixed with a Tape Delay plugin in Logic, and near the end of the remix, the delay plugin becomes more present.
To lean into the New Rave style, a lot of the instrumentation is backed by a stack of synthesizers and drum machines. The track being repetitive musically, I stacked synths on top of each other as the track progresses, building on dynamics and becoming more minimalist in its musical movement. For some of them, I used as a pad, to help fill any empty spaces that were visible, sequencers to help add more melodic elements in the track and a lead synth used during the instrumental section between the second and last chorus.
With this remix being a fairly synth heavy track, I decided to record the drums and bass guitar live, giving a more human feel, than having a lot of the instrumentation feeling robotic and stacked with electronics. With acoustic drums being stacked with a drum machine, gave the accents on the two and four beats of every bar more of an impact, and leaning into a dance heavy groove. For the bass guitar, I plugged straight into an audio interface, rather than using a physical amp, as it allowed me to change the tone through virtual bass amp models within logic, and I could choose which suited best for the track.
