Ethan Hudson

Rupert, Oliver + Jasper

INTRO

This project has been created between months January + May 2026

Leeds Conservatoire recording studios and Hyde Park Book Club were the two locations used in all recording processes

PROJECT OVERVIEW

In this project our aim as a group was to capture 3 pieces of recorded material.

We created an upbeat RnB/ Afrobeat style Pop Track designed for a beach bar/ club vibe. This was created using MIDI synths, session musicians and a female vocalist.

We created a folk singer – songwriter style song designed more for a personal listening experience. This song contains percussive drums, acoustic guitar, cello, piano and of course a singer.

Finally, we recorded a live band at the snug in Hyde Park Book Club which was the last of the 3 songs made. This song mainly involved getting the mic setup correct and the gain staging as best as possible before the set took place. When mixing, I wanted it to have the feel of a tiny desk performance.

My role within each three varied, as a group we aimed to get the best possible recordings and arrangements possible, as an individual my goal was to create 3 songs that despite living in different sonic worlds, could be played cohesively together as one.

SESSION LOGS

*ANY SESSION I WAS UNABLE TO ATTEND WAS DUE TO ILLNESS OR A SHIFT AT MY JOB I WAS UNABLE TO CHANGE

Pop Track

Sessions:

• 13^th February 12:00 – (420) Pop track; Beat mixing
• 16^th February 16:00 – (113) Pop track; Session recordings
• 12^th March 16:00 – (109) Pop track; vocal recording

Members Present:

• 13^th – Ethan, Jasper, Rupert
• 16^th – Ethan, Jasper, Rupert, Oliver
• 12^th – Ethan, Jasper

What we did:

• 13^th – Got a firmer arrangement for the instrumental base to the pop track
• 16^th – Recorded Bass for one hour, drums for one hour
• 12^th – Recorded vocal lines with Saskia Collinson

Equipment used:

• AKG C414 – Vocals
• Drum Mic Pack
• Bass DI

Mixing:

• My references when mixing the track were Passionfruit by Drake when it came to the low end specifically, I really liked how the Kick and Bass sit in that track, so I wanted to create a similar sound with this mix. The high-end mixing was heavily inspired by the Rema track “Calm Down” and specifically the snare not sitting too loud in the mix
• The mid-range frequencies were very full over the course of the whole track so with the snare I dipped it by -3db across the track to stay clear in the mix but not take away from the importance of some of the other layers
• On the bounce of the mix, I mastered the track with a little compression and slight EQ adjustments to get the track that bit more cohesive and cleaner.

Problems + Solutions

• Various levels of background noise and static coming from studio 109 when testing the mic. With some repositioning and adjustments with the pop filter the problem was smoothly overcome.
• I originally wrote the track to be a heavily electronic track with little acoustic sound within it. When we decided to use the session musicians for this song, I knew the final sound of the song would need a different vision to what I had, one more electro-acoustic. With some specific mixing decisions such as applying a StepFX to the drums, the problem of mixing electronic with acoustic sounds was solved.
• Organising the time and date to record Saskia was difficult given everyone’s busy schedule, we managed to get it done with just me and Jasper on the day despite this.
• Saskia at times struggled with overthinking and worry when recording, to solve this we gave specific guidance as to what we were going for whilst still allowing her to be creative, this helped both her sing and us produce.

Outcome

• Between the group over the 3-4 month period, we wrote and tweaked new synth lines to layer with what I had first presented, we recorded a session bassist and drummer, we put together a final arrangement of the track, on a solo session I ‘dubbed’ out the bridge section to emphasize it and create a section that sounded unique to the rest, and we recorded the singer.
• Following all those procedures, the song was in the stage for a final mix.

Folk Track

Sessions:

• 2^nd March 16:00 – (113) Folk recording 1; Guitar, Vocals
• 20^th March 10:00 – (104) Folk track; Cello recording
• 1^st May 16:00 – (113) Folk track; Piano, percussion recording

Members Present:

2^nd – Ethan, Jasper, Rupert, Oliver

20^th – Jasper, Rupert, Oliver 

1^st – Jasper, Rupert, Oliver

What we did:

2^nd – Recorded the guitar line, and then the vocals

20^th – Recorded cello

1^st – Recorded piano + percussive drums

Equipment used:

Cello – Schepps omni

Cello – Neumann U87

Guitar – Schepps omni stereo set

Vocal – AKGC414

Piano – Schepps Omni stereo set

Mixing

• Having researched into folk music and the technicalities to mixing it, my main gathering was not to push the levels up to be as loud as they can be in the track, like you would in DnB music or another different genre, you want don’t want to ruin the dynamic range in folk music.
• I kept all the levels relatively low, keeping the vocal up front and automating the piano and cello to create defined development in the track.
• The track dynamically changes a lot over the course, and I wanted to really emphasize this for the listener to best reflect acoustic folk music.
• Nothing is ever louder than -2db at peak.

Problems + Solutions

• One problem with the recordings we had was regarding the clashing of the piano and cello. As stated above I used automation to solve that problem and allow them both to shine at the right time, whilst keeping that vocal as the focal point
• For me as someone who doesn’t ever mix this kind of music, I struggled to mix without the drums as a reference point of loudness, so the challenge has been one of a lot of worth, feeling overall better about mixing different genres since completing this task.

Outcome

• Between the 2^{nd of} March and the 1^{st of} May, all recordings got done. Collectively we organised when most of us could record and worked in harmony with each other to gather the material needed. This is shown in the photos, Instagram DMs between the four of us organising dates.
• Overall the captures of the instruments were great, especially the original vocals and guitar parts that Isaac played, the track didn’t have loads of layers like Passionate Breeze so was certainly that bit nicer to mix.

Location Recording

Sessions:

• 13^th April 16:00 – Hyde Park Book Club; Location recording

Members Present:

• Ethan, Rupert, Oliver

What we did:

• 13^th – Met at the Uni, hired the equipment, took an uber to Hyde Park book club to record live bands from 7.30-10pm.
• For this track we wanted to make sure we got the planning right, some good artists on the lineup we were recording and the correct mic choices for the day. Postproduction on this was very limited due to the nature of the recording and the bleed crossing between each instrument.

Equipment Used

(Microphones)

• Drum Pack
• Kick – Sonotronics dm1-B
• Snare – Shure Sm57
• Hat, Ride + Overheads – Drum Pack overheads
• Bass DI – DI Box
• Electric Guitar – Shure Sm57
• Acoustic Guitar – DI Box
• Vocals – Shure Sm7B
• Audience – Scheps Omni L&R
• Room – Sonotronics Orpheus – Figure 8 split L&R

Mixing

• I applied an EQ to every recorded channel to cut out lows and highs where needed, such as removing the high frequencies from the bass and kick channels to allow for that low end to cut through. The guitar and piano channels had the lows cut to give more clarity in the middle and higher frequencies. Additionally, the room mics and overheads I didn’t entirely cut out the lows or the highs to truly capture that live feel.
• The song was glued together a little more with the use of compression, particularly on that kick channel and the bass as the dynamics really needed to be controlled as a result of the recording environment and the microphones bleeding into each other.

Problems + Solutions

• One issue we faced when recording on the day was the microphone we were intending to use to record the acoustic guitar had an issue, and so instead we had to record the acoustic with a DI Box. 
• Getting the gain staging at first was a little difficult but thankfully due to the band’s sound check we managed to get the levels right for the main act.

Outcome

• Following a little stress with the setup, a mic mot working on the acoustic and a very long wait before the gig started, we still got what we needed on that one day.

Photos Below – DAW Sessions, Instagram DMs, Location Recording images, Pop Session recording, Piano Mic Placement for folk track, Guitar capture folk track, Patchwork for folk recording.