Loudness takes a hit
Category: Music

Anybody who loves listening to music — to any kind of music, metal, hip-hop, classical, whatever — should be excited about this release from Tom Petty.

The most incredible thing about the "loudness wars" (as they're called in mastering circles) is that there's not a shred of evidence that having a louder record leads to more record sales or gets you played on the radio. It's just ... louder. And even casual music listeners hate it — and the labels know this, some execs even believe that it's contributed to declining record sales. (Why is this such a shocking concept? The records sound like hell, so people don't buy them — duh.)

So it's not even smart business — it's just like a whip-out-the-tape-measure thing, like that too-fancy sports car. Compensation.

You won't find a single reputable mastering engineer in the world who doesn't think this is stupid. Half of them are probably ready to work at half-price for anyone who will allow them to make a final master that actually sounds good. Maybe we'll start offering double-shot masters so our mastering clients can do what Petty did — offer a "stupid-loud" version for listening in noisy environments, and a "full range" version for people who want their music to sound beautiful.

Anybody else just plain tired of the hyper-loud-record-sounds-like-ass phenomenon?

5:30 PM - 4 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment

Releases, reviews and awards

Looking forward to tonight's CD release show for Johnny Miles' Sign Of The Times, which started life as a five-song demo back in 2005, one of the first really cool projects we finished after our 2004 renovations. Two years later, he (and we) had finished expanding that demo into a fully produced 12-song beauty, true to the songwriter's deep folk roots but also full of thumping rock beats and thoughtful composition. And always, always, the lyrics, never a throwaway line, always a real song, complete. Johnny's a great young talent, and now that he's stepping out with a great full-length record, people are bound to find out.

But don't take my word for it, Doug Wallen at the PW loved it, too.

UPDATE: Here's another rave review, by the Musicologist, just posted yesterday. And here's one from these music review blogger guys up in Canada. It's great that not only do they like the record, but that they love all the same things about it that we do. [Okay, end-of-update.]

The big show is tonight at the Tin Angel, Johnny Miles & the Knocked Out Colds, plus Hezekiah Jones opening up.

While I'm at it ... some other recognition coming at the artists we're working with ...

Philadelphia Slick picked up the CP Choice award for Best Local Band, just weeks after they won the Philly Sound Clash competition and a few weeks before they dropped Culture Industry, most fun I've had on a hip-hop record in a long time.

Laura Shay picked up not one, but two awards from Out & About Magazine, snagging not just Best Female Songwriter but also Best Vocalist. (We're about mid-way through a new full-length with Laura and her band.)

In other news, King Britt picked up a Pew Grant -- a freakin' Pew Grant, that is ridiculous, electronic musicians don't even get Pew Grants -- and about 40 people have told me recently that Chris Kasper is "really fucking good," or words to that effect, which is, in a way, just as good as any award if not better. And that's to say nothing of the dozen or so artists we're working with who we think are incredible but may not have gained recognition yet. Just like our man Johnny Miles, mostly unknown a year ago, but maybe not a year from now.

Our only goal, our only purpose in this not-entirely-humble endeavor, is just to be able to make some great records, working with great musicians. This time of year, it's easy to daydream about big deals and sales figures and Grammys. We try to stick close to the ground, enjoy the records we're making, remember that we're lucky to be doing this, lucky to be working with good people -- not just the recording artists but the session players and techs, too. Awards and raves are great, but in this line of work, you learn eventually that you have to trust your own ears. And those other things, they'll have to just take care of themselves, while we keep pushing to make more records, and maybe, hopefully, even better ones.

Aw, hell ... sometimes blogging just turns me into a sentimental dumbass.

JSL

11:01 AM - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Trudy Pitts, Alex Radus - two gifts
Current mood: content
Category: Music

Now downloadable from the jukebox of our profile, here's a couple of great Christmas tracks from a couple of our favorite artists.

They're free. Download them, listen to them and share them with others, as much as you want.

First, Trudy Pitts transforms "Silent Night" into a gorgeous organ meditation. Trudy of course is one of the world's great jazz organists (and pianists), but many don't know that she is also the composer of a great deal of beautiful worship music. We'll be producing a record of that music in the coming year, along with a more traditional jazz record, her first in decades. This track encompasses both interests, and as she says, "I can feel some of Trudy's spirit in that one."

For the second track, Alex Radus recasts "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" as a little jazz ditty. Alex is one of Philly's best young songwriters, and also a gifted singer and instrumentalist. We had the pleasure of helping him finish his first solo record earlier this year, and he'll be starting work on a follow-up in the next few months.

We invited each of them into the studio to do a little recording, specifically for the purpose of giving the tracks away. They both readily agreed to it, preparing special arrangements just for the occasion, and performing brilliantly as we expected.

So here they are, free and clear. No user agreement, no disclaimer, no DRM, no strings attached.

Consider them gifts — from Trudy, from Alex, and from all of us here.

3:11 PM - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Last Call: 2007 Releases
Category: Music

East Hundred - Copper Street Performer
Johnny Miles - Sign Of the Times
Lee Lippman - Time To Jam
Jawnzap7 - Rubber Teeth & Wax Lips
Claire Weber - debut EP
Skip Heller & Heath Allen - The Night's Not Yet Over
Tamika Patton - Time Alone With You
Box Five - Best Of
Amanda Penecale - Sleeping With Ghosts
Julia Vaughters - "I'm Not Impressed"
Barbara Collins - It's Your Turn
Adrienne Hamilton - "Tickle Yourself"
Quiet Jack - Via
kb noise - kb noise
Clefhangers - Going Somewhere
Clefhangers - Black and Jeans
Alex Radus - Love Me Like You Hate Me
Dena Marchiony - "Divine Right Order"
Edge City Collective - Aktivavoco
Jeffrey Marsh - wood + water
Ohsha Kai - "Out Of My Mind"
The Lowlands - Bark & Twine
Nick Annis - "Jesus Said"
Snowcat - Cat vs. Turtle
Annis Marchiony & Wade - "Another Train"
The Great Unknown - "Song For Henry"
Philadelphia Slick - Culture Industry
Dave Hartl - Lab Work
Traycee Lynn - "Don't Stay Don't Go"
Music & Mentorship - "I Want To Be the Change"
Trudy Pitts - "Silent Night"
Alex Radus - "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
Joshua Park - One Wish
Betty Iron Thumbs - Sit and Wait

Completed and soon to be released:

The Last Call - debut EP
Like Moving Insects - Pending Release
Cowmuddy - Bread and Butter
Jonny Forbin - debut EP
Carmen Costa - Sunspots
Kelly Rouke - debut LP
Matt Schelke - debut LP
Philadelphia Songwriters Project - Beyond Measure

Works in progress:

Monica McIntyre - Abuse Gets Heavy
Chris Kasper - LP
Box Five - Leave the Earth Behind
Laura Shay - LP
Trudy Pitts - LP
Geoff Martin - debut EP
Holly Taya Shere - debut LP
Life Slides Down - debut LP
Phil Rettew - debut LP
Kaleidoscope Songs - 3
Dawn Iulg - debut EP
Baby Loves Disco - LP

11:19 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

First Friday :: East Hundred + Cowmuddy
Category: Music

Friends,

Please join us for our First Friday Open House, featuring the electrying band East Hundred, plus the inimitable Cowmuddy, starting at 9:00 p.m.

Looks like we kind of accidentally took a six-month break again. Sorry about that, but we've been busy, that's all. Real busy. We are tremendously excited to feature our friends East Hundred, whose brand-new release Copper Street Performer we recorded here last year, as well everybody's old friend Cowmuddy, whose almost-finished LP we recorded last year, and the year before that, and the year before that.

4:57 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Artists, breakthroughs, cookies
Current mood: amused
Category: Music

Well, looks like we're having a First Friday event in a few days, and that always makes me feel like I need to catch everyone up on what's going on around here. Haven't done that since last summer.

The biggest news around here is our new engineer Rachel Russell, who started working with us in the fall. It seemed like we hadn't even known her a month, and already she seemed like an essential member of the team, and an important voice in the ongoing push to always do better and better work, and a part of the family. And her mom sent us cookies.

Rachel is immensely gifted, and a perfect fit with our drive for great sound and great sounds. So many outstanding musicians, producers and engineers have been impressed by her work, including the legendary Shelly Yakus, her longtime mentor. One veteran studio owner in the area told me point-blank, "I might be twice her age, but I'll never be half the engineer Rachel is." And her mom sent us cookies!

Rachel's work has included breakthrough albums for Birdie Busch (Bar None), the award-winning John Francis, and Devin Greenwood, that guy with the hair. In her short time here, Rachel has already thrown herself into soul, rock, jazz and classical recording, as well as a full length a cappella project. She's now busy recording Monica McIntyre's much-anticipated full-length debut, Abuse Gets Heavy, a beautiful and unusual and ambitious project from an artist I've admired for a long time. I have little doubt, this is another breakthrough in the making.

9:29 PM - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Fresh tracks!
Current mood: satisfied
Category: Music

Now playing on our profile, hot-off-the-mastering-deck, vintage 2007 tracks -- just-released or about-to-be-released:

"Wait" by East Hundred. From the four-day-old EP Copper Street Performer, soon to be expanded into a major-label LP. Love this band, they were just a pleasure to work with, and the production evolved into a collaboration between the great John McEntire (Tortoise), old friend and young star Devin Greenwood, and our own Jeff Hiatt, who recorded the tracks here. It was damned hard to pick just one.

"Like A Bus" by Cowmuddy. From his long-awaited masterpiece Chinese Democracy, the elusive writer-songsinger finds a transcendent pairing with Adam Davis on the dobro ... I know that's laying it on thick, but this track drops jaws. Anchored by the classic Local Honey rhythm section, who should back more records together (and hopefully will this year).

"Turn And Draw" by Johnny Miles. From his remarkable full-length debut Sign Of The Times, which will be knocking you on your ass in the next couple of months. This particular dustup features Chuck Treece, Chris Kasper and Jim Miades, who recorded it live in our basement with Johnny. That's right, live. Some things just can't be done on a click.

"A To Z-A-P" by Jawnzap7. From his full-length solo debut Rubber Teeth and Wax Lips, due out next month. We first encountered this Burndown favorite as a teenage vegan pranksta, but that was a long time ago. Given his prior body of work, nobody will be surprised by his usual phenomenal skills on the mic, but who was expecting him to arrive so suddenly as a fully formed and very gifted producer?

6:26 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

P I A N A D E L P H I A :: first review
Category: Music

See, I told you it was something good.

Read all about it.

Much more to say on this subject ... later.

8:35 AM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

First Friday :: ARTS IN MOTION
Category: Music

Friends,

Please join us for our First Friday Open House, featuring the modern classical music collective Arts In Motion, starting at 9:00 p.m.  Pre-show music and massive projections will begin outside at 8:00.

Arts In Motion is the same group that packed the studio with an impromptu pre-show back in April, and the more we work with them, the more impressed we are with their vision and ambition, both in creating music and in putting it in front of modern audiences.  They aim for nothing less than a complete redefinition of classic music for the new century, one that embraces not only centuries of composition and songcraft, but also modern styles ands sounds, hip-hop, electronica and music visualization.

And, as founder Eric Haeker says, "Success in this endeavor requires far more than the addition of a violin to a band."  Or, to put it another way, "Hey, man, we ain't gonna fall for no banana in no tailpipe."

Indeed, this show alone will feature performances of original compositions by Haeker and our friend Mary Bichner -- they met at the explosive Box Five show at Turtle back in February -- alongside electronic remixes of the works of Bach, Chopin and Handel, and video art from artist John Phillips.  So we've got "21st century electronica," hip-hop/classical fusion, new works by AIM composers and orchestrators, and music visualizations.  And, of course, Radiohead.

And in case all this sounds way too academic or theoretical -- or fun -- Haeker promises a deeply emotional experience as well.  Arts In Motion intends to present 500 years of musical evolution -- sequenced into five suites kind of like the second side of Abbey Road, each about 20 minutes in length, featuring two pianists, two DJ's, a keyboardist and a violinist, plus Mary's vocals -- and at the end of it, you may not be thinking about the theory of it at all.  If I understand their plan, at the end of it, you are going to be an emotional wreck.

See, it's like I said.  They're ambitious.

You can read more about Arts in Motion and how you can support them on their web site. 

And be sure to check out CBS 3's recent feature on Mary and her work with Arts in Motion.  Pretty heady stuff.

Our web site is still right here, of course.

--

Random digression of the month ... this Saturday, you should also check out Festin' On Preston, an Indie Rock Flea Market at a new venue in West Philly.  I can't really tell if this event is brought to you by Figurehead Productions, the people who brought you Thrilladelphia, or by Figurehead's girlfriend Freshout Media, or both, or neither, but I expect it will be cooler than cool, doper than dope, meta-er than meta, etc.

--

First Friday Open House ... doors open at 9:00 p.m., pre-show visual music projections begin outside at 8:00 p.m.  As always, feel free to bring along anyone and everyone whom you think might appreciate it. We look forward to seeing you.

Turtle Studios, 225 Quarry St., in Old City Philadelphia
just off 3rd Street between Race and Arch

JSL

8:28 AM - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Ready for radio ... right now.
Category: Music

[First Friday Open House returns next month.]

Here's a fun trend we've been seeing recently:  We finish a track (or a whole record), and it gets played on the radio -- the very next week.  Of course it's not uncommon for us to hear tracks we've produced on the radio.  But it's always nice to hear it on the radio immediately -- and for five different bands, on three different radio stations (plus two podcasts), all in the space of just a few weeks.

Just two days ago, WMMR premiered the debut single "Landfill" from The Suburban Sound, a hot-and-heavy hard rock group with horn section, from ... uh ... some suburb I guess ... anyway, it's a great track, and the boys just came here to track it, like, eleven days ago.  And it was in fact their first time ever in a professional studio -- but they were ready.  (Next blog entry should be about preproduction -- this band nailed it.)

Last week, it was The Lowlands having their signature tune "Gamblin' Soul" featured on WXPN, literally one day after their self-titled debut EP was delivered from the plant.

Two weeks earlier we delivered finished mixes from the Thrilladelphia kickoff shows to radio outlets.  Within a matter of hours, WPRB's righteous Jon Solomon was already spinning The DrugByrds first-ever live accidental single "Hold My Breath For Thee".  WXPN featured a National Eye track a couple of days later, and another DrugByrds track made it into CityPaper's Local Support podcast the following week.  (You can hear more Thrilladelphia live cuts right here on our MySpace profile.)

Somewhere in the middle of this, we got a call from a tremendous young funk group, Simple & Supreem -- I love these guys, they just have skills and showmanship coming out of their gills.  Anyway, they were about to shoot their first professional video ... except that they had no professionally recorded single to shoot it for.  Could we deliver a hot single, radio-ready and video-ready, in the space of three days?

Well ... yeah.  Of course.  This is what we do.  And I was reminded that there is this misconception among a lot of musicians out there that recording is an expensive crapshoot.  That you're going to empty your bank accounts and yet you still may not like the result.  And I just think to myself ... what horrible engineer or studio owner got you to think that way?

Friends, professional music production is not a crapshoot.  When you have good material and you're prepared, when you surround yourself with the right people, in the right place, with the right plan ... you are going to get radio-ready results every time.  Is it totally brilliant every time?  No, of course not -- not even the Beatles were brilliant every time.  Will you get a hit single?  Probably not.  It's a tough business, and a lot of things have to break right.  But you can't have a hit single without making something of the highest quality to begin with.

Simple & Supreem came in and knocked it out of the park -- they tracked and mixed a great tune with us, which we're now featuring on the CLIPS page of our web site. Then they went and shot their video and just a week later also shot an upcoming episode of a new local music podcast, The Other Side of the Mirror.  They seem to have the right instincts, that it's not enough just to be a great band.  You have to make it happen.

Here's something else to think about.  A common thread among all five bands is that they all have good songs and well thought out arrangements -- and they all have the skills and polish to pull off their material live.  When we're mixing and overdubbing a quality group, we're not "fixing" things, we're balancing, enhancing and improving them.

---

Speaking of right people with the right plan ...

* Diane Cluck's record Oh Vanille, produced by our man Todd Horton, was recently named #2 Underground Album of the Year by Mojo Magazine.  I wish we had heard about this earlier, or that I could provide a link to it, but you gotta understand, it's underground.  I could screw up everyone's street cred on this just by telling you about it.  How am I supposed to know if you're hip enough to read it?  How do you police something like that?

* Our friend and frequent collaborator Eric Vincent got a great response to the PHI-TOWN concert event at World Cafe Live last week, another step in the soon-to-be-meteoric rise of Naeemah.  Naeemah is a pure embodiment of Rock Star, head to toe, even though she isn't quite like any other rock star I can think of.  I think Eric will be bringing her here to make her next record.  I don't think that because he's booked the date or anything, I think it because Eric knows I'll have his legs broken if he doesn't.

* Eric also put up this very interesting page on his Curve Dominant web site, which traces the process of recording a single for the up-and-coming Welsh rockers 21 Against.  It's a case study of what we call a "hybrid project," in which a producer working out of his own project studio collaborates with a full-blown pro studio to achieve the best of all worlds: attention to detail as the producer helps the artist achieve his/her/their vision, combined with best-of-breed engineering, sonics and clarity.  We're working with a number of producers on project like this and expect to see more and more of it.  As I often point out, everyone involved at Turtle Studios also has a home studio -- it's not either/or, it's both.

* Our old friends the Cabin Dogs pulled off a double-coup for the summer festival circuit, landing slots at both the Appel Farm Festival (tomorrow) and the Newport Folk Festival in August.  The Cabin Dogs are the only local band to play Newport, and this will be their second trip in three seasons.  They might have the highest success-to-hype ratio of any band in town.

* Pat Rapa had some interesting things to say about "Aqua Toffana", a track recorded here by Box Five several months back.  And in case you missed it last month, be sure to catch this somewhat hilarious video, chronicling the setup of Box Five's performance in the Turtle Lounge back in February.

* And finally, be sure to check out the debut episode of The Other Side of the Mirror, a collaboration between local film and music video director Oliver Archut and our friend Brian Cronin of Mirror Image Duplication (who is dragging us along for the ride).  We've been working with Brian on a number of projects -- be sure to ask him about our new Happy Ending Mastering Package.  You won't regret it.

1:09 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment