KCRW Engineers' Blog

Listen to the Bostich and Fussible live session here

BF_FullBand

Bostich and Fussible are two members of the Tijuana based ensemble known at Nortec Collective. Years ago as I started in my recording career I worked as an engineer in a South LA studio that recorded Mexican music.  This session brought back some memories of that as I heard the Trumpets hitting the lines along with Clarinet and Accordion.  Electronic musicians Bostich and Fussible made it a party in our performance studio with their sample layered tracks and that Mexican touch of get up and dance rhythms.  They switched back and forth with tracks and manipulated sounds with two Tenori pads

BF_playingTenori

Be sure to check out our video coverage. We tapped into the video graphics usually projected onto screens at
live sessions and incorporated them into the web video.

Mario Diaz
KCRW Recording Engineer

Watch or listen to the Cinematic Orchestra here

I had a great time with the Cinematic Orchestra after one of the worse ever commutes to KCRW that morning.  Despite the early load-in, the guys were here waiting for me and almost set up. 

Many times when we get an input list and there's a laptop listed,  it means the band will most likely be playing along with tracks that are pre-recorded.  But with Cinematic Orchestra, band leader Jason Swinscoe was using Pro Tools (and it's newest sampler software) to fire off elements, and then controlling them with a midi keyboard. So he was actually performing as an electronic musician and manipulating elements within Pro Tools, finally feeding me a stereo
mix.  The band performed along with Jason's cues and created a nice mix of cinematic swells and jazzy riffs.  With some bands, the length and tempo of the songs are fixed, and dictated by the computer. In this case, Jason could stretch out a verse or chorus, lengthen or shorten songs or change them all together. 

Jason_CO

Adding to the great musicians were vocals from Heidi Vogel and guitarist Grey Reverend.

HeidiGreg_CO

Mario Diaz
KCRW Recording Engineer

Watch or listen to the Chris Pierce live session here

Watch or listen to the Tjupurru live session here

I mixed two feel good performances this week...  Chris Pierce with his "neo-sou"l and Tjupurru playing the digiribone.  Chris Pierce and band just made me feel good that day, they were excited to perform and a bunch of nice and talented guys.  Among the band was Jon Butcher on guitar, who has had a long and successful career of his own with a Grammy nomination.

The didjeribone

Tjupurru walked in with a didjeribone, ( see above) fx pedals in his bag and a few tricks up his sleeve.  When members of the KCRW staff walked into the studio to watch, they asked me if he was playing to recorded tracks. When I showed them that there were no recorded tracks, they were amazed that everything was coming from one person.  I think of the music as aboriginal trance music with some hip hop in it.  This is a performance worth watching if you get a chance. (here) There was a great trick with a pitcher of water that he did live on the air. 

The interview ran out of time before the conversation could touch on some of his incredible stories: From his plight to share the stories of his aboriginal heritage and the suffering of his people in their own country, to the people he has met and played with over the years.  He has many stories to tell and uses his unique talent as great way for him to spread the word and open doors.

Watch or listen to The Black Keys live session here

BK_Guys

Hold on to your seat here come the Black Keys!  With all the sessions Ray Guarna and I do in our studio, the goal is to bring you big time studio quality sound.  Sometimes We get in a groove and reach for a certain microphone that we know works all the time.  But when guys like the Black Keys come in- anything is game. 

The two-man duo comprising the Black Keys is singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. They definitely have an ear for what they want their signature sound to be.  They asked me to get some grit on the vocal and get that squashed drum sound in the mix and helped me acomplish this in a few ways.  For Dan's vocals I ran it not only through our trusty Grace mic pre, I also ran it back into an Avalon 737, hit it with the compession and gave it that overloaded sound.  For the drums we used a room mic going thru another Avalon (squashed) and a grouping of the drum mics going into a vintage 1176 limiter (pegged the meter the whole time). 

Avalonhammered

During sound check we taped a song and then the guys would come into the control room to listen. When the blend was right, I got the aproval and we went to air.  Although I was aware of what I was doing, it kind of played with my mind. Usually, hearing distortion and the overloading of the gear makes me quickly back off the gains and try to fix something.  The guys are also their own engineers so with their aproval I knew I was doing something right. 

I made a note on our archive notes thinking how funny it will be when years from now somebody listens and wonders what was going on...  I wrote, "Distortion Intentional."

Mario Diaz
KCRW Sound Engineer

Watch or listen to the Liam Finn live session here

Over the last 10 years I've had the opportunity to mix the members of the Crowded House / Finn Brothers musical family dynasty in all it's configurations: The Finn Brothers as a duo, Neil and Tim each solo, plus Crowded House itself. And now, it was Neil's oldest son Liam on his own in the KCRW performance studio.

Coming from a family of musicians it was no surprise when I got the input list. Liam was listed as playing guitar, loops, drums, and Vocals.  Doing the mix, my faders and mutes were really busy, while Liam switched from guitar to drums after creating a full arrangement playing guitar and looping it, and then playing a bass line and looping that into the mix while singing on top. Finally, he ended the songs by sitting down and slamming on the drums and singing. EJ Barnes helped out with her beautiful voice, adding vocal loops, auto harp and percussion.  We have had a few players come in who use loops and layering; creating a one man (or woman) band. This was the first time for me seeing Nirvana-like drum bashing added as well.

Today marks the launch of our new video player! Check it out at KCRW.com, it couldn't be a more perfect session to watch and see Liam's diversity first hand.

Mario Diaz
KCRW Recording Engineer

Watch or listen to the Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings session

soundcheck

Sharon Jones brought her revivalist funk and soul sound to our basement today.  The 8 piece band, The Dap-Kings, skillfully backed up the most soulful singing you'll hear this side of Aretha.

Dave, Ian, and Neal

As soon as sound check started, I knew we were going to be in for something special.  A band this size taxes the limits of what our little studio can handle and still provide the quality of sound our listeners expect.  But The Dap-Kings are disciplined musicians who adapted to the cramped quarters and delivered.  Here in the basement, we've been pleasured with many fine performances over the years, but rarely do you find 9 musicians absolutely owning the songs they play, like today's session.  That makes the recording engineer's job infinitely easier, because you aren't going to get any surprises.

One different approach I used in this session was the way the drums were mic'ed;  Very old-school and simple.  Kick drum mic. snare mic, and overheads.  That's it.  It gives the drum's a little space and room sound, which fits the retro-funk style.

I hope you get a chance to check out this rare session,  If you can listen to this music and not compulsively move around, check your pulse.

Here's a sample of the session.  The title track to Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings latest album, 100 Days,100 Nights.

Ray Guarna

Watch or Listen to the Salt & Samovar Session

Finally, after a while of no guitar leads I get my fix!!!  Glad to hear a
band that is different, rocking and again eager to be on KCRW.  The morning
started a little rough for the Bronxonians, but the session ended on a
good beat.  A drum pedal went missing and a rented Farfisa played F sharp
instead of C.

Salt&samfarfisa

But the pedal was on the way.  Meanwhile, Kate made use of our Yamaha C5, and the rental was replaced before sound-check was done.  "No worries guys, that's why we load in at 8am..." proof to other bands that we don't push
you out of bed just to be mean. 

And as it turns out, the band being friends with Oliver Future and Goldspot here in LA,, borrowed a few guitars
and drum kit.  I thought I had seen those drums before.

Salt&sam drums

Mario Diaz

KCRW Recording Engineer

Watch or Listen to the Thurston Moore Live session

Working as a KCRW recording engineer for Morning Becomes Eclectic gives Mario and I the opportunity to mix some of the best musicians in today's indie music scene.  But every now and then, we work with an icon.  Halloween 2007 was one of those times.  Thurston Moore, of Sonic Youth returned to the basement with a solo project.  He did bring along Sonic Youth colleague, Steve Shelley to play drums.

Steve Shelley Kick Drum

They were last here in 2004 with their day job.

Thurston performed songs from his new solo album, Trees Outside The Academy.  This was an acoustic set with violin, 2 guitars, electric bass, and drums. 

And considering it was halloween, Thurston and the band were in the spirit of the day.  I chickened out.

Thurston Halloween get up

One trend going on at present, is the desire to run acoustic guitar through a traditional guitar amp.  We usually prefer using microphones for acoustic sessions to capture the full body of the guitar.  The other option is the use of piezo or magnetic pickups inside the guitar, which plug directly into the recording chain.  There is one problem with that approach;  NO AIR!   No matter how good the pickup, a piezo or magnetic device inside the guitar never captures the full body resonance, usually resulting in a thin sound that is dominated by the strings.  Running the guitar through an amplifier, and then mic'ing the amp puts a little air back into the sound.  I'm kind of digging it, because in our tiny room, it also helps us keep the guitar isolated from the drums.  That's what Thurston and fellow guitarist, Chris Brokaw did today.  It creates a sort of hybrid acoustic/electric sound.  Check out the audio or video stream.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a last thing about this session.  As an east coaster, I've been a fan of Sonic Youth since I was a young man in my 20's.  (Yes, even I was once a young man)  Smarter people than me say that it's never a good idea to meet your idols because you will often be disappointed.  Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to Thurston Moore.  At the end of the day, while we were wrapping cables and closing up shop, I look over and see Thurston with rag in hand, cleaning the coffee and food area, and picking up stray papers off the floor.  Tidying up after his band.  Everyone else was gone.  What a Mensch!  Some of the young, budding superstars who visit our little studio could learn a thing or two from this guy.

Ray Guarna
KCRW Recording Engineer

Watch or Listen to the Federico Aubele Session

Well the morning started off weird- I had walked into the studio to make sure all was like the day before...all was well… But when the band walked in they pointed out that a little friend AKA Periplaneta Americana, had perished on our studio floor. I got rid of it and the rest of the session was great. During sound check and setting up we sang "La coocaracha, La Coocaracha...." in different South American versions. Federico is a great guitar player and they pulled off the performance with just guitar, keys, percussion and their vocals. Check it out in our archives.

Mario Diaz

KCRW Recording Engineer