Putting It On Record

OK, so you want to make a record. First off, it might be a useful and money-saving exercise to decide exactly why you are making this recording and what you expect to come out of it.

Is it for a full-scale release? Is it intended as a demo for record company A&R folks, publishing companies, friends and neighbours, fans, radio stations or some other purpose? Or maybe you just want to see if the drummer has learned to keep time since the last recording disaster.

You must work out how much money you can afford to put into the recording, bearing in mind that you will probably need some extra cash for other matters such as a basic sleeve design, envelopes, postage, follow-up phone-calls,

photo-copying of your biog, photos and so on. You must also consider whether you can afford to employ a producer (more costs) or produce it yourselves with the help of the in-house studio engineer. If you need to hire extra musicians, instruments, amps or effects, that will also test the limits of your budget, as will using a faraway studio in terms of travel costs and

accommodation expenses.

Once you know why you're making the

recording and feel confident that you can afford to do an impressive job, then you must decide what material best meets your needs and rehearse it outside the studio until you are totally familiar with it. Rearranging songs in the studio wastes your money and usually weakens the end product. (You may be capable of doing much of the preparatory recording on a home-based unit but you will probably need to put some shine on your homework using some more advanced

facilities.)

So with the songs selected, properly rehearsed and a budget carefully worked out you will then need to select a studio to meet your needs. Choose one that is not just technologically up to scratch but is geographically convenient to you. You should feel relaxed, unpressured and not

distracted by unnecessary and unwelcome

intrusions.

Check the 2001 edition of the hotpress Yearbook and make a list of suitable studios. Phone them and, if possible, call in for a chat. Tell them what you want to do and the budget you have

available. Listen to what they have to say, ask yourself if this is the place you want to be locked into for a few hours or days and consider whether these people seem to have a handle on what you need. Then bite the bullet and pick one.

Words of caution:

The fact that it is easier than ever for any artist with enough cash to make a record may be

welcome but it also brings difficulties in that there are now so many releases that the public, the media and the music industry cannot effectively listen to, never mind do anything with, most of what comes out.

So, serious aspiring would-be's have to make more impressive recordings and learn to market them better using the best companies and

personnel they can afford. It is pointless recording some brilliant tracks if you then can't, won't or don't have them properly duplicated, distributed and marketed.

Before you set out on the path towards world domination do a little research, and a lot of

thinking and planning beforehand.

Most important of all, be careful out there. To make the process a little simpler, here is a sample list of studios currently scoring points with

musicians, songwriters, producers and record companies. Give them a call.

Many of the above sentiments are echoed by Bill Shanley, Studio Manager at The Cauldron recording studios in Dublin's Blessington Street where the facilities include 32 tracks Adat, up to 48 on hard disc, a 32-channel valve desk with options for another 32, and a

digital desk that can accommodate up to 40.

According to Shanley, "Making records has changed

dramatically from the days of cavernous studios and men in white coats. Most recordings these days start in bedrooms and get finished in a

better-equipped studio."

Shanley is no stranger to the studio

environment having been at the forefront of many successful recordings as a session guitar player. A guitarist with Mary Black, among others, he's also worked as both producer and musician for many.

Cauldron co-owner Ciarán Byrne is an

engineer/producer who began his career with Windmill Lane studios as an assistant and

progressed swiftly to house engineer working with Van Morrison and the Chieftains on Celtic Heartbeat, U2's Rattle And Hum and Achtung Baby. After going freelance he worked with Sharon Shannon, Cooney and Begley, Seán Smyth, Liam O Flynn and Alan Kelly. Clients from U2 to Metallica, The Cranberries, Garth Brooks and Sinead O'Connor have also enabled him to work alongside top producers like Daniel Lanois, Pat McCarthy, Jimmy Iovine and others.

"We want The Cauldron to be a place where musicians feel at ease with the surroundings and are not intimidated by the technology", Byrne told hotpresss, adding, "The studio has a lot of midi capabilities with great synths and Akai

sampling which allows an average musician like me to come up with interesting soundscapes while working on your own ideas."

He reckons that the most common mistake new artists make is not giving themselves enough time in the studio. "They think they can lay down the tracks without any fluffs quicker than they really can. If they're at the limit of their budget, the mix usually suffers. They sometimes over-estimate their own proficiency and might be only listening to themselves perform a track for the first time. Of course, most practical problems can be sorted out in the studio, but that takes time too."

Despite their comparative infancy in the

business, Byrne admits that trade at The Cauldron is good. "We don't expect to become hugely rich out of it, but we'd like to cater for a wide range of musical styles. We'd also like to write our own stuff for tv and other outlets and maybe get into more contemporary and more experimental recordings."

Out in Glasnevin you'll find Panchord Studios run by Marion McEvoy, herself an experienced musician and recording artist. She too points out the folly of artists booking studios without proper planning. "Quite often", she

reckons, "artists end up paying for facilities that they don't really need. If you spread that cost over an entire album it represents quite a waste of money."

Panchord has hosted the recording of several albums, including those by Ben Prevo, traditional singer Sean Garvey, Marion O'Neill, Brian Reynolds and others, with the emphasis on acoustic recordings, although not exclusively so. More recently the album The Devil's Dream was recorded there by McEvoy herself, Peter Malone and Sharon McDaid, and experienced rockers Lir have also stopped by. Nor will you be surprised that sister Eleanor and brother Kieran, an

accomplished guitar player, have also signed the visitors' book.

Regarding the tendency for some new artists to arrive in the studio under-rehearsed, McEvoy says.

"It's a big change of environment, from playing a session maybe in a crowded pub to the studio. Some musicians may not be used to the idea that everybody has to play precisely in time right from the off, and they may even be intimidated by the equipment, but it's the job of the people running the studio to make them feel comfortable and relaxed and that's what we aim for," she says.

Business at Panchord is good, admits McEvoy, "But I don't really want it to take over my life too much. I want to keep playing music and writing and doing other stuff, so I'd like to work on a healthy mix of musical activities including

recording".

A healthy mix? That's what a good studio like Panchord can expertly provide.

Cuan Studios, located in Spiddal in Galway and open for business since early 1999, offers an all-digital recording, mixing and mastering

environment with studios designed to cater for both stereo and surround mixing.

Cuan's unique in-house menu includes

recording, research, software development and Internet audio delivery facilities. Customers can choose from a wide selection of related services ranging from customised effects to MP3 audio encoding and delivery, as well as a full

web-publishing service which can include

designing the site and/or its content as required.

The technologically-advanced facilities enable them to send MP3 copies of recordings to artists over the Internet before they go to Trend or Sonapress for mastering and duplication.

As Cuan's Technical Director Culann MacCaba points out, "The demand for DVD 5.1 Surround Mixing which we have here is growing rapidly, and international studios are re-designing their facilities to accommodate this development."

One of the most recent high-profile artists to visit Cuan were the Irish Concert Orchestra. Musicians whose preference might lean towards the more traditional approach to playing and recording music, might be presumed to be uncomfortable in a high-tech modern recording set-up, but Mac Caba paints a very different

picture.

"The musicians were actually excited by the technologically motivated ethos they found

themselves in. They weren't at all intimidated by the environment and they were even delighted simply to be able to take a walk along the nearby beach between takes".

The latter is one attractive facility Cuan Studios offers but can't actually charge for, but, as Mac Caba admitted with a chuckle, "We're working on that too!"

Maurice Flanagan, the owner of Kross Studios in the Dublin suburb of Kimmage is a man who also works as an engineer. He tells us that the studio has been in existence for a year but that even in that short time-span has been attracting artists at the demo recording level and some for release purposes also.

He endorses the view that acts are often

insufficiently prepared before they attempt to record. "I also believe they expect to get too much done too quickly. Two tracks, three if you're really lucky, is about all you should expect to get down in a day, but some try to go for more than that with the result that the overall quality

suffers," he told hotpress.

The Kross owner also feels that vocalists need to learn that studio work poses different demands from live work. As he explained, "For example, a singer in a studio needs to be aware of the effect that moving his head back and forth from the microphone makes to the recorded sound. He might have to get used to not grabbing the mike, which he might happily do on stage; it all comes with experience."

The aim at Kross is to provide a relaxing and comfortable set-up where bands can feel at ease and will thereby be better disposed to give of their best. As a result, Kross is tending to have satisfied clients coming back for more.

You'll find Loop Studios in central Dublin, and their studio engineer Gareth Desmond is another man who believes that acts need to rehearse more ahead of recording. He also

suggests that drummers should try to get used to working with a click-track as they may find it a

little unnerving if and when they are at first required to do so.

"We usually record bands live, as our separation is very good," he explained to us, "but playing for recording is different from playing for a live

audience. When a band come to make the actual recording they many find, for example, the song has lots of choruses or a long guitar solo which enhance it in a live situation, but which don't

necessarily work on a record, so they may need to do a bit of editing before they record."

With experience, Desmond believes, artists get to learn what not to do, but when they're starting off they should listen to the advice of the

engineer. "Let's face it, he probably has more experience than they have, so he's more than

likely right", he argues.

Loop have been attracting an impressively diverse array of acts, from rock to hip-hop and reggae, and top name visitors to the studio include King Sativa, The Subtonics, Brian Jackson, The Jimmy Cake, The Ventilators and Creative Control. Meanwhile, interested parties can check out their website <www.loop.ie>

Next week: The Finished Product