When I put on a scarf, I expect it to keep my neck warm.  There’s nothing like a cozy woolen kerchief to top off a winter walk.  I also like a scarf that has a mildly intricate pattern to it.  You know, nothing too crazy, just something more than a Plain Jane design. 

If a scarf is too thin, it’s no good.  If it’s too thick, it cramps my style.  If it’s too bland, I don’t want to wear it.  If it’s too crazy, people laugh at me.  Well, scarf or no scarf, people still laugh at me, but that’s a different story. 

Just as with scarves, with audio production, a balance between ESSENCE and TEXTURE is vital.

The essence of an audio production lies in boiling an artist’s performance down to its key elements.  For a singer/songwriter like myself, I fundamentally express my songs with my voice and an acoustic guitar.  An R&B duo might best be whittled down to an MPC beat and two voices.  Most rock bands are a balance between vocals, drums, and everything else. 

The texture of an audio production is its buttons and whistles: reverbs, extra guitar parts, doubled tracks, background noises, and/or anything that adds interest and zing to a recording. 

Balancing these two facets of production doesn’t have to be a battle.  In my experience, wanting too much of either is the root of many a studio argument.   Losing sleep over whether or not the sub-auditory string pad is loud enough doesn’t make much sense, but I’ve seen it happen…more than I’d like to.

When I work with a band, group, or songwriter, the first thing I like to understand is what that artist is like in a “live” context.  Often, seeing the group “live” or at least hearing a “live” recording does the trick.  If I am asked to produce a song, I’ll first understand a song’s essential elements as well as how the artist expresses them, and make sure to feature those elements in the recording.

Last year, I worked with a band that was frustrated with how previous producers had buried the piano tracks in their early demos.  The songwriting duo for the group was a piano player and a vocalist.  For me, it made since to build the recording around the piano and vocal rather than the usual drums-up rock method.  The group was very pleased with the end result. 

Matching texture to essence, in a complimentary and synergistic way, is key.  Nikki Meets the Hibachi, an acoustic duo (and sometimes trio) I’m producing, is interested in adding different grains to their next album.  Much debate has transpired around whether or not to add a full drum set.  Nikki has been an alt-folk group since its beginning.  Adding drums might betray its foundation.  So, we’re being cautious. 

Zechariah’s Song, a Christian piano/vocal duo I’m producing, liked the basic multi-tracked method we were using, but they found that a certain energy level was missing.  At the group’s essence is “live performance.”  We found that when the duo sang together that the vocal performances were more vibrant.   So, we set up vocal mics at a 90 degree angle in the tracking room, fired up the monitors, and recorded some great vocal takes.  

On my latest solo album, The Return of Spring, I’m having a lot of fun with essence and texture.  I’m quick to track acoustic guitars and vocals on everything (except “Static,” which sounds better on piano).  After I have the song expressed, I’ll consider drums, bass, and other elements that aren’t a part of a tune’s essence. 

Hearing a song in its most basic form serves another purpose.  It tells you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether or not you actually have a song.  As fun as soft synths, drum loops, and guitar simulators are, they don’t write songs.  Preamps and compressors don’t write songs either, but that’s a topic for another blog. 

This past morning offered a slight chill.  A scarf would have been a good idea.  I have a nice tan scarf—it has the right amount of scarf-ness and texture for me. 

It's always a good "check in the box" when lead vocals on a track are complete. Today, I finished editing the main vocal track on "Out of My Mind."

Also, the acoustic guitar and bass guitar tracks received a final edit. A support electric guitar was tracked today, but I'll make every attempt to ditch it in favor of something more interesting.

What's left on this song is background vocals and some other type of miscellaneous part. The synth pad offers a nice support to the movement of the percussion track.

I've heard it said that a song is 70% vocals, 20% rhythm, and 10% stuff that no one really notices. It's that 10% that I'm working out, now.

Thanks for checking in. The album is progressing.

Happy first day of Spring! Gosh, it's about time, ain't it?

When I was building my studio last year, I looked forward to the days that were like today--tracking in an acoustically neutral room without the pressure of figuring out how to pay for it.

I only got 5 hours of work logged in, but it was a productive 5 hours.

Before my trip to Florida, I took an evening to open up all of the session files for the album. I made a chart (pictured above) to notate the progress I have made on the album, as well as what still needs to be done.

The song I focused on today was "Out of My Mind." I had debated having Dale retrack a part on a full, traditional drum kit. After tweaking a few things and listening to some reference tracks that use percussion, I've decided to develop the original idea. The song I have been listening to for inspiration and reference is Peter Gabriel's "Blood of Eden" from Us.

The first thing I noticed about the Gabriel track was that it uses pads and percussion to set a backdrop for the very present vocal. I'd like to see how far I can get with a similar approach. I tracked three "pad" tracks with the Xpand plug-in first. A "pad" is a soft, background part, often played on a synthesizer or played by a mass of string instruments. Now-a-days, synths often have "pad" settings that achieve this. I like the pads I chose; two non-moving parts and one arp pad. (Arp is short for arpeggio; or, rhythmically and individually plucked components of a single chord).

Next, I tracked the acoustic guitar. This song has some acrobatic, 16th note harmonics, so I tracked those separately. I employed a basic di/mic for the verse parts and a classic x/y system for the choruses and bridge. This allows for some movement between the sections.

Finally, I had time to track the lead vocal, recording six takes in all. Pro Tools allows for as many takes as you'd like. For me, I'm only capable of keeping track of 10 takes at a time. Between five and six is where I like to start. If something isn't right in the editing, it's always easy to set up the mic's again and punch a word or two.

The next step will be editing the performances from today, as well as looking at what has already been recorded.

It's been a few days since the show, but I thought I'd recap.

On March 7, 2009, I played a solo acoustic show with three other songwriters in Holly Springs, NC at the Holly Springs Cultural Center. Above is the performance schedule.

Playing solo is my least frequented performance format. The last time I played alone on stage was in December. That set was three and a half hours long and mostly all-request. This set was about 40 minutes.

The Cultural Center holds about 200 people. Only 50 or so were present at any given time for this show. The other songwriters (Chris Titchner, Steve Smith, and Jason Adamo) all attracted an even percentage of that number. All in all, it was a fun night and a relatively full and comfortable venue.

Holly Springs, NC is a small town about twenty miles south of downtown Raleigh. You'd think that there wouldn't be much there, but my friends brought me some out-of-this-world wood fired pizza. It was unique; better than just about any gourmet pie I have tried. I'm looking forward to eating there again.

The Cultural Center is a newly built theatre. It was a nice change to play a venue that errs on the side of artistic exposure rather than on food and beverage sales. The dressing room had nice lights and ample space.

I played

October
Home Again
The Door
Happy Birthday/Wonderland
Shine On
Orange
Anesthetic Overcoats/Nightmares
Oceans
Don't Fade Away

The set consisted of a good mix of new and old songs. "The Door" is a song that I don't think has been played on the podcast yet. The other new ones have been aired.

My favorite new song of the night was "Shine On." I messed around with some tempo variations and arrangement ideas. The set generally got better as it went on, with the second half being stronger vocally than the first half.

We've been asked to perform again at this venue in the future.

Congratulations, Mark!

If you haven't already picked up a copy, please be sure to purchase Mark Kano's new solo album Walking on Broadway. You can purchase the album at Mark's site. Mark's album is also available in the iTunes store.

It's a real treat to hear this in its final form. It's fantastic. If you're on the fence about buying it, consider this that little nudge. Really, it's that good.

Great album! I hope you enjoy it.