I really wanted to do this because it's just not the same post-recording. So, I'm sitting behind Lawson White at the console of Clinton Recording Studios on 46th and 10th Ave. We're in studio A, which, if you haven't ever been here before is a @$*^ing unbelievable room to make a record in. This room was the home for recording artists including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, REM, Chick Corea, Sonny Rollins, and Ringo Starr to name a few of the greats. Needless to say, we're humbled by the spirit of this room.
Right now I'm sitting in the sound booth instead of behind the mic because Amanda and Nuiko are laying down the harp percussion for Ryan Brown's "Under the Rug". It's a one-person part but Nuiko's harp is so resonant that she has to sit there and hold on to it so Amanda's knocking doesn't bring out all the vibrations these expensive mics easily pick up. It's a pretty special moment for me to be able to have this perspective which is completely polar opposite to the feeling of being in that big room. I have to relay to you the picture that's laid out in front of me, too. There are no less than 11 mics on tall stands that I'm sure all have impressive technical names and numbers I could only dream of. The visual of them all growing toward the ceiling is like a herd of giraffes reaching up for the birds ear to our sound. And if you squint your eyes it starts to look a bit like a war - the mic stands some sort of army of machinery that has us surrounded. I'm sure they're all necessary to capture the sounds from our 3 instruments (additionally 4: harp percussion, 5: banjo and 6: voices occasionally) - and to grab the "room sound" from a stereo sense. If you're following all of that, then you may have had a recording experience of your own. Or, you might geek out about how some of your favorite albums were recorded. The where, when, weather, and even time of day can be heard if you listen carefully enough. I just heard a stomach growl, so I guess you can even hear what's on the menu. If you believe me, then you'll hear it, too.
The girls are about done with the percussion sounds then it's off to re-record Caleb Burhans's "Keymaster" which was recorded back in the winter of 2007 at the So Percussion rehearsal space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. A far cry from Clinton. Good thing there were a few other reasons to clean up that recording, which gives us a reason to lay it down in this heavenly setting. Not to say that the So Space wasn't an incredible experience in it's own right (complete with Lawson's make-shift console set up in the back corner of the space, gargantuan felt baffles surrounding us and taking turns turning the heat on in between takes as it was the middle of the winter). We're keeping one of the tunes we recorded there, which also happens to be the title track for the album - Jason Treuting's "I am not (blank)". It's pretty fitting to keep that recording from 233 Norman Ave in Brooklyn not only because Jason's So Percussion resides there but also because that recording of "I am not (blank)" captures exactly what I was referring to earlier. You can totally hear the temperature in the room, the feeling that we really wanted to be there regardless of the circumstances causing our fingers to numb. Jason's piece also asks us to put ourselves in it in a different way than the other tunes on the album. We're improvisers for much of the piece and when it comes to capturing these kind of moments, we already did.
So, it's 1pm and we're on schedule. Just finished Ryan's piece, Caleb up to bat. The rest of the day also includes recording "unintelligible" whispering and backing claps (which I'm MOST excited about from these 3 recording days) for Ryan's piece, crumpling paper for the end of Angelica Negron's "Drawings for Meyoko" which we otherwise finished up yesterday morning, and all of Caleb's piece. The last part of today is something I'm looking forward to so much. We're planning to lay down our version of a piece by David Lang called "Little Eye" which was originally written for "solo cello and 4 non-percussionists". We've thought a lot about how to record all of this music these past 3 days both from a purist standpoint as well as from the side of using modern technology to it's fullest. How do I put this? We want to make a great record that appeals to our ears while still performing relatively what's possible live. This can get hard when you start to use technology at all, right? For example, once you're performing with electronics or a "tape part" then you're already running into issues of balance (especially for the bass of the harp). In this case, we're adding some claps for Ryan's piece where we wouldn't all be able to clap live. But, why wouldn't I want to clap, too? 3 claps just sound better than 1. That's probably the most mild example from this album recording experience. On the other end of things, we're planning to cover 4 non-percussionists with just 2 members of the trio. No apologies. I'd forgotten that So Percussion recorded Steve Reich's Drumming at the Hit Factory a number of years ago (R.I.P. Hit Factory ... apparently Drumming was the last record that was made there). Anyway, Drumming is scored for 9 percussionists, 2 singers and 1 piccolo player. Done live, you absolutely need 12 people. So Percussion is 4 people and they did it themselves. Well, they invited singers and piccolo to record. Only so much magic is possible.
So, you can make magic happen in the studio. I'm witnessing this as I type and will join them in the room after the Indian food is ordered. We're about to record some whispers. Listen carefully...
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