IZ and I pt 12..... Recording
Posted on March 1, 2010 with 2 comments
Recording has always been challenging. It’s a challenge to capture a meaningful performance on tape in the very unmusical environment of the recording studio. Most of the time a percussionist is overdubbing parts. There is no interaction going on between players. Generally, when you do percussion parts, or any part for that matter, you are listening for problems when you go back into the control room. Everyone has a particular take on what is working and what isn’t.
The choice of sounds and combinations of textures are limitless, and generally the producer has the final say about what is working and what is not.
During one session for Kapono, everything I played just fell into place. I was really pleased with my performance, and came back into the control room to listen to the playback. When I entered the room Henry (Kapono) and Jim Linkner were not at all happy with the take. Jim said, “Mike, let’s do another one. I think you need to relax a bit and maybe play less”. I said, “Can I listen to it?”
They played the track back and it sounded awful! The performance was good, but Jim had the volume on the percussion up very loud. I had actually played the parts with my fingers to create a percolating undercurrent, but the volume levels were so high in the mix that it sounded as if I was playing with baseball bats.
I said, “Oh, this is what I was hearing as I played this”, and I turned the percussion tracks down on the mixing console to the right level. Both Henry and Jim smiled, and Jim said, “That’s it!” They kept the track.
Recording in a studio is expensive, and so pressure to get good parts quickly is the norm. Israel’s recordings were no different. I think I spent 4 hours total on the Facing Future recording.
I ended up doing two more studio recordings with Israel; E Ala E, and, In Dis Life. Of those two I enjoyed the In Dis Life session the most. That would be the last time I would record with Israel and I knew it. I should say record in the studio. There is a live recording that was compiled using live performances from 1993-1997 titled IZ: The Man and His Music.
The choice of sounds and combinations of textures are limitless, and generally the producer has the final say about what is working and what is not.
During one session for Kapono, everything I played just fell into place. I was really pleased with my performance, and came back into the control room to listen to the playback. When I entered the room Henry (Kapono) and Jim Linkner were not at all happy with the take. Jim said, “Mike, let’s do another one. I think you need to relax a bit and maybe play less”. I said, “Can I listen to it?”
They played the track back and it sounded awful! The performance was good, but Jim had the volume on the percussion up very loud. I had actually played the parts with my fingers to create a percolating undercurrent, but the volume levels were so high in the mix that it sounded as if I was playing with baseball bats.
I said, “Oh, this is what I was hearing as I played this”, and I turned the percussion tracks down on the mixing console to the right level. Both Henry and Jim smiled, and Jim said, “That’s it!” They kept the track.
Recording in a studio is expensive, and so pressure to get good parts quickly is the norm. Israel’s recordings were no different. I think I spent 4 hours total on the Facing Future recording.
I ended up doing two more studio recordings with Israel; E Ala E, and, In Dis Life. Of those two I enjoyed the In Dis Life session the most. That would be the last time I would record with Israel and I knew it. I should say record in the studio. There is a live recording that was compiled using live performances from 1993-1997 titled IZ: The Man and His Music.