Creativity starts at our lego table
To capture nature, all you need is…
We were approached by a client who owns a health spa to provide a soundtrack for the various therapies on offer at their facility. Our brief was simple: capture the sounds of nature to create a tranquil and relaxing atmosphere for our clients to erase the stress of their daily lives. Execution of this brief: not so simple.
In the now distant, and much warmer month if February, we set off to Cecilia Forest in Cape Town.
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We agreed that this beautiful reserve had everything we needed for our soundtrack: Birds singing, water churning and flowing over rocks in ravines, wind gently pushing through large pine forests and general ambient foresty noises. It also had the following noises: chainsaws incessantly screaming and echo-ing through all the ravines, dogs barking as they excitedly ran along picturesque paths with latex clad owners, and cars whizzing by audibly on the not so distant Rhodes Drive.
To make the recording a reality, Mike packed the following (very mobile) rig:
MacBook Pro 15″, Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini
Glyph Portagig Hard Disk
Shure KSM 141 & KSM 44
Mic stands & cables
Our friend Kennedy, visiting from Joburg & tagging along, packed the following rig:
6 x Vaters (a mix of Vodka, lime & spring water)
6 x Whale Tail Pale Ales
Along for the “day out” was Taylor, our constant companion and mostly “inside dog” who was completely impossible: refusing to sit quietly while recording was in progress, choosing instead to breath heavily throughout (not a big excerciser) and crunch on slobbery pine cones…
Despite these unforseen and sounds captured to perfection by Mike & his mobile rig, we had an awesome day of tracking and missioning around in nature and a client ecstatic with the results.
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- Nicholas & Taylor
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- Kennedy enjoying a “refreshment”
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- Mike with his ears on, doing all the work
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- Grafting
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- Our recording party, sans Nicholas
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- Setting up in the forest
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- Elma-tree
Gear…you can never have enough.
It has been said that Nicholas suffers from a serious case of GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome that is). During the last couple of months we have added some phenomenal pieces of gear to our ever growing arsenal of industry “must-haves”. Considering that most of these pieces had to be sourced from second-hand markets thousands of kilometers away, packaged, shipped and waited for longingly, it is amazing that Nicholas still finds the time in the source-purchase-delivery cycle to churn out the awesome material that he does.
PEDALS, PEDALS, PEDALS
Each one of them a small, colourful and obscurely named piece of fun with hours of entertainment value. Our newcomers include the Musitronics Mu-Tron III, Line 6 Echo Pro & Line 6 Mod Pro, Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man & Big Muff Distortion, Digitech WH1 Whammy & Bass Synth Wah, Prescription Electronics Depth Charge, Mxr M288 & M80, Carl Martin Compressor, Budda Wah & Budda Phat Bass and, my favourite, a Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth (in a luscious glitter sparkle green).
PULTEC EQP-1A3
There was no life before Pultec. Darkness reigned. Now we can see.
The Pultecs are known as magical tools that improve the sound of audio simply by passing signal through them; but who wants to leave it at that? The Pultecs have long been a choice of recording and mastering engineers for their ability to bring out individual frequency ranges without significantly altering other frequencies, this means boosts of up to 15 dB can be achieved without making the signal sound unnatural.
As many of you will know GAS is a chronic illness, and with that in mind, best you keep an eye on our ever-expanding gear list…
Nicholas, his guitar, his pedals
High Tea
What better way to spend a Monday afternoon than sipping tea & stuffing yourself with all sorts of delectable cakes, treats & crustless cucumber sandwiches at The Mount Nelson Hotel. Nicholas, Mike & Elmarie hard at work!
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- Elmarie in the “tea pose”
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- Scraps with a plate of the good stuff!
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- Nicholas – pinky up!
July Workshops
July 2009 was Cape Town’s version of Musik Messe in Frankfurt. Okay, maybe not quite, but a busy month none-the-less for workshops, product launches and networking.
Eastern Acoustics’ Sound Sessions 09 kicked off in Cape Town on the 13th of 14th of July 2009. The SABC Studios in Sea Point played host as Grammy winning engineer Vance Powell and mixing engineer and all-round entertainer Fabrice Dupont took Cape Town’s engineers through their recording and mixing paces.
Day one saw Vance set-up and track local band Jacsharp while the session was mixed and mastered by Fabrice on day 2. Feedback from the attendees are that the workshop was well organised and extremely informative – 2 days well spent despite the early morning start time!
Wild & Marr‘s Afternoon with Harman Pro at Grand West Casino showcased some of the new goodies AKG, JBL, Crown & Soundcraft have on offer for the gearheads out there. There was plenty of socialising with drinks and snacks on the house (courtesy of Wild & Marr). Here we are rubbing shoulders with JBL’s Martin Seibl, Crown Amplifier’s Dave Budge and Dean Coull from Wild & Marr.
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- An Afternoon with Harman
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- An Afternoon with Harman
An Afternoon with Harman
The week ended on a high note with a facility tour of SAE Institute in Cape Town. The tour showcased SAE’s world class facilities where the engineers, photographers, animators and producers go to learn their trades. Thanks to Dave Maclean for letting us see the inner workings of such a fine institution!
In Studio Today
Working with a professional is always a pleasure, and today is no exception:In studio, laying the drums for Nicholas Stilborg’s “Looped” is Jaime Sandoval. After some deliberation and pre-production on the song, Nicholas has opted for a funky double-time feel for the chorus, giving it a real “get-off-your-ass-and-dance” feel. Keep an eye on this blog for a snippet of the track.
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- Laying the groove
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- Concentration
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- The setup
Red Bull Music Academy Taster at The Planet Art
The 1 – 4 of July saw the Red Bull Music Academy Taster: A Third World Perspective at The Red Bull and The Planet Art Studios in Cape Town. 20 Participants from around South Africa was hosted at the studios for lectures, workshops and studio sessions. After a day of lectures on day 1 by top producer Russ Elevado (Alicia Keys, Blackalicious, D’Angelo. The Roots, Jay-Z), Nathi Maphumulo aka Blackcoffee and Sibot, it was time for the participants and lecturers to head to The Planet Art studios for a jam session.
The organic, 6 hour jam, with Russ Elevado behind the desk was an awesome opportunity for the participants to feel each other out musically and get acquainted while working with the legendary producer.
Day 2 of the Taster saw Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, Theo Crouse and Russ Elevado in our studios in the late afternoon with an opportunity for the participants to see the legends in action.
After a day of fantastic information overload most participants turned in for the night…most, but not all: the late night session with Russ Elevado and Trevor Jackson was an energetic collaboration resulting in a complete disco funk track created at unbelievable speed. It took one take for Nicholas Stilborg to lay down a solid 6 minute drum track. Next up was Taster participants OB on the conga and Lionel Naidoo laying down a phat bass line. Russ on guitars and Trevor on the Juno completed the funky rhythm section of the track. Add a track of strategic claps and awesome remix fodder was created for the participants to sink their fully inspired teeth into. A truly inspiring session.
A Band in the making
With the recording of Nicholas Stilborg’s debut album progressing steadily, the band is slowly being put together. On the bass guitar is long time friend and bassist for the now defunct Cornerhouse and SemiSane, Nicholas Acker. Today the guys are rehearsing one of the already recorded tracks from the album, “Roxy Destiny”.
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- Nicholas & Nicholas
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- Nicholas Acker on Bass
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- The Band
Snapshot in time
Time, and its quickening pace, will eventually leave you behind. Sometimes the true comprehension of your fleeting existence can center your spirit, focus your mind. Only in these moments can you take stock of your life and hope to find bliss.
Today, momentarily, I did.
Youth Day
Ahh, yet another public holiday in the RSA and what could be better that to stay in studio, locked away from shopping centers overrun by families, sloth-ing through the hallways, 7-a-side, trollies and prams bullying you into doorways.
So we have bunkered up and are tracking drums for Nicholas Stilborg’s “Fucking Producer”, a track on his yet untitled album-in-the-making . Mike “Scraps” Sims is at the desk in his newly acquired studio-slippers keeping an eye on levels, while Taylor, our studio-mascot is chillin in the control room, being laid-back as usual.
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- Mike Sims
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- Taylor
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- Nicholas Stilborg on his DW’s
