NRG Sessions 

In NRG Studio B,  Limp Bizkit working on vocals for their new album with producer Andros Rodriguez.

NRG Recording hosted a number of great sessions to include Limp Bizkit working on vocals for their new album with producer Andros Rodriguez in studio B. 

Owner and mixer, Jay Baumgardner was busy mixing a variety of records including Epitaph band, Beautiful Bodies as well as the latest from P.O.D.
Tonic guitarist, Jeff Russo worked on the score for the hit FX Network show, Fargo in April. The wildly successful pop punk band, 5 Seconds Of Summer had throngs of fans camped out at our gates while the boys worked on new tracks with producer, Mike Green and producer/songwriter David Hodges.    

NRG was one of the first studios to implement a fibre channel based SAN network back in 2001, providing clients with the piece of mind knowing that their sessions and files were safely and reliably backed up and secure.

Recent upgrades include:    EVO storage server from Studio Network Solutions which back ups to new G-Technology's G-Speed Studio for longtime archival storage; all files are backed up to the cloud.

Plus now all rooms have been upgraded to the new Avid HDX cards and  running on Pro Tools 11.   

Producer Brent Rader Chooses Daking Gear
Consistent, organic sound of Lisa Matassa's Why I'm Here 

"These are a lot of the artists who inspired Lisa when she was coming up," explained Rader. "And they are a lot of the artists who inspired me, for that matter, so working with them has been a great privilege! A lot of the songs we chose were duets to begin with, so Lisa simply took the female parts. We turned other songs into duets for this project. Either way, we wanted to produce fresh, modern-sounding versions that still had all of the signature elements in place. They'll trigger every memory you've ever associated with them, but they're a far cry from boring karaoke tracks. Basically, we asked, 'if this song were being done for the first time today, how would we do it?'"

As one might guess, coordinating the logistics on the project was complicated. Veteran Nashville engineer Craig White recorded the tracking sessions at Music Row's Curb Records and the vocal sessions at Sound Stage. From tracking to mastering, the project took just four-and a half months, and the sensible requirement that videographers attend all the sessions made the visual aesthetic a constant consideration. "We used the big live room at Sound Stage to cut vocals, and a lot of Lisa's partners said, 'yeah, this is where we recorded the original!'" Rader said. He brought his personal rack of Daking gear - two Mic-Pre IVs and two Mic-Pre/EQs (ten channels total) - to every session. Most of the vocals, most of the drums, and all of the acoustic instruments benefitted from Daking's circuitry.

"Daking makes all Class-A, top-of-the-line gear, and anything I put into it is guaranteed to come out sounding great," Rader said. "I love Daking's transient response, which makes it not only an obvious choice for drums, but also for acoustic instruments. My Daking preamps respond well to the pick, the strumming, and the percussive nature of acoustic instruments. And of course, country music is all about wood and wire instruments! Almost every song has doubled acoustic guitar, mandolin and banjo. The equalizer on the Mic-Pre/EQ is silky smooth, especially on vocals. I put in a little bit of the 20kHz shelf in at the top, and it's like, 'ah, there's the magic!'" Rader gets his Daking gear from Warren Dent at ZenPro Audio.

Rader continued, "The musicianship on this project is fantastic. Some of these guys are in their 70s at this point, and I was amazed at how great they all sounded. When I think of somebody in their 70s, I think of them in a La-Z-Boy, kicking back and enjoying the fruits for their labors. These guys are still out there, giving it 100% and sounding awesome. I'd argue that many of the performances we captured for this release are even better than their originals!"

Although Rader does plenty of mixing himself, he handed this project over to expert mix engineer Drew Bollman. "One of the huge advantages of recording through the Daking gear is that it stacks beautifully," Rader said. "If you A/B a single track through Daking and through some other pro gear, the difference may be subtle. But when you increase the track count, the difference becomes obvious. Everything that went through the Daking sits nicely in the mix. It all glues together beautifully. Drew was thrilled with the sounds we gave him. He didn't have to EQ too much and he specifically commented on how easy it was to place things in the mix."

The new album, Why I'm Here, is slated for release June 10th. To celebrate the release, almost all of the project's collaborators will assemble at Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville that evening for a huge night of Country classics.

Plug Me In
With Rafa Sardina at After Hours


PlugIn Alliance visited 12x Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer
Rafa Sardina (Elvis Costello & The Roots, Clare Fischer, Calle13) at After Hours studio to learn about his work flow, like how he prepares to do a mix.
"First I make sure I am not missing anything, and for that, I ask for a recent rough mix with all the elements that should be in it. I never listen to that rough mix and let my assistant clean it and compare to the rough to make sure we are not missing things.  Later on I open it and start listening to things as a whole and in sections to determine what makes the song, what makes it special and how to maximize that aspect.  At the last stages of my own mixing I listen to the rough they provided to see where I stand, how far I am from their vision, and to see if I can incorporate any of their ideas.  I really really dig so many of the bx plugins. Can't live anymore without the bx_digital V2 and bx_saturator V2 among others...." Sardina says. Read the full PlugIn Alliance interview with Rafa Sardina here

PlugIn Alliance just released the AllBundle V3.3. As always, customers can try every plugin with a fully functional, 14-day demo through a single download.  Each plugin works in AAX Native, AU, VST2 and VST3 formats. Avid Pro Tools HDX users also can enjoy 34 of the products in AAX DSP format.  "It's so exciting to bring our customers quality brands like Chandler, elysia and Brainworx, providing world-class studio processing and guitar sounds," says Plugin Alliance CEO Matt Ward.  All Bundle V3.3 supports the vid Live Sound System, and all of its plugins run on Mac OS10.6 or higher and Windows 7 or 8, 32- or 64-bit.  Customers can pay off the AllBundle in 12 monthly, interest-free installments. Existing users receive credit for previous Plugin Alliance purchases toward the All Bundle cost, and they can upgrade as future plugins come out for a reasonable price.
Starting at $49-up and available here  

 

The roster of elite engineers and producers joining the PlugIn Alliance network is growing rapidly. GRAMMY Award winning mixing engineer, Craig Bauer, Khaliq Glover (Michael Jackson, Prince, Justin Timberlake) and Rafa Sardina  (Calle 13, Placido Domingo, Lady Gaga) among them.  

ATC SCM20PSL Passive 2 Way Monitors in studio G, Brooklyn where Puss N Boots perform "Don't Know What It Means 

1973 WINS RESOLUTION AWARD  

Ivor Drawmer, veteran designer and manufacturer of boutique high-end audio processors, has earned a 2014 Resolution Award for the new Drawmer 1973 three-band stereo FET compressor. The Drawmer 1973 benefits from Ivor's deep, thirty-plus years of experience building best-in-class signal processors and is unique in its combination of three critical attributes: its controls are remarkably easy to use, its price is low, and its sound is, of course, beautifully musical. "The Drawmer 1973 multiband compressor is the kind of tool that mix and mastering engineers will find so useful they'll wonder how they ever got by without it," said Brad Lunde, president of TransAudio Group, Drawmer's U.S. distributor.  

 

    

Face An A&R 

Def Jam Recordings has promoted industry veteran Dion "No I.D." Wilson .
Ernest Dion Wilson, better known as No I.D., got his start as a DJ, producer, and rapper; he released a solo album, Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (The Black Album), in 1997, and became famous for his production work with Common ("I Used to Love H.E.R."), among others. Wilson acted as a mentor to a young Kanye West, introducing him to Roc-A-Fella A&R Kyambo Joshua. After serving as president of West's G.O.O.D. Music label until 2011, he became executive vice president of A&R for Def Jam, and announced his joint venture label deal with Def Jam called ARTium Recordings. Since then, Wilson has been responsible for signing artists like Jhen� Aiko, Common, and Vince Staples.

 
Breyon Prescott has been named Head of Urban A&R, Epic Records, it was announced by L.A. Reid, Chairman/CEO, Epic Records. In his new role, Mr. Prescott will be responsible for identifying, developing and nurturing new and existing talent for the label in addition to managing the urban A&R team. Under the new partnership, Mr. Prescott will bring his Chameleon Entertainment imprint to the label. "I'm especially proud of Breyon for spearheading the revival of iconic R&B group Jodeci... the guys have delivered an incredible album." "After 20 years in this industry, I am honored to work with one of the last, true "record men" who undeniably has the best ears in the business," says Mr. Prescott. Prescott has had a very successful career in music over the past decade. His credits include numerous #1 and Grammy Award-winning singles as well as serving as A&R executive, producer and executive producer on multi-platinum projects with Jamie Foxx, Drake, Kanye West, D'Angelo, Angie Stone and Brandy to name a few. As President/CEO of Chameleon Entertainment, Mr. Prescott continues to executive produce the latest Jamie Foxx project which is set for a December release, along with managing acts such as Nikki Williams and Brandy. He has held joint ventures with RCA and J Records under the tutelage of Clive Davis and Peter Edge and most recently with Def Jam.




Love Letter to Apple Pre Launches Its Streaming Service

You could say Taylor Swift and Apple have something in common. They both enjoy a large fan base!  So, it made sense for the reigning music queen to speak peer to peer to Apple in her blog post.

  

Me And Earl And Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Sundance success coming to a theater near you! 

Writer Jesse Andrews, left, and director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon are earning praise for their work on "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl."

 

Me And Earl And The Dying Girl was acquired by Fox Searchlight for $12 million dollars at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. This was the biggest buy in Sundance history. The film was financed independently by Steven Rales' Indian Paintbrush.
This movie strikes a joyful balance between comedy and drama on the subject of life, death and friendship. "Earl" centers on awkward high school kid and obsessive film buff Greg (Thomas Mann) and how a doomed friendship forces him out of his personal and artistic shells. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Me And Earl And The Dying Girl is the uniquely funny, moving story of Greg (Thomas Mann), a high school senior who is trying to blend in anonymously, avoiding deeper relationships as a survival strategy for navigating the social minefield that is teenage life.  He even describes his constant companion Earl (RJ Cyler), with whom he makes short film parodies of classic movies, as more of a 'co-worker' than a best friend. But when Greg's mom (Connie Britton) insists he spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke) - a girl in his class who has just been diagnosed with cancer - he slowly discovers how worthwhile the true bonds of friendship can be.

Me And Earl And The Dying Girl will be released in theaters on June 12, 2015!  42-year-old director  Alfonso Gomez-Rejon began his career as personal assistant to Martin Scorsese before transitioning into a second unit director.  

He has only one previous feature on his r�sum�, the meta-horror sequel "The Town That Dreaded Sundown." Best known for his work on TV's "Glee" and "American Horror Story."  He received his BFA from NYU and his MFA from AFI. The film is in many ways a personal tribute to the loss of Rejon's biggest hero, his father. "I was going to bury that dedication at the end of the film, and my producer Jeremy Dawson actually encouraged me to make it the first credit we see at the end of the film, before my 'directed by' credit." 

RIP  James Horner

8.14.1953 -- 6.22.2015 

 

 Earth Day & July Celebrations with Pharell  

 

 

"The power of music is borderless. It transcends language and brings people of all backgrounds and beliefs together. We use this power to celebrate our planet and protect it from the long-term effects of climate change..." says on 2015 Live Earth website. 

Apple Employees at the Cupertino campus  were made happy celebrating Earth Day with Pharell Williams.   Williams was first person spotted wearing the gold Apple Watch.  Then he went on to send special shout outs to Jimmy Iovine and Eddie Cue. His new single "Freedom" will be available exclusively on Apple Music the day of its launch, June 30th.  Pharrell tweeted and Facebook posted a teaser still image and 15-second preview of the song, something Apple Music's Connect feature is will likely allow users to do to quickly promote their content in a way that ties back to where they can monetize.

Pharell served as 2015 Live Earth's creative director for co-founders

Al Gore and Kevin Wall who revived their eco-friendly worldwide festival leading-up to this year's UN climate change conference in Paris.  Over 100 artists across seven continents were listed for this festival.

   

Sending belated Father's Day wishes to all you wonderful Dads in studioexpresso community. 

Make it a happy and safe fourth of July.
I feel blessed to be an American and remind myself daily not to take our freedoms for granted.   

Help fans find you easily and contact us to update your studioexpresso profiles with your social networking links (sample: Kenny Aronoff).
Simply send an email to c[email protected]  or call 818.990.3031 and tell us your artist story and say "I want to RENEW!"

Until next month, express yourself!
Music lives and moves.