The Album

Here is the link to the finished album:

Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/catsloveyoutoo/sets/chaos-surrounds-the-fool

Bandcamp - https://haltaylor.bandcamp.com/album/chaos-surrounds-the-fool

Mastering

For the mastering process I gathered all of my tracks and re-recorded the track through my valve analog mixer, the EQ pre-amps in it sound so good, so I added little EQ tweaks to improve the sound. 

For some of the pieces I really wanted a rough-cut sound to them so for 'No Reason' I recorded the whole track from my laptop speakers, There are some sounds that you can't get from using good gear. Even though I have the access to good quality equipment, there were sounds that I couldn't achieve using hi quality mics and pre-amps. 

For the track 'The Uncertain Eric Friston' I really overworked the limiter for a different sound of the track, you're not supposed to clearly hear every part, it's about the effect and aim that the piece gives. 

This album isn't an album of tracks and songs, it's an art experience, I'm welcoming you into my world where the things around me inspire me so much. So obviously that's going to be translated into my music. Some parts are quite hard to listen to, think of this not as I've carelessly put it together or I haven't thought about what sounds to use, but more of how the music makes you feel, if it fills you with disgust and anger then that's fine. If you feel delighted and elated when listening to it, then that's great too. 

I didn't really make this album for a target audience or a specific theme, this is what the ramblings of myself are translated to, this crazy/experimental album, enjoy.

Drones

During one of my performance lessons I was experimenting with the use of drones for effects and background noise on my album. I messed around with feedback loops and different guitar effects on the amp and also with a few pedals.

I plugged my Danelectro DC59 into the Line 6 amp with a multitude of effects on it. then had 4 microphones capturing the sound as well as the DI output.
Two of the microphones were the wall mics in the performance hut and then I used a Shure SM57 close up to the amp and a Sennheiser E606 around 2 foot away.

The drones that I recorded you can hear on the 8th track of my album 'Stargazing'. once I had recorded the drones, in Logic I have manipulated their sound with different effects, reversing some samples and pitching them differently.

Recording

Over the past few weeks I have been recording, overdubbing and sequencing. I have used many processes including feedback loops and experimental recording techniques. Though I have encountered many problems along the way that I have now rectified.

Earlier this week I was overdubbing some drum recordings. Below are some photos of the setup of the microphones and kit.

Above (left) is a photo of the kit before setting up. Above (right) is a photo of the patch bay, how the microphone's signal into the studio through DI.

We used two AKG300s for the overheads, they gave a very bright sound (these drums can be heard on 'The Uncertain Eric Friston'

On the left you can see we used a Sennheiser E606 on the snare drum for a really snappy/metallic tone. we put the mic on the side of the snare as to not get in the way of Reuben when he was playing but we could still capture a great sounding snare. 

And on the right you can see the AKG D112 used to mic up the kick. The kit kept on moving while Reuben was playing (very enthusiastically), so we put a heavy amp in front of the kick so the kit wouldn't move. 

Influences

Kamasi Washington has been a big influence for TNE because of what he stands for; breaking the mould of jazz. This performance inspired me so much, after watching it I instantly picked up my bass and started practising. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YbPSIXQ4q4

Laura Mvula's live performances are incredible, like Kamasi she has gone for a big band performance with many different musicians from different backgrounds. Watching her live was the most mind-shattering experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8koStiwmbE

Thundercat for me is like Captain Beefheart is to Connan Mockasin, he's one of my biggest bass influences. Seeing him play has made everything make sense sonically for bass, I want to go beyond what he does, surpass my influences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVqETCMg3SA

Practising

I have been practising playing bass every day for around 3-4 hours in order to make sure I can be at the top of my game. I have been using my performance lessons as a very useful time period to mess around with bass effects and tonalities.

 

I have also been practising using different basses i.e. 5 string Ibanez basses and Fender basses. This is because each has their own unique features.