Piece of String

Every project we work on has a set of limitations and I’ve come to embrace this as a good thing. The biggest and most compromising however is of course budget. The question “how long does an album take to record” is not easily answered* and when you’re talking to a prospective client with a limited budget saying the wrong thing is usually the end of the conversation. Planning becomes a really big part of getting it right and if you know where your strengths and weaknesses are, don’t be afraid to ask for exactly what you think would suit you best. My production style is very spontaneous and a lot of the quirky stuff that makes its way through to the final recording is often a result of those initial jam sessions. An idea I recently had was to help an artist in that initial stage and get tracks off the ground with a couple of days invested in production very early on. Have the artist take those sessions away and do the nuts and bolts at home (even if the nuts and bolts takes a few months) and then come back for the mix. A plan like that takes clarity and honesty and isn’t easy but its a great way to work. Of course the order and formula is different for everyone. I often reach out to other producers and engineers when I know their strengths are better suited. With the above project we decided to mix and master of the fly which is a new favorite way to master and embraced by some of the big boys in the game.

*Just about to finish a Circle album that we’ve been working on since April 2011.