Category: Production & Research

The second song that we have started recording in the multi-track studio is a song called ‘Baby’. This is quite an old song of mine and I have recorded many different versions of it over the years with not much success as to a definitive version. Each recording had a different style or altered lyrics and you can see the progress of the song below. I want to record a definitive version of this song for this project as I believe it’s a strong contender for the EP and should be included. The version that was recorded in the first year of university was more for a studio practise session so it wasn’t produced as well as it could’ve been. We were still honing our skills and were a bit inexperienced which resulted in a product that I wasn’t entirely satisfied with. I believe our skills are up to the task now of recording it and I think we’ll do the song justice (L01).

It’s taken a few attempts in the studio to get the song due to varying factors. The first session was scrapped as we’d misjudged the BPM of the song and subsequently set a click-track that was too slow. This resulted in the song being a bit ‘dirge-like’ and not the product I wanted it to be. I also recorded the rhythm guitar part on my ‘Epiphone Dot’ with added distortion from the studio’s amplifier which we thought sounded good at first but upon reflection sounded ‘trashy’ and didn’t suit the song well.

The second session for the song also wasn’t all that successful as the inputs on the multi-track desk weren’t correctly set so only the live room worked properly. This meant we couldn’t record a drum track for the song which resulted in just the guitar tracks being laid down as well as a guide vocal (also in the live room). I recorded the guitar tracks with my ‘Fender Squier Telecaster’ this time around which resulted in a much fuller sound overall. I also didn’t use the amplifiers distortion which meant that the rhythm guitar was a lot brighter than the previous weeks attempt. I also recorded a second guitar part that comes in at the chorus which consists of a arpeggio played with a tremolo effect to make it discernible from the main guitar. It gives the guitar a ‘classic’ 1960s/1970s feel in which I cite songs such as ‘Gimme Shelter‘ by ‘The Rolling Stones’ http://www.onstagemagazine.com/gimme-shelter-song-analysis/ and ‘How Soon is Now?‘ by ‘The Smiths’ although the latter has a much more prominent tremolo-laden guitar part than my song (LO3). That shimmery sound is also prevalent in modern rock music with ‘Suck it and See’ by ‘Arctic Monkeys featuring bright, guitar parts that are treble-based (LO3).

Several things throughout the development of the song have been added or taken away to create a finalised version of the song. One addition that came later throughout the process was the inclusion of the chorus’ backing vocals (LO2) They had been wordless in earlier versions but I changed them to be the words of the final chorus which worked well as an inter-play with the lead vocals. This is a favourite feature of mine in songs where the backing vocals intertwine with the lead to create the lyrics and melody of the song. ‘Help’ by ‘The Beatles’ is a good example of this as Lennon’s lead vocal is preceded by the lyrics partially sung by the backing vocalists consisting of Harrison & McCartney (LO3). Another few parts have come at the hand of Pat, a recent addition to the band. He and I performed some more backing vocals that appear halfway through the verse. Once again there is a ‘Beatles’ and this time it is the falsetto ‘ooh la la’ vocals that appear on songs such as ‘You Won’t See Me’ and ‘Nowhere Man’, both from ‘Rubber Soul’ (LO3). He also recorded a tambourine part that appears at the end of the last verse and added a new rhythmic feel, not heard on the previously recorded versions of the song (LO2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb52aHbVqQQ

Lyrics & Chords:

E                         F#             F                   E

Baby’s thrown a tantrum, baby’s had enough

Baby says to get out cuz baby’s sick of us

And Baby has the freedom to do what she wants

She has the key to the kingdom, but she hasn’t got rights from wrongs

 

A                                                    C

(Yeah) One of Daddy’s Girls   (Yeah) Don’t be fooled by the Curls

A

(Yeah) They were Mother’s pearls

C                      C/B            Am

But she couldn’t care less if she tried

 

E                       F#                              F                            E

Baby sips her mother’s milk, her daddy’s whiskey too

Baby’s always draped in silk, she’s polished up and new

And baby tries on perfume; she likes to gild the flower

She plays the pretty princess up in her ivory tower

A                                                    C

(Yeah) One of Daddy’s Girls   (Yeah) Don’t be fooled by the Curls

A

(Yeah) They were Mother’s pearls

C                      C/B                Am

But she couldn’t care less if she died

 

E                                  F#                 F                               E

The silver spoon has rusted; the hand that feeds is thin

The drip supply is wasted, and to waste is but a sin

And now she’s old and feeble, but still baby nonetheless

She isn’t really able, I guess it’s sad I must confess

 

A                                                            C

(Where) Did they go those curls?   (No) Longer one of the girls

A

(She) Sold all of her pearls

C                     C/B        Am

And threw in her soul for free

C           C/B    Am

Now Baby’s gone

 

Personnel:

Oliver Cobbin – Rhythm & Lead Guitar, Bass, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Production, Mixing

Adam Thraves – Drums, Production, Mixing

Patrick Delamere – Tambourine, Backing Vocals

As stated in my project proposal I will be creating an all-original extended play with Adam Thraves. This will include original songs written by me, some of which I’ve made rudimentary demos of in the past, and making them come up to a professional standard through the use of the skills I’ve acquired.

The first studio session was dedicated to recording ‘Ironic Veronica’: a song that I wrote last year. The demo (posted above) was quite low-key and only featured an acoustic guitar, voice and brief solo. For the studio session, I decided I wanted to embellish the song with more arrangement and a focus of cleaner production (LO2). I’d say my main influences for the song is R.E.M – ‘Out of Time’ (1991) and ‘Automatic for the People’ (1992) in particular. This will impact on the sound and the direction I’d like to take the production in. The jangle-rock and folk inspirations shine through on their albums and I would like to achieve that bright sound whilst making it my own. A song that I think sums up the overall sonic landscape that I wish to achieve is ‘Near Wild Heaven’ off of the former album (LO3).

https://youtu.be/DBK_B6m0_tY

The first part of the session was dedicated to recording the rhythm guitar track which would lay the foundations for the rest of the song. To achieve we set a click-track to maintain correct timings. I haven’t had much experience recording with one so there was some initial difficulty but I overcame that and managed to get a good take (LO2). I recorded with a 12 string acoustic guitar as well which gave a different timbre to that of a regular 6 string. I was hesitant at first whether it would sound right but the chime-esque ring it gave off seemed to suit the song. I’m a fan of the sound and cite influences such as ‘David Bowie’ and ‘The Byrds’ examples of this (LO3).

I then laid down an electric guitar track which accompanied the rhythm. I played arpeggios with a capo on the 7th fret to once again get a different sound to that of the 12 string. This is a common method that was used by such bands ‘The Beatles’ (George Harrison in particular) to alter tonality/differentiate between guitars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_the_Sun#CITEREFEverett1999. I also played 2 guitar solos in the song (one in a bridge and an outro) which I had developed from the original demo above (LO2) The new and improved one fit the song a lot better and the use of the click track helped the structure of the song too in terms of about of bars for the solo.

Next up was the vocals of the song. I had done a guide vocal after the rhythm guitar so that Adam could work out where each part of the song started and ended (the chords are the same for the verse and chorus). After this I laid down the lead vocal of which I performed 3 takes which we will then select the best parts from to make one single lead vocal track. I sang a bit deeper than I had on the original demo (not by design, and the key hadn’t changed either) and the SE2200A-II seemed to pick up the bass frequencies in my voice a lot better. It was set to cardioid polar pattern as it records the sound predominantly from the front (LO1). I also performed backing vocals on the song which were worked out at the piano to ensure the blend of the harmonies fit the song. I kept these until the end of the song as a way of layering the various points in the structure. This is evident in ‘Near Wild Heaven’ and ‘Out of Time’ as a whole where different parts of the arrangement are introduced as the song progresses (LO3).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: I’ve made a rough mix of the song which has been inserted below. I will revisit this as time goes on to improve on my mixing skills (LO1)

 

Lyrics and Chords:

G             C               G        C

She spends all day on the funny farm

Writing bad jokes, that don’t do any harm

Am         G           Am        G

And then she goes for a sip of wine

Spouting gibberish until a-quarter to 9

G             C               G        C

I’ve got an ache that just won’t quit

And a broken tap that just won’t drip.

Bm7                C

But now I see her frown, and I sing

G             C               G        C

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

 

She stands up, upon the stage

Reads a book, but her least favourite page

And nobody there, says a word

Her real voice will never be heard

I’ve got an ache that just won’t quit

And a broken tap that just won’t drip.

But now I see she’s down, and I sing

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

 

Bm7       C                                   Em              D

And she may share her thoughts, her feelings and fears

Am        G                       D                                    Dsus4   D   Dsus2

They all smile at first but by the end they’re all in floods of tears

 

It may be summer, but it’s not that bright

Spinning in daffodils, flying your kite

But I just stand aloof and stare

She starts with a joke but ends on a prayer

And I’ve got a pain that just won’t quit

And a broken clock that just won’t tick.

But now I see she’s proud, and I sing

La, la – ironic Veronica, La, la – loves electronica

La, la – ironic Veronica, La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

 

Personnel:

Oliver Cobbin – 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Rhythm & Lead Guitar, Harmonics, Bass, Keys, Percussion, Lead Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Production, Mixing

Adam Thraves – Drums, Tambourine, Production, Mixing

This is the proposal for Audio Project 2. It outlines our aims and objectives as a group.

Presentation