It was a great pleasure recording Lisa Nicole Grace’s album.  It’s already been released, just this past winter in fact.  I recorded the drums at Two Bodies of Water, and everything else here at Phoneticsound.  We had a little more space at Two Bodies, as the live room here was being used for other projects.  Setup was quick and easy, with myself (Jeff) and James Seabrook both getting things setup. Jered came to me after the album was done as he wanted to get a short run vinyl pressing of the album.  I did a fresh master of the tracks, which the cutting engineer preferred (over the CD master), and got the vinyl back!

One of the needs of vinyl mastering requires sensitivity to the high frequency content, as well as the nature of the lowest bass frequencies. I had the privilege not only recording Lisa’s album, but mixing it with Jered Evangelos who also played drums & percussion for the whole album.  Jered just happens to be Lisa’s husband, and as a team they shared the vision for the recording and feel of it.    As we just did a short run of the vinyl, it’s not publicly available.  Of course you can grab it on iTunes here:  https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/lisa-nicole-grace/id319023514

One of my favorite tunes on the album was Chameleon (featuring steel guitar by the legend _______), take a listen:

The vinyl cover makes the CD art seem like a toy compared to a piece of art!   This was Lisa’s sophomore album, and I hope a third is on it’s way to the studio in the not-too-distant-future!

More of Lisa on the usual channels:

http://www.lisanicolegrace.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Nicole-Grace/10258941309

http://www.twitter.com/lisanicolegrace

And finally, here are some photos of a few of the sessions.  Enjoy!

Music producer, DJ, and classical violinist, Jayeson Andel better known in the electronic dance music scene as Cobalt Infusion, spends most of his time working with sound. A graduate from The Art Institute of Vancouver’s Electronic Music program and over 15 years of violin training, he brings insight from school as well industry experience by working with record labels, playing live gigs, and collaborating with amazing talent over the years. Read the rest of this entry »

So we haven’t recorded Lights (yet)– but Jeff Olson recently remixed her song “Siberia” and entered

it into the Indaba contest she’s putting on.  Please check the site, enjoy some remixes, and vote for your favorite!

Jeff won’t be offended if you don’t vote for his, but he feels it’s pretty good.  Decide for yourself at Indaba:

goo.gl/bgvt3

Or listen here (and then go vote!) :

We went on location this week, recording Jesse Peters’ album live, in the studio at The Winspear Centrein Edmonton, AB.   Recording went great, and we’ll be posting more about it in the near future.  You can check out photos of the sessions on Flickr.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.”

—Art Blakey

I really wish this statement was literal as it would have saved me time cleaning here in the studio this morning!

Tiff Hall and her gang were in again today working on her new album! Jesse Peters, Travis Switzer, Matt Atkins and Chris Nordstron arrived early and ready for their third day in studio this week. Illness invited itself on this project but regardless of their conditions the team pressed forward. I was very impressed by the scratch vocals Tiff laid though she has been under the weather. It just goes to show that this is a hard working group that faces the challenge of whatever obstacles, whether personal or corporate, come their way. Read the rest of this entry »

“Video killed the radio star”

Uh oh! Watch out James Corley!

I recently spent some time in studio with James Corley here at Phoneticsound and had the privilege of asking him a few questions about his band Southroot and their recording experience. The link below will bring you to a video of our conversation on day one of their time in studio recording their 3 song demo this fall.

Tiff Hall and her gang were in again today working on her new album! Jesse Peters, Travis Switzer, Matt Atkins and Chris Nordstron arrived early and ready for their third day in studio this week. Illness invited itself on this project but regardless of their conditions the team pressed forward. I was very impressed by the scratch vocals Tiff laid though she has been under the weather. It just goes to show that this is a hard working group that faces the challenge of whatever obstacles, whether personal or corporate, come their way.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Music is the soul of language.”
-Max Heindel

Soulful music is the goal of Tiff Hall’s new musical project. I had the pleasure of meeting with her when she was here in studio. She shared some insight into the creation of her new album as well as some of her past musical experience that has led her to this place. Take a look at the video interview below!

“A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges.  ~Benny Green”

And a juggler of sorts he is. Jesse Peters combined comedy, outstanding musicianship, incredible composition and beautiful chemistry during his recent live recording at Edmonton’s Winspear Center. I had the privilege of sitting in on a portion of his session with engineer Jeff Olson. Accompanied by Matt Atkins and Travis Switzer, the trio provided for many laughs and creative musical moments. I was honored to be a part of the project with these highly talented and accredited individuals.

Though the trio is professional in technique and performance I was both surprised and excited to hear the little banters and random conversation between takes. When grown men are making “your mom” jokes in a classy location such as the Winspear it has to make you smile. I believe the exchange went something like this…  Read the rest of this entry »

After months of post-recording mixing with Phoneticsound, the Martingales now hold the complete master of their second album. Beginning their recording in February 2010, Andrew Beltaos and the band worked alongside engineer and producer Jeff Olson to create a dynamic collection of new songs. I have personally enjoyed listening to their new album with it’s authentic ambient sounds and layers. Today I got the opportunity to speak with Andrew about his experience recording here at Phoneticsound.

We had some good laughs sharing stories and discussing Jeff’s quirks and humor. Here is part of our conversation:

Jenesa:”How long have you been playing?”

Andrew: I have been playing since 1993 and the band was formed in January 2007.

Jenesa: “Have you recorded before?”

Andrew: We recorded our first album in December 2007 at Phoneticsound and released it in May 2008. Our second album we just recorded this February with Jeff and just got copies of the masters a few days ago.

Jenesa:”What were your expectations before coming to record?”

Andrew: When we recorded our first album it was pretty basic; just the three instruments played the same as we would a live show. We wanted it to be similar to our first album but with more complexity. So this time I had lots of production ideas for embellishments using layers and additional instruments. I had more of a vision in mind this time.

Jenesa: “How did your experience differ from your expectation?”

Andrew: It turned out to be more work than we had thought. We spent a lot of time on small specific parts. It was hard work but very fun.

Jenesa: “What was your recording experience like?”

Andrew: Exciting! I felt like there were endless possibilities; like the world was at my finger tips. Jeff knows how to take my ideas and create the sounds I have envisioned. We recorded 4 days in a row 9-5 so it was intense and tiring at times but it was A LOT OF FUN!

Jenesa:”Was it easy or difficult to capture the performance you wanted?”

Andrew: For the most part, it was easy.

Jenesa:”What was your experience like working with Jeff as an engineer and producer?”

Andrew: Jeff really knows what he’s talking about. I feel like sometimes he can read my mind. He really feels music the same way I do. I would explain what I was looking for and he would know what needed to be done to make it happen.

Jenesa:”What were some of the highlights or favorite moments from recording?”

Andrew: The jokes! Jeff has a good sense of humor. At the studio there is no window between the control room and the live room. So you have to wear headphones to hear Jeff as you’re tracking and he would say the most funny things. It’s like he’s in your head!

Chatting with Andrew was fantastic. He was so positive and articulate. I was impressed with his quick responses to my questions. Andrew also gave me a heads up that the Martingales are playing tonight at the Taphouse here in St. Albert. So if you get a chance I would suggest you take the opportunity to see their live show! I’m heading off now to transform into my fashionable painting attire to tackle the studio stairs.

Visit www.themartingales.ca to stay updated on the band, their upcoming album, and CD release!

Jenesa

We’ve had the privilege of recording the audio version of Elaine Cust’s book titled, On His Own Two Feet.  The book is a touching biography of Herold Granger, an Albertan man whose life took a sudden detour at the age of sixteen when he awoke one morning unable to move or speak.  On His Own Two Feet chronicles Herold’s determined approach to the numerous obstacles polio presented him, his remarkable achievements as a young man and later, business owner, husband and father.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview  Elaine:

Part 1:

D: Why did you decide to do an audio-book?

E: That’s a really good question because making the audio-book was really important to me…Harold is 80 years old now and many of the people who would want to read about him are round about his age and many of these people don’t find it easy with the text version -whether because of difficulty reading…or because they find it difficult to keep their mind focussed on the written words…

The second part is that in my family…we have a hereditary eye disease called RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa) and so blindness is pretty common. My dad was blind and since the time I was about 10 years old, I remember listening to stories on LP records from the CNIB…I have lots of memories with my brother, sister and I washing and drying dishes in the kitchen listening to stories…Audio format has been a part of my life for a long time. I wanted to make that audio format available to people…  Read the rest of this entry »