Recording Silence,

Another sleepless night. I am still up and awake, thinking about working and thinking about recording. How difficult it can be when you have a terrible artist and easy it is when you are working with a talented artist. I am also tinking about how all the bands I work with actually think that they can sound like their idols. And how I always feel like I am to blame if they don't. A usual dilemma is that the band show up with the worst sounding equipment possible, unpracticed and with halfwritten songs and then quite casually announce that they want their two day demo of four songs to sound like (-------------write your favourite multimillion album selling artist here).
I sometimes feel that my clients think I'm an alchemist. Ofcourse I am not an alchemist
and do not know how to turn mediocre demos into gold records.

It's also fun that people without any knowledge of music seem to think that I work with big stars just because I am in the music "business". Many of the people I meet think it is somehow exotic to work in a recording studio but they don't have a clue of what it is I do, even though I make an effort explaining it every time.
I wish it would be like this when I go to work:

Serge Gainsbourg - Composing and Recording Initials BB



part 2


That was the talented and wierd Serge Gainsbourg working on the track Initials B.B.
sometime during the 60's. Such a cool big production abd everyone is wearing suits and smoking inside. He even smoked in the vocal booth. Probably very good for the vocal style he was going for. I guess that is how recording sessions where done in the 60's.
This is a lot closer to what it looks like today.

Recording Silence - clip from 24 Hour Party People


OK, this is obviously where I got the title for this blog. There is something so off the wall about Martin Hannet standing on top of a hill, with a mic, a taperecorder and a set of headphones, recording silence. The idea just leaves me speechless.
And the lovely sarcastic comments like "Play it faster but slower" and"You wear it well!". I have actually found myself using both of those on a few occasions.
He really seems like a true asshole... but the songs sounds great.
Here's the real Martin Hannet and the real Tony Wilson talking about recording in 1980.

Martin Hannett and Tony Wilson at Strawberry Studios in July 1980


This last one is about as close to reality as you can come. You may be lauging but a lot of the aspiring musicians that frequent recording studios how much more in common with this guy than they have with Serge up there. And that is why I need to keep this blog.

You Got The Touch