Almanac
Answer to Yourself
Audio
Visuals
An associative flux of visual & audible expression.
In bringing together these animated visual elements in accompaniment with the musical tracks, polymorphous & symbolic interpretations may be made across it’s circular composition - inspired by and dedicated to the artist’s whose works constitute the ephemera, namely Suzan Pitt (1979), Keiichi Tanaami (1975), Alex Toth (1972), the following pages are also committed.
Continuing on from the PDS Portfolio Component - Revisiting The Ocean of Motion LP Post-Production - which saw through the audio post-production & event showcasing of this LP soundtrack. Development has moved into more of a creatively considered artefact piece over the usual professionally oriented production approach. This counter-stance, providing a contextual alternative into the discourse between associated recommendations & considerations - has provided insight into how these two frames of references may be conjuncted.
As a part of The Campus Label’s output, the Jacaranda’s basement tapes is a recurring production undertaken by a team of audio / film personnel from SAE Liverpool’s student base. Being an AV production, there were numerous roles to fill across production crews including detailed above. More specifically, the audio crew consisted of stage hands assisting in setup followed by recording operator roles during filming.
After undertaking a session with local artist Euan for a live lounge filmed / recorded set I’ve had the idea to go forward with a number of these sessions featuring local artists, as promotional material for themselves and our production team and creative collective Sociodelic. These sessions will follow the format of a live recording session performance from the artist, utilising the Neve studio and live room equipped with film gear.
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Creative
Pieces
In undertaking this project - inquiry has explored the production paradigms given by Geoffrey Hull, in “Malcolm Chisholm: An Evaluation of Traditional Audio Engineering” by Linden P. S. (2013). Hull details the distinction across eras of audio production with the separation between each being technologically defined by the advent and subsequent departure of tape as a recording medium. Set out as : pre-industrial (1897-1925), industrial (1925-1985), post-industrial (>1985). These each contain differing traditional & modern methods to studio productions, notably : single microphone / input source record productions (pre-industrial), live to tape record production (industrial), and in-the-box record production (post-industrial).
Entering into this mastering production, I received the brief of mastering 10 tracks + 1 B-side of an alternative electro acoustic LP. Receiving reference for levels consisting of - “Search Party” & “Royal Blue Walls“ by Jane Remover, and “The Last High” by The Dandy Warhols.
For our project we have undertaken a number of recording sessions to track the various aspects of each arrangement for the final full productions. Going into the project we had scratch outlines of the compositions to each track, and a general concept for the sounds tonality and aesthetic as well as it’s genre influences. During the recording sessions we then worked to instil these ideas of what we’re aiming for into the instrumentation with regard to the style of the albums content and concept.
In this session some novel placements of audio sources will be utilised to split single stems of instrumentation up into varying positions around the stereo field. For this I will be first using a piano stem from an in-progress production remix track - What Will Happen? - there is the aim to discover some distinct placements working off of new experimentation informed by previous implementation research sessions.
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Studio
Production
Being a developmental continuation from the PDS project The Basement Tapes, Jacaranda Records (2024) - I have carried on working with the merseybeat band “The Kites” who I’d brought onto that. In aiming to develop their repertoire with a debut single release, we arranged to work together again in a studio production, for which I planned and produced their debut record as detailed here. Spanning the full scope of production, I was the sole recording / mixing / mastering engineer - and supported them in the afterwork effort of the release stage. This has been a milestone for myself, as it is the production which I would most qualify as a professional undertaking - being that I was hired to work for this client, fully engineering & producing their track.
In our modules covering recording / mixing / mastering, we have been undertaking a production project with local band, The Stamp, with whom we have produced a track for called How we Livin’. This production has been a great success for ourselves in our production team as it has brought around exciting prospects of a full album production with the band after the success of this first production.
Following a pilot practical project of 3-days of recording sessions with additional mixing sessions and revision, rationale behind the project has become clearer to express with context. Undertaking studio recording sessions, the cyclical iterations of reflection and adaptation until a final consensus / implementation is reached is an inherent aspect of the creative production process. With aiming to ensure best practice in a production context, the cyclical process highlights areas of production work that need improving to maintain consistent professional standards.
With the instrumentation done at this point there was only the vocals to record in. For this I decided to again use the Tascam desk as there would only be one input channel for the recording and the Tascams functionality would be better suited personally for the session.
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Post
Production
Entering into this mastering production, I received the brief of mastering 10 tracks + 1 B-side of an alternative electro acoustic LP. Receiving reference for levels consisting of - “Search Party” & “Royal Blue Walls“ by Jane Remover, and “The Last High” by The Dandy Warhols.
As the recording and mix stages reach completion for Magic Satin, the final stage of the production comes to the mastering process, including preparing the release for transferability across multiple playback platforms. The playback mediums I will be focusing on will be CD and Spotify Streaming, as these two distribution channels have different technical delivery requirements I will have to produce masters specifically for each.
During this module we have spent a number of sessions with award-winning mixing and mastering engineer Mike Cave, including spending a day session shadowing alongside him as he completed a mastering job for a pop track. During these sessions we have learnt comprehensive workflows across the mastering process in both digital and analogue formats.
In our lectures over the last two weeks we have been working on two tracks by the local artist Brandon Tew, doing some mixing practice and research with Jon Withnall, Coldplay / Rihanna. In these sessions Jon has been teaching us his approach to mixing from his experience as a recording and mixing engineer, working with his skillset accumulated from years of working alongside other established pros.
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Immersive
Sound
Within the field of immersive audio, a unified consensus to adoption and application has been eluded. This research inquiry focuses on a gap of applied technological context, which has brought about an alternative method to rendering panoramic sound fields. Through the implementation of an audio encoding framework, virtual generation of acoustic enhancement encapsulates a proposed post-production approach to immersive audio within the two-channel capacity of standardised & accessible stereo audio.
This documentation covers production of a fully encoded multi-track implementation for mixing, using a set of back catalogue guitar / bass / kit / synth stems as material for use in renders. Stems had then been exported from Logic Pro and imported over into Unity Engine as audio assets, with an additional material component asset being created specifically for use in this session.
As a core part of the generation of virtual acoustics comes from the geometric structure the sound sources propagate within, this session will run iterations on three models with varying size to determine what distinctions may be apparent between their VAS.
As the aim of this project is focused on encoding virtual acoustic properties into PCM stereo, there is a need to bring the encoding processes together within a virtual rendering environment in such a way that allows for generation and recording of virtual acoustic space. Also summarised in the virtual rendering inquiry as the component functions concept involving the encoding / rendering functions :
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Research
Papers
This inquiry into the field of audio production has oriented around the identification, implementation and development of professional standards of practice. In aiming to bring into focus and operate in association with these recommendations & considerations in production undertakings. Industry accredited sources, statements from professional associates, and primarily developed standards have been reviewed and implemented into a variety of dynamic production circumstances.
The aim for this module is to encompass learning around project activities associated with the main research question : What are the professional standards required of engineers & producers in a practical audio production setting?
For this purpose, I will be doing preliminary inquiry into professional standards that are required of audio engineers working in tandem to an independent record label. My research project will be to undertake practical audio production & engineering work, within the vocational circumstances of working with a record label. Being pragmatic in approach, findings will be drawn from primary accounts of practical experience.
The context of this research project is so far composed of inquiry into the areas of professional standards of practice in audio production in-tandem with the background of a developing record label environment. However, in the aim of taking practical meaning further into the realm of artistry I feel it is important to include in this investigation the additional aim given in the title question here presented.
Within the world of music production and performance the available technology of the time has certainly had an impact on the process of creating music with new functionality, utility and sound available for use through new hardware and software. This has transformed the production process from the way music was made 50 years ago.
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Recording
When recording a stereo signal of a sound source there are a number of techniques and setup’s concerning the microphones positioning relative to the source which affect the result in playback. The dynamics here being manipulated in the mix imaging are the stereo width, this is an effect of the angle of the microphones determining the recordings SRA (stereo recording angle), these will place the sound source in the stereo field and this is received by the listener who then determines psychoacoustically where the source is placed from the subtle differences in time and / or level difference depending on the setup.
During our lectures this first week we have looked at the signal flow of the Audient and Tascam studios on campus, creating signal flow diagrams and carrying out practicals to utilise this. The two studios we have been introduced to are prime examples of professional modern studio environments, each fitted with a mixing console - (Tascam DM3200 digital desk / Audient ASP4816 analogue desk)
The Tascam desk is a 32-track digital mixing console which we have the option of using within this module for recording and mixing during our recording assignment. Operating this desk requires the following workflow to get signal in, out, recorded and monitoring.
I organised the first recording session, aiming to track the guitars through. For this session I booked an afternoon slot of the Tascam mixing console / studio. For the rhythm guitar Luke brought his Telecaster, fitting with the equipment used on the original record, and with this being the driving riff track in the piece we sent the signal through to the live-room via the tieline in at the patch bay, out to a Vox amp which was set to add some distortion and drive to the guitar.
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Mixing
For the advanced specialised project module, I will be working with partner Das as our production group and collective name Sociodelic. For the project we will be undertaking the production of two EP releases, along with the business and marketing materials provided for following through with the release process and promotion. As we’re producing two together, I will take on producing Magic Satin, and Das will produce Silhouettes. For clarification all references to EP in these pages will refer to Magic Satin.
After our successful recording session last week with The Stamp, next we are to go forward with the mixing session alongside the band to finalise the track we recorded. During the recording session we did a fresh take on their previously released track How we Livin, this was an indie rock reggae influenced track with drums, bass, acoustic guitar and electric lead.
When approaching the mixing stage of my production of Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones I wanted to capture the same energetic and big sound of the original within my own. During the recording stages I had familiarized myself with the deconstructed audio tracks of the original so that whilst we tracked instrumentation such as the guitars, I could refer back to the original tone to compare against what I was getting from the instrumentation in our own version.
Following our live lounge recording session with project artist Euan, accompanied in session by Nzanzu also doing an acoustic live lounge set, there is a process of post-production needing to be undertaken to reach the final result.
With the live-lounge recording session going to plan smoothly with the help of business liaison Tioma and film team Dan & Darris, we finished with 3 tracks (1 by Euan , 2 by Nzanzu) worth of audio and video stems.
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Mastering
Entering into this mastering production, I received the brief of mastering 10 tracks + 1 B-side of an alternative electro acoustic LP. Receiving reference for levels consisting of - “Search Party” & “Royal Blue Walls“ by Jane Remover, and “The Last High” by The Dandy Warhols.
Given that the focus of this project’s creative application lands on mixing in the post-production stage of audio production, mastering tracks with incorporation of VA encoding is something that would be beneficial to enquire into as it falls within the same production stage. Mastering full tracks with VA may present some different applications and also investigate whether existing stereo image phase relationships can be taken further into exocentric space.
During the ASP project I have aimed to produce CDs for promotional material. These have been planned with consideration of presenting an aesthetic branding which reflects our style and flavour as artists. For the production of the CDs, I first had to source the discs themselves [CD-R 52x 700MB] and cases.
Embarking on this research inquiry - into the professional standards required of the role of engineer & producer for working in tandem with artist service record labels - it is reflectively apparent that my interpersonal view on this endeavour has altered since it’s initial proposal.
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Events
For the Magic Satin production we have also set out to produce a number of additional promotional materials and aspects which will go towards the final release portfolio for promotional and marketing purposes. For this, it has been my responsibility to produce :
For the release project coordinated between the band [1] and record label detailed in Entry 1, a launch event to promote the second release had been planned and run. Requiring event management responsibilities, liaison with the headline and support acts - as well as the venue team - was undertaken by the Department Heads label team.
A personal production project which has been recently initiated consists of back catalogue material originally intended as two separate releases - an EP and an LP - being reworked into one conceptually continuous LP delivered for surround sound playback intended for event showcasing.
Going into week 5, I am at the stage in my research where I have begun inquiry into a large directory of resources on occupational standards. Through this directory I have collected qualitative data, detailing relevant subject topics and practical areas of work relevant to the research topics regarding audio engineering, music production, and record label operations.