Googie & The Imaginary Band - Creative Production
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).
In this project, exploration into the industrial & post-industrial approaches has developed further understanding at the use-case of each to produce varying results, determined by creatively considered decision making of the selected production paradigm. Titled as Wormwoods, these track productions orientate around a pre/industrial production workflow - being live performance recorded to tape. In working with a number of limitations such as input count & a lack of audio processing & routing at the record stage, focus on the live interplay and performance itself took a more central position in observations of the production. Contrary to this, the Wicker Witch Woman single track - being a post-industrial in-the-box orientated production - was able to explore and incorporate limitless optional audio processing with effects & routing. The result is two completely different sounding works sonically, but with a noticeable interconnectedness stylistically, and a linked conceptual framing aimed at harmonising these contrasting sonic tonalities.
These productions have been crucial in better understanding a use-case for productions going forward, where consideration on the approach has been identified as a clear consideration when ideating final outputs. The following outline and practical process recommendations have informed these undertakings -
Post-Industrial studio production.
Title : Wicker Witch Woman
Track Count : 1
Industrial live studio production.
Working Titles : Wormwood [Sessions V]
Track Titles : Happenstance / Black Magic Woman
Track Count : 2
Practical Process Recommendations :
Post-Industrial studio production. Title : Wicker Witch Woman Track Count : 1
[CCSMT13 (2015)] Assist with recording of live sound location sources.
[CCSMT3 (2020)] Set up, configure and maintain studio equipment, software, hardware and instruments.
[SKSPP23 (2017)] Support clients and colleagues in post production facilities.
[SKSRACC5 (2024)] Work to a brief for radio and audio content.
[CCSMT18 (2015)] Operate analogue and digital dynamics and effects equipment for music and audio industries.
[CCSMB15 (2015)] Identify development and repertoire opportunities for artists.
Wicker Witch Woman - Single release track
Post-industrial studio production : recording / mixing / mastering
Going into the production of Wicker Witch Woman, it was arranged that this project would be a collaborative undertaking in an artistic regard - being still my own sole responsibility over the full scope of production aspects - so along with the songwriter & guitarist Googie, this track comprised the output of two studio sessions of recording & post-production within the paradigm of a post-industrial context. As this was the case, production began with arrangement marking & guide tracking : recording the core guitar sections in sequence accompanied by a scratch drum track.
With a clear artistic vision between us of ethereal psych rock, and the track’s basis recorded : we moved to an overdub post-production stage of additional core components added such as bass & rhythm instrumentation being layered in. With a maximalist approach over the course of these recording sessions, independent mixing sessions were done with these aims for the sound. With recurring review and production stages, development of the track followed through with the finalisation of a large number of stacked parts, complex movements & post-processings. Being mutually very satisfied with the developments to the production of the single, there was just the vocal part left to overdub - as well as the accompanying Session V tape tracks to complete the post-production for.
It’s worth noting that there are a number of dynamic factors in audio production endeavours such as this, being a producer-artist arrangement. In putting into action practical process recommendations, leeway was still often given to the creative aims. Exploratory tracking technique in recording every take and feeling out what was exciting artistically during take selection, enhancing & processing methods were pushed significantly into overuse. However, the final output whilst being countering in this way - still largely followed recommendations to a retrospectively successful & satisfactory level. It was also the consensus that this was a very successful creative production endeavour between Googie and myself. In aiming for a professional standardisation in production undertakings, it is certainly of note that there should be no delimitation to the creative process - as a priority over most other recommendations & considerations.
The manoeuvring around what may be anticipated first as an abstracted professional practice in approach, is from this experiential perspective arguably a more subjective conceptualisation than an existing concrete & objective standard. With intrapersonal creative inputs driving any musical endeavour inherently - with the exception of generative methods - any method whereby creative gratification and actualisation of music can occur is certainly worth exploring in whatever form it may take. This is the simplest and clearest element drawn from the artistic actions & circumstantial developments throughout this musical endeavour : development can occur wherever creativity leads.
Wormwood - Live Studio Production Set
Live studio production Session V project : studio recorded tracks played in a live industrial setting.
In preparation for these pre/industrial format recording sessions a relevant studio layout has been configured - based on the industrial model of tape-era recording process. Provided by Linden P. S. (2013),
“Pre-industrial environment : Simplicity was key: the engineer set up the machines next to the performance and captured the sounds. There was no editing, and only one live take would be chosen for each song.”
With this under consideration, the arrangement accordingly will follow a live tracking process of each track all played together by the band simultaneously. Additionally, there is a focus on capturing an individually sourced recording - oriented around pre-industrial techniques of single microphone recordings (utilising pickup polar-pattern to construct the mix balance between instruments & vocals via placement technique). The above figure illustrates this, with the zero-position of the room microphone orientated towards the vocalist, with each instrument roughly positioned in balance :
- Keyboards distanced and slightly offset as back positioning.
- Vocals at zero-position, being the most prominent point for signal via pickup.
- Guitar 1 / 2 positioned in offset backing positioning, with the further providing a clearer space (through more reduction in signal bleed) for DI lead signal.
In use is a Tascam 414 tape recorder / mixer, in aiming to utilise industrial and prior methods of recording for this project - this has been selected for it’s relevant technological age, it’s limitation of 4-tracks, it’s to-tape recording component, and it’s suitability to the production’s creative considerations. Being informed and as stated by Chrisholm and provided by Linden P. S. (2013) :
“Everyone was set up in the same room, including the vocals. [...] I recall Malcolm emphasizing a need for the musicians to see and hear each other.” Jeff M. adds, “Malcolm was big on the musicians not wearing headphones, if they needed foldback (monitors), give them a little and it would be OK.” Harrison C. communicates the philosophy underlying this point: Set them up as if they are playing a gig, and then you go from there. A band plays in a room, not a box. They play to and with each other. You could call this organic, I call it traditional.”
Going into the creative considerations for this production project, it is necessary to communicate that there is a skew towards creative choices over professional standards of practice in the decision making process towards production.
Utilising tape and live session production arrangements, it is intended to documentarily capture a snapshot in time of Googie & The Imaginary Band - being the current iteration of the session group of which I am a part of. Having produced the studio production single “Wicker Witch Woman” [production details expanded on above], it has become fitting and developmentally relevant to practise & produce in a live, and less pressuresome environment over a studio setting. In practical work undertakings it has often been that the environment in which a production takes place has an impact on both performance and the final production outputs.
With this in mind, I aim to creatively utilise this phenomena and deploy it in such a way to more accurately capture a reference frame of the group’s music in time & space - selected over the typical studio approach which in post-industrial circumstances inherently produces a more composite production output.
This has been ideated to provide an artful and humanistic juxtaposition to the single release, which being [the single] a composite work that whilst being very satisfactory to the group however does not quite accurately reflect the simultaneous collective live performance.
Artistically driving this project is a creative conceptualisation for this work as a development on The Ocean of Motion & existing previously released repertoire - Magic Satin, by Sociodelic (2023) - which finished with an abstraction of closing into the night with “In The Evening”. The single here then can situate during the midnight phase to this progression, as the Wormwoods set will conceptually culminate into a “night” ambience to frame Wicker Witch Woman. Similarly in concept to the Track 2 on Magic Satin - When I See You - being soundscaped into what is moreso a simulacra of a live busker in a park scene than a typical studio set release - the aim for Wormwoods will be for it to conjure a night-tight / outside environmental setting to situate the tape captured live performances - as if around the single the figures of the tracks gather. The three tracks being : “Happenstance”, “Wicker Witch Woman”, and “Black Magic Woman” written by Peter Green (1968)
