The Stamp Recording Plan
Before our recording session takes place, there are important aspects of the production to first consider to ensure that the workflow and process within the session is smooth and maintains a high level of professionalism for ourselves as the production team and for our client, The Stamp.
Within our production team there are two members, myself and Das, we will be carrying out all the tasks to run the production ourselves, along with our business partner Elliot who will cover liaison with the band, the remaining production roles will be the following shared roles and responsibilities -
- Record Producer
- Head Engineer
- DAW Operator
- Assistant Engineer
As there are the two of us in our production group and four roles to fill, and with our combined experience working together in studio recording sessions, we will be sharing each of the roles dipping in and out of each as needed on the fly to maintain a free flowing work style. We are going forward in this way as we have the experience in this approach and find it works best due to the clear communication and efficiency we know we can achieve. Responsibilities will likely be split similarly, however there will be areas here to establish -
Personal Responsibilities include -
- Pre-session setup and planning
- Setting mics and live-room plan
- Patching mics to stagebox and desk
- Monitoring and assessing recording levels pre recording
- Monitoring signal coming into the Daw
- Record enabling and operating during takes
- Desk operation, including monitoring playback volumes to auxes / cues
- Liaison with band via talkback
- Note-taking for mix session
During the preparation of the setup, one of us will operate the desk and set gain staging from the mics while the other sets the mic placements. If any tweaks need to be made during takes, then this again would be followed with one of us remaining on the desk to monitor the changes as needed while the other enters the live room to move mics or assist the band. DAW operation and desk operation will be a singular task during the recording process, where one of us operates the playback and monitoring levels while the other operates the Daw functionality of recording.
Engineering will be shared between us in this way as with this approach we are both aware at all stages where we’re at and what is going on to the minute. Key responsibilities will be to establish a recording setup of mics which minimise bleed as much as possible during the live recording, this will ensure a clean and concise final mix and will establish the track as a professionally produced piece. Other key responsibilities include ensuring that the recording process during takes run smoothly and to maintain a relaxed and low-pressure environment to allow for the band to perform their best with no hang-ups present to interrupt their performance. As well, we will be responsible to the band to produce their music to their liking and to do this we will be approaching this as along-sdie the band to produce tracks that not only emphasise their own quality as a band but also our own professionalism and skill for our portfolio.
In preparation for the recording session, to familiarise ourselves with the bands sound and style we have had their two tracks “Cornerstone” and “How We Living” playing over whilst we analyse and assess the musical style, genre, timbral qualities and overall aesthetic. Their sound as a band sits in the indie scene, as a four piece there’s the classic arrangement of two guitars (acoustic rhythm / electric lead) / bass / drums. Their sound resembles early summer styled brit-pop with rhythm of artists such as Jake Bugg and The Kooks, style of uplifting sound such as The Charlatans and bright guitars like those found in tracks by The Las. Other similarities may include bands such as the Arctic Monkeys, Foals, as well as primary influences of reggae in the particularly off-beat vocal rhythm and drums steady back-beat to the “How we Livin” track. These influences have then been brought into the modern day, with a stripped back sound then embellished with synth and ambient and subtle effect on the guitars.
The track that we will be producing with The Stamp is the above mentioned “How we Livin” and their current spotify single release of this one will be a crucial reference track for us going into the production, for all aspects other than sonically. Through liaison with our business student partner Elliot, we’d arranged a first meeting with the band where we discussed what they were after going into the project. They explained they’re after a new take on this previously released track as they’ve moved it’s sound in live gigs over recent months, with some changes away from the existing version we established that our production would better reflect their new sound on the track.
For the session itself, there is the plan to get in and ensure the studios are in order the day before, setting the drumkit up primarily and ensuring the live room is clear and tidy for the band. On the day, we will get in between 9:30 - 10:00 to give us adequate time to book out mics and begin their setup, the band will arrive at 11 with the plan to have them in the live room ready to go by 11:30 once their own preparation of setting up is complete. From there the session will roll with us doing first a sound check and monitoring assessment across the inputs to assess bleed and gaining. Then once all is set and ready to go, a quick breather to mentally prep anew if necessary, and then in again for the takes starting off with the full band live recording. Here is where the session plan is open-ended, as dependant on how the tracking of the first goes the session could take two direction :
If the band is happy with the recording in this live setup all together, and we are satisfied with the quality of the recordings to take into the mixing session then what we’ll do here is set a new pro-tools session and record a second track with the same process again. This would repeat until the bands were happy with the track count or until our time in the studio is over, this would provide the band with a set of tracks which have a continuation to the recording quality and sound, these stems would then be taken into the mixing session at a later date.
On the other hand, if the band is after re-recording multiple takes over the first live take then we would reorganise the session so that these overdubs can go forward. This would be done by bringing the recorded tracks back up into the desk on the playback and with each individual re-recording their instrument till a final take which is to their satisfaction is reached and we would then move to the next. This switch depends on the quality of that first live-recording in terms of its recorded quality and its performance quality, decided on as a whole between the production team, the band, and our business partner.
