New Audio Blog! Video Contest! New Studio Update!

Look out!

Introducing, the all-new-super cool- SEA-CAST, a neat weekly audio cast featuring odd and rare recordings from the Seahorse Sound archives.

This will be a neat new way to share music and sound. Look for new posts each week, and remember to click "Subscribe" or "Follow".

Click HERE to visit our audio blog on TUMBLR

Feel free to share some of your own music and we will put it up eventually when the time is right. Send submissions to info@seahorsesoundstudios.com

Just posted SEA-CAST #2 featuring LA's own Crooked Cowboy and the Freshwater Indians

*****

It has been pretty insane here lately... 22 hour work days in order to meet deadlines and finish construction in a timely matter.  14 hours of recording and another 8 of construction. Neato.

Just finished is the new BEDLAM OF CACOPHONY album, "Neuroleptic". Power Grind and Super Tech, these guys are face-melting badasses with a lethal new album. Check out our blog archives for more info on the recording of the album.

Also wrapped in time for the release is the highly absurd, highly anticipated, EDSEL PRESLY album "duartesucksdotcom".

This is going to be one of my favorite productions for a long time. It is odd, honest, odd, absurd and odd again. The only way i can really describe the music is deranged blues with honest free jazz sections and absurd folk like lyrics with vocals from a mad scientist hash maker from Kentucky. 

If you were locked in a room with music on repeat, most of the time you will go insane. This music on the other hand will have you waltzing on water with an imaginary dance partner. 

Get weird with Edsel Presley. 

Here are some pictures from our new studio build in Los Angeles, California. The studio is coming along nicely and we could not be more thrilled or tired.

Here, I scored some compressed fiberglass (roxul) on Craigslist from the Compressed Fiberglass Angel. You know who you are, you special man you. This is basically a pile of gold to me. I love you.

 CF is by far the most effective and efficient acoustic control material, it has a high density and works well at most frequencies. Even down to the lower bass frequencies, where most rooms suffer from the worst acoustical problems. Muddy mixes happen because of this. At 1 inch thick, it is still more effective then that nasty acoustic foam you see in a lot studios, it also doesn't look like you put a dirty sponge on your wall. You can also stack it for more lower frequency control. 

Here you see the first panel installed on the ceiling of the control room, this stuff gets pretty heavy when your holding it overhead at 6am with no sleep and too much power tools.

This will be the ceiling "cloud". Staggered layers of CF from 1"-3" thick with air gaps in between the surfaces. This will create a much more balanced room from the get go, and also "acoustically" raises my ceiling height. If a low ceiling in a control room goes untreated you can get some really nasty comb filtering, which btw is not a way to cleanse water with a hair accessory. It's a really bad side effect of unhappy frequency response. 

Finished! Left some room for future track lighting/disco ball (not)

This will be the fabric covering the CF. You can't really tell from the picture, but the material is beautiful and fancy, i also want to thank the Guardian Fabric Angel in the fashion district. 

*****

There is a neat lil video experiment for a upcoming Conscious Summary piece called

 "Prescription: Lullaby"

The song will be featured on a upcoming 7" vinyl release with mastering done by Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, The Strokes) and the amazing surrealist artist Rob Sato doing a custom peice. 

CS is offering a guide track and a bunch of random video clips in a .zip file to download. Listen to the song and assemble the clips to make video. There are no rules or directions, you can use as much or as little of the given footage as possible. The most creative video will be chosen and the author will be given a free copy of the 7" and other goodies. 

Download the package here. Deadline is May 15th.

*****

That is it for now, check back later! Don't forget to hit "Follow" or subscribe to our blog.

Happy Listening!

ends and beginnings -February blog

Wow. 2011 is pretty gnarly so far. Countless things are disassembling/self destructing themselves into the aether. Meanwhile, many beautiful spores of new growth are emerging and voiding the null in between seamlessly.

What?

...maybe look at some pictures instead.

The Strokes' new album is all wrapped up and I just got word the mastering is finished too. We started mixing at the House of Blues Studios at the end of November. The songs are great and sonically it is nice and dirty like the first album. Here (above) is Nick(guitar) and Fabrizio(drums) overdubbing some last minute handclaps. This happens a lot believe it or not.

Noah Georgeson(producer), me, and Fabsy listening to the first "single" to make sure it sounds like a single. Fabs is not single btw, sorry ladies...

making chords out of sense, or was it the other way around?

I really like working at the House of Blues Studios when i'm away from Seahorse. The vibe is rad and it feels like your on an island. Fabrizio in deep listening mode, and playing around on guitar. He writes a lot of great melodies, and he is mainly a drummer. hmmm.....

*****

This years NAMM was actually pretty tolerable. Here is the usual setup, microphones are up for listening/testing and I have my mobile Pro Tools rig setup with some sessions and tracks I recorded at Seahorse with Mojave Microphones. 

Mr. David Royer, microphone genius, looking very handsome.

Dusty Wakeman and his famous 3 string bass

This was great. There was a protest outside of NAMM. Apparently Fender has some naughty overseas labor habits... You have to be a total badass to fly to another country so you can piss on your horrible employers party!

*****

Some big news is Seahorse Sound is moving to Los Angeles. The new building is very inspiring and BIG! The drum room has 23 foot ceilings, and it's inside of an old 3 story warehouse right in downtown. So far its has been a tremendous amount of work moving an entire studio, building a new one, and trying to finish up various albums at the same time. I really can't think of anything else I would rather be doing. Well actually....

Here is a portion of what will be the main tracking space: super high ceilings and a very controlled but live room. The natural reverb time is almost perfect without any acoustic treatment. Very excited to record drums in here.

lots of brick, wood and irregular surfaces

Here is the future control room. It is on the 2nd story and looks down into the main recording space. The natural acoustics are great, but I expect it to be pretty phenomenal once properly treated. I am measuring the frequency response as I add more gear/furniture/treatment to make sure I have a accurate listening environment.

Control Room windows before/after

two more to go!

3rd floor

The third floor is going to be great for concerts/performances and as an art gallery. We already have a few amazing shows lined up. Given the recent closings of some favorite LA music spots, hopefully the new space can help fill some gaps.

More to come as it comes...

*****

Film maker Amanda Frances Movlai held a screening at the Echo Park Film center to showcase her amazing short films. The nite was a blast, and i was happy to be part of a circle of great musicians scoring the films live.

Here is a video she did for noisey folk band Conscious Summary

*****

Ah, the end part...It was hard not to be too sentimental about this weekend. It marked the final session at Seahorse Sound in San Bernardino, and the last tracking session with Condemned. After almost 4 years of recording in one space I must move on to greener pastures.  Actually, im so excited for the new studio i dont have the time to miss the old one. 

Condemned did a great job finishing bass tracks and touching up some vocals. Some guest vocalists were brought in, no other than Obie Flett from INHERIT DISEASE, and Matty Way of DISGORGE. 

Between Obie, Matty, and Angel, i heard some of the most disgusting vocals on the planet. too cool.

******

Here are a couple random shots of some art a few clients like to have around when tracking. Good to have some variety sometimes.

yes sir.

i like this one of the couple stargazing. that's love if i you ask me.

*****

While I have your attention, I want to remind you about two important things right now...

KUSF is an amazing free form radio station that has been playing every imaginable style of music sound works  for 30 years now. They are being taken off the air and need your help.  We can keep this station on the air with just a bit of unity and attention. Here is the website for more info: KUSF

Speaking of unity, it is amazing how many folks could care less about what's happening in Egypt, or haven't even heard the news. Check out the web for some really inspiring videos and stories.

 Life is good and so is change.

*****