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Help some rad studios out after being wiped out by Hurricane Sandy

Click here to help donate: http://unfloodbkmusic.blogspot.com/

A word from the owners:

This year a group of us put together all our resources, quit our jobs and built two beautiful recording studios and 13 practice spaces. We believe in DIY so we planned and we built. We were up early, we were up late, we hung up drywall, endlessly, building. The toll it took on our bodies and lives was high, but in the end it was worth it. We had two studios built and working non-stop in tandem with other friends who wanted to Do It Themselves. We had 13 practice rooms that we made sure were nice, really nice, so people could create in an environment unlike any practice space any of us had ever been in. Everyone helped that occupied a space, and honestly... it was amazing. It was a massive space, 7000 Square Feet and Hurricane Sandy destroyed every inch of it. Walls were knocked over, doors snapped in half and all the gear in the entire building, erased and covered in a toxic sludge from the Gowanus Canal. But it was the people that made it amazing, not the walls or the gear and that is the reason I won't let this go. My friends, who I built this building with are too impressive for me to just let this go. We are going to make something else. I insist. I don't know what yet exactly, but it starts with first fulfilling our obligations to each other and everyone else who helped us build. So... for the first time in my life I am asking for help in the form of money. Please donate what you can to help us back on our feet, then I can assure you... we will do the rest. 
Mike Law on behalf of John, Andrew, Paul, Andrew II, Jeremy and Dennis.

New Upgrades for the Summer

We installed a vintage Neve 8038 a few weeks ago. It took only 7 days to fully wire and install the board. It was pretty insane, the console is 10.5ft wide and the frame is one piece. It took about 8 people, a giant forklift and a few hydralic jacks to get the console up 18ft in the air to the control room floor and over the railing. We also added a ton of outboard gear, mics and vintage amps. Go see our updated Gear List for more information. 

seahorsesoundstudios.com/gear.html

Here are some pictures:

I had been swamped with mixing work and had just finished an album on this same Neve in Malibu a week prior.

 I laughed hysterically as soon as I finished the wiring and tested everything. It all worked.... despite me being out of my mind exhausted during the install. The very next day after the install and wiring was finished, the studio got booked for 3 weeks. Close call, but everything went beyond smooth.

So far the board is loving the new control room and the monitoring has improved quite a bit. Also, oddly enough the control room now feels bigger and more spacious with the new desk. 

I am going to miss my old console, even though I not going to sell it. I plan on using for a "studio B" at a later time. Luckily the week prior I had 2 great bands from Italy come to mix and even had a great LA rock band come track a full analog session on the 1" 16 track. I took my computer out of the studio for an entire week and it was great.

Pata and Samuel listening while I prep the tape machine for printing.

Pata and Samuel from Italy

Tape Machine is working hard this week. 

Found a great vocal mic combo, I have been using a lot lately. Sounded great for this session. Later I ran the vocals thru the AKG bx20 spring reverb and emt plate for a huge vocal sound.

Here is an old Electro-Voice 635a and a Mojave Ma-301, straight from the board into the ATR in the background.

Check out Mojave's site for more info on the Ma-300. It is a killer mic!

Mojave Audio

Some new photos

running around seahorse sound

conscious summary: Show this Monday the 18th

conscious summary: Show this Monday the 18th: "Next Monday the 18th… Handbag Factory’s first show. the Handbag Factory is located on the 3rd floor of the new Seahorse Sound Stu..."

(the) HANDBAG FACTORY's first show - April 18th

Next Monday the 18th… Handbag Factory’s first show. This one is going to rad and casual, and rad. 

the Handbag Factory is located on the 3rd floor of the new Seahorse Sound Studios in downtown Los Angeles.

> We have some amazing folks playing that night, from an all female a capella group to harsh and sweet noise and ambient wizards from all over california.

Special guest: Pete von Petrin from SF.

==================================
sounds from lost angeles with special guests:
Pete von Petrin (SF), Fishwives, Ezra Buchla, Actuary, Emily Lacy, Pete von Petrin, and Conscious Summary

art on display from:

Ben Mook (photo) Dustin Johnson (photo) Amanda Frances Movlai (photo) Andrea Arriola (paint)

| 1334 S. Grand Ave, Los Angeles 90015 |  8pm  | $5 suggested donation |

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

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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. 

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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.

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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.....

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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!

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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...

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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

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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.

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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.

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Help Save KUSF!!!

A great volunteer based freeform radio station is struggling to stay on the air. Radio is still a viable format for people to hear new music in exciting ways. We spend alot of time and technology on music playback systems and sharing music, why not expand on a great technology that already exists. KUSF has been doing great for around 30 years or so, please sign this petition and help keep good sounds floating around.

click here to sign the free petition, takes seconds!

November Studio Blog

Every year in November the AES convention alternates between coasts to host the show. This year was the 129th Audio Engineering Society Convention in San Francisco.


Must have been the year end hustle, but this month was crazy busy. The week before leaving I had constant recording and mixing sessions at both studios right up until the minute I left. I was actually worried I might not make the trip.
Luckily my session at House of Blues Studios in Encino finished on time. I drove an hour east to Seahorse, packed my gear, said goodbye to Comet and Walter and drove to meet Dusty from Mojave Audio in Burbank. Its funny how driving seems much faster when making the trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It is also a good buffer to wind down between cities.

I find much of the time that recording audio is on the better side of synchronicity. 

I saw this at a truck stop on the way. Thanks Chatter Telephone, I would have never remembered you.

We got to SF around 7pm and drove immediately to the Moscone Convention Center to sign in. The convention center was already a mad house. Actually, it's pretty entertaining to watch all the major pro audio companies in a pile of gear and cable trying to set up while jet lagged.


I ran out of there as soon as I could over a few blocks to my hotel room. Thinking I was incredibly late, I rushed and packed my equipment to play the first show of the trip. I was pretty stoked to find out the venue was only 2 blocks from my hotel on Market Street. Cool.

the luggage store gallery

I did mostly drone sets, using 3 sound sources:


1) pencil sharpener
2) broken slide projector
3) modified record player w/ fork and metal disc


Thanks to Rent Romus, the other performers, and the audience for the kind words and hospitality. It's a really great sounding space and you should check it out if your stuck on Market street. They have something going on most nights.

The next day was the opening of the convention...

I have never been to one, but i always likened the AES convention to a similarly geeky convention...

This is a picture of a Star Trek Convention.... not too much different right?

I headed over to the Mojave Audio booth. Mojave Audio makes really wicked tube mics, all designed by microphone genius David Royer. I do a fair bit of beta testing and application reviews for new Mojave models, and since they sound awesome it's always a pleasure.


I spent the day answering questions about the microphones and sharing some of sound recordings and mixes that I used the mics on. Everyone really dug the sounds, but honestly those mics make it easy. Check them out, they aren't too expensive either considering how they sound.


That night I had a fun time over at KUSF 90.3fm with Dj Cactus, who is a total badass and just a nice dude. I did a short live set and talked a bit about few recordings coming out soon. Cactus also played some selections that highlight the field recordings, compositions and improvised ensemble work i've done this year with Conscious Summary. Thanks to Dj Cactus and Momo for being rad 24 hours a day.

setup for the radio show on Defeat Sleep

The last day of AES was a blast, which ended with some super spicy indian food and a rad show

in Oakland with my friends from Nerfbau. Check them out and what they have going on up there.

I felt really luck to see alot of missed friends up there. Also want to wish Lee Tusman well on his vision quest and thank him for the good company. He has a neat label (Jewish Noise) and is putting out a 7" comp featuring a Conscious Summary track.

 

oakland. november 2010.

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The next day I drove back in time to prepare for DYSTROPHIC's cd release show with Murder Construct. The band got together and spent the night cutting, burning, stamping and assembling for the first run of our EP. Death Metal Martha Stewarts we are. Maybe less sweaty.

         

        

Here are a few random session pictures from this month at Seahorse Sound and House of Blues Studios in North Hollywood.

Angel and Steve from Condemned  -listening to some tracks before they leave for their tour in Switzerland. 

Kim and Rob from Her Majesty and the Whale, a side project of the Pussycat Dolls. 

Writing a new single

Nick from The Strokes laying down some percussion during a mix session at the HOB.

camera war with PAC DIV @ Paramount Studios, Hollywood

fun tracking session with Kirk Whalum (Whitney Houston, Bodyguard sax solo, Boyz in the Hood)

and Rob Chiarelli for artist Keiko Matsui.  Hidden in the back is Derek Nakamoto, a killer string arranger and producer. @ HOB

keeping it simple for Gucci Mane @ Serenity Sound in Hollywood.

Years almost over, make it good!