Dateline: September 24th 2009. Los Angeles: One of the final pieces of the puzzle fell into place this month when Billy Bob Thornton recorded dialog for the Art And Science Of Sound Recording DVD project.
The recording, which took place at Billy Bob’s ‘Cave’ Studios in Los Angeles, was produced by Alan Parsons, and engineered by Thornton’s partner in the BoxMasters, JD Andrew.
Billy Bob’s voice is featured in all the various sections of the program, complimenting Alan’s on-screen and hands-on explanations and demonstrations.
“Delivering lines out of context on a music and technology based project would have been a challenge for anyone else.” Said Alan. “But Billy is both an actor and a musician with his own recording studio. He was the perfect choice. We had a tremendous time doing it, and had plenty of laughs along the way. I’m hoping I can reciprocate by helping out Billy and the BoxMasters on a future project.”
The Art And Science Of Sound Recording now moves into its final stage, with release now expected in November.
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Dateline: June 5th 2009 Santa Barbara, Calif. To record the lead vocals on a brand new Alan Parsons track, All Our Yesterdays, Alan called on Chicago-based internet recording specialists Source Elements. From his studio in Santa Barbara, Alan successfully recorded Alan Parsons Live Project singer PJ Olsson while PJ was safely installed at his house, cross-country in Michigan.
The session started at a breezy 9AM in California (a rather more civilized 11 AM for PJ in the Midwest) and after minor set-up time using the Source Connect software the recording quickly took on a relatively ‘normal’ appearance – complete with customary singer complaints about the choice of key.
"It's quite an eerie experience hearing a vocalist in high quality audio from thousands of miles away as if he's behind the glass," said Alan, post-session.
The vocal was recorded flat at source, with just some limiting from a Universal Audio 1176 emulation for playback. Source Connect’s Pro system, currently centered around a Mac/ProTools rig, currently minimizes latency by initially delivering a low bandwidth signal as the recording takes place. The files can then be ‘invisibly’ updated in the background so that by playback full resolution high quality audio has been recorded onto the host system.
“There's no real substitute for being there, and interacting, having the performer step out of the studio and into the control room for playbacks,” says Alan. “But hey – we save a day of traveling, a round-trip airfare, and we can hook up at a moment's notice."
Source Connect has no directly integrated video component to aid interaction at the present time. Other systems such as eSession and Virtual Glass offer more visual features but Source Connect chief Rob Marshall says that until recently the company has focused on the post-production market, where on-going interaction between engineer and talent has been less crucial.
Internet Recording is one of a series of specialist, technique-based Recording Technique scenes on the Art & Science Of Sound Recording DVD.
More from:
www.artandscienceofsound.com
www.sourceelements.com
Dateline Feb 27th 2009 Los Angeles, Calif. – Alan Parsons conducted a live recording of a brand new ‘Alan Parsons’ song All Our Yesterdays at Simon Phillips’ Phantom Recordings studio in Los Angeles, calling on pre-eminent LA session musicians all of whom are featured in the program itself.
With Simon Phillips on drums and session legend Nathan East on bass, the recording was rounded out by top LA guitarist Tim Pierce and Foo Fighters and Wallflowers keyboard player Rami Jaffee on piano.
The track is currently being completed and will be heavily featured in ASSR both in the Recording Techniques and Mixing sections.
Plans are still on-going for a separate release of All Our Yesterdays.
Dateline Jan 15th 2009 Anaheim, Calif. Between them they’ve engineered or produced the crème de la crème of current and vintage acts from Steely Dan, The Eagles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Pink Floyd, to modern hit makers such as Fergie, the Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus.
Alan Parsons, John Fields, Allen Sides, Ed Cherney, and Elliot Scheiner gathered for a press conference at the main Yamaha exhibit on the opening day of Winter NAMM to announce The Art & Science Of Sound Recording to the musical instrument and pro audio industries.
The Producers Panel provided a lively roundtable discussion on ‘what is good sound,’ ‘what makes a good sounding record,’ and the various merits and demerits of the MP3 format- topics that are covered in detail throughout the DVD.
The event was co-sponsored by Keyboard Magazine and Audio-Technica. Check out the Podcast
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