Kaiser Cartel recently stopped by the studio to record a few songs, discuss album funding with Pledge Music, and tell us a bit about the production elements of their forthcoming album. Join @tanacea and @KaiserCartel in this spazzcast as they discuss the ever-evolving music industry.

Oh… I almost forgot… the infamous Daniel of Daniel Records is also mentioned as they expose the carefully guarded secrets of his unique role as one of the founding owners of this budding indie label.

Support Kaiser Cartel’s new album by clicking here.
Big thank you/photo credit @graemepitman
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This session was all about automation. There are tons of pan, EQ, volume, and aux buss automation to create the spacial variations heard in the remix. The opening sequence was created by automating three frequencies in a four band EQ thereby making a filter effect. This filter transitions into a loop that has a buss automation that fades up quickly at the end of the loop which sends the Ahhhs to a mono delay. The mono delay is tempo synched to the session and then pan automated to create the stereo sweeping Ahhh stutters. I hope you enjoy the remix. Please leave a comment below.

01 Two Weeks (Remix)
Buy the original track here.

Software:
Pro Tools 8
Reason 4
Virtual Instruments:
Hybrid
Boom
NN19
Malstrom synth
Thor
Dr. Rex

Tanacea is The Music Spazz and you can follow him @tanacea.
Original Grizzly Bear Photo Taken by Tom Hines.
Original Picture of me taken by Graeme Pitman

If you happen to be one of the select few bands that I let grace the front of my camera, here are some of the things you should expect/should bring/should think about.

// Great locations.

When consulting with a photographer I would be very keen on making sure he at least has a few locations scouted out and isn’t just going to bring you into the studio with a cheesy backdrop or take you out to the alley to shoot you against the cliché red brink wall. I like to get my clients out into some pre-scouted locations that are as unique as possible. Input on the part of the band is especially helpful – since I don’t want to scout a bunch of urban locations if they want their photos in front of a barn. Scouting takes a great deal of time, but the end product is worth the extra effort. If you are hiring a good photographer, expect to go to some pre-scouted, pre-visualized places.

// Passion.

I know ‘passion’ can be a very pretentious buzzword, but honesty, if your photog is not passionate about your band and about his ideas then the photos will show it. Find someone who loves and specializes in band photography. This will translate into the energy and creativity that you need.

// Coordination.

Make sure Tom the bass-player doesn’t come dressed in jnco’s and a fuzzy top hat if the rest of you are going to are going to be wearing girl jeans and combat caps. I’ve seen way too many band photos that miss the mark simply because their was no consideration to the fact that these aren’t just snapshots – this is your brand. This is what you are going to be selling yourself as. Also, make sure and sit down AS A BAND with the photographer and coordinate expectations. You don’t want certain members of the group to have doubts or different expectations of the photoshoot while it’s going on.

// Quality.

I would go farther than just ‘expect’ – I would say that you need to demand quality from your photog. You are paying him a good chunk of money to get images that you’re going to be putting out there as a representation of your brand. Make sure and know the photographers work beforehand, have consultations with him/her and dialogue until you feel comfortable that they are not going to under-deliver for you. For my clients this means I’m taking my studio lights on location with an assistant, I’m pre-visualizing my shots, I’m making sure the shoot is going to be fun and not overly formal, and I have locations in the queue so that they can see that I really do know what I’m doing.

Next post: Step by step through a shoot.

Graeme is the owner of Pitman Photography. You can contact him @graemepitman.

One of my favorite forms of music expression exists as a mashup. Also know as the remix, music mashups allow one creative expression to be interpreted and then merged with another.
Three examples of my favorite remixes are:

Bob Marley: Dreams of Freedom: Ambient Translations of Bob Marley in Dub
The Cure: Mixed Up
Jaydiohead: The Encore

What I love most about these particular albums is the cross genre appeal and creative exploration. All three albums leave their original genre to be merged with another, thereby opening previously released music to a whole new market of listeners and diving into new forms of expression. This is great for the musician, especially indie artist, as it broaden their fan/listener base.

While mixing and mastering Andy Zipf’s Cowards Choir, I fell in love with the track Should Have Told You. I kept hearing a remix that had to be made or it would have burned in me for the rest of my life every time I heard the song. Using Pro Tools and Reason, I went to work.

The song is written with an AABAB form, which I was careful not to build too aggressivly. In order to accomplish this, I only used subtle variation in the A section of the song which allowed his story to take precedence over the remix. Because Andy’s poetry and voice commands the attention of the listener, this particular remix also required that I leave the whole of the vocal track in tact. My goal for this remix was not to change the core message, but to add the piece of expression the song led me every time I heard it.

Below you will find both the original mix and the remix my soul demanded.
02 Should Have Told You
01 Should Have Told You – Tanacea Remix

Tanacea is The Music Spazz and you can follow him @tanacea.

In this Spazzcast listeners will hear about preamps, EQs, and Compression.

Listen to Lu and Tanacea discuss some of the gear (pres, comps, and EQs) they use when recording. From budget to high-end gear, @Lu and @tanacea discuss gear features, recording technique relating to acoustic guitar, and more in this Spazzcast.