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Remote (Controlled) Pt. 2

 

 

Courtesy of The Recording Academy on Facebook

 
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Remote (Controlled): The Recording Academy’s Guide To Recording Music Remotely With A Producer & Engineer

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On the second installment of the three-part webinar series, recording engineers demonstrate the best use of remote communication and collaboration
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Feb 4, 2021 - 2:39 pm

COVID-19 may have changed our day-to-day lives, but it hasn't stopped music-makers from doing what they do best: creating. The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing’s new virtual webinar series, Remote (Controlled), which premiered on Jan. 28, tackles the ins-and-outs of recording while socially distanced for those not ready to get back in the studio or who can't travel to one location. 

The second episode, hosted by the senior managing director of the P&E Wing, Maureen Droney, and with appearances from Los Angeles Chapter P&E Wing Committee Co-Chairs Jon Yip and Cheche Alara, hones in on the challenges of working remotely with a producer or engineer. Tips from guest panelists, GRAMMY-winning engineer Rafa Sardina, Village Studios owner/CEO Jeff Greenberg and Former Studio Director at The Palms and engineer Zoe Thrall, can help creators avoid everything from technology breakdown to games of telephone to out-and-out personality clashes. Here are some of the gems from the second episode, which can be watched in full below. 

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Sardina, Greenberg, and Thrall have three words for viewers: Prepare, prepare, prepare. "The reason for all this prep is to avoid the problems that may come up if something goes wrong," Thrall says in the clip. "Many times, you’ll only have a certain amount of time with the artist, so you need to optimize the time and capture the performance, and not be worried about having all the elements of the session during the session."

Communication Is Key

Greenberg stresses that using videoconferencing will go a long way in communicating small stuff like mic placement. "You want to be able to see where the mics are on the kit or on the piano or something like that," he says. “You have to communicate with them if you’re not getting a clear or great-sounding signal to move mics from time to time." Greenberg advises to have several options ready in case one fails: "It’s great to have anything—FaceTime, Zoom, any other way—you want to have as much redundancy in front of you as you possibly can, so if one goes down, you can keep going."

Once you have your system ready, tests are key for achieving good sound. Look out for feedback loops to avoid an ear-splitting disaster. "Especially if you’re using monitors in your setup,” Thrall instructs. “Otherwise, you can use a reliable pair of headphones that you feel are accurate enough to judge the recording." This way, along with having all the necessary adapters and chargers at hand, you can stop problems before they snowball.

In 2021, the routes to recording remotely are nearly infinite. As Thrall points out, one can even use remote-access software to control the producer’s screen when need be. But with that, the potential mounts to step on others’ toes. Greenberg stresses the importance of clearly establishing the chain of command to bolster efficiency. “The engineer should be the captain if the producer’s not present,” he says. “And if it’s a technical problem, the engineer should be in charge. Everybody else should stand by until there’s a solution found." It's the engineer's job to delegate tasks "because if you start getting five or six people interacting on one problem, it can turn into a situation where you take way too much time.”

Read More: Remote (Controlled): The Recording Academy’s Guide To Making Your Livestreams Look And Sound Good

Watch A Live Example

While this “Remote (Controlled)” episode has much wisdom to share, it won't leave music-makers hanging. It ends with a live demonstration of how to produce remotely—in this case, with a team 5,000 miles apart. GRAMMY-nominated composer John Beasley joins in to help by playing several takes of “Reverie,” a solo piano piece he wrote 25 years ago for his daughter. Sardina, who is engineering the track, guides you through the take.

"You’re going to be sending me your audio via AudioMovers; you’re running your own Pro Tools session from your laptop; the microphones in the studio are connected to some preamps [and] they’re going straight to your interface,” Sardina says. After Beasley’s takes, he offers feedback about mic placement: "I hear everything leaning a little bit toward the left and the lower notes… I think it has to do with moving both microphones toward the higher notes of the piano."

Beasley adds some advice: "Just like in any session, you have to be patient and kind of move with the flow. Anything can happen, as we well know. You’ve done enough prep work to where it’s not going to get in the way of you coming off with a good take and a good performance."

See below for a list of remote recording recommendations and best practices.

HOW TO BE READY FOR ANYTHING: PREPARATION IS THE KEY

PRODUCER / ENGINEER / COMPOSER

  • Recording Preparation: Prepare beforehand and send the session, preferably the day before (NEVER immediately before)

    • Arrangements – Have them in the original format (Logic, Finale, Sibelius, etc.) on a separate computer, and in PDF format.

    • Scores – Have them in the original format (Logic, Finale, Sibelius, etc.) on a separate computer, and in PDF format.

    • Lyrics – Typed out and double-spaced

    • Samples

    • Audio or song references
       

  • Have redundant audio & communication methods

    • For audio transmission

      • Audiomovers over Ethernet connection

      • Nicecast or similar over WIFI connection

      • SourceConnect over a separate WIFI connection

      • As an EMERGENCY OPTION, have a regular Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp option set up (in the control room or in the recording room, or both)

    • For communication

      • Zoom over Ethernet connection

      • WhatsApp over phone line connection

      • Skype or FaceTime over WIFI connection

      • Direct phone line if nothing else is available
         

  • Test the audio & communication methods by transmitting to yourself using a separate device (computer, phone, iPad, etc.)

  • Test the system so you avoid any kind of audio loop/feedback. If you need to use speakers to monitor and listen to the session, test how you will communicate. If not, try using a reliable set of headphones, ones that you feel comfortable judging the session with.

  • Talk with all the parties involved bout the contingency plan if anything goes wrong and someone in the team gets disconnected.

    • Who has the authority to continue with the session, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY what part of the session should anyone continue with?

    • One piece of music or song vs. another based on the relevance of who is still connected, importance of the music, deadline, etc.

  • Slate all the takes and agree on the playlist numbers management.

  • Try to send the recording of a take as a Pro Tools session. Always time allowing & preferably during a break of the session.

  • Try to have the same session open at the non-recording end. Just to be able to follow song structure or other changes

  • How to share computer access to assist your artist technically during a session, even riding the session from your end.

ARTIST / TALENT

  • Send beforehand ANY recording recommendations to the self-recording artist or remote engineer.

  • Explain how to maximize existing gear, and how to maximize efficiency…

    • …by avoiding excessive setup changes. Explain how to get multiple setups ready from the get-go. Including how to document and recall preamp gain/EQ settings.

    • …by preparing the paperwork (music charts, song structures, lyrics, musician splits) before the session starts.

    • …by agreeing to what breaks to take, how often, and how long.

  • Send a copy of your recommended audio & communication methods to the artist/talent, and explain your preferences (AS EXPLAINED ABOVE). 

    • And explain how to self-test the system before the session.

How Do I Record My Own Music? The Recording Academy's Brand-New "Remote (Controlled)" Series Is Here To Help

Remote (Controlled) Pt. 1

Courtesy of The Recording Academy on Facebook

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How Do I Record My Own Music? The Recording Academy's Brand-New "Remote (Controlled)" Series Is Here To Help

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In the first installment of our three-part webinar series, "Remote (Controlled)," studio professionals break down what you'll need to record at home—from preamps to pop filters to the best set of headphones
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Jan 28, 2021 - 3:00 pm

​If you're a budding musician or producer, there will come a day when you realize it's time to step up your game. When you've poured thousands of hours into your craft, substandard audio won't cut it. To transfer your creations to a stranger's ears cleanly, you're going to need quality, affordable gear and a little bit of know-how.

That's where our brand-new "Remote (Controlled)" series is here to help. Launching today, the three-part virtual webinar series from the Recording Academy's Membership team reveals the ins-and-outs of home recording. Our first episode, premiering below, consists of two conversations with our Producers & Engineers Wing members. P&E Senior Managing Director Maureen Droney introduces the series; Washington, D.C. Chapter P&E Committee co-chairs Dan Merceruio and Carolyn Malachi lead the conversations.

In the first half of the hour-long clip, recording engineer Jake Vicious and multi-instrumentalist/producer Asha Santee discuss how to record acoustic percussion instruments, such as Cajon, bongos, and shaker. Helpfully, the pair doesn't bombard the viewer with technical jargon but rather starts with the basics: Get yourself a decent interface, microphone, cables, mic stand, a MIDI keyboard (if you need one) and a DAW (digital audio workstation) such as Logic Pro X or Pro Tools.

Whether you're an absolute beginner or already know a thing or two about recording, the discussion abounds with helpful tips, from measuring mic distance by making a hang-ten symbol to the differences between dynamic and condenser mics. (Bonus: The tips and tricks featured in the video also apply to audio for podcasting.) Because it's a lighthearted chat between friends rather than a dry dissertation, the pair illuminates and clarifies what can be a confusing subject.

"I think it's really awesome for artists to understand what happens with sound and the equipment that they use inside of studios—just so they're aware," Santee remarks at one point while adjusting a noisy condenser mic. "When situations like this happen, we know what to do."

The second half consists of an exchange between singer/songwriter and Howard University student Samiyah Muhammad and producer-engineer Marcus Marshall. While Vicious and Santee are seasoned professionals, Muhammad has a bare-bones setup—VTech headphones, a Blue Yeti USB mic and a MacBook Air loaded up with GarageBand.

Read More: Remote (Controlled): The Recording Academy’s Guide To Making Your Livestreams Look And Sound Good

With a breezy, supportive air, Marshall encourages her to research more advanced DAWs on the market. "I always suggest for people that are getting into recording to kind of try all of them and see which one works best for you," he explains. "For the most part, all of them will get you to your end result. It really just depends on what you like, what you prefer, and what some of the workflows are." Marshall also offers tips about using pop filters, eliminating background noise, and communicating with engineers to avoid headaches during the mixing and mastering processes.

"Remote (Controlled)" teaches everyday people to explore the tools at their disposal and make what might seem like a tedious act a creative opportunity. "This is great; this is great!" Santee exclaims at one point while pointing a cardioid mic at a pair of bongos. "I already feel empowered and like I'm going to get a better sound this time. Let's give it another shot!"

See below for a resource guide containing every device and system mentioned in this week's episode of "Remote (Controlled)."

Equipment Checklist

  • Microphone(s)
    • e.g. Neumann TLM 103, Sony C100, Manley Reference Cardioid, Peluso 22 251, etc.
    • Budget-friendly Recs: Shure SM58, Aston Spirit, Aston Origin, Rode NT1-A, Blue Microphones, Sennheiser MK
  • Pop Filter (Optional, but highly recommended for recording vocals)
    • Especially for condenser mics
    • e.g. Stedman Proscreen XL
  • Audio Interface 
    • e.g. Universal Audio Apollo Twin, M-Audio Fast Track, etc.
  • Headphones
    • ​Recommended: Closed-back headphones (rather than open-back), especially ones made for studio recording (rather than for listening experience, which may be EQ'd differently)
    • Look to companies like Shure, Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, AKG etc.
  • Studio Monitors (Optional)
  • Cables
    • e.g. XLR cables, 1/4-inch cables, etc.
  • DAW (Digital Audio Workstations)
    • ​e.g. Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Presonus Studio One 5 Prime (free), etc.
  • VST Plugins (Optional)
    • ​e.g. Native Instruments Komplete, etc.

Best Practices

  1. Make yourself comfortable in your space: That is how you will get your best work
  2. Find the sound sweet spot in your room. (If possible, have somebody play while you listen around the room for the best sound.)
  3. Know what kind of mic you're using and what it is typically used for; this could affect how you choose to position your mic. (Mic types: Condenser, Cardioid, Omnidirectional, etc.)
  4. Spend time with mic placement: If you don't like what you hear, move the mic—placement is key
  5. Name your tracks before you record
  6. Name your sessions in a way that gives you or somebody else a lot of information (find suggested naming conventions in the Producers & Engineers Wing's "Recommendation for Delivery of Recorded Music Projects") 
  7. Identify and eliminate environmental noise (AC, heater, television, maybe even loud jewelry, etc.) while recording

Room Treatments

  1. The biggest problems in your studio are sources of reflection (parallel walls)
  2. What can help:
    • Foam panels (cost-effective)
    • Diffusers

Delivery

  • Best session notes are detailed
    • Mic/instrument/placement (i.e. "Track 1-TLM 103, Cajon, front")
  • Know your engineer's specifications (what their sample rates are)
  • Send .wav files, don't send MP3s

TRUST YOUR EAR!

  • Do a rough mix so the engineer has a sense of how you want it to sound

Remote (Controlled): The Recording Academy’s Guide To Recording Music Remotely With A Producer & Engineer

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Remote (Controlled) Pt. 3

Courtesy of The Recording Academy on Facebook

 
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The Recording Academy’s Guide To Livestreams remote-controlled-pt-3-livestreaming

Remote (Controlled): The Recording Academy’s Guide To Making Your Livestreams Look And Sound Good

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In the third and final installment of the three-part webinar series, musicians and engineers reveal how to make your livestreamed performance shine
Morgan Enos
Membership
Feb 11, 2021 - 1:08 pm

If you’ve been following the Recording Academy Producers and Engineers Wing’s dynamic new virtual webinar series, Remote (Controlled), you now have a solid foundation as to how to record music at home and work remotely with a producer and engineer. (And if you’re new to the series, be sure to catch up before you continue!) With those two videos under your belt, now you’re ready to share a livestream performance that looks and sounds fantastic—not a tinny, blurry nightmare from your bathtub or dining room table. 

For this third and final episode of Remote (Controlled), the P&E Wing pulled out all the stops, congregating musicians, engineers and technologists to help viewers navigate complicated software and make clean, classy, camera-toggling videos to remember.

After a brief introduction from P&E Wing Senior Managing Director Maureen Droney, the clip begins in earnest with a sobering juxtaposition that illustrates our changing musical landscape. A nest of onstage cables gives way to devices now familiar to anyone making online audio content: a condenser mic, an Mbox, a ring light. Then, Greg Carter of Black Fret—an Austin-based membership-based community of art patrons that provides grants for artists—explains how the Zoom-based musical landscape has improved since the pandemic began.

Read More: How Do I Record My Own Music? The Recording Academy's Brand-New "Remote (Controlled)" Series Is Here To Help

With improved technology often comes a hit to the wallet, though. You might be wondering: Doesn’t livestreaming require a litany of fancy tech upgrades? Not necessarily, as the video’s participants point out—and the first software you should reach for is free and open-source.

OBS Studio lets you stream easily on Windows, Mac and Linux. And to guide you through the learning curve, a tutorial for the software appears in this video. Chris Shaw, the committee co-chair of the Texas Chapter of the P&E Wing, is your guide through this process.

But how does livestreaming work when you’re a band, not a solo artist? Meet David and Joseph Dunwell, the guitarist/vocalist and lead singer of English pop-rock outfit The Dunwells. The brothers recall how they had to act quickly and decisively when COVID hit, grabbing equipment from their studio and setting up a livestream directly to their Facebook page. Then, their evolution accelerated when they discovered StreamYard, which allows for cross-platform streaming. 

Afterward, StreamYard’s Head of Marketing Dana Bentz joins a conversation with Shaw and singer/songwriter and Texas Chapter P&E Wing committee co-chair Lisa Morales. The video concludes with a demo from Austin musician Roger Blevins about making those grid-based, "Hollywood Squares"-style, one-man-band videos for a compelling visual experience. As he underlines, you don’t need a $4,000 computer or a cutting-edge smartphone—you just need time, persistence and imagination to make a superb livestream that sticks out from the rest. 

Check out the third episode of Remote (Controlled) above and read a list of the equipment mentioned below.

EQUIPMENT:
Used by Joe Barrelas McGonigel’s Mucky Duck (venue):

OBS software
DSLR
iPad, iPhones, Macbook Pro
Ida PTZ cameras
Avapass controller
Custom-built computer
Midas PRO1 house sound and monitors (matrix out for streaming)

Used by Chris Shaw (OBS Demo)
Webcam: Logitech C920
iPhone 7S
Microphone: AKG 414 UBS
Interface: Behringer UMC204HD

Used by The Dunwells:
StreamYard.com
Behringer UMC22 interface, Beringer UMC404HD interface
AKG studio K240 studio headphones Rode NT1 mic
AKG 214 mic
Taylor acoustic
Fender electric
Surface Go laptop
Macbook Pro laptop

Used by Roger Blevins:
Hardware: Mac MIni, UA Apollo interfaces, Canon M50, Canon T2i, Canon T5i, USB 3.0 HDMI capture card, pedal webcams, MIDI pedal
Software: Ecamm Live, Logic, Loopback, UA Midi Control, MidiPipe

Used by Jon Muq:
iPhone

Options for Streaming:
Zoom, StreamYard, YouTube, Blackmagic, Restream

Streaming Set Up Requirements

1. Bandwidth is the most important thing you need to have good audio and video quality. Plug an ethernet cable from your internet router to your laptop/desktop or perform as close to the wifi router as possible. Ask everyone to stay off the internet during your shows.

2. Video quality Built-in laptop cameras don’t have great resolution. Use a USB HD webcam or phone as it will give much better video quality. Good lighting is important.

3. Configure Audio Settings on Zoom Turn off original sound, choose the input device you are using, suppress background noise to "low," leave echo cancellation on "auto" and select "high fidelity music mode."

4. Backing tracks Use two laptops for best results (see link below for more best practices).

For detailed Zoom instructions, click here.

Remote (Controlled): The Recording Academy’s Guide To Recording Music Remotely With A Producer & Engineer

Daniel Lanois

Daniel Lanois

Photo: Ward Robinson

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Daniel Lanois On Bob Dylan, U2 & 'Heavy Sun' 2021-daniel-lanois-bob-dylan-u2-brian-eno-interview

Daniel Lanois On Why A 1,000-Year-Old Tree Informed His New Album, 'Heavy Sun' & Working With Bob Dylan, U2

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Daniel Lanois has produced everyone from U2 to Bob Dylan to Neil Young. But as his ascendant new album 'Heavy Sun' demonstrates, his artistry begins with his musicianship
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Mar 24, 2021 - 3:59 pm

Some people think of a producer as someone who stays behind the board and doesn't join the band, but that's not what the seven-time GRAMMY winner Daniel Lanois is about—and it never has been.

On a bunch of records—even the ones the non-music fan in your life probably owns—Lanois has not only produced but sang, played and consulted. He added spindrifts of pedal steel to Brian Eno's Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, belted along with U2 on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and played guitar all over Bob Dylan's devastating Time Out of Mind. And on Neil Young's craggy, cavernous 2010 album Le Noise—an album cheekily named after Lanois—he even vetted Young's lyrics and made suggestions for improvement.

That said, even his work with those musical titans doesn't encompass his self-expression as a music-maker. Since the late 1980s, Lanois has also released his own records, including one with his Black Dub project and another with the electronic artist Venetian Snares. His latest, Heavy Sun, which arrived March 19, is a nod to the organ players Lanois grew up listening to, like Jimmy Smith. The tunes therein, including "Tree of Tule," "Tumbling Stone" and "Angels Watching," hinge on naturalistic, archetypal images.

"I think there's just something very human about it," Lanois says about the feeling of small-room organ music. "It has neighborhood; it has congregation."

This is why he sang Heavy Sun in tandem right at the console with his collaborations: "When we harmonize together, we're not thinking about standing out. We're thinking about blending," he explains. "So we all have to blend as singers, but I think the congregation has [that] blend in it. You leave your troubles on the street and you come to the place of worship."

Turn up the joyful Heavy Sun, and you might feel your troubles lift. GRAMMY.com gave Lanois a ring about the process that informed the new album, why a millennium-old tree inspired a song, and the stories behind the classics he made with U2, Dylan and Eno.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Gospel and organ music are big influences on you. Which artists from those spheres are foundational for you?

On the road, I visited a few nightclubs. This was back in the day, in the '80s, in the south. There was a promoter that was dragging us to a few stops, and we ended up in a couple of late-night spots. I don't even know who was at the organ, but they were local heroes. I remember being in these greasy little spots and hearing a kind of nighttime organ playing. I went, "Oh my goodness." It felt really fabulous and it was welcoming and dangerous at the same time.

I grew up listening to Booker T. and Jimmy Smith. And then, more recently, I bumped into Cory Henry. Do I have that right? I believe so, yeah. He's a contemporary organist. I was introduced to him by Brian Eno. [We] were at a festival in New York and Cory was playing. I was really touched by his playing. And, of course, our great Johnny Shepherd [who] is in the band. He's a master church organist.

I just love organ records. I think they're a pure form and the bass is always in tune. [chuckles]

Heavy Sun gives me that sense of uplift I feel from Bob Marley or The Impressions. Or, as per those organ records, Jimmy Smith. How would you describe that ineffable something that lifts these gospel-inspired records?

Well, that's a lovely compliment to have any kind of association with the masters you mentioned. We've got a line in one of the songs, "Under the Heavy Sun," that says, "An imaginary nightclub that you go to, somewhere in outer space/ Where you get to leave your ego hanging at the door." 

There's just something very welcoming about the sound of organ music and a sense of joy that rises up from that. Maybe it's because we're accustomed to associating the Hammond organ as a sound that comes from the smaller churches—the Baptist churches, the ones that couldn't afford the gilded ceilings and pipe organs.

There's something a little bit "street" and "neighborhood" about that sound. Even the little pump organs in the smaller chapels where I grew up, some of them didn't even have electricity—that's how far back it goes.

Tree of Tule

A massive burl in the Tree of Tule.

I noticed some archetypal images in the lyrics—stones, trees and angels. Were you reaching for something encompassing and timeless?

Well, angels never go out of fashion! Even an atheist likes an angel. Maybe it's the tap on the shoulder or that inner voice that allows you to make a good decision at a certain bend in the road.

But, you know, we've got a thousand-year-old Tree of Tule, so that's a good one. Tule is a little village I visited when I was driving through Mexico sometime back. I drove from Mexico City to Oaxaca and came upon Tule, and they had a thousand-year-old tree. It was in parquet and people were praying under the tree. They were not praying to the tree. The tree was a place of congregation.

So, there's something timeless about something that's lived for a thousand years, that came up out of the ground in the absence of technology. I guess those kinds of tonalities on the record remind us that [while] we are living in fast, high-tech times, some of the things we like and respond to have always been there.

What's your favorite tune of the bunch, if you have one?

I like "Way Down." We listened to "Way Down" last night and I realized it's a little jewel of sorts because it talks about an imaginary place that we might get to, geographically or otherwise. 

There's a term [from] when I worked with the Neville Brothers. Art Neville used this term: "Oh, that's an old-folks-and-babies song." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "That song will touch everybody, somehow." So, we've had lovely comments on that song from grandmothers, from little kids, from hip-hop people. They say, "I like that song!" So, that one's one of my favorites. I think it's got a universal spirit. 

I also like "Dance On." It seems at first like, "OK, you feel like you want to dance, dance on." But then as it unfolds, Johnny really goes for it. I like that he breaks on through to the other side. And this is what we look for when we make records: we get to a place we don't even know exists. 

We call them "lift-offs." And if we're lucky enough to hit that magic point where lift-off happens, then we thank our lucky stars and we try to include it on the record. I believe "Dance On" has that in Johnny's delivery.

So you were sitting around listening to the record last night?

Last night at the studio, we put on a couple of tracks because I hadn't heard the record since I mixed it. I had a couple of friends over and we were reveling in the glory of finished work [chuckles]. We found the soul-ometer went on a couple of times. I felt pretty proud as a papa.

I believe that's what people respond to ultimately in music outside of the stylistic specifics. We want music to touch us, raise the spirit and take us someplace. I think we brought it to that place a few times on this record, I hope. 

And the likes of you, people like yourself taking an interest in our work, who might help spread the gospel and get it on the airwaves. If somebody feels a little bit of joy and maybe they want to start living a better life, being a better person from hearing a few notes, then: Job well done.

I wrote down a question about peoples' response to the record, and if they felt that warmth and camaraderie during this period of isolation. From what you're describing, they absolutely did!

I've been getting comments that way. People are thankful that this was made. This record was largely made before the pandemic, and everyone's feeling isolated now. I think it's been quite a reset button for everybody. So if there's something in this music that resonates with people that way, then I'm very pleased that it is.

But we wanted to say a little something about a kind of freedom that we'd like to get to, as people. "Tumbling Stone" has that in it. I said, "Johnny, how are you feeling, man?" because Johnny's from Shreveport, Louisiana, and he came to Los Angeles to make this record with us. It was hard for him to leave home because he's a choir leader, a church organist and a church singer. So he had to leave his church.

And I said, "Johnny, but you still have the church in you! We're operating in a church with no walls. We get to be traveling ministers of sorts and if we can touch a few hearts along the way, isn't that a great way of spreading the gospel?" So we wrote about it: "I left my home on a pilgrimage/ A church with no walls," and all this.

I thought we addressed our own experiences and put them in songs. I think the listeners respond to songs from a truthful place from the writers.

You cited "freedom" as an operative word. What stands in the way of freedom for people? When you think of that concept, what comes to mind?

I see a lot of confinement. Oftentimes, self-confinement. In the neighborhoods I grew up in, a young man is a man when he gets a student loan and applies for a mortgage, and then is shackled by that for a very long time. So there might be a more bohemian point of view, to sidestep these shackles and chains. 

It could be that a world could be entered that is not so driven by the usual pressures of loans and mortgages. Maybe there's something to be learned from the traveler, or the person who does not embrace those kinds of expectations—[who chooses] not to be living on credit cards. 

Maybe the pandemic is chasing us in that way of enjoying the growth of your own food, and appreciating where they come from, and how to be wiser with your spending and think about the impact we have on our neighborhoods and our planet.

To take it back to Heavy Sun a bit, what can you tell me about how you built these tracks from the ground up, on a technical level?

[Some] of them were built with a beatbox beginning. For example, "Way Down" has a little rhythm box that we played the song to. It was very layered. I started with my acoustic guitar—my little Guild acoustic guitar with a magnetic pickup on it—and the beatbox allows us to use echoes. So, I had a nice little triplet echo on my Guild acoustic and I laid down a couple of those.

Then, we put on the organ. The organ plays the bass line, to get back to what we said earlier, how the bass is always in tune when it comes from the organ. So we have the luxury of a very nice bottom end on that. And then we decided we would split the verses, so Rocco DeLuca—my good friend and a great singer—joins me, and we sing the first verse in tandem.

And then, the whole group comes in on the chorus, and then Johnny on the next verse. Something I always liked on records by The Band in the '70s—Robbie Robertson and The Band—was splitting vocals. So we revisited that idea to give it that feeling of a group of four singers.

Other things were more freewheeling. [For] "Dance On," I had an invitation [to play] from a dancer friend of mine, Carolina Cerisola, a great Argentinian dancer. She was at a little dance club, and she said, "I don't have a song and I don't have a band." It was a solo number she was invited to do. 

So I said, "Well, let's go down. We'll pay you a visit and we have a song called "Dance On," funny enough." And so in live performance, we recorded that version for her night and that's the version I got on the record. We hear them by hook or by crook. Ultimately, whatever provides the most magical feeling is what we go for.

All the singing was done right at the recording console because I do all my own punches and running back [and forth]. I invited singers to join me at the console and we sang to the speakers—no headphones and no vocals in the speakers. You can think of it as kitchen singing. 

A lot of producers I know bang the drum of analog—analog this, analog that. So, I'm interested in how you blended analog and digital textures.

Obviously, we move with technology. I use a digital recorder. But to use a photographic analogy, we don't throw away our old lenses. We might have a digital back, but we still find a way to still use our old Carl Zeiss lenses, let's say. If a ribbon microphone sounds better on the voice, then let it be. That doesn't mean to say if we have a brand-new, shiny, sizzly mic [that we won't use it].

We appreciate that certain pieces have stayed with us. My echo machines are the same ones I've been using for a long time, for example. But we're not afraid of technology. I have this process called dubbing. I extract from an available ingredient in the multitrack, sample it and then spit it back in once I've processed it.

You may hear some orchestral tones in the distance on some of these tracks, and we didn't have an orchestra in, obviously. Some of that sound comes from my stereo technique and my dubbing technique.

Daniel Lanois and Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams and Daniel Lanois perform at The GRAMMY Foundation's "Music In Focus" in 2009. 

When you consider the totality of your self-expression, where do your solo records sit as opposed to your production work?

It's all bleeding together more than ever. In regard to my solo work and production work, let me clarify that for any record I produce, I'm a musician in the room with the artist, usually. I'm a musician first, so I've always felt that kind of exchange with people I work with, including Bob Dylan and U2. They always welcome me as a member of the orchestra.

My contribution to production is largely my musicianship. There's plenty of people that do great work with technology and probably some better than me. But in regard to my aesthetic and my taste and what drives me, it all comes from a musical place. Every record I work on I learn from, and I take those lessons and bring them to my own work.

But when I'm working by myself on my solo recordings, I'm surrounded by people who I trust and are good mates. So they become producers, really. I can take that hat off for a minute and listen to good advice from my buddies.

You brought up Dylan and U2, and it might be elucidating for readers to hear a couple of stories about your production work. Can you narrow that down to three records you consider the most memorable?

I love all of my children, but I have fond memories of some of my work with U2. The Joshua Tree was done at a very potent time of devotion. We were very interested in experimentation with sounds and mixing technology with hand-playing. 

The Joshua Tree had that in "With or Without You," which became a very popular song. We started with a little beatbox, for example. We put the drums on after. But more importantly, we were really focused, in a lovely setting in a beautiful farmhouse outside of Dublin. We had nowhere to go. We just rolled up our sleeves and concentrated on our work.

Then, winding the clock ahead to Germany and making Achtung Baby with U2. Monumental time. The wall [in Berlin] had just come out. It was winter; it was rock 'n' roll, but it was bleak. And the bleakness of it kept us in the warm studio. And, again, the limitations were very much a part of what we were doing. 

Daniel Lanois in 1993

Daniel Lanois in 1993.

Let's move over to Time Out of Mind. That record was started in Oxnard, California, in a little Mexican theater.  Ultimately, we went to Miami, to Criteria, to finish the next chapter of the record. Bob wanted to assemble a large band this time, unlike the record I made with him called Oh Mercy, which was a very private record—just me and Bob in two chairs, mostly. This assembly of people made it such that we were afforded broader landscapes.

Jim Dickinson provided us with these very sophisticated musicians who provided us with the most amazing scapes—landscapes and skyscapes. It took us to a [magical] place a lot of times. We had the advantage of really greasy electric guitar work, but sophisticated details from Jim Dickinson. When you have 11 people in the room, you get a lot of results fast.

As a secret weapon, I had prepared these drum loops in New York from my friend Tony Mangurian. We had played along with some of the old blues records Bob wanted me to listen to—Charley Patton, Little Walter, Little Willie John. We did some backyard jams and I chose maybe a dozen loops of our best playing. I didn't include the original records; we just played along with them.

I vari-sped them at different speeds in anticipation of providing them to the two drummers in Miami—Brian Blade and Jim Keltner. The reason I'm saying all of this is that we were making a blues-based record and I wanted to have an insurance policy in case we fell into average blues, which I didn't want to do for Bob. I wanted to make sure we flew over the cuckoo's nest of barroom blues to take it to the future, at least emotionally.

So I used these loops four, maybe five times on the record. I fed them to the drummers in their headphones; Bob wasn't hearing them. When people came back into the control room to listen to the playbacks, they fed these loops in with what they played. The loops were magical to begin with, so it added this layer of magic to something that might have been more commonplace. I spoke with [some of the players] at one point and said, "Please leave expectations at the door. I don't want to hear any familiar guitar playing on this record. 

I'm [also] fond of the record I was asked to work on with Brian Eno, Apollo. We made that in Canada back in the day. We worked on a lot of ambient records together. That's another record that really transports a listener. It's the record that caused me to take my pedal steel guitar out of the closet. 

There's a track on there called "Deep Blue Day." If you ever saw the film called Trainspotting, "Deep Blue Day" shows up during the toilet bowl scene. But it's a record that takes you somewhere, and isn't that the job of art? That it would lift you out of your skin and take you someplace? It might just change a little something about your life for a minute.

How The 'Trainspotting' Soundtrack Turned A Dispatch From The Fringes Into A Cult Classic

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Mixing desk inside Nevo Sound Studios in London

Mixing desk inside Nevo Sound Studios in London

Photo: Rob Monk/Future Music Magazine/Future via Getty Images

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P&E Wing Shares List Of Safety Tips For Studios recording-academys-producers-engineers-wing-shares-list-safety-measures-studios

The Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing Shares List Of Safety Measures For Studios Preparing To Reopen

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The safety measures, which were compiled through interviews and conversations with recording studio owners, engineers and other professionals around the country, cover a range of concerns and precautions related to limiting the spread of the coronavirus
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
May 30, 2020 - 2:25 pm

The Producers & Engineers Wing, a membership division of the Recording Academy that focuses on the technical and professional matters of the recording industry, has released a detailed list of potential safety measures for studio owners, engineers and other recording professionals looking to reopen their physical locations and recording studios. 

The safety recommendations come as states across the country are beginning to reopen and physical business locations are starting to welcome customers through their doors once again after the coronavirus pandemic shut down many U.S. regions and severely shuttered the international live concert and events industry. 

The safety measures, which were compiled through interviews and conversations with recording studio owners, engineers and other professionals around the country, cover a range of concerns and precautions related to limiting the spread of the coronavirus in a studio setting, including: social distancing in recording studios, complexes and rooms; protective gear, like face coverings and disposable gloves; limitations to studio access, control rooms and/or performance spaces for personnel and visitors; routine cleaning and disinfections of frequently touched surfaces, such as workstations, and commonly used and shared equipment, like microphones; and more. 

Read: Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

In a letter accompanying the list of safety measures, Maureen Droney, Sr. Managing Director for the Producers & Engineers Wing, addressed the ongoing challenges and effects the recording industry faces as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"The Producers & Engineers Wing, like its membership, is resilient," she wrote in the intro letter. "The Wing has been a resource for the recording community for nearly 20 years, and will continue its work with you long after this crisis has passed. We hope this information is helpful, and wish you and your loved ones good health and safety as we navigate this crisis. 

"Knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic is constantly evolving, and, as always, we are open to, and grateful for, comments and suggestions from others in our recording community, so please feel free to contact us at pe.wing@recordingacademy.com."

The letter also recommends those looking to reopen their studios and physical locations to regularly consult the guidance provided by national, state and local government agencies, including the guidance for businesses and employers from the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC). 

David Messier, owner of Same Sky Productions, a recording studio in Austin, Texas, and Leslie Richter, a Nashville-based engineer, instigated this project, which also included thoughts and suggestions from Ivan Barias, Ann Mincieli, Michael Abbott and many others. 

The list of potential safety measures, the names of the project's contributors and Maureen Droney's letter are available in full on the Recording Academy's website.

Learning In Quarantine: 5 Virtual Music Industry Conferences To Enhance Your Career 

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