Part 8 of 18 serialised by Nuance, New Straits Times
18th October 2002
My friends Iskandar and Dique joined us at the studio today. They came to photograph the session. The musicians quickly settled down to play as the photographers worked quietly in the background. I was so grateful the rhythm section is almost done that I forgot to look cool for the camera. Well, I did offer up my best rock star pose once, but Iskandar said I looked more like an underfed baboon, so I stopped. Cheeky sod. I made a mental note not to invite him to the post-award party when I win the Grammy’s.
Anyway, the bass amp we borrowed sounded okay – I don’t think it is as smooth or as musical as the valve amp that packed up last night, but it’d do. By about 3pm, the rhythm section for the last song was done – and with that, the most pressurised segment of this project came to an end.
It is strange to hear the songs I’d played solo in the last eighteen months backed by percussion, drums and bass – and often at a radically different tempo to what I normally play. But I’ll get used to it, I’m sure.
Another thing, if all eleven songs make it onto the record, the album would clock in at about 60 minutes. That is long. Most records are only about 45 minutes. I supposed they don’t call me Verbosity Pete for nothing – long conversations, long emails and even longer songs. Sigh. I don’t think I’ll be getting much airplay at this rate. Radio people like their sound bites short.
After the recording was done, we posed for group photographs – for the record cover, for mementos, for whatever. I don’t care. It’ll be good to have photographs. After all, I might never make another record again. Iskandar said the photos would be blurry as he didn’t bring any lights. I was secretly cheering. Wouldn’t want those massive bags under my eyes recorded for posterity.
I think the record will surprise those of you who’ve only seen my solo shows. Rather than trying to repeat the sound of my live performances, we wanted to make a non-typical singer songwriter album – one that takes my music away from its folk / rock roots. Judging from what has been recorded to date, we are half way to that objective. I guess some people might find it downright weird, but I think it is important we go for an interesting sound, a departure from the familiar, something that stretches the envelope a little.
Anyway, it also occurred to me that many of you might not have understood the fuss with the rhythm section recording. I’ll explain. You see, rhythm section recording is the foundation that sets the tone for the rest of the record. A good rhythm section becomes a strong base upon which to build the sound of the record, whereas a bad one is well nigh impossible or very expensive to rectify. ThatÃs why the last week had been so stressful. Given the bad start, we could easily have ruined the record in its first week. But in the end, I think we came through superbly. Hayakawa was great. He pretty much took the record away from a ‘folk/rock’ sound single-handedly. But in the end, I must give it to Lewis. After the debacle of Monday, he really turned up the juice to make sure we got everything done. He was superb – professional, skilled, funny and extremely hard working. It’ll be fun to work on percussion overdubs with him later.
Before calling it a day, we did a series of vocal microphone tests. We tested 6 mics, including two very expensive ones that Leo’s kindly lent me for the sessions. Surprisingly, the one that suited my voice best was my own – an Audio Technica AT4060 – a good budget tube mic that I’d owned for a few years now. I tend to grumble through many of my songs and the AT was far more articulate than the others at the grumbling end of my vocal register.
I will also be using the same microphone pre-amp that Barbara Streisand uses. Great, now I’ll sound like her. My life’s dream realised. I can die in peace now. Thanks Ronan.
With the rhythm section sessions completed, it’s time for Hayakawa to head home to Tokyo. He’s had a great time and is thinking of persuading his label to appoint Ronan as producer for his next record. It is nice to know that my recording project may give birth to international collaborative possibilities for others.
Hayakawa and I had a wonderful chat during our drive back to his hotel about being a musician. We talked about touring, about music, about writing, about working together again – especially if I get a chance to play in Japan next year. Not only is he as brilliant a bassist as we had hoped for, he’s also funny and interesting and a wonderful human being. His English remained hesitant, but I’d work with him again in a zip. It’s always good to work with people who not only get the job done but whose company you enjoy too. I don’t believe this is the last we’ll see of each other but that did not stop us from feeling slightly emotional about parting.