Part 15 of 18 serialised by Nuance, New Straits Times
5th November 2002
This was our last day in Digit Studio. Whatever happened today, we would finish recording by nightfall and move to Synchrosound Studio tomorrow for mixing.
I spent the best part of the day on the phone dealing with the logistics of the move tomorrow. Interspersed with making phone calls, we re-cut guitar parts, did some harmonium recording and additional percussion bits. When these were done, we listened to the completed tracks to make sure everything was okay. Truth be told, there were a few iffy spots, but we had run out of time and Ronan should be able to fix those bits in mixing. Anyway, by 5pm, Ronan announced the completion of the recording phase of the project. We were ready to mix.
There only remained the matter of packing up and saying goodbye. Elizabeth the studio manager came by to bid farewell and gave Ronan a present ñ the ‘Small Stone Phaser’ effect unit that we found in the studio cupboard and used to create weird sounds on the record. It’s the same effect unit that Jimi Hendrix used to shape his sound. Ronan was so pleased he bounced around for a bit.
In the evening, we celebrated by treating ourselves to dinner at Bon Ton. I’m sure it was all in a day’s work for Ronan, but I could hardly believe we pulled through. ItÃs been intense. Still, my job was largely over – it’s almost entirely down to Ronan from now.
6th November 2002
We started the day by collecting an ancient AKG spring reverb unit from a small studio in Cheras.
To those who don’t know what a reverb processor is, it basically does what that echo-y thing on a karaoke machine does – i.e. generate a sense of ‘room’ to situate the sound source. Now, modern reverb units are small and based on digital technology, but we were trying to avoid digital technology on this record, so I tracked down an old analogue spring reverb unit last month. Made by AKG 30 years ago, it’s sized like a small fridge and weighed a tonne.
Anyway, it took an hour just to get the thing out of its storage area. Then we carted it out to the 4X4 outside only to find that it wouldn’t fit without a complete re-loading of the equipment that was already sitting in the car. When we were finally ready, it was 1.30pm and my back was sore from all the lifting. After making a detour to collect tapes from the tape dealer, we were finally able to head for Synchrosound.
It took us only 30 minutes to get to Synchrosound. Still, we were 2 hours late. Peter Chong and Jackie (senior engineer and his assistant), who had been waiting for us, kindly came down to help lug all the stuff up to Studio 4 on the 5th floor. Peter’s first response on catching sight of the AKG reverb unit was: ‘Ah! Jurassic Park…’
Very funny.
Anyway, I was careful to only carried 2 boxes of tape so as not to aggravate my back. But the 2 boxes of tape proved to be the last straw. It couldn’t have been pretty – a man bent over in pain while carrying two medium -sized boxes. Jackie had to turn back and help me. By the time I got into Studio 4 at Synchrosound, my back hurt like hell. It was to progressively worsen throughout the day.
Peter, Jackie and Ronan began to set up the studio as soon as we settled. Aligning the quarter-inch machine proved to be problematic because it took a while to find the alignment tape. The reason we were having perennial problems with tape machines was that, in the last 10 years, very few records were recorded on tape machines. The proliferation of cheap digital recorders had meant that tape machines are now regarded as redundant.
Anyway, after the machines were set up, we tested the AKG spring reverb. It sounded smooth and amazing – but only one channel worked – the other channel only produced hiss. Great. I almost broke my back lugging it around town and only 50% of it worked. I called Mr Loh the owner. He said he’d ask someone to come repair it tomorrow. Meanwhile, we’ll make do with mono reverb. Ronan and I considered using digital reverb for a few seconds, but we quickly dismissed such weakness of spirit. So far, nothing on the record was digital. We’d come too far up the analogue path to abandon it now.
Zealots be thy name.
Ronan finally fired up the machines and began to mix at about 5pm. Meanwhile, a journalist came to talk to me about the Songwriters’ Round. By the time the interview was over, Ronan was almost finished with mixing ‘Blue’. We listened to the mix and I was astonished at how good it was. The bottom was big but never intrusive, the highs were clear, and the voice intimate. It was a very interesting sound.
But by then, the condition of my back had deteriorated to a state where I couldn’t get up from a seated position without help. I was in constant pain and all I could do was sit as still as I could and try not to let it affect Ronan. We have only 5 days to mix 11 songs – the last thing we needed was disruption because my back was causing trouble.
By about 9pm, it was time to call it a day. My back condition had by then worsened so badly that I couldn’t walk without help. We decided then that it would be unwise for me to drive. So we all crammed into a friend’s car.
When I got home, I had to be helped out of the car and shuffled up to my flat like an old man. The pain was excruciating whenever I made any sudden moves. I took a hot shower, hoping that it would relax my back muscles – it did – but it was looking very unlikely I would make it to the mixing session tomorrow. By the time I fell into bed, one side of my waist had begun to swell up like a small balloon.
Not good.