Andy Palmer’s New Release: Sometime Around (video)

Last year I began a record with a songwriter who was that rare artist who had been writing (great) songs and developing his craft, but had never released a record/ep/single. When I heard Andy Palmer for the first time I knew there was something special and we had a great project ahead of us. Andy’s voice is unmistakeable and his style totally unique. Andy describes what he does as “gritty folk-rock” which is pretty much spot on. There are a number of unique elements about the record, but the core centers around Andy with his acoustic guitar, backed up by a pretty heavy drum groove and upright bass on many of the tunes. The upright gives the record a looser thumping low end which lends itself to a pretty unique feel.

We used an all-star cast of Colorado musicians: Brian McRae on drums and percussion; Bijoux Barbosa on upright and electric bass; Dave Beegle on electric and nylon string guitar; Kailin Yong on violin; Sheryl Renee and Megan Fong on background vocals; and Dan Kern on synth.

Here is the incredible video from the record’s first single “Grrr”. You can find the record “Sometime Around” on iTunes.

Mixing: Jake Schepps & Expedition Quartet: Béla Bartók

Late last year I had the pleasure of mixing a record for Boulder banjo artist Jake Schepps. For his record “An Evening in the Village”, Jake arranged Bartók piano works and folk songs for American string band. In addition to Jake on banjo, the album features musicians Ryan Drickey on violin, Matt Flinner on mandolin, Grant Gordy and Ross Martin on guitar, Ben Sollee on cello, Greg Garrison, Ian Hutchison and Eric Thorin on bass.

The record just released and is available on Bandcamp.

 

September Update: France & Michael Brauer

I’m really excited to be taking most of September off for a trip to France. I’ll be spending a week in Southern France at Studio La Fabrique with Michael Brauer for a masterclass on mixing. See the video for a taste of what’s to come.

After the class I’ll be on little European vacation and will spend the rest of my trip in France and Spain. I. Can’t. Wait.

Mix: Braving The Atlantic about to drop…

In June I mixed an EP for Dave Hedin and his new solo project Braving the Atlantic. The songs are some of the coolest, most interesting and rocking material I’ve heard from anyone in a long time. There are moments of influence from bands like The Killers, Bloc Party and Snow Patrol. It’s very much it’s own thing and I’m excited for it to be released.

During mixing Dave made a couple of videos that I’ll share below. Mostly us trying to get work done while tornado season is in full swing here in Colorado.

For those who have asked, Dave basically recorded and produced the whole thing himself. I helped track basics with drummer Brian McRae up at The Wrecking Room (aka: www.drumoverdubs.com). Then the ubiquitous Jimmy Stofer came in for bass tracks. After that Dave holed himself up and played all of the rest of the instruments himself. There are some humorous videos on his site chronicling the recording process which happened over the past year. I highly recommend you check them out!

In the meantime, “Ignition EP” officially releases on August 31st, 2010, but there’s a listening party at The Walnut Room in Denver on Monday August 30th at 8PM. See you there!

In The Studio: Mixing from Braving The Atlantic on Vimeo.

In The Studio: Tornado from Braving The Atlantic on Vimeo.

Olivia Rudeen EP “Until Now” Release!

I am excited to announce the release of a fantastic EP I recently produced for Denver-based singer-songwriter Olivia Rudeen! The 5-song EP “Until Now” is Olivia’s first solo effort. The songs are fantastic, well crafted acoustic-based tunes, kind of Americana, almost roots-rock in vibe.

Don’t let Olivia fool you: she’s only 19 but blew me away with her work ethic and attention to detail. We had a lot of fun on this project and Olivia did a more than admirable job putting up with my lame jokes.

About the Production

Preproduction began in early March and we started tracking later in the month. Drums were recorded at Monument Sound by engineer Chris Andrews with Colorado Springs-based drummer Kevin Garland at the kit.

Back up at The Hook Factory, we tracked great friend and amazing bassist Jimmy Stofer. Olivia tracked all of the acoustics, some electric guitars, and additional electrics were performed by Dave Hedin, Paul Murin and guest engineer Ted Swan (who spent a week with me in April and was kind enough to lay down some sweet tracks on Austin). Yours truly even made a guest appearance on ukulele!

At the end of April I mixed the EP and sent it off to none other than Brian Gardner for mastering.

The EP is available for order online now, but Olivia’s official release date on iTunes is June 29, 2010.

-Justin

The Planets: New Record Almost Done!

Back in November (2009) I began a new record with Colorado music scene veterans and songwriters Ted Mentry and Allison Hawkins. Their band and original music project The Planets can be found playing gigs all over Colorado…

Pre-production was a blast. We dug in and collaborated to come up with some really cool production ideas for their tunes. Basic tracks were recorded at Immersive Studios with session players Christian Teele on drums and Chris Engleman on bass.

After a break for the holidays we came back and have worked on overdubs over the past several months. I’m excited to report we’re nearly finished and mixing is scheduled in a couple of weeks!

Also appearing on the project are Steve Johnson on keys, Leo Vigil on percussion and Sheryl Renee on background vocals.

I have also started pre-production on an EP for singer-songerwriter Olivia Rudeen as well as a new record for Melissa Axel and James Jacoby. Spring is going to be awesome and filled with a lot of great new music!

-Justin

Currently Mixing: Gary Johnson

Wow, time flies…

In November I had songwriter/guitarist Gary Johnson out from New York to record bass tracks with Jimmy Stofer. Gary then came back out for a week stint in December to track guitars for his upcoming full-length entitled “Tracing Starlines WIth Empty Hands”.

Now, come January/February 2010, it’s time to mix! I’m thrilled to be working on this project. The songs are fantastic and really have something for everyone. There are moments of pure guitar-driven pop, and moments of an honest singer-songwriter, all wrapped up in a really neat way. The record features Jimmy Stofer on bass and Kevin Soffera (formerly Breaking Benjamin and Seether) on drums. Rocking.

Mixing is nearly complete, with 6 tunes in the can and four more to go… Look Gary up on MySpace or Facebook and check out this record when it comes out late February!

“Sleigh Ride In Bora Bora” Catches Fire!

The kitschy holiday song I did with Dave and our friends Melissa Axel and James Jacoby has officially caught fire. I know it’s a little late to be thinking about Christmas music, but we finished the track a few months ago in time for holiday release.

First, the song won Sound Cloud’s holiday song competition! Read more here.

Second, holiday radio play was excellent, and the song garnered mentions and praise from numerous local music writers including Westword.

But last, and not the least, you can get the song now! Name your price and download it now from this site:

http://www.sleighrideinborabora.com/

I hope you enjoy the song. I’ll repost this in about 11 months, just in case you miss this now. In the meantime, see you in the tropics…

-Justin

PS: Also check out the making of the song in this sweet video!

Saints on the radio!

Things are happening fast for Saints and their new EP. 93.3 KTCL has already started spinning the single Guiding Light, so listen and request often!

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New Free Music: Saints!!!

If you’ve followed the blog you’ve probably seen some videos from the Saints sessions. I’m excited to announce that the EP is coming out and you can download two free tracks via our friends at Go Backstage. We produced, recorded and mixed the EP. It was mastered by Brian “Big Bass” Gardner and features a guest appearance by Mackenzie from the Flobots on the tune “Simple” as well as a string arrangement by Ysanne Spevack on the tune Colorado. Hope you enjoy the tunes!

-Justin

PS: You can hear all 5 tunes off of the EP on the band’s Myspace Page!

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