The Lotus Project

The studios have been graced by the etherial presence of The Lotus Project.

I first hearda set the played at the 13th Note in Glasgow while hanging out at a gig  The Bright Young Nights where headlining. I was gobsmacked by the The Lotus Projects set, and hypnotic mix of ghostly vocals, guitar and ambiant drums. The drum kit being most unusual consisting not of kick and high hat. But a of more subtle, controlled cajon, chinese cymbals, bells and cowbells. The sound washed over you. It was a sound I’ve hardley ever heard.

A few emails later and they agreed to come to the studios and let me record some tracks for them.

More on this will follow.

Completely normal TV

I was trawling the net of an evening and stumbled upon this show. http://completelynormalactivity.com/

photo by Eugene Suk

Completely Normal Activity is an improvised web series produced by Private Portions.

The ensemble cast developed their characters through a workshop process (improvised scenework and collaborative writing assignments) based on character sketches and monologues written by the production team. The original story outline for Season One was created by the production team, however each five minute episode was improvised by the cast. The production team also shared directing duties, one director assigned to each episode.

It definately looks interesting so check it out.

4-Track Nights

4-Track Nights is a new social music night being held in Dennistoun, Glasgow on the 20th of May, starting at 730pm.

Taking place at the laid back cool setting of 7 Grams Coffee on Hillfoot St, 4-Track Nights will be an opportunity for Indie and Unsigned acts to showcase their music.

Promoting a unique social alternative to Glasgow’s usually heavy drinking repertoire, 4-Track Nights has great food and coffee and for those who insist on extra lubrication there will be a BYOB policy. And don’t you fear, you individuals want to continue on into the early hours will find themselves a short walk in the springtime air will get them to the bustling city nightlife.

This night promises to expand your to musical horizons and a chance to meet local like-minded individuals and other interesting folk from all walks of life.

So get your but down there on Friday the 20th of may

CoalShed Gigs

Gigs are a great way of meeting people and promoting a healthy social atmosphere. In light of this I have teamed up with 7  Grams Coffee in Dennistoun, Glasgow and Plan B books in Glasgow city centre to bring music nights aimed at increasing the social interaction between people in the local area and also to highlight these small independent and their key role in the local community.

These nights will have DJ’s providing music between live music performed by local up and coming bands and lot’s more ……Um, stuff going on. To be honest it’s a fly by the seat of your pants affair that’s good fun for all and growing in popularity.

For info on 7 Grams and Plan B check out their facebook pages:

7 Grams

Plan B

New for 2011

Not satisfied with a YouTube Channel CoalShed Studios have finally got round to sorting a Vimeo page/channel (Whatever you kids call it these days.).

As with the YouTube version this will be updated with various clips and bits from being on site at show and festivals thought to documentaries and videos that have been created or worked on by CoalShed Studio.

So check it out, you know what they say the more the merrier!

http://vimeo.com/coalshedstudio

KB Freebies

I can’t resist freebies. Free trials, free samples, discounts the lot. I’ll have a gander if its no strings I’m all over it.

This is why I am most perplexed  by the attitudes of some musicians and bands out there today. I have recently been offering free studio time at using the CoalShed and other studios I do work at. It’s not for any altruistic notions but it’s certainly not to scam anybody or to weedle my way into their pockets.

I’ve been building a portfolio of my work for general assessment. I’m not a musician so any recording I make have to be someone else’s work. I have no shame in this. I like mucking about making beats or messing about with instruments, making weird noises for my own entertainment.I much prefer recording, mixing and mastering.

So I advertised on various social media, gumtree, etc. under CoalShed Studio and an alias (just so as not to intimidate new musicians/bands). I offerer free studio time, free mixing and mastering. Finished tracks for them to use however they wish any genre any style. The sole condition was that I get to use there stuff on my portfolio/s.

Well so far I’ve had a very poor response. I have actually had a few bands waste my time. The worst thing about these folk were that they where going to use there tracks to promote there businesses as they are wedding/function bands selling a product. So they get a product they would have to shell out hundreds to thousands of pounds in studio time, edit and mastering fees for free and they couldn’t even bother showing up. I don’t get some people.

That’s like winning the lotto and not bothering to collect the prize.

Well its not all bad. I actually have a few people very keen to come in and record and they sound good. I hope they enjoy the time in the studio I have heard of people visiting studios and hating it. That is definately not what CoalShed Studio is about. It’s relaxed here no pressure. Time is taken to get your tracks just right, as it should be.

I’ll be putting up the results of these recordings on soundcloud and the like. CoalShed also has a You Tube Channel so be sure to check that out at http://www.youtube.com/user/CoalShedStudio

More updates soon.

 

C

It’s been a long time.

Happy New Year.

It certainly has been a long time since I wrote on the old WordPress pages.

It has not been due to laziness though, far from it.  As you know by now CoalShed provides high quality, recordings in situ and in the CoalShed Studio. Due to this I have been out and about for most of the winter. Additional tech work, editing, etc, etc.

Anyway!

Enough of the excuses, what has the ol’ CoalShed got ready for you in 2011.

Many, Many things. Its all up in the air. Firstly, maybe most importantly CoalShed is holding an surround recording at Plan B Books on Thursday the 27th of January 2011.

This will be an experimental and fly by the seat of your pants event in which Plan B has been kind enough to allow us to set up in the shop. It is an acoustically interesting space one of the many converted arched in Glasgows city centre. A high concave corrugated steel ceiling would usually be an audio night mare but since this is an acoustic event an in surround. It promises to be…….  weird, at least.

Plan B Books is a great wee place to grab a coffee an peruse their stock in a relaxed atmosphere, they even have free WiFi. Specialising n graphic novels you can find their details by following this link: http://www.planbbooks.co.uk/

What else is new:

Well the new desk is now finally fitted, out with the old Eurodesk and in with the new Studio 32. This desk gives more functionality ans is about half the size so I also get more desk space. Or more room for the computer screens.

More plugin’s. An epic amount of plugin’s in RTAS and VST format for FX, EQ, compression and various instruments.

More outboards: Yes, I am succumbing to pressure and CoalShed Studios are getting out boards, Phonic PCL 3200 compressor/limiter/gate and Behringer Virtualiser Pro, SM Pre Amp, Sound Foundation Kill Switches, Patchbay(finaly patched).

Reaper: So far Awesome. I’m currently evaluating this DAW program it is turning out to be a half way house between Pro Tools and Ableton. Once I figure it out completely it will feature heavily in the portable rig due to it’s compact size and reliability. It can work straight from a usb key, no problems.

You Tube: Coalshed tube page, Video fun, Past projects, Stuff. Check out: http://www.youtube.com/user/CoalShedStudio

Ok, I think thats all…… I think.

What’s coming soon.

Can we turn an old Mac G4 Power PC into an outboard FX processor, compressor, etc? You easily run plugin’s, etc on the actual DAW but to save processing and latency issues I believe I can get the old mac to take in audio add an effect and send it out again in realtime without any of the usual problems some users may have. Great bit of eco friendliness.

More outboards.

The Teaqualizer.

Mayhem.

 

Rite…… Enough procrastination back to the studio.

 

C

 

 

 

Equipment update.

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Well there has been many changes to the CoalShed Studio recently, this is a good thing though. There is now a larger selection of amps, keyboards and synths all making pretty little noises for our entertainments.

It’s been a while.

Well it has been a few months since I spent some time blogging.

What can I say it’s been hectic. I’ve re-jigging the studio and re-decorating it in between work has been a lot of work. Still the place looks more “studio” now and is a bit more comfortable. During this and having various artists in to record, the CoalShed Studio has been doing a lot of external work. Most recently and personally most demanding was the Festival of Imagination in Springburn Park. This was a 5 tent affair held in one of Glasgow’s many parks. The festival was a free event to help bring attention to the various community arts projects in Glasgow and allow some of the participants in these groups a chance to air their talents in a more public forum.

CoalShed Studio provided audio recordings of the many events and performances over the week. This will then be used in the various DVDs and promotional videos of the entire festival. More on this later.

For now visit the CoalShed Studio website or add us on your Facebook and other social media for regular updated and performances.

Day in the life of a Sound Engineer

Some people may think that the life of a studio/sound/audio engineer must be all parties, rocking sessions and 24/7  life style…….

Well they’ve got that bit right.

Mostly it involves cables, endless cables. I don’t have anyone to run around and clean up for me here. so I have the thankless tasks of reeling in cables, fixing broken ones, getting mercury poisoning. In doing this I have come across some of the studio cables that are way over 10m long. 10m who the hell is going to do a 10m power slide across the studio.

Spring has been and gone and I now need to check all the gear. Man this is gona take ages……..