Star instructor and engineer, Ryan Kleeman, recently had the pleasure of recording some grand-master funk up in the Sound Arts house. The Pleasuremaker crew, led by Joe McGuire, got super close and friendly as they wanted to record all 7 funkified musicians at once in our live room. Kleeman tried out some new techniques to master the wave forms of sound bouncing off so many shakin’ bodies, and waxed poetic in the process. Here’s what he had to say about the experience:

“Engineers always talk about capturing the essence in a recording by printing to tape a very accurate representation of the sound waves created from musicians and instruments.  In all honesty, it’s not the actual sound waves that I’m interested in, it’s the spirit, the soul, and inspiration from the musicians that is embedded into the sound waves as I capture them into mics and pre-amps and then onto tape. The sound waves just act as a medium of transmission through which the spirit is connected that gets printed to tape. That’s what I’m going for – to make people feel at home to create and let their soul shine into the recording.  This is something that we don’t necessarily hear as sound waves but we feel in our hearts and souls as we listen and relate to the recording.”

The current Pleasuremaker incarnation features drums, congas, electric guitar, keyboards, ableton live sampling, electric bass, alto saxophone, trumpet and trombone. They hold true to their moniker and really get your rump a-bouncin, just like the folks did it in Motown. See for yourself by sampling a tasty sonic morsel, included below, and stand by for the Pleasuremaker EP due out later this month.

Hello fellow sound artisans, we’ve got some exciting news!

Sound Arts is rolling out a distinct new set of class offerings for 2009. In the face of today’s economy, having more professional skills can only help you get ahead of the competition.  Our tailored courses, including sound design for film scores, audio post production, and DIY pedal building; are customized to maximize the students’ creative and professional prowess. We will teach you the skills, get you into a live studio to try them out, and then link you up with professional opportunities throughout the Bay Area. In addition to group workshops and private instruction, we also offer the brand new customized Sound Arts Certificate, where you can pick the curriculum and learn at your own pace. Once earned, this certificate will enable you to work within our professional and creative network, possibly even Sound Arts itself!

Please visit www.soundarts.org or www.soundarts.org/education to learn more about Sound Arts Education.

You can also Download the Spring 2009 Course Catalog or email eduation@soundarts.org for more info.

Upcoming January Group Workshops:

Big props to Saylor for the awesome Yelp! review…We’ve begun a really cool new project with Saylor Billings called the O-Line Mysteries, a mystery, comedy podcast. Check out Saylor’s review —>

In the fall issue of Make Magazine Brian Schmierer wrote an article about converting a usb game controller into an open source interface for Max/MSP. Make is a focused magazine with tons of awesome DIY projects and resources.

Brian has designed a variety of interfaces and controllers that communicate with vocoders, synths, sequencers, and self built VST plug-ins via Usb, MIDI, or OSC. For Brian and for Sound Arts, this is the tip of the iceberg!

Check out the aricle.

http://makezine.com

Wow!

What an awesome week. Over 15 tracks recorded, 10 artists and bands, and 80 solid hours of hands on experience for our interns and engineers. I think we all learned a ton about recording, producing and coordinating. Everyone did an exceptional job! Mixes are now in progress and should be ready to review by the end of this month.

We are currently playing with the idea of showcasing the work from the week through an event sometime around October or November. Depending on funding, location availability, and potential partners this could be a big promo opportunity to connect with other artists, engineers, and labels plus a chance to field questions about everyone’s experience and creative process. In the meantime, check out the pics, learn more about the participating artists, and keep on blogging!

Project Renovate
Wisecrack
60 Watt Kid
Christopher Willits
Gabriel Coan
The Blank Slates
Sean Niesen
League 510
The Dervish
Max Paz
Midori/Audioclique

- Adam Shaening-Pokrasso

We showed up sometime after spending way too much on a midday meal. After marveling at our inability to walk, my friends and I bellied over to Sound Arts to check out what they had going on for their Sponsorship Week.

An incredibly young band, called Midori and Audioclique, were taking session. The singer, Midori, is a very beautiful girl who is only 15. Her band mates, Conor and Kevin are 20 and 19, respectively. They were working on a song called “Bangkok,” about a girl who just may be too hot to trot.

Adam cued up the machines and they were rolling. As Midori started her vocal overdubs, Conor and I chatted on the sofa. He told me that they were currently in the restructuring phase, that soon they were be focusing on the real star (he forked a finger at himself and smiled.)

Both Conor and Kevin were very playful. They play keys and bass respectively. While watching Midori enunciate the ‘kok’ in ‘Bangkok’ and joking that it’s their song too, they told me a sliver of their story. They all grew up in Santa Rosa, and are currently in the running for “Best Indie Pop Song” in the Hollywood Music Awards. Midori has been singing since she was 13, in fact the song up for the award, called “Go,” was recorded when she was only 13.

Midori’s father Ron and her mother have been very influential in helping her get this far. Her father actually plays guitar in the band and helps with management and audio production. Her mother fills in as the resident PR and booking agent. The awards take place at the Kodak theater, November 20.

You can listen to Midori and the Audioclique at:

http://www.myspace.com/midorilongo
http://www.audioclique.net

- Jean Yaste

Sean Niesen was the featured artist in the studio today. Accompanying Sean were a couple of his friends on drums/percussion and on bass. Jonathon Wong was the lead engineer, while I was the assistant engineer. The group combines an eclectic mix of sounds/timbre, ranging from the ordinary to the more abstract. They are able to combine traditional styles of music with more experimental sounds. I really enjoyed watching the group work through various sections of their track. They were able to incorporate a decent amount of layers to a section of their track without it sounding cluttered. Sean’s timbre and arrangement on guitar was definitely something I’ve never heard before.

What I really enjoyed most was watching more of the creative process as the group worked through this track. They started with a 5-6 minute jam to work on various ideas. Then, decided to focus on shorter phrases to possibly loop. Overall, it was a great experience for myself, and hopefully the other guys working on it. In my opinion, if you’re a fan of groups like Grizzly Bear and earlier M83, you’ll enjoy whatever Sean Niesen puts down. Check out some of his other music here.

- Scott McCoid

Today we are recording two tracks with local, up-and-coming Indy rock group, “The Blank Slates.” (Troy Lawton is lead engineering, with Jonathon Wong as assistant engineer.  All of the interns have been helping out this week and rotating responsibilities.) Featuring Andrea Iacopini on guitar and vocals, they produce a high-intensity, earthy nuance with a forward drive. According to Andrea, “The Blank Slates” is a “concept of ever-changing sound, where each song has space to develop into its own without allowing the band itself to be easily categorized.”

Andrea was joined by drummer Cochrane McMillan in January of this year, with bassist Martin Fowler adding to the mix later that month. Not only are they solid musicians, but their tracks are chock full of well-blended harmonies and tight fills.

In “My Only Regret,” Cochrane takes the lead on drums and has been playing solid all day, with Turkish hand-hammered cymbals adding nice texture and shimmer.  Martin has a solid ear in this tune with dead-on rhythm and innovative fills. Andrea is a natural songwriter, and struck gold with his addictive opening guitar and bass lines.

www.myspace.com/theblankslates

The goal of today’s session is to create the majority of a demo for distribution to local radio stations.

Good energy, good times, good clean fun.

-Emily Hendricks