VENUS HUM

New place for BLOG

2009-05-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

Please jump on over to the new place to follow the blog...

www.venushum.com

"Final" Mixes

2008-09-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

Just downloaded the new tracks form Tony.

Rarely are these mixes "final" but it does feel good to have three under our belts.

Tony and I are writing this week.... he in OH and me in TN. Annette's working on lyrics for the songs we fleshed out while in Queens.

Next week we'll tackle the new ideas... he's really good and making something really special out of my ideas... so is Annette.

Then we'll ship those to queens for Annette to finish.

Tennessee welcomes you!

2008-08-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

Drove back to Nashville yesterday.

Tony and I tweaked on the mixes right up till the end of my stay... Tony twiddled a bit more so I haven't heard the mixes yet... neither has Annette. Tony should be sending the files via the net for our consumption.

Back to song writing mode for all of us.

Mix'n and Sing'n

2008-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today we've begun mixing a lovely song... working title "Tree Girl"

As with out mixing, Tony had an idea of adding a strange type of choir... so 29 Kips and Tonys later we had it.

Tony setting up the mic in the CSL vocal booth that sometimes doubles for his daughters nursery.

The camera was put on a timer while we were singing and here's what we got.

Kip's first VH vocal session.

We'll be posting some vid's later today of the session.

Mix'n

2008-08-27T15:08:00.001-07:00

Tony and I started mixing a new song today.... this one was a lot closer but it still needed a few parts.

This photo should help you with yesterday's birds eye diagram of the studio... matching gear to the unlabeled squares and rectangles.

As Tony added I took the time to Power wash his sidewalk... should have taken some before and after photos.

This is what I look like if I was about to be run over by Tony PHOTO IS OF ME IN THE REAR VIEW BACKUP CAMERA OF THE PRIUS

Mixing means a lot of car tests... and our liberal, tree hugging car of choice is the Toyota Prius.

Making Tracks

2008-08-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Tony's been tweaking and tweaking on the first track we're finishing for the new project.

As with most songs we tend to deconstruct a "finished" song and create a new hybrid based on what hits us during the reconstruction.

Lots of failure but through that gems do emerge.

Tony Slaving Away from Tony Miracle on Vimeo.

CHESSINGTON SYNTH LABS

Here's a birds eye view of Tony's studio.

Kit List

J106, ARP2600, XPANDER, OXYGEN8, REGALWERK, A80, SYS100M, SE1, A100, MICROWAVE, PRO ONE, NORD MODULAR, NORDLEAD, RE-101, ECHOPLEX, P TOOL HD, MACINTOSH COMPUTERS.

TM on the SYS100M from Tony Miracle on Vimeo.

Star Wars tribute to Tony working.

Tony gets geeky!!!

2008-08-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

Today I answer the burning question... "What the %$#^ is THAT thing for!!"
I'm working on a bass line for the track with the working title "Dance".

Venus Hum 2008 recordings_Tony + the A-100 from Tony Miracle on Vimeo.

Annette in the studio #2

2008-08-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Here's another video of Annette in the studio. She's working out the vocal parts to a new song with the working title "Dance". For much of these sessions it's just easier to set up the vocal chain right next to the Pro-Tools rig and let Annette run the machine herself, skipping the middle-man (which is usually me or Kip). That way we can avoid those annoying "take me back to just before the 2nd chorus... actually it's the 1st chorus... wait you've gone back too far!!" kind of conversations that are the hallmark of making modern records!

For those who are interested in the techie side of things, this is a pretty standard vocal chain that we use- Blue Kiwi mic, into an Amek (by Neve) pre-amp, into a Tubetech compressor and then into Pro-Tools. At this stage we are trying not to color the sound of Annette's voice too much, just make it clean and hot and somewhat stable in the track. Later, we'll run it though all kinds of effects and processors to re-shape it.

More nerdy stuff to come so stay tuned!
Tony

Venus Hum sessions 2008_NYC vocal recording #2 from Tony Miracle on Vimeo.

Tracking Session Video!

2008-08-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

It's Tony here with another video to document our progress.

This time you'll see Kip and his might Arp 2600 synthesizer. This is definitely one of Kip's favorite pieces in the studio. It's a semi-modular synth from the early 1970s, and is great for using as a FX box... this time Kip is modulating some drum sounds coming from his computer. We recorded a bunch of improvisations and later will pick and choose the bits we want to use... maybe only a second or two of audio will be used and the rest will wind up on the cutting room floor- but that is just part of the process! The idea is to set up a situation for the always elusive 'happy accident' to occur.

Please keep checking in... there are going to be plenty more videos to come!

Venus Hum sessions 2008_Kip + the Arp2600 from Tony Miracle on Vimeo.

Vocal Session Video #1

2008-08-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a short taste of the NYC vocal sessions from this last weekend...
There are more videos to come, so stay tuned!

Venus Hum sessions 2008_NYC vocal sessions #1 from Tony Miracle on Vimeo.

Wrapping Up The First Vocal Sessions

2008-08-12T23:25:00.001-07:00

Here what we look like after two days of work. Six songs written... three finished vocals.

Tony and I drove home the next morning in this lovely rented KIA something. I drove strait to Nashville after our Cincinnati arrival,,,16 hours total for me because of an 8am dental commitment.

Special thanks to Kirk, as we invaded his apartment and banished him to the living room for two days.

2nd Day Of Vocals

2008-08-09T15:12:00.001-07:00

Kip taking a picture of Tony filming Annette singing.

Annette at work at Chessington Synth Labs

Annette laying it down.

Session...

Yesterday Tony wrote a electro dance track while I was starting this blog. Annette already had a lyrical idea but had to make it work for the track.

Our working method, so far, is to leave Annette alone as she tweaks her lyrics and melodies. So we left... I bought a shirt with a rat and a pidgen hugging. When we got back Annette had almost finished recording the keeper vocal to the song. A few o dubs and that vocal was finished.

This song does seem like a candidate for a music video.... so.... I've got some work to do in the future.

Tony wrote another song while Kirk and I went to get the evenings meal - Pizza and Gyros. Annette declared the Gyros to be the food winner of the evening.

If it sounds like Tony is a prolific songwriter and Annette can write and sing her vocals at a blistering pace... we'll that's because that's the way this Venus Hum thing works.

Ist Day Of Vocals

2008-08-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Annette Working On Lyrics

Tony at CSL East

Some Gear

Tony making up sounds

What we're doing.

We've been given the task of writing several songs for an ultra secret project. Tonys been writing like mad and now we sit with 5 or 6 really good songs to work on. It's a bit of a factory here.. while Annette is recording vocals Tony is writing new songs.

Tonight's menu Sea Bass and Red Snapper.