Ex Libris’ self-proclaimed Hardest Working Band™ arrived late on Friday evening for another intensive recording session.
I was keen to minimise the problems I had experienced with instrument bleed during the November meeting; and spent some time positioning the guitar amps away from the kit, and wrapping them in heavy carpet. Initial impressions from the playback suggests spill has been radically reduced.
Another massive improvement on the previous session was the presence of Adam Schofield’s Fender valve amplifier, coupled with Jeremy Williams brand new SG electric guitar. I’m not usually a gear-fetishist, but these two pieces of equipment seemed to dovetail especially well, creating a really warm, distinctive tone.
Four new songs were tracked, complete with accordion, keys, vocals and piano overdubs. The Girls will visit again in April for another session.
Have spent the last few days in subterranean depths, listening to Big Star, Wavves and Liars in the hope that their muse might visit my mixing desk. I also had another listen to ‘Zutiqua!’ and marveled at the guitar tones Ross Lewis had managed to capture.
Judging by the double tracking of acoustic guitars mic-ed up through drums, and arrangements that have in places abandoned percussion and bass guitar entirely; it’s unlikely that Shin Jin Rui’s follow up record will sound anything like their debut. Adam assures me this is part of the plan.
Completion of this LP is now quite close: we only have a few vocals and guitars to tidy up, along with cello, snippets of organ and some backing vocals.
Please forgive the ramblings between songs; we had drunk a lot of coffee. The musical selections are impeccable, however. Listen here.
In the third of our themed webcasts, producer, DJ and musician Grilly joins Ex Libris in an antiques and coffee emporium in East London, for a selection of his favourite tunes and an in-depth interview. He discusses upcoming shows for his band To The Boats..! and gives a brief lecture on the nature of Grind Metal. Expect tracks from Napalm Death, Dildano and a rare version of the Knightmare theme tune among other gems.
Grilly Webcast 2010 Listen To All
Webcast Part 1 Listen Download
Webcast Part 2 Listen Download
Darren Hayman (Hefner, The French) is coming back on the 2nd of May to the Star and Shadow.
Its a bank holiday special, more details to be announced but tickets can be bought in advance from we got tickets.
Our next show will be on Sunday 28th February 2010, featuring the live debut of Blue Screem of Death at The Head of Steam, Newcastle. Entry is £3, with support from Onoma and Dressed In Wires. More information here and from the poster below.
Elodie Roy of Applejack was good enough to tape Future Loss’ gig from a few weeks back; you can stream them from the box above, or download each track individually here. Click the circular icon by each track that contains a downward facing arrow, and the download dialogue box will open.
The cassette player was placed on the wooden floor of The Cumberland, so the bass guitar and drums are the most prominent instruments in the mix. You’ll just have to take my word for it: Brian’s guitar was deafening on the night. Next time we’ll tape the machine to the ceiling…