So it’s actually been a year since I started the tracks for the Bluevibe studio presents EP and they’re finally ready to go off to get mastered. This EP has been a bit of a labour of love for me and while I actually have another 2 EP’s more or less completed I’m really excited to be finally getting these tracks out. It didn’t actually seem like a year until Lisa Preston pointed it out, I guess that’s because I’ve had a baby and started a new job since this project kicked off and the months have just flown by, that’s babies for ya!

In my previous post “Bluevibe studio presents – finishing the tracks for the EP” I outlined 7 stages in the release and I’m now up to stages 3 and 4, funding and mastering. I’m still working on funding options so I’ll run through the mastering this week and get on to funding the EP next time.

My good friend Kerry Adams from The Proof will be taking care of the mastering duties, he’s got a wicked ear and works in quite a few different genres so he seems like the perfect man for the job. The EP consists of 2 main tracks with 2 remixes of each track plus 2 bonus tracks which have previously only been available in demo form. I mix on Genelec monitors and although they are excellent my mixes sometimes don’t translate too well when played on other systems. This makes the mastering stage even more important for me and is the key reason why it’s great to have a a mastering engineer work with each track to make sure they sit together on the EP and translate across different playback systems. I would always recommend you get someone else to master your tracks but if you don’t have any budget and really want to DIY then here’s a list of some great tutorials for you to check out.

Next week funding!!! It’s the big one for me as I’m basically an unknown independent artist doing his first full EP release so I’m going to have to get creative with the cash if I’m going to make the most of it!!

• The secret of the mastering engineer – Bob Katz – mastering manual from the TC electronics finalizer written by Bob Katz, well worth a read.
• Mastering with plugins from Har-bal.com – complete in the box tutorial.
• The elements of home studio audio mastering – nice simple tutorial over at tweakheadz using some of the excellent uad plugins.
• Mastering masters – Mastering article from the excellent Sound on Sound website.

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Since launching the blog I’ve been getting more and more requests from people to come and record at the studio which has been great but I’ve now decided that I’ll only be working on my own projects and collaborations. I’ve been really busy finishing the new EP and working on new tracks with more collaborators and the commercial nature of the studio has taken a back seat. With that in mind I thought I’d put together a list of studio’s in Auckland for those of you who need to get some recording done. I’ll still be doing remixes and working on collaborations so get in touch if your feeling some of the Bluevibe tracks.

The first studio I’m going to recommend is Depot sound over on the shore in Devonport. This is a community studio which is part of The Depot Artspace and has an excellent sounding live recording room. The rates are very cheap and the staff are always excited to work with new artists. This studio has a basic level of kit based around a Digi002 protools system and is an ideal place to record if your on a tight budget. It’s also great for home producers who may want to track drums in a budget studio and mix the project at home. The other reason I’m recommending Depot sound is because I work in the same building as the studio and while I’m not personally involved I love the fact the studio focuses on offering a great service at a budget price to bands who would not be able to record anywhere else. I also love that Calum (studio manager) often uses connecting the art gallery as a reverb chamber with amazing results!

If you have more of a budget check out some of these other studios, check out their websites to get an idea of their kit list and the type of clients they work with. I like a studio with a bit of vibe to it so make sure you go and check the place out before booking anything, obvious I know but you’d be surprised how many people like to book studio time without seeing the place. If you’ve got any studio’s you’d like to add to the list just let me know and I’ll add them if they’ve got the right vibe!

Depot sound
Kog studios and mastering
Lab Recording Studio
Beaver Studios
Platform studios
York Street Recording Studios
Studio 203
The Rock factory
Earwig studios

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I’m a bit of a gear head and love anything analog especially when it’s used in a live situation. Greg Brice is a bit of an Auckland legend when it comes to gear and builds some of the best hand made eq’s and compressors in New Zealand. Greg also has an amazing studio full of vintage gear which I’ve actually only visited once for about an hour but it’s the kind of place I could spend days in tweaking knobs and flicking switches. Greg also makes music and will be taking his “ekadek thunderbird 3 live rig” out of the studio and in to the Dogs Bollix this Thursday supporting “crash test for favourite things ”
Greg describes the rig as “a mad station of unprogrammable 60s-70s sound machines” which he improvises with to create his dubbed out “minimal electro grunge”.

For anybody interested in vintage analog make sure you head over to Greg’s website for an amazing collection of gadgets, effects and tapes. You can check out his tracks and also purchase a copy of his album “New and untamed bathtime beats from ekadek”. I got a copy last week and have spent the weekend soaking up the mixture of analog blibs and beeps mixed with beautiful melodies and atmospheres.

I work with different drum machines and sequencers and love to just improvise with ideas and patterns to see what we (the machine and I) can come up with. Most of the tacks on Greg’s CD are one take recordings of the studio rig which gives them the perfect blend of organic and mechanic. Greg sent me a list of his live rig which includes…

• korg ms20
• lowrey organ rhythm ace fr6 – samba ya face off.
• 3 head tape echo box – dirty echoing.
• grampian spring reverb – spacious verb or filthy distorto.

If your out on Thursday make sure you head down and check out the live show, most of the album came from this rig and I’m sure it won’t sound the same as the CD, which for me is the best thing about using this kind of rig live.
“This rig supports BIG PHAT grooves” – I’ve already placed an order for the first t-shirt!

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Holdin On – MagOwl edit – pre master version

I’m currently finishing the new EP which is the first in the “Bluevibe studio presents” series and has been in progress for about 4 months. What I’m going to do is go through all the stages involved in putting out this EP so that you get an idea about the release from start to finish and hopefully collaborate on a few ideas. The track you should be listening to whilst reading this is a remix of the first track on the EP my MagOwl. It’s a pre master version but is essentially finished except the final master. I’m currently in stage 2 of the release, outlining these stages has been a great exercise and is helping me stay focused on actually getting this EP out.

These stages are my method of working and may not be yours, I’d be interested to here how you define this kind of process and what works for you? Ok lets look at the stages then.

1. Write the tracks: for me this is the stage I actually don’t like to study too much because, well, I don’t think about it too much. I write everyday and really enjoy the whole process of getting in to a creative space and going with the vibe to see what comes out. Maybe I’ll focus on the writing process in a later post.
2. Finish the tracks: now this is the difficult one because I produce and mix everything myself. I’ve been a musician for over 20 years but have only really been learning to mix and produce for about 5 so this stage can be the most difficult for me.
3. Funding: gotta get that cash to so I can master everything, manufacture, promote etc
4. Mastering: some would include this in the finish stage but I’m gonna let this sit after funding because, well, it costs to get it mastered.
5. Production: CD, Vinyl, mp3, quarter inch tape?
6. Distribution: one of the most important decisions for any independent release. Defining who your core audience is and how to get your music to them is, in my opinion the job of a distributor. I could try to do it myself but I’d rather leave it to the experts, we’ll look in to different options and if there ARE any experts out there in a later post.
7. Promotion: the other most important decision for the release and another stage I’ll be getting help with this time.

Obviously these 7 stages are huge topics to cover so I’m going to let you know what I’ve been doing and also point you in the direction of some great resources so you know why I’m making these decisions.

This EP is basically 2 songs featuring 2 amazing vocalists with 2 remix’s of each track. I’ve managed to get some fantastic people involved in both the originals and the remix’s and can’t wait to get this EP finished and out there. Register for the email updates, sign up for the RSS feed or check back soon for more details of the release and more pre release demo’s.

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It’s been a big 2007 at the Bluevibe studio, I’ve been working out just what I’ve been doing locked away in the studio for the last 12 months. What’s this got to do with Warner music and Radiohead you ask? Well I’ve been spending quite a bit of time this year looking at the music industry, getting involved with a few different blogs and generally trying to decide my next steps in getting my music out there. This article from Mashable is one that really stuck in my head and made me think about the current environment and what that means for musicians and labels.

Warner music group made less profit last year than Radiohead did from their strategy for the new album! Check out the article on Mashable for all the info. but it basically says that Warners spent so much on legal and industry fees that they had $5 million profit. Now I’m not really a fan of the major labels and it really makes me quite happy to see those figures. It doesn’t mean that we can do it all ourselves and see the cash come rolling in, there are only a few bands in the world who could have used the Radiohead strategy with any success. What it means to me is that all this talk of “New strategies”could actually be more than just talk and speculation. It could actually be turned in to something more concrete, a next step forward for the independent producer. Here’s to 2008 and all the exciting prospects it holds, and now back to trying to finish the music!

Warner Music Group: Going the Way of the Dodo

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SampleSwap.org

SampleSwap is one of the oldest collections of samples available on the web and is an excellent resource for all types of sounds for your tracks. The classic breaks alone are well worth downloading as they are high quality version of many classic breaks and beats. The whole site has been recently updated to make it easier to preview and download the samples plus you can now buy a DVD with over 4GB of samples from the site.

Now most beat heads have different views on the use of samples and where you should get your samples from. Shaun J Period has spoken about how he doesn’t use samples any more and now uses all original sounds in his tracks. Josh Davis has also stated that he only uses samples from original vinyl and would never lift a sample from a compilation or from a track which is based around a sample. We all have different attitudes towards sampling and i’ll be posting more about these different views on diggin for samples in the future plus uploading some sample packs from some of my tracks for you.

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Knowing where to get your favourite bit of studio gear repaired is something that can be difficult. In New Zealand you can find some links on the web to a few places but you never quite know if they’re going to be able to deal with your old Roland SH101 or Studer tape machine. With this in mind I thought I’d put a list of people together who I’ve either used or have been used by friends of mine. Most of these guys are “word of mouth” type people who don’t really need to advertise their services and are very highly regarded in the audio field.

• Grant Feist – Keyboard music systems – http://www.keyboardmusicsystems.co.nz – repairs keyboard and synths. Used to do all Rolands servicing for about 20 years, well worth getting in touch with for any keyboard problems.
• Brian Laing – Narrow Rd – http://www.narrowroad.co.nz – if you need any custom cables built then Brian is the man to speak to. Brian does a lot of work for studio’s, location sound engineers, great pricing for high end cabling.
• Clarry Schollum – (09) 817 2634 – will repair any type of valve kit and also has a wide selection of new valve’s. Based in Auckland
• Kerry Adams – The Proof – http://www.theproof.co.nz – Studio and production consultant, equipment supply and setup, mixdown and mastering. If you need to buy studio or hitech kit and don’t want to deal with the usual hi street suspects then give him a call. Based in Wellington now, just check his website for his wide range of services.
• Geoff Edwards – tubehead@xtra.co.nz – has kit to test tubes and also sells new stock tubes. Geoff comes highly recommended and is based in Christchurch
• Greg Price – http://www.ekadek.com – will do some repairs of old tape and tube kit, drop him a mail and check. Famous for building some of the best audio kit to come out of NZ, check his site for some amazing gear.
• Tim Farrant – http://www.buzzaudio.co.nz- Buzz Audio build amazing pre’s and compressors, custom audio install’s and also do repairs for all types of studio kit.
• Doug Jane – http://www.djr.co.nz – based in Keri keri and repairs mic’s and electronic gear. Also builds excellent hand made preamps and EQ units.
• Sean Cooper – http://www.myspace.com/thecooparation – based in Auckland and does training and support for Logic, also has some damn fine synths in his collection.
• New Painting with Sound – http://www.paintingwithsound.co.nz/
  – Murray specialising in service and repairs of vintage equipment and is based in Auckland. Also has a great collection of datasheets and manuals.

Do you have anybody else who you think should be added to the list? Leave me a comment and I’ll update the post with their details.

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Bluevibe is my home studio and is based around a Nuendo/Cubase DAW with RME convertors. As you can see from the pictures below it’s a real mess and a pleasure to work in!

I’m a big fan of sampling and still have my first sampler which is an Emu esi32 with a huge 8mb of memory. As any old skool people will know 8mb would go a long way when your slicing up breaks and inserting loop pints in 0.5 second samples!! The emu still gets used but I now mostly use NI Kontakt and the Yamaha RS7000 for my sampling duties.

I’m also a big hardware fan and have a few synths, drum machines and sequencers in the studio when I’m in the mood for some hands on action. The Roland SH101 and the Waldorf Pulse are still 2 of my favourites and are always a source of inspiration. The Yamaha RS7000 is an amazing piece of kit, perfect for sampling and sequencing. The RS was the heart of the Skyman project and is perfect for improvising with sequenced beats and bass.
I’ve used cubase on and off since the days of the Atari ST and still prefer it to any other recording package. I’ve recently started looking at Ableton Live which will probably make it’s way in to the studio soon. The DAW hold a range of VST effects and instruments as well as my UAD1 card, possibly the best bit of computer hardware anybody could invest in.

I’ll be going through some of the kit in more detail in the blog but if you have any questions then just let me know, I’m always happy to discuss the merits of z-plane filters and tape saturation.

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The short version: I make music & I put on events under the name Bluevibe Collective. I waffle on quite a bit on twitter and I dabble in a bit of writing and any other creative bits n bobs I can get my dirty little fingers on.

The Long version: My name’s Jason Fishwick (just J to most people) and I have been writing and playing music for over 20 years but only really started to focus seriously on my productions and releases when I moved from the UK to Auckland in 2000. Growing up in and around Manchester in the north west of England really shaped my musical influences and my love of fusion and collaboration. Funk, soul, hiphop, electrofunk, rare groove, techno, electro, jazz etc have all had and continue to have an impact on my musical taste and direction.

The “Bluevibe studio” is my home studio based in Auckland, New Zealand which I use to create and produce an ever expanding list of personal projects and collaborations. My current projects include “The Ghostfaders”, “BVX” and the “Bluevibe studio presents” series of releases. I’ve also just finished the mix and production work on an EP by St Liquor-ish and always have a few remixes on the go, let me know if you’d like to work on some music, I’m always open to new inspiration.

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