It's funny when you make music in a bubble; you listen to your own work so often that you can't hear it anymore. You get used to certain errors on timing or tuning and accept them as part of the sound you have created. And then someone with good ears and years of experience hears it and within seconds asked the question "Is the timing wavering? Did you create this on a grid?" And my answer is a non-convincing "Is it? Er... yes." And they ask again "Are you sure?" At this point I picture myself recording the original guitar and voice to a click track and then adding all the instruments to that guide, regardless of whether my original recording was accurate. And then ignoring the 'grid' to ensure the new parts fitted with the guide... not appreciating how obvious this shifting tempo would be on someone who knows.
This someone was the legendary owner of Woodbine Studios in Leamington. He was listening to the string version of 'Focussing the Light' - a song I considered ready to mix. By the way, did I mention that Kevan had offered the opportunity to have the album mixed at professional studios? Well that it the plan and we have checked out a couple to see whether we can use them. Anyway John from Woodbine stopped me in my tracks and I returned to the arrangement at home, this time I systematically went through every midi note against the click track and yes, it wavers like hell! Now begins the painstaking job of correcting every note and ensuring they line up. Not a quick fix when the song has 16 tracks to correct.
I think I had fooled myself into believing that the original guitar and voice could just be followed regardless of timing errors, and this would make it feel more human than a standard track following a mechanical click... but I forgot that in music with a pulse, it is disturbing for a listener when that beat is not kept. It also feels amateurish and this album has to feel professional, which is why we decided to take the mixing away from my damaged ears and onto someone with experience of that job.
So before we take the songs to the studio I will now go into each of them and correct everything. As I have said before, I don't want to be listening to the finished fully mixed versions next year and thinking why didn't I correct that part when it was easy to do at home?
This was a real awakening for me. I was initially really worried that what I had recorded in my home studio would not be good enough, or would show up either the poor quality of the recording or my playing, when heard in a professional studio. This came to be, and made me return to my work with a more critical eye and ear, rather than just accepting the song as it grew with all its inherent errors. It was a valuable lesson.
I have spoken to Kevan before about getting feedback from friends and family, rather than a true professional, as either their ear isn't as finely tuned, or they want to be positive even when they may feel something is wrong. That kind of feedback isn't helpful as it gives you a false sense of security and you feel that everything is just great.. even when it clearly isn't.
I want this album to be the best it can be. As Belle and Sebastian sang "If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy. They'd write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes." I think up until now a lot of what I have produced in the past has things in them which are not quite right and that knocks my confidence in those songs. This time I want to be able to present our songs to anyone without a single doubt. The driving force behind everything I do is "inspiration from errors," (as in unintentional actions cause you to find something beautiful) however, I don't necessarily want those errors to sound like errors.. I want everything to be in place and be just right.
I listen to a lot of different styles of music, and I love bands that sound amateurish because they have a vibe or sound, and I equally love bands whose music is precise and exact and perfectly played. And I guess that is my problem: I want it perfect but also retain a certain quality you get from non-professional musicians. Mark Hollis talked about it a lot, the feeling that you want to capture the humanity of a musician, not the technical brilliance. It is a difficult balancing act. But I will try.
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