Stay tuned. A and B side single on the way.

Nate Miller - Album Out Now

Link to Album

This weekend, Nate Miller released his debut solo album, Fall is Meant for Falling to the Ground. The album has been over two years in the making, and represents the most ambitious project I have yet undertaken. It also required the most support from friends - gear loaned, time donated, and feedback given.

The songs are strikingly honest and deeply personal. Nate is gifted not just as a lyricist, but as an observer of the human condition. My treatment of his songs was ambitious and adventurous, but I tried to enhance the elements that are uniquely his--his voice, his love of lush arrangement, and his soaring melodicism. I know that I speak for many when I say that I hope to hear much more from Nate in the years to come.

If you listen to the album, feel free to drop me a line here and let me know what you think. And to those of you who supported the project financially, with recording gear, or otherwise: my sincerest thanks!

Link to Album

Introducing: The Wild Maps

Link to the music
This is a project that has been a long time coming. Rachel Vaughan, Anna Su, and I have been playing music together since 2008, and have always shared a deep respect for each others' songs, often swapping them in performances and re-imagining them.

In December of 2011, we finally decided to put the music on tape that we had been performing for years. In a one-day living room session, we recorded most instruments and vocals live with Kris Karlsson on bass and Mike Lindsay on drums. We then built out this framework with overdubbed piano, guitar, trombone (Sean Pawling), and harmonica (Ross Garren).

This project is Anna's and my first attempt at mixing. As much as we could, we used the old gear we have lying around (some of it with questionable functionality): an old DBX 160, an Orban EQ, and a handful of distortion pedals. We had a vauge idea of a sound in mind, and we wanted the freedom to take chances and see the results ourselves, without having someone else tell us what was or wasn't going to work.

You can listen to some samples of the music at www.thewildmaps.com. If you're in the Los Angeles area on August 3rd, please join us for a show at Hotel Cafe. If you're in Chicago September 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, stay tuned for a midwest release show. And you can always pre-order the album at the web address above.

I hope you enjoy the tunes!

Before/After: Darkest Spaces

Sometime early next year, Nate Miller's album will be done. I cannot tell you all how much effort everyone involved has put into these recording Nate's music--musicians, engineers, visual artists, and of course, Nate and I have devoted countless hours to it.

It's hard to see how far we've come from where we're standing. That's probably true of most creative projects, and is one of the great paradoxes of undertaking an album. But the other day, I got a chance to listen to some of Nate's original demos--the recordings that were the seed of this album (for some of you, they are the only recordings of Nate's music that you have). It was really fun to hear how ideas blossomed out of a simple garage band recording.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be putting up some BEFORE/after recordings of his demos and some rough mixes from his album.  I'd love to hear what you think of his music or my production work.

Here's the first of these: Darkest Spaces. Nate's demo is beautiful, and I hope the album version does it justice.

We had the privilege of having some amazing musicians on this one: a string trio, Kevin Milner on pedal steel, and Mike Lindsay on drums. Here's a rough mix that will give you an approximation of the album version.

Before

After

Stay tuned for more samples, let us know what you think, and be sure to check out Nate Miller's blog to learn more about him or to read his lyrics:

http://freerefills.wordpress.com/words/

In the mean time, enjoy the music!

Nate Miller Update

Many of you know that I have been working with Nate Miller for the past several months on a short album.  We have had many killer musicians contribute to the project, including great string players, guitarists, keyboardists, and drummers.  We are entering the final stages of recording, and are proud of the work coming forth.

If those of you who have contributed financially to the project were stars, our flags would be full.  I recently heard that 52 of you have given nearly $4000 to support Nate.  We are so excited by this show of support, and we hope to give you a recording that lives up to the standard set by your generosity.  Those of you who have not yet given, you can donate here.  Call it pre-ordering the album if you like.

I hope to share some sounds with you soon!

Anna Su - Untitled:Dance

In addition to working with Nate Miller, I have been working with Anna Su on a short dance EP over the last few weeks.  We are new to indie dance pop music, but have the fortune of working with Jack Zoephel, who engineered yOya's album.  I believe we are in good hands.

Anna and I spent an evening at Eargasm Studios in Santa Monica with some amazing musicians a few weeks ago.  We cut bass, drums, keys, and guitars for her new songs.  The space at Eargasm is really special; it combines a great acoustic space with a variety of vintage gear.

We had a our pick of classic microphones, preamps, and compressors, and a great group of musicians on the other side of the glass.  Honestly, it was the easiest session I have ever run; there were very few problems to address, and I just got to sit back and watch it all happen.

Anyway, more to come on this project, and more photos after the break.

Saudade

This month, I had the pleasure of working with this girl, Victoria Alimonda Lovelady.  She is a lovely Brazilian singer/songwriter, and a talented one at that.  We did a quick session before she (sadly) had to leave the country.

I used the opportunity to experiment with some fun stuff.  The vocals on this song use only natural reverb, from a tile shower.  Also, I used a dynamic and condenser mic on the guitar in an experimental configuration.  It too uses only the natural sound of the room.

My opinion of the results is mixed, but I am a firm believer that experimentation is an important part of the creative process.  Let me know what you think.

     Saudade

     Chuva

Hopefully we will all hear more from this talented young woman in the months to come!

Looking Ahead with Nate Miller

Now that work is complete on Anna Su's album, I am very excited to begin working with Nate Miller on a new project.  Nate has a unique approach to music, and this approach makes for some very creative and personal results. Recently, while trying out a new mic/preamp combination on my 1917 Ivers and Pond piano, I put him on the spot by asking him to sing something. Here's what resulted:

Even in an impromptu recording, his talent is undeniable.  He is a true pleasure to work with, and I'm excited to see where this project goes.  More to come!

Anna Su: Howling Tree

As some of you may know, I have been working for a number of months producing a friend's first album.  Anna Su is a gifted songwriter and singer with a truly unique ability to bring people together around her music.  Her music has been described as "gypsy folk", but it's really just music that brings together all the things she loves—travel, love, and community.

I had the pleasure of working with Anna to bring her music to life through recordings.  We worked in a number of different locations and on different formats, from overdubbing piano parts at my house to recording live to tape at a friend's house.  The result is something we are proud of, and we sincerely hope you enjoy it.

 The album will be released 10/10/10 in physical form, but you can preview it online (and purchase it digitally) here.  One of the tracks, "Return to Me" is available as a free download for a limited time.  Please let us know what you think!

Also, there are some pictures of the recording sessions here and here.  

Thank you all for your support over the past 8 months.  We so appreciate all who encouraged us to pursue this project.  Feel free to comment here with your thoughts, or send us an e-mail.