We asked our friends at Young Avenue Sound to suggest a few new tracks we should check out – they came back to us with a list of some of their favorite projects recorded at YAS in the past year. Check out their picks and go behind the scenes to learn a little bit more about the artists, the engineers and the sessions. (Oh, and add all the vids to your faves on YouTube. Duh.)
Daykisser – “Dishes in the Sink”
Recorded and mixed by Calvin Lauber
Mastered by Matt Qualls
Calvin says: “Daykisser came into YAS on and off over the course of 2019 to track their debut LP ‘Selfhood’ with me. The track ‘Dishes In The Sink’ is one of my favorites, and was probably the most fun to mix. It features some great harmonies from Anna Utley who came into YAS to track her parts. We used a vintage Telefunken U47 on the lead vocals and background parts usually into our Tree Audio Branch channel strip. Sometimes the bgvs ran into 1604 API pres. The track also features a sweet guitar solo by guitarist Kenneth Piper in the bridge which we tracked through both Fender Blues and Vox AC15 amps simultaneously.”
Louise Page – “Paw in the Honey”
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Calvin Lauber
Calvin says: “Louise and I had such a good time producing her album Silver Daughter at Young Avenue Sound. We worked together a lot on the songs bouncing musical ideas back and forth with her, and her band. However ‘Paw In The Honey’ is one Louise and her band had previously already locked in before we began production (I did get to add a little bit of guitar). This song definitely informed the process and vibe for how we built the other songs. Violinist Anna Craig and horn players Michael Laurenzi and Jawaun Crawford really added a lot of emotion and intensity with their parts. They all tracked together orchestra-style in the big live room. We used Neumann U67s and Earthworks M30s for close and room miking.”
Liz Brasher – “Sad Girl Status”
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Matt Qualls
Matt says: “Liz Brasher came in and knocked out ‘Sad Girl Status’ in less than a few hours. She was an absolute joy to work with and has one hell of a voice. We had some time left over, so I blocked off a stairwell in the building and had (studio manager) Blair Davis and (assistant engineer) Spenser Frazier help set up a PA speaker to use the space as a chamber. It sounded so, so great. There isn’t a single digital reverb on that song.”
Mobius Pieces – “Code Blue”
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Matt Qualls
Mobius Pieces was a great session. Everyone, live in the same room. Can’t get much better than hearing all the elements of the song all at once. To the uninitiated it can seem scary, but it is one of my favorite ways to record a group. The band needs to be really tight and you as an engineer need to be ready to capture a performance quickly.”
Tsu Lu – “Wet Up”
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Blair Davis
Blair says: “Working with Tsu is always a treat. His mind is so creative. We could be working on some 90s Hip Hop and immediately flip the script to a real Rap banger. In this case, “Wet Up” became an instant bop. We got the auto-tune just right, with a little reverb and the rest was history. Once Tsu dropped the hook, the entire control room started rockin’. I’ll never forget that session and all it’s insanity.”
You might also be interested in: Famous Memphis Musicians | Memphis Singers
