1 post tagged “recording”
I have been neglecting this space for a long while now. Well, I have been neglecting a lOt of things lately.
So December's finally here. It's been a wonderful November. So where was I ever since the fated car crash? Allow me to regale...
(Click photos for further descriptions)
The moment I came home from Sg. Buloh, the only thought that ran in my
head was, "could we pull this job?". Oh, for those who's just tuning
in, Hafeez requested a song
from us to be used in his short film entry for RTM's Anugerah Filem
Pendek. He gave us the assignment way more than a month before the
deadline but given my previous state (exams!) we were forced to put
works on hold for a while longer. What made me ponder even more is that
what we're asked to do is something the band isn't used to; "short,
brooding and magical".
So the following day after my 'unscheduled' crash we had a practice session at my place. I somehow came up with a riff suitable for a piano rhythm section back in campus so that was pretty much the starting ground. And not forgetting the faux percussive riff I stumbled upon when playing around with Azhar's Triton somewhere during Ramadhan. Safe to say that we can basically picture the song from start to finish. Typically, I already have the song title in my head prior to practice. Simply, Mubarak. I was told that the short is about a defunct father - son relationship with the son having a monologue wondering what went wrong and how he wished that they're on speaking terms again. I read the script, tried consuming the whole theme but I guess what made the process easier is Hafeez himself. I've known him long enough to get the point he's trying to get across. I think.
Day 1 of Mubarak went pretty breezy. It took Azhar a little over 5
minutes to translate the whole tablature onto the keyboard. Yeah, the
riff is that simple. We did discussed a while back about the gears we
used. Like how the KAOSS Pad is becoming a monotonous staple to our
sound, the limitations we imposed on the EMX and how the microKORG is
clearly untouched. I personally was kinda bored with guitars so this
soundtrack is a perfect test run for both EMX and microKORG, and a good
window to throw the guitar away out of the picture.
We spent the day literally looking for the right beats to suit the mood. This is where Shah's EMX unleashed its wrath. Rummaging the many patterns it has to offer might take more than a year if it falls in uncapable hands. We settled for desert-ish whooshesh and cymbal chimings which we thought back then, was minimal enough. Ended the session with the customary drinks at Pelita.
Adib's been busy with his job at the design firm so he was left out from practice sessions. Day 3 of Mubarak saw us hitting the studio for the first time with hope that somehow his drumming will whip up something inspiring. But fate has it that a day before, Shah's home was struck by lightning and all his gears was electrocuted so yeah, we hit the wall pretty hard that night. We spent the studio time locking thedrums for the faux percussive part -another frustrating episode- and left with yet another dissapointment in our minds. We braced for the worst as the electrocution might cause the whole project to cease.
We took a brief break from the whole process. Some perspective outlook
was needed. Day 4 of Mubarak started on a high note. Shah's rig was
done in a day since the lightning only caused damage to the power
supplies. But that alone costed him RM400. Ouch. But everyone was
relieved nonetheless. As we were taking a breather from figuring out
the song's arrangement, I accidently played something. Something
sensible.
Spending the next half hour frantically figuring out chords for the progression proved to be an exciting series of events. Shah consequently came up with gorgeous ambient bleeps to replace the previous unimaginative patterns and I finally prevail with the microKORG after spending a couple of nights with it. We recorded the proposed arrangements of the song and ended the day thinking 'we might just make it'.
Day 5 of Mubarak was our 2nd studio practice. We were the last patrons to use the space so we pretty much have all the time in the world. But that seemed too much as it only took us an hour to finish up the song. We switched off most of the lights in the studio so the atmosphere was kinda serene with flickering LEDs from our instruments guiding the night away. We were so uplifted that night that we even played a new rocky tune (tentatively titled Instant-Teriyaki Romance) to wrap up our session. Had a blast at Mango afterwards. My banana shake was surprisingly Slushee-ish. Yummy.
As the deadline for submisson was dawning upon us, we decided that the song's ready to be recorded. After a few phone calls, Meng's studio (officially known as StandingWave Productions) was the place to get it done since Mokh's filled to the brim with metal noiseniks. Another session at Azhar's was no more than just finalizing details. But it went pretty dready with the weather and all.
Then came Thursday.
We initially booked a 10:30 p.m slot but since Meng was somewhat late, and Lied's Adlin and Wan were still laying down drum tracks, we loafed at the lounge talking crap and making fun of Shah and his neverending quest for the perfect body. Bono decided to tag along since her band didn't record that night. Meng summoned us when the watch flashed 12:30 a.m.
Adib was in a rush since he had to session for ElmKids gig the next day so we had to make it quick without rushing it. The one-all approach suggested by Meng complimented the whole process greatly as it saved us a lot of time (and money). But that wasn't such a smooth sail. We were kinda lost with the proposed tempo that it took us almost 5 minutes to get back on track. Come recording time, Adib majestically took just one take and it was good for keeps.
Will the song make it for the soundtrack? I have my own opinions on that. But I do hope the short film make its way to its deserving spot.
I'll be back here regularly. Watch out this space.
