KALEIDOSCOPE SOUND
Kaleidoscope Sound is a premiere dual recording facility based on a simple premise: All music, no attitude. “And that’s exactly why I chose to record Embers there, says Matt Mead. I was introduced to the studio by my friend and Engineer Sal Mormando who was going to be doing the record with me. The minute I walked into Kaleidoscope I knew it was something special.”
Sandwiched between a church-office, private residences and set back almost 500 feet off the street behind another building, Kaleidoscope’s outdoor façade completely conceals the reality of a studio even existing in such a place. But the real beauty lies in the talents of the staff, their vision to create an affordable and professional environment for everyone from singer songwriters to full on orchestras and the loving care they put into building the studio. And because of that reason, Kaleidoscope has been one of Union City NJ’s best, kept secrets. So it’s no wonder why artists such as Richie Havens, Dana Kurtz and now Matt Mead have recorded their latest albums there. In fact, Dana’s version of Prince’s “Joy in Repetition” is what sold Matt on using Kaleidoscope in the first place. “The drums on that track were so present and natural that I was instantly sold on the sound of the room.”
“My original idea for the record was to go in and record live with nothing more than acoustic guitar, bass drums and vocals. Then bring in a few talented friends to be featured on the album. And for the most part, that’s what we did. Since I was going in alone without a producer, I needed to be conscious of making sure everything on the record made sense. So approaching the album with a ‘less is more’ attitude was the first thing on my mind. But I also wanted a big sounding record to bring out the special qualities of the songs.” And to that end we approached the recording with a clear idea of what we were going for. The result is a collection of songs that I am extremely proud of.”
Through a custom 32 channel API analog mixing console, Pro tools and DP Logic, the record was recorded with basics going down to tape on the “Frankenstein, API”, primary tracks going through pro-tools and the record eventually coming back through the console again for mix down.
“On day one we each had our own isolation booth within view of each other and cut the basics as a live trio. Stephen recorded on a 4-piece DW custom recording kit with a mix of proximity mics and very little compression. We set the drums up in the ‘rock room’ (aptly dubbed for its rear wall made of stone) because I liked intimate space and feel of the kit in the room. For half of the bass tracks I needed a deep and dark tone that would really “lift” the acoustic and the vocals out of the mix. Brian’s tone and method of bass playing has always reminded me of Michael Anthony from (Van Halen) and that’s kind of sound I was going for. We used a GK-800RB through an Eden 4x10 with a direct line out of the head and a variety of microphones on the bass cabinet and in the room.”
With the basics for half of the songs done in roughly two days, Mead called in Nicholas D’ Amato for the remaining bass tracks which were recorded direct to Pro tools. Over the next 8 months Mead and Mormando recorded all the guitar and vocals through a variety of acoustic and electric guitars, amplifiers and microphones. “My main acoustic is the Taylor K-20, but I also used my ‘Big Baby’, an Ibanez custom 12 string, a Godin LG electric and my Taylor T-5 for most of the guitar parts. The other voices were done with a mandolin, ukulele, baritone and e-bowed guitars.” In fact, one of the unique sounds captured on the record is the eerie sounding Cello-like tones that he got for “Pillar” by bending a baritone guitar with an e-bow through a heavily reverberated Fender Blues Jr. Other amp combinations of a Music-Man HD-130 through a Fender Bandmaster 2x12, a 1965 Fender Deluxe, a Matchless Hurricane and a Supro are how all the other electric guitar tones were achieved. All the acoustic guitars were miked up with Oktava MC012’s and Mead’s vocal parts were recorded with Neumann U87’s and Shure KSM44’s. For the keyboard and Piano sounds Sal recommended Rob Clores who appears on three of the albums primary tracks. Pete Vitalone also makes a guest appearance on the record with his signature accordion and melodica tracks on “Feed the Animals”.
More Track Notes to come…
