Recording Ben Frock and the Subatomic Particles

I am very excited to announce that Ben Frock has released this wonderful recording that we produced last spring.  Sonically, it is one of the finest projects I have been involved in.  Musically, one of the most tasteful collages of sound.  The whole record is one long improvisation.  It flows, direct to tape.  Analog, baby!  Check it out.

Link to CDBaby where you can purchase the CD

Link to Ben Frock's Myspace Page

The goal of this project was to make a timeless sounding recording. Timeless in the sense that vintage technology was used to record contemporary, almost futuristic sounding improvised music with modern electronic and computer generated effects. I wanted to make a record that could have been made in the early 1970s for Bluenote, or in the year 2150 to broadcast to human settlements on the moon. This project would not have been possible without the inventiveness and forward thinking of Ben Frock, Jonathan Birkholz, Dan Marcellus, and Eric Trudel.

The engineering challenge was to record the group playing in a large room (East Hall), and incorporate the sound of the room into the recording. I wanted to record in a large room because jazz is so often recorded in small, dead spaces, using artificial reverberation, and although I used artificial analog reverb (EMT plate), I wanted the option of having a real room to play with.

The audio paradox that I explore in this project is the question of reality. 

When we hear something on the radio, how much of it is real? There is so much out there that is edited and manipulated, at what point does it still resemble the original performance? I have done many sessions in ProTools, and there is always an instinct to start cutting and pasting things when it is up on the EDL. The editing in this project is minimal, but the manipulation of sound in mixing is dynamic. Does sending a sound through an equalizer, a plate reverb, or even a digital effect flavor it to the point of invalidity?

The first thing that attracted me to the art of recording was the console. I saw engineers mixing as a performance (not using automation). I believe automation has its uses, but I also think that when we listen, subconscious (and subatomic?) decisions are made to move our finger up or down on a fader in that moment. Using the equipment in studio 3036 was a very tactile experience, from calibrating the tape machine to mixing the tape down through the analog console.  Tape has a magical quality to it. I believe it is a valid medium to record to for several reasons. Sometimes, the sound of the tape is appropriate, and pleasing to the ear. I like the high frequency roll-off, and I think the sound of trumpet recorded through a ribbon microphone to tape is an aesthetically pleasing classic.

As a performer, tape can add energy to a session. For this session, I was backing up everything to the MX2424 digital multitrack recorder, including sound check, and first-takes. The band was aware of this. I told Ben, “Let me know when you want me to roll the tape,” and when he did, I could tell that they were performing their best. Using a limited medium provides a certain amount of pressure to the artist. I think it is analogous to the use of film in photography. One can snap a million digital pictures, but if real film is in the camera, and there are only 24 shots, each photograph that is created is a result of extra attention, planning, care, and excitement.

I have been experimenting with minimal microphone setups on the drums. For this project, I used a Jecklin Disc with MKH 20 omni-directional microphones as drum overheads. They picked up the kit very evenly, but I added a Beyerdynamic M88 on snare for a little extra snap, and an AKG D112 on the kick for a little extra oomph. 

In mixing, the level of the room mics were lowered and raised which added another dimension. 

During more ambient sections, Ben and I explored the use of a lot of room, while more intense sections were brought forward towards the listener for greater clarity. The use of the room had to be approached with caution because of anomalies caused by discrepancies in time of arrival. In the mixing environment I was in, I attempted to fix some of this with delay, but in the end left it as it was because of the sense of depth it gave to the other instruments. This had the most negative effect on the transience of the kit.

The mix was active, and we rode the faders to blend the sax and trumpet. The lows on the DI of the keyboard are boosted to act more as the “bass player,” while the miked amp was panned to give the illusion of another soloist. Electronically manipulated effects are actively panned in some sections to give the feeling of movement and disorientation.

Ben Frock and The Subatomic Particles:

Ben Frock……………………..Trumpet
Dan Marcellus……………...Drums and Cymbals
Eric Trudel……………………Tenor Saxophone
Jonathan Birkholz………..Hammond XK-3 Organ, Electronics

Additional Engineers:
Andy Stella, Daren Vaughn

Tape Operator:

Shaun Roberts

Mastered by Paul Wickliffe

RECORDING SYSTEM DESIGN:
Drums - Jecklin Disc with MKH 20s as overheads
Beyerdynamic M88 on snare
AKG D112 on Kick (originally an RE20 was in place, but through troubleshooting with signal flow, it was replaced with “old faithful”)
Organ – Direct In
Senheiser MD 421 on ampTrumpet – Coles 4038 ribbon
Sax – Royer 121 ribbon
Computer – DI
Room Mics – Spaced Neumann M150 Tube

Console: Sony MXP3036VF
Dolby SR Noise reduction
Otari MTR-90 2” Tape Machine with Quantegy 456 Grand Master Tape 15ips +3dB elevated operating level
Digital Backup: Tascam MX2424
Outboard Processor: Sony DPS-M7 Digital Effects Processor, EMT Plate
2 Track Recorders: Tascam CD Recorder, DVRA-1000 DV

D-RW 96-24

Acoustical Considerations:
The null points of the figure-8 pattern ribbon mics were pointed towards the drums, which provided for good isolation. The drums and keyboard amp were surrounded by gobos to control bleed. The curtains in East Hall were closed.

Four of Baltimore's killingest young musicians.