Turn Me Up

I am a freelance recording engineer based in the San Francisco Bay area.

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Releases that knocked my socks off in 2013

No special ranking, no prizes, just some of the music that came out this year that blew me away. 

Heiress - Early Frost (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

I said no ranking, but I lied. I'm writing this in late November so it could change, but "Early Frost" has been my album of the year since my first listen. Jack Endino engineered/produced. Great, heavy songs and the record sounds amazing. 

Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork (Rdio, Spotify)

Took a few listens for this to sink in. Darker and with less humor than usual for QOTSA, but the songs are excellent. 

Gaytheist - Hold Me...But Not So Tight (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

Hilarious, short, fast songs and they are a rad live band. 

Red Fang - Whales and Leeches (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

Cheap beer and riffs

Doomriders - Grand Blood (Rdio, Spotify)

Just a flat out banger

Ladder Devils - Nowhere Plans (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

Maybe this actually came out in 2012? Regardless, this collection of noise rock songs should make even the most jaded Unsane-obsessed fan happy.

Morality Crisis - Boats (Bandcamp)

These are some twisted dudes. I present this link to the video for "Enormous Fucking Death Ass Knife" without comment. The opening riff to "Lumberjane" is enough to singlehandedly restore waning faith in guitar music. 

Whores. - Clean (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

Noisey noise rock.

Chelsea Wolfe - Pain Is Beauty (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

Russian Circles - Memorial (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

Pelican - Forever Becoming (Bandcamp, Rdio, Spotify)

I don't know how Russian Circles and Pelican manage to get better with every album but they both do. The collaboration between Russian Circles and Chelsea Wolfe on "Memorial" is particularly nice.

Vaz - Visiting Hours (Rdio Spotify)

Hopefully Vaz and Unsane maintain this schedule of releasing banging albums in alternating years. If Vaz play a show in your neck of the woods don't miss it. 

Melvins - Tres Cabrones (Rdio, Spotify)

Best Melvins album in a while. A lot of fun. 

Lots of heavy stuff this year. I've heard some sneak peeks of early 2014 releases from sargenthouse and Good To Die Records I'm already looking forward to. 

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Despite their slacker image, Nirvana were among the most well-rehearsed and painstakingly prepared bands in their entire scene. You try practicing together 6 days a week, 4 hours a day and see how long it takes you to record an album. Just listen to the band play “Love Buzz” into a cheap camcorder microphone during an early rehearsal in 1988. Chad Channing’s less-than-inspired drumming aside, tell me it doesn’t sound like a take that’s just begging to be captured in a decent studio with some real mics. Do you sound this good and well-balanced when your whole band plays around a single SM57? Try it sometime and find out.

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We Have Signal: The Black Angels

I've been browsing We Have Signals' excellent Vimeo page and watching some of their newer shoots and enjoying some older ones I'd watched before. I am loving a lot of the neo-psychedelic bands going these days. The Black Angels are one of them. Enjoy.

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Sargent House is delighted to announce that Emma Ruth Rundle will be recording her debut solo album this year for release on Sargent House. Above is a video of her performing a new track “Oh Sarah” live from the Glassroom. (Shot & Edited by Spencer Rollins) Earlier this year we had...

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Wow....fuck yeah #emt #plate #reverb (at faultline studios)

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There is almost no chance you haven't heard this breakbeat before. It's the Wilhelm scream of sampling.

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Class A? Class AB? Cathode-biased, Push-Pull configurations...huh? Check this out for a pretty solid explanation on the basics of tube guitar amplifiers.

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Off to see the wizard for a MIDI retrofit. #synth #synthesizer #MIDI #vintage

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Finally, you can now sound even worse than MP3!

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#neve

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A friend passed along this link for a free plug-in. It is the filter section from Elysia's amazing Mpressor. I haven't had a chance to install it yet but the samples sound pretty rad.

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"Where's Our Change?" mixed by Andy Freeman at Bay Area Tone and me at Faultline Studios. Check it out!

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There are some damn near unbelievable places in California. (Taken with Instagram)