#recordingalbum

[carolinedemaigret]

Anjou 🇫🇷 #RecordingAlbum @blackminouofficial

[petemcallen]

Stretch that voice

For four days my voice has been stretched to the point that the back of my head that connects to my ears hurts when I smile.  Late into the night vocals strains could be heard scrambling over the rooftops of southwest London, as nearby neighborhood birds chirped with delight as the dawn was close to breaking open (I wish). 

  The reality is recording an album is a lot of hard work, and requires a huge amount of patience and concentration to get everything sounding right.  Dave George (my producer) thinks that generally the best vocal take is the fifth time round, then after that performance doesn’t improve.  That’s a minimum of five times singing over the melody (providing your tone, pitch, accent, and lyrics sound pretty good from take one) and up to ten times singing smaller backing vocal parts.  I spent the best part of forty five minutes singing one chorus over and over to get a desired doubling up effect. 

  For those of you following the album recording process you will have noted the various different studios we have been working in, from Birmingham’s pro studio which seemed to have a recording room for everything, to producer Dave Georges small recording room in Barnes, to the sessions tracked at Blue Barn in the middle of nowhere.  Studio number four was another small set up in Barnes, a sound proofed room in someone’s back garden.  Funny what you can make out of those large garden sheds. 

  The general recording rhythm began with acoustic guitars for two or three tracks (depending on how well I played) followed with the same songs tracking vocals and then backing vocal parts.  Eleven of the tracks have been through all of the studios, adding guitars, bass and drums, so it was particularly exciting to play what looks like the final song “All I am.”  It’s simple, stripped back, poetic and really moving to sing.  It’s a fitting end to the album as the lyrics repeat “All I am, all I am, God is yours.”  That is the heart of the album; encouraging the listener to worship God as part of daily life, growing in relationship with Him.  I can’t wait to share it with you!