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Making a CD is a labor of love that requires perseverance, time, and of course, money. Money is always a factor! Our band, Americanistan, is based in Eugene, Oregon, and has been playing music for bellydancers for 13 years. We have produced three CDs - two of which were released in 2003. We are fortunate to live in a city full of musicians and recording studios, which made it possible to find recording facilities and great sound engineers at affordable prices.
After performing hundreds of live shows, we knew what to expect with a live dancer and an audience. The energy of the “live” experience is very inspiring. But we were about to record our music in a sterile recording studio for posterity. Any glitches or flaws in this environment would become very apparent Good chemistry between band members, and between the band and the engineer, goes a long way toward easing anxieties and creating a positive experience. We had to find a balance between what we could afford, what was available in our time frame, the engineer’s experience, and the almost indefinable qualities that make the engineer and the band mesh well.
We learned that the hard way through an unproductive, expensive experience with a very qualified engineer who had all the latest equipment, but was mainly a rock music guy. He literally did not know what kind of sound we were after. So we were thrilled when we found Eric, an Algerian/French engineer who grew up listening to Middle-Eastern music. His love and understanding of the music, and his low-key, supportive manner (not to mention his lovely accent!) more than made up for the fact that he was less experienced than the rock ‘n’ roll guy.
Each phase of the process is expensive, time-consuming, and important. Some groups record by isolating each musician in a sound booth. The sound booth creates the best separation of the sound and enhances the qualities of each instrument through individual microphones. We used this technique for our “Journey East” CD. The positive side is that the sound quality is excellent. Each instrument is recorded individually on its own track, and can be manipulated or edited later during the mixing phase. The downside is that most musicians aren’t used to working that way. It’s an unnatural situation for a band that normally plays together in the same room. (Especially when playing ethnic, acoustic instruments as we do.) The strangeness of being unable to hear the other musicians, except through headphones, along with the periodic inability to make eye contact with them, can be frustrating at times and can slow down the recording process. It may even be difficult to hear oneself playing one’s own instrument, which is why many musicians wear the headphones over one ear only, leaving the other ear uncovered.
It can be hard to get past the feeling of money trickling away when one does not have a rich sponsor or deep pockets. If a band is going to track using the isolation sound booth method, members should be extremely familiar with their material and have everything worked out ahead of time. This is not the time to start improvising! An alternative to the sound booth method is tracking with all the musicians in one room. Low sound barriers between musicians help provide some separation of sound. We used this method for our “Mosaic” CD. This allows more of a “live” feeling in the music and still gives good sound quality. Since much of our music is improvisational, it is good for us to see each other, hear each other, and respond to each others’ musical ideas. We were recording music that we had been playing together at shows for 18-24 months before we went into the studio. Our goal was to capture the sound that we had developed during that period. We had a great group of musicians and we had fun tracking the pieces that involved five or more musicians. We also did some tracks with fewer musicians. My husband Wayne and I recorded some pieces with just the two of us. We did some “overdubbing” to create the illusion of more musicians playing together on two or three pieces. Most of the tracking was done with Eric, and he was great.
Among recording studio personnel, it is a well-known fact that many bands break up during or shortly after a recording project. Some theories about why this occurs are: a.) It is the end of a cycle, or a sense of completion, and for some, time to move on. b.) Musicians feel
very “evaluated” when hearing themselves recorded. Even
if the band frequently records their shows, it’s just not the
same as a studio recording. Flaws that can go unnoticed during a live
show become very apparent. The project was on hold for many months as we rehearsed with new band members and kept our commitments to play at different events. Meanwhile, we found an incredible sound engineer who became a friend as well as trusted “ears” - Wayne Leeds. (I call him “Other Wayne” to distinguish him from my husband Wayne). He is a genius with sensitive ears and an unfailing sense of what will make a musical piece “work”. Wayne Leeds worked with us to complete the Mosaic project. My vision all along had been to create a studio recording of music that dancers could “cut-and-paste” into their own routines. Many shows use taped music, and dancers always need routines of 5-8 minutes for these shows. I wanted to create short pieces that could be strung together to create different moods and different sections of the dance.
However, as a result of Americanistan’s improvisational style, many of the pieces the band recorded with Eric were too long. Wayne Leeds was invaluable in helping us edit and mix these pieces.
A third recording method for bands to consider is the live recording. We used a digital recording device to capture the music on “Live at the Wow”. The digital recorders give a very clean sound. Of course, instruments can not be individually isolated, but it is possible to record several tracks and then mix them. Certain instruments, like flutes, tend to bleed into every track, so there are fewer options available during the editing process.
There is less self-consciousness in a live recording, because even though bands know they are being recorded, their awareness is focused on the performance and not on the recording. And it is a lot easier on the budget because there is no tracking time. However, there is still the expense of mixing and mastering. The final step is production. We produced “Live at the Wow” at Sony with a four-color print job for the cover. The minimum order was 1000 CDs, and the print job was as expensive as the CD burning. Five years later, CD burners are now common and color laser printers have come down in price. We found a local home-based business with professional quality equipment. They can produce smaller quantities with a short turn-around time, and the prices are reasonable. And now there are web sites that will host digital audio files, and people can pay to download and burn their own CDs. I think that will be the wave of the future. We are currently investigating that possibility for our music. Have
a comment? Send us a letter! Ready
for more? 6-6-04 At last! The Sunday Photos from Rakkasah West 2004- Page 1, Page 2 Thanks to all the photographers and volunteers whol help make this happen. We still need a few names to go with faces! 5-28-04
Dance Contests by Yasmela 6-1-04
"Raqia Hassan presents Ahlan
Wa Sahlan Oriental Dance Festival Opening Cairo 2003." A video
review by Mara al-Nil 4-15-04
An American Belly Dancer:
The Significance of Jillina, Review by Arabia, Photos by Carl Sermon |
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