Richard O'Flynn Sessions Part 8

Yesterday was our final day tracking and proved to be another fruitful one. Rich got down another three vocals tracks over the course of the day which, given the layers of harmonies and since we’re tending to double track many of the parts as we go, is no easy feat.



Fortunately as Rich is a strong singer we got these three done before Rich began to tire and look a little bleary eyed.



We’ll do the last few vocals in another session towards the end of the month as it’s better to get the takes dead on and with the O’Flynn performance they deserve. Also this gives us a chance to have the cello player down who had unfortunately damaged her arm before this week’s tracking. With recording done for the evening we had a chance to listen the tracks so far



The night then descended into drunken revelry as we brought in Snorre’s birthday with Modern Warfare 2 and Black Sheep Ale.

In the morning after a fry up and after Snorre was chased by a trio of neighbourhood dogs we took a last chance to explore Carmarthenshire.


Rich and snorre bottom left

It’s sometimes easy to forget how beautiful Wales is. Having had this session in such a pretty environment has really been good for recording giving us an easy way to take breaks and unwind.



Snorre has been particularly fond of the surroundings which are more akin to the open planes of Norway than Liverpool. Left unattended the mountain man clambered onto the first large stone to remind him of home...



...drank from mountain streams...



...and finally disappeared over the horizon.



Upon returning we loaded the last of the gear up into Rich’s car and said our goodbyes for now, It has been a great experience working with Rich and Snorre on this project and I’m really pleased with the results so far.



I just can’t wait till the next session when we get to finish vocals, track cello and mess around with reverb. It’s going to be great. I’ll keep you guys posted as to when the next time will be.

Tara for now

C

P.S. shouldn't be too long till EPAV.co.uk us live

Richard O'Flynn Sessions Part 7

Today is the penultimate day of tracking and we could not have had things go more swimmingly. Rich finished off tracking acoustics this morning giving his voice time to warm up for a full day of vocal recording. As Snorre and Rich headed into Lampeter for a shop break I stayed behind to construct a baffled corner area to give us a slightly deader sound that could eliminate the river outside.



Upon their return Snorre helped me put the finishing touches to my creation as Rich took a moment to warm up.

(bonus points available for spotting a lumbering giant)

Rich was of course very happy with his new home.



We took a further hour to get exactly the sound that we wanted for the tracks testing mic choices against one another. We settled on an AT4040 for a warm but clear tone and a D190 for the backing vocals that gives a lovely old school lo-fi sound. When happy we ran the vocals into a 1960 Drawmer Comp/Pre which gave a bit more warmth which enriches Rich’s rich voice.



Technical nonsense aside, I have to confess that often tracking vocals for me can be a slightly tedious process. This is simply not the case with Rich. The tonal quality and soul of his voice are unique and very heartfelt. Honestly the tracking on ‘What in the World’ today brought tears to my eyes… In a good way obviously.



We’re about half way through at the moment having recorded 5 vocal tracks leaving 6 for tomorrow. We’ve jumped in at the deep end and tacked the ones that are harder with more harmonies so I think we’re making good progress. The arrangements are very well thought out and show off Rich’s vocal prowess featureing a fair few layers of harmony.


yes that’s all vocals

Back tomorrow with the last of the O’Flynn session blogs

C

Richard O'Flynn Sessions Part Six

Happy Easter everybody. Today we’ve inducted Snorre into our traditions by setting an Easter hunt that he gruffly lumbered through and also introducing him to the concept of Egg rolling. I think the idea is to throw your egg around as much as possible without it breaking, the last to fracture being the winner. Snorre excelled much more at this than the Easter hunt through brute force, clearing the garden, river, and road with barely a scratch.


Left to right: Rich, Emily (the budding artist), Snorre, Corin

Aside from egg sillyness we have been doing some real work. Rich has been soldiering on with the acoustic guitars completing all bar one track.



So happy with the guitar sound, it’s a touch like The Bend’s acoustics (which is not a bad thing).



We’ll be finishing the acoustic tracking off in the morning tomorrow before moving on to get our vocal sound. It’s been a welcome change to have brighter sunnier weather so we can take breaks in the sunshine appreciating the environment we’re recording in. Snorre and Rich are slowly falling in love…



…with Wales.

With Pro Tools backing up the session we’ve gorged ourselves on a fantastic Easter spread. Snorre is full of meat and we’re all struggling to move so we’ve parked ourselves infront of modern warfare 2. We are all a lot worse at this than we had thought ( "I'm bleedin' out") .



Happy Easter!

C

Richard O'Flynn Sessions Part Five

Day four and Sindre sadly is no longer with us. Rich has thankfully survived this early morning delivery trip to Carmarthen and is back with us today looking only slightly worse for wear. Here is an Easter themed artist’s impression:



Today was originally to be the day for Snorre lay down bass for the tracks. In a controversial move we’ve decided to save this for later and lay the more complicated acoustic guitar parts first. This makes sense as they very much drive the tracks and Snorre possesses the orchestrational talent to pull this off with flair. What can I say the man’s a genius



As the acoustics are so important in these tracks we spent a great deal of time getting the sound just right. We’ve gone for a nice stereo pair that gives a lovely spacially broad bright tone. Of course this is helped by having a lovely martin guitar to begin with and such a skilled player as Rich.



Once we’d got the sound just so we took a little stroll to explore our surroundings and give our ears a breather. Here sheep whisperer Rich coaxes over a young lamb who naively hops towards us to be petted:



Little did he know what we had planned for dinner.



Delicious

C

Richard O'Flynn Sessions Part 4

Day three and the robot drummer Sindre has begun to adapt and become in touch with his so called human senses. He has discovered the joy of taste and has been eating everything in sight like a ravenous squirrel. Here he is discovering the joy of nuts.



Yesterday we covered the louder more aggressive drum tracks leaving more restrained and muted patterns for today. Through retuning, brushwork and re-micing we captured a variety of different sounds from the floating cymbals of sigur ros to the snappier moments of rainbows. Above all else it was Sindre’s flawless grasp of dynamics and rigorous mechanoid timing.



Some of the drum parts for today Snorre and Rich rearranged along the way adding little nuances and altering beats. It’s been a very enjoyable organic process being able decide elements as we go and is a testament to both good orchestration skills and Sindre’s single-minded concentration.



Thankfully today is a little warmer. No snow or hail and a few more heaters. It is still a bit nippy and Rich has taken to warming his shoes up on the radiator as we track, a move that has been reassuringly odourless.



As we draw to a close the drum tracking a sad face occurs. Now, just as he has acclimatised to our ways and performed such a sterling set of drum tracks Sindre must leave us. Rich will be driving him to Carmarthen at 04:10 where he is to embark upon his vessel for home.

Tomorrow as Rich sleeps off this appreciated morning mission Snorre and I will make minor edits to the drums and get us a good bass sound to work with. If this is anything like the makeover Snorre imposed upon me earlier the bass will sound monstrous.



Don’t have nightmares,

C

Richard O'Flynn Sessions Part 3

Day two and the definite impression is that the Welsh weather system is broken. As we got up and ready for the studio a five minute blizzard hit us, settled and in a further five minutes melted. It was quick enough for Die Mensche Machine Sindre to miss it entirely, but for his and your benefit here’s a snapshot.



It is Sindre’s special day. It’s all about the drums. Since we took a while giving the drums a preliminary tune up, getting them into position and trying some mics yesterday I could get in early to do what I do best and gaffer tape microphones precariously from the rafters.



Using a combination of close micing and various room mics we managed to get a lovely drum sound. It’s both snappy and reverberant making it something I’m very excited about.



With a fantastic grasp of dynamics and a robotic mentality Sindre’s been performing as good as ever. Currently we’re 3 songs in and set to finish drums on the remaining half a dozen tomorrow. Progress was slightly hampered today by a blown fuse possibly caused by the wall of heaters that we have installed to counteract the conditions. Rich swapped fuses in a second while I took a little longer restoring orphaned audio tracks.



Moral : Always save

C