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Sydney’s GAS has just welcomed the from Skunkhour, Ali Omar (R.I.P.), Jamie Lloyd, Bobby ‘Dodgehuana’ Scott has again returned from all-singing, all-dancing, Buzz Pringle on board. Royce Doherty, Gina Mitchell of Basslines, and one Turkey where he’s been completing a site inspection Buzz is known around the traps as being the as yet unnamed mystery singer. for the 2010 Anzac Day proceedings. He’s also been managing director and senior audio engineer at recording music by Bree van Reyk and Nick Wales Over at Trackdown Scoring Stage house engineer Stellar Sound for the last two decades. GAS has also for Happy as Larry – Sean Parker’s dance production Daniel Brown has been busy working with producer just installed the uber-amazing two-bay Fairlight for the Sydney Festival. Bob is also writing music Max Lambert on the music for Sydney’s New Years Dream II Constellation, which apparently looks like a for Alex Harrison’s Dark, not too Dark, and doing Eve Celebrations. spaceship on steroids according to Blair (let’s hope it music and sound for a large surround-sound PA at doesn’t break out in acne and get all aggressive). Blair While in Sydney on tour with the Black Eyed CarriageWorks Th eatre (Australia) during February. Joscelyne has taken out the 2009 Peas, Will.I.Am popped into the studio again for Added to the Dodgehuana schedule are workshops Advertising & Design Club award for Best Original a few sessions, culminating in Trackdown’s studio and sound experiments for Damien Ricketson’s Music for his composition for the Origin Energy manager, Elaine Beckett, producing the fi lming of piece Fractured Again for the Sydney Festival, and an Happy Papercraft s TV commercial. His collection of the BEP’s Sydney concert. Trackdown’s Technical album mix for Jungle Hammer. toy pianos and keyboards (now numbering over 50) Director/Lead Engineer, Simon Leadley, spent time Dave Sparks’s Pirate Studios, tucked away at the has also been photographed for a coff ee-table book with composer Felicity Fox completing the 5.1 edge of Bournda National Park near Tathra in NSW on alternate music creation with the photos to also mix for her score for the short fi lm, Wall Boy, and has enjoyed another busy few months involving appear as part of an exhibition in Sydney during 2010. engineer Tim Ryan is working as music editor on recording the Moruya Jazz festival for ABC South the feature fi lm Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Th e Australian Songwriters Association has just East NSW, mixing live tracks for the Lime Spiders, Katie Holmes. crowned Tony King the ‘Australian Songwriter of the mixing the Happy Hate Me Nots, as well as tracking Year’. King also won an unprecedented three awards, While we’re on the subject of Trackdown, Brent albums and mastering for Th e Cliff s, Rebecca taking out ‘Best Song’ in the Open and Folk/Acoustic Heber of Digidesign infamy in collaboration with Moore, TNT, 3 Wheeled Ute, and country artist categories, as well as the ‘Best Lyrics’ award. Tony has the Trackdown crew are in the process of fi tting out Cameron Cusak. Dave’s also tracking and heading an extensive list of credits including teaming up for a 5.1 mix suite, dubbed ‘Sumsound at Trackdown’ up production of albums for Daniel Champagne and songwriting and lead guitarist duties with Andrew – set to open on February 1st. Th e cinema premix Matt Sothern for a Pirate Records release. Strong of Commitments fame. He was also a script facility will feature a pile of high-falutin’ Digidesign In the deep south, Sing Sing is buzzing and busy writer for the radio comedy series How Green Was equipment and a somewhat enormous 150-inch – not only with bookings but also with a recently My Cactus, now in its 23rd year of political satire. cinema screen. Watch this space for further details. inaugurated maintenance and repair regime. Check out his Wine into Water project – creating Down the hill at the Brain Studios, Sound Casino Rejuvenation procedures have been carried out water-wells in Ethiopia from music. and Chicks Who Love Guns have just wrapped up on all three LA4s and all four GML EQs, while the Sameer SenGupta of Bombay Brothel notoriety, has an EP recording with Clayton Segelov in Studio Focusrite ISA 110 from the Neve Room has had fi nally put his long overdue album to bed. Working A. Canberra mathcorers, Inside Th e Exterior, have its 100,000km service. Topping off the revamp is alongside Ken Cloud, the album is entitled Proximo, begun pre-production for their debut release. a modifi cation to the CBS compressor to include and will be infi ltrating the dance fraternity under Atmospheric doom bands, Mona's Lament, and attack, release and threshold controls. It’s also the moniker of Pocket 808. Due out in February, Th e Veil, have been tracking new material in the acquired a few more new toys to play with, including the album features a host of Australian singers, Brain. Wollongong rockers, Tetanus Rig, have also an original pair of UREI LA3 compressors, a 1950s including Nathan Hudson from Faker, Aya Larkin recorded an EP with Clayton. Gates compressor, a Roland RE501 Space Echo and

Pony Music’s new studio, main recording room The room also includes a located on an industrial enjoys a ceiling of 5.5 list of classic and modern estate in Hallam (an metres. amplifiers, drums and outer south-eastern Pony’s impressive instruments, including suburb of Melbourne), equipment stable is a Hammond/Leslie has officially opened constantly growing combination. after much toil and hard (along with the costs!), Pony’s new full service yakka. With an impressive with recent additions music complex also gear list, substantial live including a pair of offers the added luxury and control rooms and a vintage Neumann U47s, of a retail store (for all great overall vibe, the new Neve mic pres and an Al your plectrum, strings facility is going great guns Smart C2 compressor. and stick requirements), and has already hosted The recording chain at state-of-the-art rehearsal several sessions for the Pony revolves around a studios, production hire likes of Carly Van, Stevie ProTools HD2 system (PA, lighting and backline), Paige, Anarchsphere, with C24 control surface tuition and repairs all Eye Of The Enemy, fed by Lynx, Apogee onsite. It’s a one-stop- NeObliviscaris and ’90s and UA 2192 converters shop if you’re rehearsing band, DefRyme. Probably through 22 outboard mic or recording. the most luxurious aspect pres including API, Neve, of the new setup is the Telefunken, UA, AEA, luxury of height, thanks to For a full rundown on what Amek, Byer66 and Great Pony Music offers visit: the raw dimensions of the River. www.ponymusic.com.au PONY MUSIC RECORDING tilt slab factory walls – the

AT 48 AT 49 Matthew Gray’s mastering and versatile. enough: “I blanket emailed studio in has Matt’s facility boasts every studio I knew of that been around for a while a hybrid of analogue had one to see if anyone now – eight years in processors, along with would part with theirs. fact. In that time Matt digital outboard from Most studios told me to has developed quite a Weiss (the DS-1 Mk3) and sod off – ‘prise it from reputation for his skills. Crane Song (the HEDD) as our cold dead hands’ – but The old rumpus room well as plug-in processors eventually a Japanese that became a mastering designed specifically for studio responded… this studio is these days full mastering. Most of the particular unit used to of all manner of high-end audio sweetening is done belong to Sandy Pearlman esoteric analogue and using analogue processing, of Blue Oyster Cult fame. digital gear. From his including API 2500 and It still has his name on it.” beloved Lavry Gold Thermionic Culture Matt’s mastering studio converters and modified Phoenix compressors and also provides an online Ampex ATR 102 half-inch the three aforementioned mastering service, which tape machines to the analogue EQs: the includes a free mix various analogue and Sontec MES-432C EQ – evaluation. Clients can digital stereo EQs from considered by some to be upload their music and Sontec, API, Weiss the Holy Grail of analogue Matt identifies potential and Buzz Audio, Matt’s mastering EQs – the Buzz problems and offers collection is extensive yet Audio REQ 2.2, and the suggestions. focussed. He doesn’t have API 5500. a thousand EQ options To find out more, go to: or 20 compressors at his When asked how he got his www.matthewgray disposal, but the hands on such a rare piece mastering.com and follow ones he has are impressive as the Sontec, Matt’s the yellow brick road. MATTHEW GRAY MASTERING response seemed logical

a Th ermionic Culture Phoenix stereo compressor. third album. Somewhere Mark has found the time reckons it pre-dates the AWA G58250 (which to record an album for himself under the name Rancom St happens to have a pair of). Apparently At Deluxe Mastering in Brunswick, Tony ‘Jack the MLCUndercat. it’s great for when only slamming and pumping Bear’ Mantz’s recent projects include Th e Dead compression will do. River Deeps, Tin Man, Canadian producer Jimmy At Revolution Studios, Genevieve Maynard has been Valance Jnr (son of songwriter Jim Valance), tweaking vocals for Paul Mac’s new album, recording Th e SOH Recording Studios are having fun Kingswood, Unearthed winners Howl, a six-piece live jazz album with Eddie Bronson, with a month long series of sessions recording remixes for Dizzee Rascal (UK), and demos for an album worth of songs for an 18 piece primary the Sydney Symphony Prokofi ev Festival with Airbourne’s upcoming album. Adam Dempsey school choir, working on a crossover western/ Vladimir Ashkenazy. Apparently the crew turned mastered his third album for Broderick Smith classical/Bollywood Indian album with Shelly Misra, the Concert Hall into a dedicated recording room (the latest produced by Matt Walker and featuring mastering for My Sauce Good and Cloud Control with wonderful results. Th en a week with Tim Garth Hudson of Th e Band), as well as CD and remixes, a didgeridoo session with William Barton Freedman and his rogues playing with the Sydney vinyl releases for Th e Fearless Vampire Killers, for an Argentinian project with the producer listening Symphony. Recent sessions have included Sienna Th e Demon Parade, Crystal Th omas, Plastic in via Skype, and an album for Julian Curwin’s avant- and Lee Groves, Opera Australia‘s Cosi Fan Tutti Palace Alice, Jona Byron, Th e Vaudeville Smash jazz lounge project, Th e Tango Saloon. live broadcast, as well as mixing a DVD for the (formerly Pornland), the debut for a capella trio, Australian Ballet’s production of Swan Lake. In It’s been a couple of eventful months for the gang Aluka (produced by Myles Mumford), and a live terms of new gear, Tony David Cray tells us his most at Th e Grove Studios, with recent clients availing compilation from Going Down Swinging. Byron recent epiphany has been the joy of using a 4B pencil themselves of the Studio One facilities, including Scullin completed albums for Midnight Juggernauts, over a 2B. Go fi gure! Silverchair, New Empire, Katie Noonan, Sunday Matthew McBeath and Eleanor Garran, tracks for Waits, Victor Row and Ray McCarthy. In-house Aft er nearly 12 months of interning at Love Hz Digital Primate and T-Rek, mixing and mastering engineer Josh Telford, and the rest of Th e Grove Studios, Brett Moses has fi nally been nudged out an album for blues busker George Kamikawa, crew were also honoured to have producer Nick into the big bad world to start work on his own and completing sound design for dance company Didia (Powderfi nger, Pearl Jam, Rage Against projects. Brett will continue to utilise not only Love Chunky Move and score/sound design for a work by Th e Machine) working at the facility. In Studio Hz but also his Pleasant Valley Studio – depending video artist Daniel Crooks. Two, the Harrison desk has been completely how pleasant he’s feeling. First cabs off the rank at Over at Anon Islet Records in Melbourne, Tomas re-capped and the list of outboard equipment is Pleasant Valley have been singer/songwriter Glenn Fitzgerald is recording and mixing power pop band, steadily growing with the recent acquisition of a Wheatcroft and power-pop project, Reprise, as well Left Feels Right, epic rock band TST, and helping Pendulum ES-8 stereo compressor and Sennheiser as bed tracks for Bryan Estepa’s next album. Brett out Rincon with preproduction for their next record. 504 microphones. Andy Sorenson’s Translator Mix can’t get enough of his Universal Audio LA-610, and Suite is set to go with new equipment including a is still hopelessly devoted to his Yamaha NS10Ms. Down at Th e Mill, further renovations are slated ProTools HD2 system, MacPro, Lynx convertors, for the summer break, with AT editor Andy Stewart Th is month’s special project at Crystal Mastering Waves Mercury bundle and additional plug-ins, a putting the fi nishing touches on acoustic treatments defi nitely goes to the soundtrack mastering of Neve 8816 summing box, C1 Smart Compressor, between mix sessions with Tash Parker, Wally Bran Nue Dae, featuring artists such as Missy API 5500 stereo EQ, Crane Song Hedd 192, and an De Backer, and J Walker. Andy reckons he has a Higgins, Jessica Mauboy, Ernie Dingo, Geoff rey API 512 preamp. backlog of mixing to do in the coming months due Rush and Dan Sultan. Mastered by John Ruberto, to all the bartering he’s done for labouring hours – Rancom Street’s Ted Howard has been the soundtrack to this Australian movie (currently apparently the bill’s getting quite out of hand! 2010 moonlighting at 301 for the last couple of weeks, screening nationally) was recorded and produced will hopefully be the year work at Th e Mill ceases to but as always he returns to his Rancom St heartland. by Tim Cole & David Bridie. Other cool cats on the involve hammers and becomes entirely audio based. Ted’s been mastering Th e Sunny Cowgirls’ album, Crystal couch include Eddy Current, Young Heretics following which he’ll be tracking with local ‘Brit (produced by Tom Larkin of Shihad), Representing South Australia, Mark Killey from pop’ band, Th e Chronics. Gear-wise, Ted’s loving (produced by Jenk), Mikowai (produced by Magoo), 524 Recording is all but fi nished recording Frodo’s Acoustica’s convolution version of the Bricasti M7 Manic Pistoleros, Sascha Ion, Lost for Words, third album. Frodo (Gerry Wolf Krochmal) was so (a free download he tells us). Ted has also reignited Corporation Klink, Th e Readymades, Gea Mala, and happy with the results on albums one and two, that an old fl ame with the AWA ‘W Amp’ limiter. Ted Matt Kirsch. he commissioned Mark to do his darnedest on the

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