Snowmine: Recording In The Bat Cave & Beyond
Delicious Audio recently interviewed Brooklyn indie-rock band Snowmine about their recording process – they self-produced their debut EP, Laminate Pet Animal. They also, more recently, recorded at Germano Studios, with producer/engineer Jake Aron. The band is fronted by new-classical composer Grayson Sanders, whose vocals have been compared to Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, and Jim Jones of My Morning Jacket. Read the entire interview here and an excerpt below…
Snowmine
Like many contemporary Brooklyn based artists, Snowmine is very interested in the creative possibilities offered by the recording studio, but the results we hear on record showcase a band that masters the production process like few others. We took the time to ask them a few questions about this.
How much of your recording is done at home versus in the studio?
A lot of the recording is done at home. We call it batcaving.
If you use a studio, what do you record there and what do you record by yourself and why?
We record basics (drums, bass, rhythm guitars) all live for the sake of the personal interaction. It helps to be able to float off the grid and focus on the performing with each other. I do textures, found sounds and vocals at home. The space to get in your own head and nitpick can only appear without the pressure of the space you’re paying for…
What are the pieces of equipment that you find particularly inspiring when recording at home? (Please mention the brand and model name and say why you like it)
I use a Fender Mini Tone-Master. It’s a small solid state practice amp, and I put literally everything through it. Almost all the tracks for remixes and otherwise go through it, either for grit and gnarly speaker distortion or darkening. I then take the 96k, sparkly hi-fi tracks and balance them against each other. I think it’s cool to automate between two sounds that are hi and lo-fi — adds another sense of dimension.
I also use a tiny compressor called the “RNC” or “Really Nice Compressor” before I get to the amp. It’s no frills, but I push it on synths before the amp, so I can hit it with variable attacks. You can get some interesting results for sure. It also has a “Super Nice” mode, which I can’t exactly figure out, but I think the name is rad.
My choice mic is the good ol’ SM7. You know what they say: “If it ain’t broke, don’t get gas.” (That’s Gear Acquisition Syndrome.)
Click here to read the rest of the interview, by Paolo De Gregorio.