NEWS..................
:: Latest! 3-D are playing the WOMAD festival ::
Sunday, 29th July 2007, 3-D played for an hour on the Radio 3 stage
at WOMAD. For info go to www.womad.org
:: Album Release ::
Album
released on May 7th 2007!!! You can purchase it here from the website,
just follow the links!
Hope you enjoy, look forward to hearing what you think!
:: Recording of the Album 'Future Primitive' ::
Last November we finally arrived in Los Angeles ready to record our
debut album in Mad Hatter Studio, originally Chick Corea's studio.
We spent the first day checking out drum kits and percussion as we
hired in all our gear from 'Drum Doctors' LA. We ended up with 2 superb
DW kits for Dan and me, and Nick liked the sound of a Gretsch kit.
Plus a great selection of Zildjian cymbals and a huge box of percussion
instruments, congas, timbales and bongos. Spent the whole day getting
used to all the gear!
First impressions of Mad Hatter were that it is top of the range,
totally service oriented, friendly atmosphere, all the latest hi-tech
gear and the staff really know their stuff. They all seemed to be
genuinely dedicated to providing us with what we needed to achieve
a great album. Good start!
We
very soon felt at home. We'd done some pre-production on a few tracks,
the rest were 'ideas' in various stages of creation, some basic grooves
and percussion worked out. We wanted a 'live' drum sound that was
natural, as a basic, and to that we would add some live playing of
bass and keyboards plus samples letting the tracks evolve as we went
along, hopefully each track having a life of it's own! Because we
all three have individual tastes in music, but with the common denominator
being the drums, we wanted to embrace all those tastes be it hip hop,
jazz funk, break beat, tribal, drum and bass etc etc.
We spent the first 10 days laying down all the drum and percussion
tracks. We had just over three weeks to complete the album which was
pretty tight, considering this involved creating the ideas, working
out the drum and percussion parts, the production and finding some
good musicians to work with during this period! Plus mixing it! But
we all agreed the best playing and ideas happen when the pressure
is on so we approached it from that viewpoint, the right amount of
pressure!
Each morning we were greeted with a 'custom' made mug of coffee as
we entered the studio, perfect way to start the day! During our stay
and due to the schedule we were on, we sampled food from every take-away
in the surrounding area, some good, some not so good!
Mad
Hatter has 2 production suites so as Danny and Nick were doing most
of the production, they took a room each. We pulled in other musicians
for bass on some tracks and key's and sax, but always keeping a good
blend of live and electronic.
As each track was completed or near to completion, we'd gather in
one of the listening suites and check out the rough mix, with a coffee
of course! Actually by now we'd graduated to hot chocolate and Crispy
Cream donuts!!! Heavenly!
The
idea was to make the drums and percussion an integral part of each
track, not just a backing instrument, without slipping in to just
showing off with all our favourite 'licks'!
I think we did it!
Mick Guzauski, who's mixed for so many people, he needs his own page,
(from Eric Clapton to Mariah Carey to Prince) came in to mix for us…out
of this world ears! He enhanced what we'd done to a level we hadn't
imagined. Then it was mastered by the famed Bernie Grundman, at Bernie
Grundman Mastering.
So hard work, tough targets but bloody good fun!
As for Mad Hatter, I don't think we could have got the product of
an album we liked, anywhere else!
During the whole time we were there, there were no distractions
in the studio, just a perfect scene where you do what you do, make
music! (No, I don't have shares in the studio, wish I did!!!)
Hope you enjoy 'Future Primitive' as much as we enjoyed making it.
Woody
