New George Massenburg production online

[Shaman]

When gm was in munich - may 2007 he talked about his recent projects and played us some amazing demos from a new female artist he was producing at his new studio at blackbird.

He also mentioned his new internet promotion / distribution concept for young artists.

I wondered how the final mixes would sound + how his concepts work in the real world.

The production is now online:

Dawn Langstroth

amazing stuff with nice studio shots.

Very interesting is the song "elevator music" - which is available in 2 different arranged / mixed versions:

Version 1 is mixed by Al Schmitt
Version 2 is mixed by George Massenburg ( version 2 only available on apple itunes)

Happy listening !

[log62000]

Wow!! Thanks so much for posting this! I love Massenburgs work! This chick sounds really great too. I love her phrasing, especially on that elevator song. I also love how lush and big the song is, especially at the beginning. What about when the drums come in though, if I could just point out one slight disagreement, or difference in interpretation. I like how they sit somewhat in the middle and drive the song behind her, but the space kind of throws me. Before they kick in, its huge and really, well, lush is the ideal word I can use, and the drums just kind of (not ruin because it's a beautiful mix) make it a little less believable, almost? I know you wouldn't want to wash it out and put it in the exact same space, but it seems they could use a different treatment. The drummer is almost playing a little too reserved as well, at least for me. It's a pretty intense, driving song. I would have liked to hear a more aggressive drummer that really cracked the snare with a slightly bigger space, or different space around the drums. What the hell am I saying though? These guys are master craftsmen. Unfortunately, I can't find the other mix though, I just see the one on her second album down. I love to listen to how another genius mixer interprets the tune.

[log62000]

Oh wow...just listening to it again, I am starting to dig the idea more of where the drums are (they still just seem a little boring). I totally get how the spacey-ness in the beginning is being countered though. Maybe if the vocals were brought forward a bit as well when they came in it would make a little more sense in my head. Also, I can't hear the crash hits! Granted, I am listening to MP3's through a noisy output on my 002. Rad production overall, freakin awesome. I'm really getting into this chick! I still want to hear the other mix though... :(

[henryrobinett]

OMG. I just came back a couple hours ago from an all day hang with George in a small studio in Sacramento. He played me about 3 cuts from that record. I heard No Mercy 4 times. What a track.. What a sound. All live except for BV and a cello. Amazing stuff.

[BLueROom]

Hey Henry, I was there too... had to leave right before GM. How was that?

I must have been within arms reach of you all day, e.

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by BLueROom

Hey Henry, I was there too... had to leave right before GM. How was that?

I must have been within arms reach of you all day, e.

Ha! Dang. I got there about 12:30 or 1-ish. I stayed until 6:15. I was basically in Georges room the whole day and was the loud mouth who seemed to ask all the question during the Q and A. You know, engineers can be kind of shy in public, so someone had to get the party started and flowing. I have no problem talking!

You couldn't miss me. I was the only extremely good looking guy there! Sorry I missed you! I saw Brad McGowan though! And Brad Lunde, Peter Montessi. Hung with Ryan Hewitt. That was cool.

[George Necola]

ok.. it's a mix.. good song, good voice and?

[blaugruen7]

and ?

... its no death metal, george.

[George Necola]

Originally Posted by blaugruen7

and ?

... its no death metal, george.

and?

if we are talking about the same thing, it's just a good pop-song, with futuristic reverb FX, good (over)production, nice voice...

not my taste.

so what is the point?

[Madkour]

Check out this link, it's from Dawn Langstroth's new project. recorded live at Blackbird Studio C

Mother's Child

P.S. You can watch in high quality.

[Shaman]

Originally Posted by George Necola

and?

if we are talking about the same thing, it's just a good pop-song, with futuristic reverb FX, good (over)production, nice voice...

not my taste.

so what is the point?

The point is that this is nothing new and it may not be your taste but if you have been at one of gm´s workshops over the last 3 years you will be interested in how all the concepts he was talking about work in real life.

As you can see on the video the whole band plays in one room - which due to it´s special accoustic - mainly based on diffusion has a very homogenous sound. So he´s recording live performances, which is nothing new but very uncommon these days.

Second he tries to avoid click tracks - he has a guy playing very basic handpercussion with the other musicians and uses that track as a basis for creating a tempomap (for eventual future overdubs)

The entirely new thing he talked about is his new music marketing and distribution concept which means that the artist stays independant from any major label and reaches the public via internet (and live performacnes) - as an example he named imogen heap.

To help the new media appearances he allways has some guys filming the recording sessions on hd video for later use.

So if you sum all these little approaches I would say in times of shitty american superstar productions and wannabe A&Rs this is PRETTY DAMN AMAZING

Originally Posted by log62000

Unfortunately, I can't find the other mix though, I just see the one on her second album down. I love to listen to how another genius mixer interprets the tune.

Go to her first album (the one with the green backround) and select "elevator music"

[Shaman]

Damn every time gm´s side racks appear in the video the editor is crossfading
(as if there would be something more important than gear...hrhr)

I got this poor screenshot non the less.
I´m a gml slut - I know

Someone knows how he is using those two gml mixers ?

It´s funny that gm is using only the main block of his ICON while the fader block stays in the corner for tracking...

[henryrobinett]

The point, for me, it was recorded entirely live, all at once. He has a video tape of the session he showed yesterday. Seeing all the guitar players lined up, drums, Dawn standing behind a bunch of his sound diffusers. It was exciting. And listening to this session there on those speakers (whatever they were), directly from Sound Blade and his Orpheus was the shit. All the frequencies, the dimension, the song, the performance and the mix. That was the point. What else is there?

What, you don't like Massenburg? That's OK. To me he represents the ne plus ultra of audio engineering. He he's a GREAT guy willing to help anyone who asks.

These tracks excite me because it's done at once. I'm exciting that in some few places, probably mainly only in Nashville, sessions are done like the olden days, not cut and paste, with precious few overdubs. Man, it makes all the difference in the end to me.

That's the point, for me.

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by George Necola

and?

if we are talking about the same thing, it's just a good pop-song, with futuristic reverb FX, good (over)production, nice voice...

not my taste.

so what is the point?

Man. I just can't get over this, these comments.

OVER production? I don't see that at all. No auto tune, drum replacement, no chopping up the drums or quantizing. The devil is in the details and the details are in the arrangements. If that what you mean by production, maybe. But it seems to me the engineer, in this case, recorded it, added some sweetness and got out of the way, unlike the busy body-ness of so many guys today.

About "not my taste." You know, we all have our own aesthetics. But to learn, improve and just understand it takes exposing yourself to all kinds of music. At least it does for me.

It's not necessarily what I would have turned on immediately, or played a "station" that might have played it, but DAMN that's some deep shit. "Dark and Twisted" knocks me out on multiple levels. YMMV and obviously does. And that's OK.

[colinmiller]

Looks like a pretty expensive recording session. If there's no label, who's paying for all of this?

[log62000]

She has management, and I'm sure she has a backer of some sort. It's funny how money plays a role in the making of music. It falls in the laps of some and others have to fight for every penny, just luck and positioning.

Originally Posted by Shaman

The point is that this is nothing new and it may not be your taste but if you have been at one of gm´s workshops over the last 3 years you will be interested in how all the concepts he was talking about work in real life.

As you can see on the video the whole band plays in one room - which due to it´s special accoustic - mainly based on diffusion has a very homogenous sound. So he´s recording live performances, which is nothing new but very uncommon these days.

Second he tries to avoid click tracks - he has a guy playing very basic handpercussion with the other musicians and uses that track as a basis for creating a tempomap (for eventual future overdubs)

The entirely new thing he talked about is his new music marketing and distribution concept which means that the artist stays independant from any major label and reaches the public via internet (and live performacnes) - as an example he named imogen heap.

To help the new media appearances he allways has some guys filming the recording sessions on hd video for later use.

So if you sum all these little approaches I would say in times of shitty american superstar productions and wannabe A&Rs this is PRETTY DAMN AMAZING



Go to her first album (the one with the green backround) and select "elevator music"

That's the one I was listening to. I can't find the other one...

[Shaman]

Originally Posted by log62000

That's the one I was listening to. I can't find the other one...

Oh sorry - my fault - it´s not on her website...go to itunes and type in her name-
it´s the song "elevator music" on her second album (with the black/white cover)
mixed by gm

Originally Posted by log62000

It falls in the laps of some and others have to fight for every penny, just luck and positioning.

I don´t believe in this.
It´s Karma.
But that´s probably just me.

[henryrobinett]

Well her mother is Ann Murray. She has a big career herself. So I'm sure there's capital and friends in the business to help.

[anseo]

Originally Posted by Shaman

The production is now online:

Dawn Langstroth

amazing stuff with nice studio shots.

Very interesting is the song "elevator music" - which is available in 2 different arranged / mixed versions:

Version 1 is mixed by Al Schmitt
Version 2 is mixed by George Massenburg

Happy listening !

I guess I'm stupid. I can't find the two versions you are talking about

[madriaan]

Very Cool! Nice depth. I like the contrast of the 'up close and small' vs 'far and wide' sounds, the combination of close and distant miced sounds. LOVE the drum sound on elevator music - anybody know how this was achieved? Go George and Dawn!!!

M.

[log62000]

Haha, great stuff! GM's mix is a lot drier, but more along the lines of what I was hearing as far as the drums. There is a lot more separation in GM's mix which in my opinion doesn't work as well as the blended, orchestral arrangement. It seems a bit more sterile. The one thing that glaringly turned me back onto the website version was how the bridge was done. Holy crap, those guitars come out of nowhere and kind of step on her voice a bit. I wasn't a huge fan of that. They were placed right in the pocket but there was nothing there for a solid minute so my ears were a bit stunned (or maybe that's what he was going for to grab the listener before hitting the finale). I think they are both amazing, but I have to give the nod to the website version. Lush, emotional...it just fits the vocal and the song.

[bcgood]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

OMG. I just came back a couple hours ago from an all day hang with George in a small studio in Sacramento. He played me about 3 cuts from that record. I heard No Mercy 4 times. What a track.. What a sound. All live except for BV and a cello. Amazing stuff.

Dammit! I was supposed to go to this. Someone, (I forget who it was maybe from Tape Op) emailed me an invitation to go and I totally forgot about it. That sucks

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by bcgood

Dammit! I was supposed to go to this. Someone, (I forget who it was maybe from Tape Op) emailed me an invitation to go and I totally forgot about it. That sucks

I saw your name tag. I wondered what happened.

[Shaman]

Originally Posted by anseo

I guess I'm stupid. I can't find the two versions you are talking about

version 2 - massenburg mix is only available from apple itunes

[warhead]

Alan here was asking from around the corner "is that a new Sheryl Crow track?" during one of the more upbeat tracks.

It sounds good in a modern, safe way to me.

I like the sounds etc, except this streaming mp3 is pretty crunchy (especially through cheap PC speakers!).

I wish bands that came in my place had that kind of arranging skill, it's so nice to hear well arranged material even if it's not exactly my favorite style of music. Good music is good music though.

War

[ElMosca]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

Well her mother is Ann Murray. She has a big career herself. So I'm sure there's capital and friends in the business to help.

What is the difference then, between this "new" financing/distribution model and the "old model"? Is there a link where I can learn more about this idea?

Cheers,
++aldo

P.S. Hi Henry. We met last Saturday at the Hangar. I was the *other* loudmout.
Meeting Massenburg, Geoff Dakine, Peter Montessi, David Bock, the guy from True (forgot his name again), Ryan Hewitt (great guy, by the way. Really down-to-earth, despite his credits) and Wolff was the highlight of the year.

[henryrobinett]

Yes, yes! With the Chihuahua! It was great meeting you. That was a wonderful thing.

[wildpark]

i was also there really cool music

thx for the info

Originally Posted by Shaman

When gm was in munich - may 2007 he talked about his recent projects and played us some amazing demos from a new female artist he was producing at his new studio at blackbird.

He also mentioned his new internet promotion / distribution concept for young artists.

I wondered how the final mixes would sound + how his concepts work in the real world.

The production is now online:

Dawn Langstroth

amazing stuff with nice studio shots.

Very interesting is the song "elevator music" - which is available in 2 different arranged / mixed versions:

Version 1 is mixed by Al Schmitt
Version 2 is mixed by George Massenburg ( version 2 only available on apple itunes)

Happy listening !

[ToddP]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

And listening to this session there on those speakers (whatever they were), directly from Sound Blade and his Orpheus was the shit. All the frequencies, the dimension, the song, the performance and the mix.

The speakers were ATC SCM16s. I agree, it sounded very nice.

[bonne]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

The point, for me, it was recorded entirely live, all at once. He has a video tape of the session he showed yesterday. Seeing all the guitar players lined up, drums, Dawn standing behind a bunch of his sound diffusers. It was exciting. And listening to this session there on those speakers (whatever they were), directly from Sound Blade and his Orpheus was the shit. All the frequencies, the dimension, the song, the performance and the mix. That was the point. What else is there?

Hi Henry

Was the Orpheus used for playback only or was it (they) used for recording as well? In that case what mic pre did George use on Dawn?

Thanks
JB