Killen Productions

[TER]

Hi Kevin-

Thanks so much for being here to chat. I'm a huge fan.

I would love to hear a little about your production process... I love the work you've done paticularly with Jude Cole, Paula's Harbinger... the production work you've done tends to be VERY precise... almost an extension of a very clean and detailed mix/sonic vision to the song (not just sonics). I was very happy to read that you mix from the vocal first perspective, and that each pass you do starts with listening from the head. That kind of attention to curvature is probably what draws me again and again to your mixes ("Heaven's Light Up" on the Patty Larkin record is beautiful... and of course "The Ladder" is king of the dynamic curve!

Do you tend to see and intentionally make albums as a curve as well? I'd love to hear you talk about record making as a process separate from sound-getting!

Great sounds are kind of a given on your records. (the background vocals on Howard Jones' "Where are we going" still kill me..."Bound by the Beauty' is a favorite for sounds, too.)

Thanks!


tom

[Kevin Killen]

Tom,

You are very kind in your praise. I think I am going to hire all of you as my PR team!

Obviously with an album production there are so many other criteria that you have to satisfy. For a debut artist, it is making the record be a significant introduction to the public at large but also they label to whom they have signed. Depending on how well one does that can determine the lenght of those relationships throughout an artists career.

For an established artist it is been able to maintain the existing fan base and attract new listeners without repeating what the artist has produced in the past and that is a tricky balance. On top of that, there are the obvious "commercial" implications to record production. Can you make an album that not only the artist can believe in and love for years to come but also allow the label to market it in the manner that they think will bring the biggest margin of success. And what is success anyway?

As a producer, the debut album really affords me the greatest challenge. Especially if the artist is someone like Paula Cole who has an incredible gift but did not come with a readymade band. She had players that she was comfortable with but I also needed my own comfort zone, players that I knew would deliver in the studio and bring not only their musical abilities but, also a sound palette that was extensive.

In most instances, candid conversations are encouraged to determine the style direction, likes, influences etc etc. In preproduction I concentrate on the arrangements and keys. A studio is chosen not only for the technical reasons and sound, but one that will provide everyone with the support mechanisms in place to maximize their contribution.

I try to instantly create an sonic character when laying the basic tracks, to me its got to be inspiring to the whole crew and once established I try to add enough musical elements to bring the song to a 60-70% completion. But even at that moment it should sound like a record from the moment bar 1 starts. The same process is repeated for all the songs trying to avoid repeating oneself.... which is hard. I try to let the songs dictate the sonic architecture and I do go in with a visually idea of what that is and try to execute.

Somewhere along the way, happy accidents occur and mishaps too but you have to just roll with it and be confident in the assembled team to get the job done. Because I mix from the top down, the common element of all the songs is the voice, front and center uncluttered by the production. I try to wrap it in a nice three dimensional blanket.

So in the final sequencing I try to make the whole record feel like it is telling a volume of stories, with each chapter having an identity that must exist on its own.

When you get the chance to work with artists like Paula, Jude,Elvis,Kate Peter and so on, it just makes my job so much easier. I am never relying on the technology to make the song, it’s mostly well written in advance. My job is to extract the best elements out of it, get great performances and present it in a way that engages the listener.

Does that make sense?

[blackwatch]

Originally Posted by Kevin Killen

I try to wrap it in a nice three dimensional blanket.

Love it!

[TER]

Absolutely... thanks. I'll gladly do PR for you.

Are you drawn towards "quirky" artists generally, or is that just an extension of the Gabriel connection? Jane Siberry, Laurie Anderson, Paula, Kate, Tori, Teddy (just kidding--he's a friend)... all ground breakers to some degree. Do you feel like the stable, orderly engineer's engineer in most cases, or are you actively pushing artists towards new sounds and ideas?

You really seem to get hired by all the people I would love to work for!

Thanks again,

tom

[Curve Dominant]

Originally Posted by Kevin Killen

Does that make sense?

It does, amazingly so. I suspect a lot of us (myself for one) are going to print that post and put it in our folders of notes on how the great ones work.

Thank you so much for sharing with us, Kevin.

-Eric @ Curve Dominant

[Kevin Killen]

Tom,

It would appear that I am drawn to those artists. There was a period where I was the "art guy" but i think it boiled down to the fact that I focus on the vocals and they are all very vocal intensive artists, from Laurie who has a very wispy delivery to Jane who has enormous range. To be able to make all those styles work seems to be my cross to bear

I am orderly, my session's tend to be organized but I also love throwing in the random element. When you are raised in the discipline of having only 24 tracks it really helps you focus on how you engineer to avoid painting yourself into a box. Even when I use a DAW , I try to keep the session organized, because i want to be able to push it up on a board and be able to reach all of the faders easily. Sounds silly, but try mixing a song with 120 faders, its physically annoying !

So make choices and commit, you really do not need 46 tracks of percussion .... trust me.

Kevin

[TER]

I won't feel sorry for you! Thanks for the feedback.

I'm sure the answer to this question will differ depending on what hat you're wearing on a particular project, but when you're building a mix from the vocal down... are you eq-ing holes into other elements as you add them so the vocal can remain unchanged or are you working in arrangement mode and dumping things that would compete with the vocal? One relatively consistent thing (Kate's record seems to be the exception) in your mixes is that the vocal is not really loud, and not terribly dry, but terrifically intelligible... and your attention to the "air" space is also amazing. Even dense tracks (Tori's "god" or the busier parts of Lindsey's record or Spike) maintain tremendous clarity and a feeling of a tremendous amount of available dynamic range. Red Rain is a great example of this, too... just when it seems like nothing else can fill up any space there's Peter's voice-- clear as day. How much of that effect is you manipulating the arrangement (muting, moving, etc.) vs. sonically tweaking the exisiting tracks?

Thanks again!

tom

[Kevin Killen]

Tom,

Its a basic rule of physics "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". The human ear can only absorb so much information, so I try to perhaps introduce a new part with a certain amount of drama and than allow it to sublimate so that another element can have its moment. So much of what a mixer does is based on the content of the material and the considerations of the artist and producer. At the end of the mix, my own personal feelings have to be set aside , without giving up my integrity so that the artist is thrilled with the result.

In answer to you question, its really a combination of both sculpting and removing if necessary. I beleive in one of the other threads I detailed my mixing protocol so you may want to check that out for a longer explanation.

Hope that clarifies things for you.

KK

[Mark Cattano]

Great thread! Great stuff, Kevin. Thanks for being so forthcoming.

Mark Cattano
Magneto Studios
www.heedmusic.com
www.myspace.com/markcattano

[Kevin Killen]

No problem....