Joseph Arthur's Junkyard Hearts EPs

[leigh]

Hi Tchad,

Thanks for being here.

On Joseph Arthur's "Junkyard Hearts" EPs (set of 4), you've got some mix credits, but there's also the unusual credit of "Compiled and edited by Tchad Blake". Could you talk about what that process was? Were you sorting through unfinished recordings and finding ways to pull the songs together? How raw of a state were any of the songs in when you got them?

Thanks!
Leigh

[tchadb]

Originally Posted by leigh

Hi Tchad,

Thanks for being here.

On Joseph Arthur's "Junkyard Hearts" EPs (set of 4), you've got some mix credits, but there's also the unusual credit of "Compiled and edited by Tchad Blake". Could you talk about what that process was? Were you sorting through unfinished recordings and finding ways to pull the songs together? How raw of a state were any of the songs in when you got them?

Thanks!
Leigh

Joe writes a lot and over the years I had heard many songs and instrumentals that were never used for various reasons. During 'Redemption' we talked about it and one day he came in with a box of old DAT tapes and CD's and said to have a listen.
What I found was astounding. Real World thought so as well and decided to do four EP's.
I went through all the tapes and CD's, put some things up through the desk to EQ/compress the stereo as many were roughs done over several years, bloody good ones I might add (thanks to Ben Findley), remixed a couple and compiled it.
My favorite Joe Arthur records to this day.

[leigh]

Cool, thanks for the info. So, much of Junkyard Hearts was from rough mixes... wow.

I also love the mix of "Invisible Hands" that you did on Joseph's "Come To Where I'm From" album. Great delay work on the drums, and crazy wobbly guitar sounds - adding much motion to a musically sparse arrangement. It also sounds like the vocal pushes a compressor really far down, and then between vocal lines the noise floor of that track rises back up, adding a healthy layer of hiss. Always thought it was cool to leave that hiss in there as an element, when it could have been gated out. Any recollections of how that mix came together? Not so much what gear was used, but what you were given and how you went from point A to point B?

Cheers,
Leigh