Amy Antin  HAPPY
Producer: Amy Antin and Josef Piek
Statements by Amy Antin:
Special about recording the album "Heart of Clay" was the fact that the producer, Josef Piek, was also arrang- er and guitarist on the recordings. So the process was always first and foremost a very musical one. All deci- sions were based on what really served each song best, and not some preconceived notion about production. Since I'm the singer, I can only say that what needs to be mentioned is that it was an honor to work with Josef and the other musicians on this recording. I was impressed by the maturity of each person's individual talents and the generosity with which they shared these. As a songwriter and singer, my recording philosophy is limited to the recording of my own guitar and/or vo- cals, and that is to listen carefully, and follow my intuition on each part of my own work. Even if means taking a long time to get a vocal interpretation just right, and that also means lots of patience on the part of the other team members, I think it’s important to have that time. I’m very grateful that on "Heart of Clay", that so many hours were allowed me.
Clair Marlo   ‘TIL THEY TAKE MY HEART AWAY
Producer: Clair Marlo and Bill Schnee
Statements by Clair Marlo:
What was truly special about recording the song was to have all those amazing musicians in the same room. In between songs, they would break out into jams that would have made a fantastic record on their own. Steve Haselton modified a C–12 microphone that was live like no other. Not only was it very sensitive and true in its recording, but if I got too close to it, it shot sparks!  There was no room in the studio for all the background singers, so we had to put them in the front reception area, near the coffee machines, and turn everything off in there. They were arranged in a semi-circle around a pair of mics. Regarding the singer: A week before the sessions, I got a bad case of laryngitis and couldn't even talk up until the day of the session, so I couldn't rehearse any of the songs. On the day of the session, I had tea and chocolate and, at the first downbeat, was able to sing again. The songs were recorded at Bill Schnee's studio. We used many of Doug Sax's Mastering Lab mic pre units and his specially built limiters and compressors. Many of the mics were specially modified by Steve Haselton.
Margriet Sjoerdsma  MY SILLY HEART
Producer: Michiel Hoogenboezen Bonus–Track
Benedicte Torget  SLEEP AWHILE
Andrea Zonn  BETTER BE HOME SOON
Statements by Benedicte Torget:
Statements by Andrea Zonn:
Jessica Gall  BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
Lydia Gray  MAYBE I’M AMAZED
Statements by Robert Matt:
Statements by Lydia Gray:
Producer: Andrea Zonn Producer: Benedicte Torget and Øystein Sevāg The song is about receiving. And about letting go. The song is a lullaby for those who have spent a long time wandering. It’s a song about the gift of being recognized. In the end the song is about trust. To nature, to your deep self and to the one who loves you. l've always been fond of this song, but the most special thing, to me, about recording it were the players involved. Willie Weeks and John Jarvis are two of the most thoughtful musicians I know of, and I don't tend to do anything without Steven Sheehan. Add Jon Randall on vocals and how can you go wrong? The arrangement and the sound developed itself like a picture in a darkroom. The simplicity with voice and piano, the middlepart with percussion creating an open landscape and with the singing sound of Gjermunds doublebass in front, it all came out of asking what the song were asking for. As a producer, I like to go into a session with a good plan. I'll have some broad guidelines mapped out, but I like to leave ample room for the musicians to find inspiration in the process. I also know the general feel I'm after, and call on those musicians I feel can capture that spirit. To me, it’s important to allow space for the magic of the moment to occur. Singer and composer Benedicte Torget and musician Øystein Sevāg, who plays the piano and did the studio engineering, produced this CD together. The collaboration and meeting between their two musical worlds created a sense of a continous creative space. Singers and musicians always seeks the spontaneous take. To catch the authentic shining moment and to keep it shining during the mixwork. It takes time to just let things happen. It takes time to find the perfect mix. There must be time to deepen, work, talk and try. Some technical insights in the production: We recorded this track on ProTools, recording the rhythm section at The Sound Emporium, Studio B, and then overdubbing vocals and strings at Cliff’s Walk–In Closet. There, we used a Lawson mic on the vocals and the strings, going through a Manley VoxBox. Some technical insights in the production: Vocal: Røde NTV –> Digidesign Pre 8 –> Digidesign 192 Grand Piano (PETROF 227 cm): 2x Neumann U87 and 2x Schoeps CMC–5; SONY DMX–R–100 Acoustic Bass: AKG C 414 –> Digidesign PRE 8 –> Digidesign 192 Mixed in Logic Pro, with 2x external Nuverb Lexicon reverbs. Producer: Lydia Gray, Elisabeth Gray and Damian Bermudez Producer: Robert Matt The band was recorded in a separate room with visual contact in order to give the mix and production the best possible creative freedom. What is so special for me about Jessica Gall is the depth of her voice, which cannot be consciously arranged. The philosophy behind the music is to be ready when the musician is ready and to create an atmosphere which uses the technology as a means to an end and not just as content for the production. A great idea has to work with simple means. How's the bow, the arrangement, the message? That's when the real production starts. l loved the process of recording this song. "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a big rock ballad that I wanted to make in- timate. The engineer on the recording couldn't understand English very well because he is Spanish. He wasn't familiar with the song at all. If he didn't understand the feeling behind the lyric, then I would redo it until he understood what is was all about. This made for a deeply personal interpretation. I love recording in Spain because everyone is very passionate about making a good product. My recording philosophy is pretty straight forward. I like to pare down a song to its core meaning so it can be an honest interpretation of what the writer meant and how it affects me personally. I have an acting back- ground so to dig into the inner point of view of a song is very much my approach. Some technical insights in the production: Brauner Valvet, Neumann TLM 171, Schoeps mk4, Shure SM 58, Rode, etc., Tubetech MEC, RME Fireface 800, SPL Gainstation 1AD, Purple Audio various preamps, UAD card with precision bus compressor / Neve channel strip, Sony Oxford EQs, Lexicon 480 L, Mac Pro, Logic 8, analogue adder. Some technical insights in the production: Pre Amp: TL AUDIO 5060 IVORY II Studio microphone: FAME STUDIO CO2; SE 4 ELECTRONICS Recording system: PROTOOLS LE DIGIDESIGN 002 Plugins: FOCUSRITE D2, D3  RED SERIES; LEXICON and TL SPACE NATIVE REVERB Monitor: KRK SYSTEMS ROKIT S
Karen Selig  SUMMER MOOD
Eliksir  EARTHLY THINGS
Statements by Jochen Schild:
Statements by Øystein Seväg:
Some technical insights in the production:
Corrinne May FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISHES
Sandra MacBeth  8BALL
Statements by Kavin Hoo:
Some technical insights in the production:
Producer: Jochen Schild Producer: Øystein Seväg This was a quite "live" recording in the studio, all musicians playing simultaneously. We found the right mood for this recording in the late evening. In the production of the album "By the way" by Karen Selig my main priority was to convey the naturalness and personality of the artist in the best way possible. The actual concept and idea behind this production was to capture moments and allow oneself the freedom to just go with the flow without feeling pressurised to conform to a particular musical style. In particular, the aim was to maintain 100% of the dynamism of the respective instrumentalist and the expression and feeling in Karen's voice. In keeping with the motto “less is more", the song "Summer Mood" was recorded with just an acoustic guitar, a double bass, some percussion and a ukulele in combination with Karen's clear voice to make the sun shine. When asked regarding production philosophy I would say use the right microphones to the right instruments in stead of a lot of equalizing and processing. Make sure the musical arrangements are efficient and not to crowded. That makes the mixing process easy. In general, solve sound problems at the earliest possible stage in the process of making an album. Sound is very much influenced by how musicians play their instruments. Therefore try to establish as much sound identity as possible with the musicians and their instruments, be- fore using the buttons. Some technical insights in the production: Recorded in Protools; Vocal: Mojave MA 200  -> Digidesign Pre 8  -> Digidesign 192 Grand Piano: 2x U87 and 2xSchoeps CMC-5 Bass direct via 2610; Electric guitar via amp and AT61 Drums: AudioTechnica mics at4033, at25; Recorded thru the SONY DMX-R-100 Mixed in Logic, with 2x Nuverb Lexicon reverbs. Vocals: BRAUNER VM1 tube mic; MindPrint EN-VOICE MK 2 (tube recording Preamp) Guitar/ukulele/double bass/percussion: Neumann KM 184 condensor mic; Neumann U 87; MindPrint DTC (2 channel high-end channel strip) Recording/mix: RME Fireface 800 (audio interface); Apple Logic 8 speakers: Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus 800d Producer: Felix M. von Racknitz, Sandra MacBeth and Gibbs Platen Producer: Corrinne May and Kavin Hoo Statements by Gibbs Platen: Originally my activity as a co-producer was solely to mix the album. After 2 days of mixing our producer had to leave us for 2 days. So Sandra and I decided to re-record some vocals. Then for 2 days and mainly nights we re-recorded almost all the vocals. Corrinne is the consummate artist. She has impeccable timing, rhythm and vocal control. One thing our vocal coach and I noticed is that Corrinne seems to sing better when singing down the entire song rather than doing multiple punch–ins. So we recorded her Nashville style, whereby we recorded 4 or 5 passes of the song, and then listened down to see which phrases needed more oomphs or variations. More often than not, we ended up using the very first take. The general recording philosophy is to never fix things in the mix. If a song is recorded right, it will sound right with pretty much just the faders all up. I love working with a good recording engineer who takes the proper care in mic placement and pairing the right mics with the right mic pres on the right instruments. lt was great to work with Sandra as she really is an exceptional artist. We were not held back in any way and so we were able to concentrate on fine-tuning the interpretation. Neumann U89, U47, U67, KM84, KM184, Sennheiser 421, Telefunken 250, 251, Avalon VT737SP, Urei LA2A, 1176. Brent Averill Vintage API, Neve 1066, 1073, Vintage API mixing board circa 1977. Pro Tools HD Accel 3, Lexicon PCM80, various plugins including Waves SSL & Diamond, Roger Nichols Dynamizer, Digidesign Reel Tape Suite, McDSP. Some technical insights in the production: We were both against using Autotune. Firstly, because it destroys the sound and secondly, because it isn't really honest. The technology used was a Horch microphone and a Siemens V 276 amp. We used Nuendo for the recording.
Leslie Tucker  JESSIE (GOING THROUGH)
Jamie Lynn Noon  TO FINALLY
Statements by Jamie Lynn Noon:
Statements by Gary West:
Lisa Bassenge  A LITTLE LOVING
Maria Markesini  KOSMO
Producer: Gary West and Alison Brown Producer: Jamie Lynn Noon and Kevin Harris This recording from US singer-songwriter Jamie Lynn Noon found its resulting arrangement by adding subtle layers of instrumentation and vocal harmonies, starting off very intimate and creating a cinematic culmina- tion at the bridge and unto the final chorus. This was Leslie's first record and really her first time in the studio. Any time someone is making their first album, everything about the process is exciting and memorable. Leslie is such a natural singer that everyone had a great time sharing the experience with her. Also, we recorded this track at Bradley's Barn and actually got to meet Owen Bradley while we were record. “To Finally” is the ultimate closing track – written in a unique 6/8–time structure and based on a brilliant chord sequence Jamie worked out at the piano. It completely sums up the themes of the EP in an uplifting and universal fashion. ("You have to live through loneliness to finally feel the love/You have to go through all the lows to finally see the sun.") As a producer, I like to get the best possible musicians for the track in the room and then let them play the tune. I see my role as being more one of offering guidance and a sounding board rather than trying to direct the musicians to play specific parts. As the track evolves I just try to keep things between the lines and help it along if the musicians get bogged down. We are very lucky to have so many great players to call on in Nash– ville – some of whom are on this track. Some technical insights in the production: Digital Performer; Plug–Ins from Native Instruments, Spectrasonics, Focusrite, Waves, Wave Arts; Yamaha S90 Some technical insights in the production: Bradley's Barn is well equipped with a lot of vintage gear including the Yamaha piano from the Quonset Hut studio where Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley recorded their icon albums. Producer: Bob Hagen Producer: Rainer Robben Statements by Bob Hagen: Our intention is always to search for new talents deserving more reconition. Maria is such a talent. We have a strong belief in her possibilities as an artistic talent. Statements by Rainer Robben: The sounds prepared beforehand by the musicians give this song its charm. It is always very inspiring to work with others on an idea. Lisa influenced the atmosphere with her singing. We inputted everything together and everyone could let themselves go. In the studio it's important for me to correctly pick up and capture the vibrations on offer. Some technical insights in the production: Microphones: Vocal: Neumann M49 Drums: OH: Neumann KM56c & Coles 4038 Bassdrum: D12 & AKG414. Snare top: Shure SM57, Snare Bottom: Neumann KM140, Toms: TLM 170 & U87, Double bass: Telefunken ELA 251 Piano: 2x Neumann U67, Accordeon: Telefunken/Schoeps 221b, Preamp: Focusrite RED 3, API 3124+ SSL, ProTools HD 88,2 KHz 24 bit House clock: GRIMM CCI Analog Mixing: Solid State Logic – Duality AD: Cranesong HEDD Dynamics: Manley, Summit, Focusrite, Neve, Tube-tech Reverb: Lexicon 960L, Delay: TC 2290 Steinway D-274 grand piano Live-room 180 m² Some technical insights in the production: A number of different mics and in the same way as brushes are to a painter ALL are equally important. Mics: Brauner VMI; Brauner VMX; Brauner Valvet; Lewilson 247; Neumann M 147; Neumann TLM 103; Neumann TLM 170; Neumann KM 131; Sennheiser MKH 80; Royer 121 and 122; Marek Design RS 1; DPA (Bruel & Kjaer) 4011; Calrecs CM 1050C; Beyer (160/130) ribbon; Sennheiser 441 The preamps also have an enormous influence on the sound with the combination of mic/preamp responsible for a big part. An individual decision has to be made about where to "calculate" while intuition is also essential to hear and appreciate the interaction of other sound sources (+ mic + preamp). This is made easier with experience and an exchange of ideas. Preamps: Api, Avalon, Chandler, Manley, Earthworks, Neve.