page_title: Radio Wars (album)
section_title: Recording
hierarchical_section_title: Radio Wars (album) / Recording
caption_attribution_description: English: AIR Studios, Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead, London, seen at night. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse and built in 1884 as Lyndhurst Road Congregational Church. Converted into recording studios in 1991.
context_page_description: Radio Wars is the second studio album by London-based Australian indie rock band Howling Bells. It was released through Independiente in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2009 to mixed reviews. Recorded at four different studios, it was produced by Dan Grech-Marguerat except one track by Howling Bells.
  Songwriting efforts for Radio Wars were provided by all four members of the band. The album's themes encompass a wide range of topics, from chaos and optimism to unity and the technological revolution. Most songs were demoed in Australia with one recorded in Melbourne, three in London, and the rest in Los Angeles. The album was the band's first physical release issued outside of the UK and Australia. Three singles were issued from Radio Wars, but all failed to chart. The album peaked within the Top 30 on the Australian Albums Chart and just outside the Top 50 on the UK Albums Chart. Although listed as containing ten tracks, the sixth, "Ms. Bell's Song/Radio Wars Theme", is two separate pieces of music. Additionally, a hidden track, "To LA", is omitted from the booklet and back cover.
context_section_description: In early September 2007, work on Radio Wars started when the band re-recorded and self-produced, "Cities Burning Down", at Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne. Previously titled "This City's Burning", it had appeared as the b-side on the 2006 singles, "Low Happening" and "Wishing Stone". They felt the song needed more life, so extra instrumentation was added to deliver a bigger sound. As "Cities Burning Down", it became the album's second track.
  Howling Bells sought a producer that had experience working on electronic-sounding records. Producer and mixer, Dan Grech-Marguerat, who had previously worked with Howling Bells' manager, had listened to demos of the new tracks. The band knew of his collaborations with Radiohead and Air, and thought he could help develop their new sound. He came to their rehearsal studio with handwritten notes about the new songs and expressed what he could add. This encouraged the band, and they agreed to let him produce the album.
  In January 2008, Howling Bells recorded more tracks for Radio Wars, now working at The Sound Factory, in Los Angeles. The band chose Los Angeles as they wanted a recording experience which was different from previous sessions. Radio Wars was about Howling Bells being optimistic and united in spirit. Looking to bring a more colourful perspective with a new sound and new feel, the group opted for a more electronic texture. Picchio and Joel experimented with synthesisers, and Moule's percussion parts were more distinct than his previous work. Grech-Marguerat worked prolonged hours and experimented considerably, in an effort to bring more life to each song. The band often struggled with ideas that were presented by him, and the recording sessions were burdened by occasional arguments. Though, members of the band attested that it ultimately worked out.
  Five of the demos created for Radio Wars were not used on the final product. Just over half the songs that appeared on the album were recorded in LA: "Treasure Hunt", "Nightingale", "Ms. Bell's Song/Radio Wars Theme", "Golden Web", "Into the Chaos" (minus the strings), and the hidden track, "To LA". After the band returned from Los Angeles, they recorded "It Ain't You", "Let's Be Kids", and "Digital Hearts" at AIR Studios in London. Session musicians recorded string and brass instruments for a number of the tracks at Mayfair Studios. The last song to be recorded for Radio Wars was a 1950s style ballad entitled "How Long", which Joel had written the lyrics for. The rest of the band liked it, so arrangements were made to go back into a non-specified London studio where they spent two days recording it. Twenty-two songs had been created by the end of their recording sessions, in July 2008. The album was mixed by Cenzo Townshend at Olympic Studios.
caption: Portions of Radio Wars were recorded at AIR Studios, in the northern London suburb of Hampstead.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Processed with VSCOcam with m5 preset", "Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 5s", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "VSCOcam", "Image DateTime": "2014:12:07 16:31:05", "Image Copyright": "Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.", "Image ExifOffset": "294", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[51, 33, 303/25]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[0, 10, 347/50]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "22717/303", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[16, 31, 2]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "0", "GPS GPSDate": "2014:12:07", "Image GPSInfo": "1746", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/15", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:12:07 16:31:05", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:12:07 16:31:05", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5173/1324", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7801/3429", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "-1827/1238", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 1795, 1077]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "710", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "710", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "29", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[83/20, 83/20, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 5s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2"}