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THE MILL REPORT
Making The Cut
by Andy Stewart
There’s an almost limitless
supply of music foisted on the world
on a daily basis. To cut through that
undergrowth –
assuming of course you want to cut
through – you need to make
a viable product, not
just wear the right
clothes or play
the right
instrument.
Here at The Mill
I’m currently
mixing several
things
at once:
instrumentals
of songs
by Paul
Kelly from
his new
album,
Spring and
Fall, which
I mixed here
a couple of
months ago
(great album – go
buy it); Brighter
Later’s debut album,
entitled The Wolves (not
sure why they’ve called it
that), which sounds amazing;
and a new single by a Victorian band
that I first mixed 15 years ago… “We’re a
lot tighter now,” was the claim of one of its band members.
“We’d love you to mix the single.”
“Sure,” I said. “No worries at all.”
They’re good guys, the singer has a booming voice… I was
intrigued. I thought they’d broken up years ago. Then I
listened to the multitrack…
I thought I was hearing one of the band’s first recordings.
‘Tighter’? Um, well no, not really. ‘Looser’ would probably
be a more accurate descriptor... ‘as a goose’ even. It will be a
challenge, but hey, I like challenges and I’m sure it will sound
cool by the time we’re finished with it.
Elastic Audio here we come.
But it’s got me thinking…
OBJECTIVE OPINION – AN OXYMORON?
At the risk of sounding like I’m down on these guys – and
I’m not (no really, I’m not) – my immediate impression of
the single was that it really could have done with some professional
help; an outside perspective on things like performance
and arrangement at the very least.
Now I know the arguments for and against working with a
producer all too well, but in the end it often boils down to
this: if you can’t even bake a loaf of bread by
yourself, how the hell do you expect to
be able to make a decent album?
I like a crusty sourdough loaf,
sure, but that doesn’t mean
I know anything about
baking it. Music is a
subjective realm
of course – most
creative processes
are – and
not everyone
agrees that
bands should
employ a
producer.
But I hate
the ‘subjective’
cop-out,
especially
when it comes
from artists
desperately in
need of an outside
perspective.
Why, if everything
is so damn subjective,
do I consistently have
the same reaction over and
over to music that’s produced
with little or no help from an
objective third-party? I mean there
are thousands of different musical aesthetics
and styles out there based on imperfect, heartfelt takes and
wonky overdubs. Why shouldn’t this song feel comfortable
in those surrounds? What was it about this single that
set my mind rolling downhill about unstable foundations,
ill-conceived arrangements and unrealised potential?
SORRY, I MEANT THAT
In short, it’s all about intention (he says trying to mortar
the first objective brick in the wall while no one’s looking)?