Studio Re-Cap.

I guess we got too excited with the blog and then too busy wrapping up everything at Counterpoint. Right after we were at the studio we took a "baby break", Brett and his wife were expecting a boy, so we went our separate ways for a few weeks.

Going back to the recording sessions at Counterpoint, the second day we went right back to business. We had 7 songs we wanted to accomplish, at the very least, the drum parts, since we wanted to take advantage of the room and the nice mixing board and outboard gear. The songs we worked on are: "Last Warning", "Icon" (Icon of Distress), "Life As We Knew", "Spies of the System", "Warning 09", "Empty Places" and "The Gathering Darkness".

"Last Warning", is one of our newest compositions. I would say very "House of Love" influenced and it was what made me feel that this album wouldn't be all about "industrial" sounds and electronic beats after all. It was nice to go back to a basic setting without worrying about all the ornamentation of pre/post production.

"Icon" (aka Icon of Distress), originally recorded for the "Unfamiliar E.P." is being slightly re-worked, mainly due to the fact that when Brett joined the dynamic of the song changed a little and it was injected with more energy which is what we want to accomplish with re-recording it. I think we were thinking of using this song for the album anyway since it fits the general thematic.

"Life As We Knew". We finally were able to wrap this songs that we've been working on for years (about 3). Even though it has a gentle start, I never thought it would end so heavy (thank you very much Mitchell) but I like how it progresses. I really like Daniel's bass parts on this one. The lyrics talk about how there comes a point in your life (and it can be applied to many stages) you realize you had it good up until then and your life will never be like it was before, either because of life itself happening or due to outside influences.

"Spies of the System" is to me one of the highlights of the album, mainly for it's message (I believe the title says a lot more than the lyrics themselves!) and it's sonic embarkation, which even though has many of DulceSky's elements it's very new and unique compared to our catalog.

"Warning 09", basically an instrumental, from what I recalled, Mitchell came up with a beat and a few notes. He showed it to me once quickly and I really didn't have much time to digest the brief exposure to it. Brett came into the picture and they developed it together to a point where Daniel and I could add our parts.

"Empty Places". Mitchell created the core of it on his Roland MC-505. It could be a song of its own just the way he showed it to us. The funny thing is that at the time I was thinking that we should write a song with a similar slower tempo with this Great Depression kind of a concept, so Mitchell's idea came right in time.

"The Gathering Darkness" it's an epic song. It's ambitious, so once the song is done, we'll be able to know if we accomplished our goal or not.

We have a few more ideas of what songs to include in the album, even though we've been toying with the idea of just making it an 8-track album, but if it feels right, it might even be 9 or 10.

- Oliver.

First Day (By Oliver)

I thought I would rewind a little to our first day. It was mainly a load-in and set up day. It was very exciting to just come in into such a nice studio. I got there first (a rarity these days) and then Gianny (studio owner) showed up. Mitchell and Matt (Winegar, our engineer and producer of choice) came after and Brett came in later. We spent most of the time setting up things around with an "emphasis" on drums, since it is the main reason we came to Counterpoint. The room acoustics are great, and we enjoy the availability of a few iso booths, which makes the tracking more convinient. To my understanding, these are "tuned" rooms, and you can open them up or make them more opaque with curtains and panels.

We set up the drums in the big room (right next to the grand piano). The room is a hybrid mix of Mitchell's Yamaha oak custom, a Ludwig Vistalites and a series of snares, including a couple of ludwig supraphonics (Mitchell's and Matt's), a Black Beauty and a couple of Joyful sound (Mitchell will have to fill you in on the details and also the symbals). Soon we'll post a video of Mitchell going through his drum set up.

Matt has a nice mic setup for the drum. He went back and forth with a couple of mics and settings. The drums sounded big and roomy, just what we were looking for. Big snare sound and boomy bass drum. We were all pretty happy with what we were getting drum-wise. The conversations were animated, interesting and funny to say the least. I couldn't believe when I realized it was midnight. I had this feeling I had stepped into a time machine, a time machine of recording goodness.

Day One

Finally the day has come and spirits are high.......The drums are sounding amazing Matt and
Gianny (the engineers) are micing the set Im using a mix of a ludwig vistalites (The ones that John Bonham played - props to ttop ) Yamaha Oak Customs also black beautys props to Randy Herbert and supraphonic snares I wish i could tell how many microphones are in the room ...It is mind boggling. gotta sign off for now, out to play.

Mitchell