So, not all the things I am recording R gonne be on this News-section. Simply because I haven't got time enough to write it all down.... So just some bits and pieces of the highlights... ok?
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I just returned from the;PINKPOP;festival. It was a wonderfull weekend because of the music and the excellent crew of people I worked with (you all did a great job!). Almost every performance was broadcasted on TV and Radio, so we had a lot of bands to mix... All live of course! Here are the bands we did this weekend and some remarks:)
LIVE(a better show than the one we recorded at the Ahoy stadium.)MUSE(my personal favorite! Man what an energy do these guys have... And it's fucking loud on stage, but I think we managed to produce a great sounding mix... I think they were the highlight of the festival!!!)
KANE(they got rid of the keyboard player, and rocked the place)
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FAITHLESS(just like LIVE, LAMB, KANE and MUSE it was the 5th or 6th time that we recorded them, and they still know how to shake a crowd!)HEATHER NOVA(a bit dissapointing)
LAMB(Better than on the records! It was kinda deeeeeep!); ; )
JEWEL;(just fell of here horse a few days earlier, so she could not dance, but still the performance was impressive. Although musicly it's not my piece of cake)
ARID;(these Belgium guys have become even tighter as a band. What an skilled performance, and still a great leadsinger.... This man's got a voice!)
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB;(Dark rocking band that played a lot better than at there Milkyway show. So the recordings turned out much better this time... Like I said: Dark and dirty rockin')
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LENNY KRAVITZ;(we were not allowed to do a full mix of Lenny and band... So the TV and Radio broadcasted the desk-mix from the front-of-house... wich was not as tight and blasting as I would have liked... Tooooo Baddddd)I probably forgot some acts.... sorry about that....;;;; ; )
On Friday (april 19th) seven-times Grammy Nominated artist;India Arie gave a concert at Paradiso in Amsterdam. Together with engineer (and soulmate) Paul Schoenmakers I recorded that concert on multitrack for Motown/Universal.;
That same night (!) me and Paul went into NOB AudioStudio1 for the mixing sessions of that concert. Wich took us to the next night with only 2 hours of sleep on the sofa in the back of the studio.... I think we were able to capture the warm atmosphere of that evening in our mixes. I think they reflect the connection between India.Arie and her audience. Too bad that her accoustic guitar was out of tune most of the time... The concert was also being filmed, so U better watch your screen in the future!!!!; ; )
One thing I have definitely got to tell you: On April 15th I went to the Paradiso in Amsterdam for a GREAT concert recording for Dutch radiotv.;Elvis Costello;played, and it was the first time in 10 YEARS (!!!) that someone was allowed to do a concert-recording of Costello.; "I WANT YOU", is one of my old-time-favorite songs so I was very happy when Costello decided to "maybe play that song..." And at the end of the concert he did, and it was a breathtaking version!!! It was kind of different then the album version, cause it had bits of piano pieces and some out-of-control guitar eruptions. Costello also stept away from the mic to sing on the edge of the stage, and the audience was stunned (so VERY quiet), and we had to raise his microphone level so we were able to get it on tape anyway.
WOW... How many times in your life are you able to press RECORDPLAY to record a breathtaking live-version of one of the greatest songs ever written???
The last few weeks I did also some concert recordings of:
-Godspeed You Black Emperor!;(a two-and-a-half hour concert, with just 6 songs!... The first song was not very good;[probably, because our mix was not accurate];but after that it was a great atmospheric gig. These guys painted a dreamworld with their music that was absolutely stunning.;And SI if you read this: my friends told me that you FOH-mix was really good!;)
-Chemical Brothers;(OK, but not as exiting as I hoped for. Some songs were cut short, and did not have the impact they could have had...)
-Mary J Blige;(Good to very good. Personally I'm not a big fan of the slick RB songs she does, but i DO LIKE the more soulfull songs alot! Great performance and a great voice especially when she goes rough)
-Nickelback;(These guys know how to rock! Not all the songs are of the same quality as there million-selling hit; "How You Remind Me", but Nickelback is a great rockband, with a ballsy guitarsound)
-Jimmy Eat World;(These guys have some great songs, but unfortunately the monitor mixer had troubles controlling the feedback on stage, so the first couple of songs they played can't be used for broadcast or any other purpose... Later on the sound on stage got more stable, so we were able to cut some good tracks to tape)
-BelleSebastian;(Always a difficult band to record, because they all sing VERY VERY quiet, so you get a lot of spill on your vocal-mics. Last time I recorded them it was at the Paradiso, this time they played in a theater so the audience was much more listening, and that also helped. Some songs turned out OK, others a bit less...)
On march 22th new MOTOWN artist;Remy Shand;gave a performance in the Paradiso venue in Amsterdam. Hans Bunt and myself recorded the concert on multitrack for Motown/Universal and on the day after we went into NOB AudioStudio1 together with Remy himself, for the mixing sessions of that concert. The concert was also being filmed, so watch your screen in the future!!!!; ; )
We R doing fine when with the CD recording of the rockbandLivin' Stone. There R a lot of recording-session pictures,;CLICK HERE;to see them!
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FUN:Yep, there are some live-recordings we did being released in the last few months:;Ryan Adams, Muse(on last 2 single-cd's), Delinquent Habits, Live;(2 livetracks on Simple Creed single), Johanen;Within' Temptation.
