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And we’re kickstarting 2012 with a free electronic music download that I hope to be available next month.

More than a dozen most competent electronic music artists have been beavering away on tracks from my latest creative music album Til You’re No Longer Blinkered.

These artists who have kindly agreed to mess with my elements, hail from my various musical nests over the years: Newcastle upon Tyne, Berlin and Manchester with a couple of connections that have only grown thanks to the ever-expanding online clan of independent electronic music in the US.

The compilation will be available as a free download on Bandcamp and I will be more than happy to despatch full resolution waveform packages to those that prefer and demand it.

I will be mastering this collection of creative music alongside the more competent Liam Maloney of live drum & bass quartet The Broken Door

And in other news, a wonderful new live recording of the bountifully creative lady Bunty:

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Just wanted to flag up a new page I have compiled. Compiling a list of resources I have come across along my sonic journeys and/or am part of.

Entitled Women in.. it is intended as a bit of a spotlight on what we lasses are doing in the fields of electronic music and studio recording. Though discussion and debate is of course helpful, I have felt compelled to provide this counterpoint to regular articles and debates about how few females are active in these fields..

So do refer to it, enjoy, explore and please do add to it if you can..

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An emotive short film Dear Foreigner by Kate Jessop has been nominated for Best Composer award at Underwire Film Festival currently taking place in London.

Steph Angel provided the soundtrack for the first half of the film and a track from my first album (Es muss sein, 2009) named Kleine Melodie offers sonic support for the second half. What fun..

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Just recently I have come across a couple of interviews about or with well-known female musicians who are challenging the standard treatment of their voice recordings in popular music engineering and production. Bjork’s technical enabler Damian Taylor explained how Bjork in her latest album insisted on very little compression and EQ on her vocal recording. And then ex-American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson stated a in recent interview that she was also preferring and demanding less compression on her voice.

It may well be the feminist in me, but I am encouraged by female musicians wanting and having some say in how their voice is treated – especially in the popular and more big industry chain of power and commands. With a google search for how to produce female vocals I came across the more traditional settings for EQ and compression. Pop vocals are nearly always heavily compressed (to the extent of changing the voice quality) reducing dynamics (the difference between quiet and louder moments). Of course, heavy compression can be a desired creative effect, but it is mostly employed as a preset way of mixing music.

With EQ settings, it is most commonly recommended to cut off the lower frequencies and enhance the hi mid/presence frequencies with a female voice. To avoid its lower, fundamental frequencies getting in the way of the rest of the mix. Yet with my own creative music I have felt the fundamental tones of the vocal are indeed fundamental – this is the warmth, depth and foundation of my authentic voice and storytelling.

Linked to this topic, I also really enjoy how Leanne Ungar, engineer and producer of many of Leonard Cohen’s album treats his voice. She seems to build the arrangements around the warm bottom end of Leonard Cohen’s voice, the characteristic which I like best. I happened across a ten year old but nonetheless interesting interview with Leanne here.

So maybe female musicians may actually not want to fit the presets more systematically applied to their gender’s vocal recordings. And seeing as though the job of the engineer is to be the midwife for others’ creative visions, I believe their wish is our command.

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As a harbourer of an electronic music blog, I couldn’t forego commenting upon Bjork’s latest journey into sound (and everything).

After a headphone immersion session with Biophilia, i am bemused and beguiled. The magic and steadfastness of the Manchester International Festival show this summer abides in the recording.

I feel it’s her most experimental music to date? The space, spaces between. The meandering vocals, melodies and mostly spasmodic beat patterns are like their own little chaos theory. There may be pattern therein. Or i suspect she could just be exploring her intuitology.

And so it is intriguing and beckoning. Not necessarily offering the gratification of easier graspable, holler along regular patterns.

But stunning and immense is Bjork’s Biophilia. For it is not just this album. Fully fledged now with all the new instruments and all other things and apps and people that have made this..

And of course some slick engineering in there. For the audio nerds, she largely used an SM58 for recording her vocals with very little compression (according to technical enabler Damian Taylor).

I know she is not everyone’s cup of tea, but you have to at least respect her standing as one of the true pioneering female solo artists.

And still with one little Indian records – who seem to sell the various formats of Biophilia cheapest!

***And in other news***

An interesting blog post about the amazing Wall St Occupation – amazing because it actually happened and amazing that it was not all over the UK media..

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A random one, even for me, I know.

I was intrigued to come across the call for electronic remixes of Austrian yodeling on my female:pressure members’ postings. A fun post-op recuperation project to get me back on the horse after decadent album Gracieland dream studio production I thought. And it was fun remixing yodel samples with a more electronic, albeit creative music approach and effects.

And the outcome has been selected as 1 of 3 finalists for the vocal sample section of the contest – the Breinlinger singing family performing “Saudirndl- Jodler”.

The project has been organised by Voixtronik 2011 and the final took place in Salzburg, Austria. The project aims to promote reflection and innovation through the experimentation of traditional music with modern electronic means and poses the question:

What happens when traditional Alpine folk music and electronic music meet?

And here is my response:

Caro snatch – voixtronik vocal resonance mix by carosnatch

Please note the bassline is lost on laptop/computer speakers so best advised to absorb with headphones or via ‘proper’ speakers.
Mild apologies, but I became attached to the subby bassline and decided against tailoring to no low frequency systems ;>

And the winner was:

Sssaudearndl, Doo by Roman Gerold

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I was discussing this question recently and thought it may be interesting to share and throw out some of the ideas I felt were clear and evident. Do feel free to express your thoughts and opinions to keep us all learning and growing – like all the lush and abundant greenery out there getting so much rain in Manchester.

It’s a science and an art

I feel it important to want to keep learning – to have a passion for the mad science that is sound. So we need to take the time to grasp the science – perhaps more specifically physics. And have the humility to respect the complexity of the science. Frequencies work in weird and wonderful ways. Once the tools on offer have been mastered/mistressed enough, we can then enjoy the art of sound recording and mixing music, capturing and sculpting sound as you feel fit.

Empathy and diplomacy

As a studio producer I often describe myself as a midwife – delivering others’ voice and vision. They may not want to make creative music like my favourite music. Non-judgement is part of coaching an artist or band in what they want to. This may involve encouraging the artist(s), helping them to get and stay relaxed. Using positive helpful language, such as ‘how about trying this/that?’ As opposed to ‘don’t do this’ or that. Diplomacy is sometimes the key to keeping a band together for a more cohesive performance and more pleasant working day for all.

A variety of music

I think it does help to listen to and respect lots of different styles of music and instruments. There is variety of timbre, recording and mixing techniques involved in genres from classical recordings to dubstep, from Indian classical music to the 1960’s Motown sound. For example electronic music tends to employ more heavy compression and clinical EQ while a classical symphonic orchestra will be largely left untreated as Reverb from the recording space – and therefore mic placement – is the magic that can bring it together and alive.

Patience and it’s not about you

Through interviews in magazines such as Sound on Sound and Tape Op, we can learn a lot from more famous (mostly male) music producers. I liked what Thom Russo had to say in an interview with Music Coaching. He talks of the importance of being patient. It may take that guitarist 10 (or more) takes to be happy with his/her performance and get all the nuances right. He wisely points out “The most important thing you have to realize is that it’s not about you – it’s about the music.”

Recording engineers who care

Ultimately I think good recording engineers are engineers who care. They enjoy what they do, are present and listen carefully to what is coming out of the monitors/headphones. And then they remember the magic is in the music, the science (acoustics and psycho-acoustics) and the machines (microphones & recording equipment). We just have to learn how to use our tools available to optimum application. And this is as much as 50% technical skills and 50% personal/communication skills.

Surely our aim is to make music that decisively expresses its need and intention and resonates with the listener as the artist(s) hoped and intended?

And finally, I have to share this hilarious yet most adequately crafted new single and video from my very talented friends of Beatabet. Enjoy!