In episode 1, Vance and vocalist/guitarist Jeff Gorman and drummer/back-up vocalist Jake Cochran dissect the song's arrangement and discuss different options to make sure the song is ready to record.
This is your chance to head into the studio and watch as Producer/Engineer and Mixer, Vance Powell works with an artist on the first steps to making the final record great before the first microphone is even plugged in.
00:00:23 Hi, pureMixers!
You're here with me: Vance Powell.
00:00:26 Sputik Sound Nashville, Tennessee
We're gonna be recording a band from
Richmond, Virginia, called "Illiterate Light".
00:00:33 This is not a hard rock sort of setup,
like the Tyler Bryant one.
00:00:37 This is more of an indie rock and
experimental.. it's really, really, really cool
and interesting.
00:00:44 Strap in, hold on..
00:00:45 let's get started, here.
00:00:46 So guys, what we're gonna do
is we're gonna listen to the track.
00:00:49 There's two songs: I wanna play the one
that I feel we're closest to being done, here.
00:00:55 On it. All right? And that's "Sweet Beast", here.
00:01:15 Love all this!
Here's the first thing:
I love that little inter.. that thing..
00:01:48 that little piece? It comes too early.
00:01:50 - What piece?
- That little.. the *sings* "Masterplan!"
the tempo change..
00:01:55 It just feels like it comes a little too early.
00:01:57 So maybe..
00:01:58 maybe..
00:01:59 we have a verse,
there's a little sort of a
bridge-y piece right before of that,
then the second verse, then we do that.
00:02:10 - All right. - Maybe!
Let me play it again.
00:02:13 Alright, check it out.
Let me play it again.
00:02:14 Check it out.
Alright, check it out.
00:02:15 Ok, intro.
Check it out.
00:02:15 Ok, intro.
00:02:16 - Verse 1. - Verse 1.
00:02:18 *sings*
- We call this the chorus!
- Right, yeah.. yeah.
00:02:24 - That was too early!
- It's too early? - Too early!
Too early, for me.
00:02:29 So: this is a chorus, ok?
Then comes the end of the chorus
*sings*
Intro re-intro..
00:02:38 So: verse, re-intro,
verse,
- Oh! - And that's..
00:02:44 it could be shorter. - Yeah.
00:02:46 *sings*
- Verse 2.
00:02:50 - We haven't seen the chorus, yet
but we're still.. we're only 40 seconds in.
00:02:55 So we're ok!
Now it's gonna go to the chorus, right?
*sings*
- Great part.
00:03:06 Awesome.
00:03:10 - Kinda sounds like 2 minutes and 6 seconds.
00:03:13 *laughs* - Yeah.
00:03:19 - And it's cool, this is a double. - Yeah.
00:03:21 - Awesome. - Yeah.
00:03:24 *sings*
[inaudible]
Now, we come out of this [inaudible]
back into the chorus, right?
- In this, we just jam but we're..
00:03:43 - Ah, you jam!
This is cool! No, this is great.
00:03:46 But I think you could tag in. - Yeah.
This is cool! No, this is great.
00:03:46 But I think you could tag in. - Yeah.
00:03:49 - And hit the chorus.
00:03:52 - You got this guitar hook.
00:03:53 *sings*
- Solo. - All right, cool.
00:03:58 - And all that's up for.. - Right,
no I think it's cool:
I love the chorus, that chorus piece,
is just a little too early for me
to wanna sort of release into that part. - Ok.
00:04:10 - It's like, this is cool, it's jamming, it's cool
*sings drums* boom, chorus.
00:04:15 - And then, that long verse. - A-ha.
00:04:17 - So it feels to me as if it should be:
verse, small instrumental piece,
verse,
nice long chorus, solo,
interesting musical part,
whatever we wanna call it
and then either come out of interesting musical part
back into the chorus
or come back into that little groove
for a bit
maybe do the first verse fill again
then tag. Something like that.
00:04:47 - I can dig it!
Those are the only thoughts I really have on that. - Right.
00:04:50 It's just structure. - Right, yeah.
00:04:51 - Everything you got going on and we can do the
It's just structure. - Right, yeah.
00:04:52 - Everything you got going on and we can do the
musical part, we can figure all of that out. - Right.
00:04:55 It's 2 minutes and 6 seconds.
00:04:56 That's awesome. It would be awesome if it was 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
00:04:59 - Yeah. - So we can just make it a little longer
even though we're gonna cut and move
we can make it a little longer.
00:05:05 - Yeah. - That'd be super cool.
00:05:07 Let's put these,
in my session, ok?
The only thing I was thinking of,
instead of going to that chorus..
00:05:29 So this just did this..
00:05:34 - Yeah. - It just goes back, you know the chorus is..
00:05:38 - Hold off on a little bit. - Yeah.
00:05:40 Doesn't have to be this long, I say half this long.
00:05:42 - Yeah, totally. - And then back to the verse.
00:05:53 - 'cause then we have this big long chorus.
00:05:59 - Do you think the chorus..
00:06:02 ..should, like we call this a double chorus, right now - Right.
00:06:05 - Do you think that that's basically just the length of the..
00:06:08 - Yeah I think so. - There's no reason to do the half. - No, no, no.
00:06:12 I don't think so. - So that's the chorus.
- Yeah I think so. - There's no reason to do the half. - No, no, no.
00:06:12 I don't think so. - So that's the chorus.
00:06:14 Unless you do it at the end.
00:06:16 - A half chorus at the end?
- A long tag after the solo..
00:06:19 you know what I mean?
Let me put this piece back in,
lemme copy it, lemme get it back out,
so then we come out of this..
00:06:32 you could go to this.
00:06:46 Or..
00:06:50 - Yeah, right. - Right.
00:06:53 - Can you just throw that after the solo? The guitar solo?
- After back here? - Yeah.
00:06:59 - So not there, but after here. Yeah, sure.
00:07:02 - Right here, and bam!
- Of course I can.
00:07:05 - That's the chorus.
00:07:06 - Yeah.
00:07:25 Ok cool, so let's double it.
00:07:43 - *sings* It's gotta hit that..
00:07:45 - That riff. - Yeah.
00:07:47 - I'm just gonna grab a piece and drag it
on the end, here.
- I'm just gonna grab a piece and drag it
on the end, here.
00:07:54 - Kinda weird.. [inaudible]
- *laughs*
- It kind of wrongly works, there. - Yeah.
00:08:15 - That's a pretty sweet 2 minutes and 27 seconds.
00:08:17 - Totally. - Yeah. - So..
00:08:18 we're going: intro,
verse 1,
verse 2,
chorus,
I'd like to have another verse, right here.
00:08:27 - Yeah ok, cool.
00:08:28 - Which we'll have to write.
00:08:29 - So, before the solo..
00:08:50 - That sounds pretty rad to me and it's still short..
00:08:54 this song was kind of a challenge, not a challenge
but we did set some parameters
with the whole verse thing
*sings*
We wanted lyrics to not step on the guitars at all
- Right. - I was writing this stuff and it was like
just two words.
00:09:11 *sings* - Yeah. - You know, like.. - Yeah.
00:09:15 - So we kinda put some..
00:09:17 - It's an exercise in minimal..i..s..
00:09:18 - Yeah, totally. Yeah.
- It's an exercise in minimal..i..s..
00:09:18 - Yeah, totally. Yeah.
00:09:19 .. in minimalism. - In minimalism.
- Yeah, totally. Yeah.
00:09:19 .. in minimalism. - In minimalism.
00:09:21 - Yeah. So we'll see if we can
bring that out in the recording process.
00:09:23 - It could be a good name for a record.
bring that out in the recording process.
00:09:24 - It could be a good name for a record.
00:09:25 - Excercise in minimalism?
- Just call it 'Not working out' and just..
00:09:29 *laughs*
- In, like, capital..
00:09:34 [unintelligible]
"Exercise in Minimalism"
OR
"It's not working out."
*laughs*
Once logged in, you will be able to read all the transcripts jump around in the video.
Vance studied eletrical engineering in Misouri and started his carreer in live sound as a front-of-house engineer. In 2002, he moved to Nashville in order to become studio manager and chief engineer at the legendary Black Bird studios in Nashville. In 2006, he co-founded Sputnik studios along with Grammy winning engineer Mitch Dane, still in Nashville.
Vance Powell has won 6 Grammy awards working with rock artists such as The Raconteurs, Kings of Leon, Jack White, Pearl Jam, The White Stripes, The Dead Weather and more.
Powell's domain of expertise is definitely mixing and producing rock music. As shown in his pureMix videos, Vance likes to experiment and create new fuller and exciting sounds using all kinds of pedals, echos, analog outboards and plug-ins. Vance was used to recording to tape and definitely has an analog approach that makes him commit to fewer good sounding tracks rather than piling up takes in Pro Tools.
His goal is to make something new and warm that fits the band's vision with upfront snare drums and powerful guitars. Rocking.
It was a bet short, but my takeaway was. I had not thought about cutting up a track to get some ideas for an arrangement. Thanks!
feved
2020 Apr 05
Why not subtitles in this series?
TC Hotrod
2020 Mar 28
Really too short !!! Don't you get anything ready to release so you're gonna slice up every video you've already shot, trying to allay our expectations with 10 mn weekly new videos ? Greg Wells series was the right format.
Come on Puremix, your productions have always been very valuable and high level, and still they are but please, don't start trying to fool us.
buche
2020 Mar 24
I don't see the point to post a 9min long video...
Mister Branch
2020 Mar 22
Great song and look forward the next sessions!
Mister Branch
2020 Mar 22
Great song
DaveNJ
2020 Mar 22
I say you guys should provide a Vance Powell wardrobe option with each year's subscription! :)
ariomester.n
2020 Mar 22
Those pre production videos are among the best! Every song oon Puremix should have one of these.
leesparey
2020 Mar 21
Good to see this series starting, will help with the months of not-going-out ahead. Song sounds great so far
Pearlpassionstudio
2020 Mar 21
This song has so much potential, so many ways to be great. I agree on the hook of that song change too. Looking forward to these sessions.
mataran
2020 Mar 21
Teasing, teasing... Please do not cut this good cake into too many slices ;-) The first episode was perfect, right amount of parts, right length for each part.
