Some time in the 3rd year of Mateo’s life, that sound in my head began stirring again. Until now, everything I did was on my Imac. Until now, I never had even 1 single problem with it. Alas, it was out of commission. Not sure if it was chance, or my phone listening to my conversations, but I came across an ad on social media.
It boasted, stereo inputs with phantom power and digital interface via iPhone lightning connectivity.
That meant My phone could be a portable studio! I was immediately taken back to the beginnings of my musical journey. Back then the recording technology was the 4 track. Pretty basic, but a struggling musician will make any given scenario work, and we did.
So that became the theme, back to basics. I loved the idea, and challenge, of simplicity and transparency whilst maintaining my signature style. Nothing more than a microphone & acoustic instruments. I don’t own “real” drums, rather an electronic set. This was also an interesting mixture. Fusing wood with digital instruments.
The only problem was learning a new recording program. Even though I’ve owned a Mac for years, I never once messed with “GarageBand”. I was coming from a Protools world, GarageBand was strange and baffling at first. The biggest difference was that with Protools I would start by recording a click track for whatever duration, after I chose a tempo. GarageBand was different in the sense that you record by the measure. Sure you can choose to lengthen them, but I was still figuring out how to use it as I went along. That also presented a problem. You had to be right on tempo, or the measures wouldn’t matchup. This is why I chose to go with loops, rather than my drum tracks on some songs. It was more logistical than laziness. I believe there was a lagging issue that kept me from hitting that initial note. The loops also sounded better anyway. So yeah.
Just like anything else, if you want to go on, you must adapt. As with Protools, I never intended to learn every function of the software. Meh, only enough to produce a product.
I started the album with a $100 microphone. I do own a $1200 mic, but it was M.I.A. at the time. It wouldn’t turn up until December of ‘18 , when it was discovered inside a bag of ornaments, (compliments of Mateo). The only other upgrade was the IPad Air. There was no significant change in quality, though it did make it easier to play the digital keys. Also the ability to seamlessly switch from phone to Tablet, or vice-versa, was amazing. With the touch of a finger, the session would update to whichever path I chose.
Having a child, there’s pretty much no privacy when it comes to life. Turns out the recording studio is no different. At first I tried to lock the door, but this only made him bang and kick on the door until I let him in. From then on I just tried to be sneaky and quietly shut the door, and be efficient as to get in as many tracks as possible. As expected, Mateo would burst into the room at any given moment, much like Lenny & Squiggy.
“Hello!”
There was no getting around this, I accepted it and moved forward. It’s not uncommon to hear him screaming in the background or the sound of the dryer, that is sitting on the other side of this open wall. It actually added to the atmosphere of each composition and it’s all genuine.
Thinking back, I remember playing a track back and he smiled when he heard himself in the mix. Once he realized that, his Cosmo Kramer visits became more frequent. Mateo’s crowning jewel was his, “Hey Daddy”, contribution.
He said it once right in the middle of a rhythm track. I ignored him and concentrated on finishing the measure. The second one was his head popping up from under the ukulele and in close proximity to the mic. Now that one was hard to play through, but as the record will show, I nailed it.
He was there for most of the process. More than half of these riffs were made while I sat next to him in his room, while he watched movies.
I wrote the entire song ,
”The Maker”, right there on that on that couch.
Some came to me in the shower. Yet, others came at odd times. That descending bass line at the end of “ECHOLALIA “, for instance, came to me while I was cooking some eggs for a burrito that morning. These are the times when my mind wanders, and my mental tentacles unfurl.
Mateo, this album is for you. It is a digital sonograph of our lives.I’m so proud of the person you’re becoming. You are my world. I would never want to force my interests on you, but I hope someday we just might Lay down some tracks together.
Love,
Dad
