Engineer Ross Hogarth Oversees Immense Much-Anticipated Project

Recording engineer/mixer Ross Hogarth joined mastering engineer Bernie Grundman and his assistant Joe Bozzi for extended sessions at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood to finalize Van Halen’s new album, “A Different Kind of Truth.” Recorded at Henson Studios and recorded / mixed at 5150 Studios, this marks the band’s first album in 14 years.

Hogarth began working on the project more than a year ago, and once material was recorded and mixed, stepped into Bernie Grundman Mastering to work on the final touches of equalization, sequencing, and preparation for release on CD, vinyl, and various digital release formats. A much sought after producer as well as engineer, Hogarth has worked with such artists as REM, Ziggy Marley, Keb Mo, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, and Motley Crüe.

The new album is the first full length Van Halen album since 1998′s “Van Halen III” and the first new music from the band since the three new songs included on 2004′s “Best of Both Worlds” compilation. It will also be the first Van Halen album to feature Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, on the bass in place of Michael Anthony.

Van Halen’s current lineup is David Lee Roth, lead vocals; Eddie Van Halen, lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals; Alex Van Halen, drums; and Wolfgang Van Halen, bass, backing vocals.

The band has racked up sales of over 56 million albums in the United States alone and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S.

Van Halen’s new album from Interscope Records release date February 7, 2012. “Tattoo” is the first single.

For more information about Bernie Grundman Mastering, visit:
http://www.bgmastering.com

Recording and mix engineer Edward J “UK” Nixon of the Grammy Award winning US production team J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, has been using a Prism Sound Orpheus FireWire interface on a number of high profile projects including the mixes for Dare To Dream and the Mobb Deep single Street Lights.

Nixon, who carried out the projects at both Metropolis Studios in London and a private facility, says the natural, clean and detailed nature of the Orpheus allowed him to record every nuance and character of both vocal performance and the performance and character of a vintage Neumann U47 microphone.

“A further increase in perceived depth, width and height were obtained during the mix process thanks to the Orpheus converters, resulting in mixes that we were all very happy with,” Nixon says. “Simply put, the ADC and DAC enabled me to see and hear the bigger picture, which perfectly marries to my approach. Using Orpheus I can create and capture an exact image and place elements within that image with pinpoint accuracy. We don’t cut corners and neither have the Orpheus designers – they deserve the crown, because the Orpheus is King!”

Nixon’s decision to try out the Orpheus was initially inspired by fellow engineer James Towler, Steve Winwood’s Front of House, Studio and Tour Manager.

“James uses Prism Sound ADA-8X multichannel converters and had expressed his opinion and recommendation, in particular to the quality of the converters,” Nixon explains. “After Avid released Pro Tools 10 last year with increased PDC, I decided to look at making the transition from Logic Pro Audio for mixing duties as I had, for the majority of the time up to that point, been tracking in Pro Tools and mixing in Logic Pro Audio 9. The Orpheus has integrated seamlessly into my set-up. The microphone preamplifiers are perfect for tracking vocals or instrumentation, both in a studio environment and on location in a hotel room – something I have done on many occasions with great results.”

Nixon adds that another great feature of the Orpheus is its stack-ability, which has allowed him to daisy-chain up to six units for 48 channels of analogue I/O.

“This is reassuring for expansion going forward,” he says. “Also, the headphone amps are perfect for editing, with detail enabling my assistant M to hear everything, every unwanted click, pop, artifact or extraneous noise. M carries out the majority of mix preparation using headphones as we find that the isolation aids concentration. The level of detail provided between Orpheus and our Sennheiser HD650 headphones has resulted in zero edits falling through the net and impacting the mix process.”

Nixon adds that the sheer accuracy of the converters has enabled him to be in complete control of everything from image and transient information to frequency representation.

“Most importantly, it gives me peace of mind because it is totally rock solid,” he says.

Born and bred in the Lake District, Edward J “UK” Nixon has been based in the US since joining the J.U.S.T.I.C.E League (which stands for Just Undeniably Some of The Illest Composers Ever) in 2010. His first project for the team was Maybach Music III featuring Erykah Badu, T.I. & Jadakiss. This was included on Rick Ross’s Gold selling Teflon Don album, which also featured the J.U.S.T.I.CE League-produced No. 1 Billboard single Aston Martin Music featuring Drake & Chrisette Michele.

In recent months Nixon has been using his Orpheus to mix albums in the UK for Mercury Records’ Dot Rotten and Island Records’ AnGel, both of whom he describes as ‘super talented artists destined for unequivocal success in 2012’. Dot Rotten’s first official single Are You Not Entertained from his highly anticipated debut album Voices In My Head will be released on March 5th, 2012. Other recently completed projects from the team include Yelawolf’s Write Your Name featuring Mona Moua, Ace Hood’s Body 2 Body featuring Chris Brown, Keyshia Cole’s Long Way Down, Young Jeezy’s F.A.M.E. featuring T.I” and Trapped featuring Jill Scott both from TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition, the No. 1 selling RnB/Hip-Hop album on Billboard over the Christmas period (F.A.M.E. & TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition have in recent days been certified Gold).

“Here in England, I have been mixing at Britannia Row Studios and a private facility, while in the US I work at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, which the J.U.S.T.I.C.E League calls home,” Nixon explains. “We also have three extensive home based rigs in the city and I am currently in the process of finding a suitable home in England.

“It really is a privilege to work alongside such talented musicians, writers, producers and friends and to have the opportunity to evolve and adapt. The team challenge me to shape the sonic signature of each and every record that we make, forever inching closer toward perfection.”

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About Prism Sound
Founded in 1987, Prism Sound manufacture high-quality professional digital audio equipment for the International broadcast, film, music production, manufacturing and telecommunications sectors. The company’s product range includes the Prism ADA-8XR precision 8-channel converter unit, which is regularly used for music and film soundtrack projects by clients such as EMI Abbey Road, BBC, Sony, Lucasfilm and Walt Disney. Prism Sound also manufactures a range of audio test and measurement products, including the de facto standard DSA-1 handheld digital audio generator/analyser and the dScope Series III audio analyser system.

For more information: www.prismsound.com

Slovakian Musicians Work Under Auspices of The National Democratic Institute

Oscar, Grammy & Golden Globe Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer recorded music of the Roma people, commonly known as Gypsies, for the dynamically moving score of “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Under the auspices of the National Democratic Institute, Zimmer traveled to Slovakia and found virtuoso Roma musicians who then traveled to Vienna to record at Austria’s MG Sound recording studios.

“I grew up loving the Roma music so much, those ‘Gypsy violins’,” Zimmer recalls. “But I never really knew who they were. I told our director, Guy Richie, that we had to do a road trip. While visiting Roma settlements in Slovakia, we discovered unbelievable musicianship. We heard a few bands, loved their playing and invited them to Vienna, where we went into the recording studio and started making music.”

Through this project, Zimmer hopes to draw attention to the plight of the marginalized and disenfranchised Roma people of Eastern Europe, commonly known as Gypsies. He traveled under the auspices of the NDI, a non-profit group that fosters democracy and human rights around the world. Bonnie Abaunza, VP of Zimmer’s Remote Control Charitable Foundation, accompanied him and his photographer daughter Zoe and film crew for the road trip to Slovakia.

In Vienna, Zimmer praised the Roma musicians, many of whom had never been professionally recorded, and the great sound they achieved in the studio. “I told them that I wanted their music on top of the orchestral score. Of course, Sherlock plays the violin and the true virtuosos are always those ‘Gypsy’ violins. I said we only had one chance to do this music the best we can and put it out into the world. It’s folkloric but at the same time there is incredible sophistication.”

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows – The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” is now available from WaterTower Music. Proceeds from the soundtrack album go toward assisting the Roma people. [1][2][3]In addition to receiving the 18 tracks on the album, those who purchase the soundtrack will also be able to download three free additional tracks from the film, along with a video chronicling Zimmer’s journey to record the music of the Roma people.

for information about MG Sound, visit : http://www.mg-sound.com

Award Nominations Feature Top Engineers & Producers who use Dangerous Music equipment

Edmeston, NY – February 6, 2012 – Dangerous Music is extending congratulations to several of their users who have Grammy(r) nominated projects for 2011. All the clients have great praise for the Dangerous Music gear they used in their productions, from the Foo Fighters, with mastering engineers Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta, the Kings of Leon with co-producer and engineer Jacquire King, Glenn Schick mastering for Canton Jones, and Nashville’s producer and engineer John Schirmer for Keb Mo, to the engineers and producers at New York’s Stadium Red studios who turned out a host of nominations for projects from artists J. Cole, Chris Brown, Marsha Ambrosius, and classical composer Steven Mackey. The Grammy Awards are to be televised live February 12, on CBS. more

Mark Loughman Joined by Kenny Aronoff, Matt Sorum, Rafael Moreira and Guests

Respected Manchester rocker Mark Loughman, CEO of British Audio Engineering, is heading up the BAE T-Funk All Star Band on Saturday night, January 28th at one of LA’s hottest nightclubs, The Satellite. Joining Loughman will be his band’s world renowned drummer Kenny Aronoff, who is also currently touring with Chickenfoot, replacing Chad Smith during the Chili Peppers tour.

Also performing are guitarist Rafael Moreira (Pink, Christina Aguilera, Colbie Caillat); top drummer Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver); guitarist Franky Perez (Camp Freddy, Stars on Broadway); guitarist Billy Morrison (Billy Idol, The Cult); bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction, Alanis Morissette); DJ Lethal and other special surprise guests.

In addition to exceptional musicians, the performance will feature top gear from British Audio Engineering, including the prized 1073, 312 and 1084 microphone pre-amplifiers based on the classics of the past and now remanufactured with original components. TELEFUNKEN microphones on stage will be the popular M80 and M81 dynamic microphones and Copperhead CU-29 and ELA M 260 condenser tube mics.

“Great musicians and great gear make for a night of great music – come and listen for yourself,” says Mark, Loughman, who will be performing songs from his forthcoming album, including the first single: “I Hate My Girlfriends Because They Love Me,” available Friday, Jan. 27 on iTunes.

BAE manufactures high-end microphone pre-amplifiers, equalizers, and compressors. Faithful to the designs and fabrication of vintage gear from the 60s and 70s, BAE uses the highest quality components from the original suppliers. TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik is the[1] TEC Award-winning microphone company that faithfully recreates the vintage Telefunken sound, offering a product line that perfectly blends vintage style and sound with the reliability of modern-day microphones.

The Satellite is located at 1717 Silver Lake Blvd., LA, CA 90026. Doors open at 8:30pm, show starts at 9:00. $15 advance tickets are available at http://www.TicketFly.com search: Mark Loughman.

The concert will be webcast live at 9:00pm PST. Check http://www.BAEaudio.com for details.

Caribbean Resort Studio Houses Vintage Neve Console

Country music legend Kenny Chesney is recording and mixing new material at Ocean Way St. Barths, the recording studio at the famed Eden Rock resort in the heart of the Caribbean. Chesney is working with producer and songwriter Buddy Cannon (Riba McEntire, George Jones, George Strait) on his first album since 2010′s hit “Hemingway’s Whiskey.”

Chesney’s road manager, Malchijah Bailey, remarked, “The time we spent mixing at the studio was great. Anytime you can work all day, walk out of the studio and be greeted by an amazing beach, makes you feel like it’s not work. The vibe was awesome, and kept us all in good musical spirits.”

Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 20 of which climbed to the top of the charts.

During his sessions at Ocean Way St. Barths, Chesney presented a framed Platinum record commemorating sales of more than 1 million copies of his album “Hemingway’s Whiskey. ” A signed message reads, “Thanks so much to everyone that was a part of ‘Hemingway’s Whiskey! Your talent, heart, passion, and true love for music made this album very special.”

The Ocean Way St. Barths studio is located at The Eden Rock, an exotic resort destination since the 1960s for such celebrities as Greta Garbo, the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds. A new 16,000 sq.ft. beachfront villa includes four bedroom suites, a 20-seat home cinema that doubles as a professional audio recording space, and a new control room installed by Ocean Way. Housing a wealth of vintage gear alongside state-of-the-art digital equipment, at the center is a vintage Neve console that was used by John Lennon to record “Imagine,” among countless other historic hits.

Hollywood’s famed Ocean Way houses some of the best sounding large live rooms ever built. Constructed in 1958, the studios have been the site of an astonishing number of classic and current hit records which have sold in excess of a billion copies worldwide.

For information about Ocean Way & St. Barths, visit:
http://www.oceanwayrecording.com

Contact Robin Goodchild for all booking requests.
Email: rob@oceanwayrecording.com or call 323-467-9375.

Collaboration With Diverse Artists for “Love On a Real Train”

Talented percussionist and composer Joachim Cooder has completed his first solo album with mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. Entitled “Love on a Real Train,” the collaborative project includes work recorded in Los Angeles and in numerous other locales via the Internet.

“‘Love on a Real Train’ is the name of the album and the project,” explains Cooder. “I am not going by my name. Basically, I made instrumental tracks and then sent them out to artists I am friends with. They write and then sing or perform over the tracks and then send them back to me if they live in another city, or I book studio time and have them record here in LA. We’ve been working at a very leisurely pace, no hurry, and it ended up complete with this amazing cast of characters.”

Included on “Love on a Real Train are Inara George (Bird and the Bee), composer/trumpeter Jon Hassell, singer/songwriter Robert Francis, Cooder’s wife singer/songwriter Juliette Commagere, singer/songwriter and former skateboard pro Matt Costa, DJ Frank Lyon of the band Keepaway, and gifted violinist/vocalist Petra Haden.

“The record is ambient, but there are also some catchy tunes,” remarks Cooder. “It’s been amazing here during mastering when Bernie puts it up on his speakers and starts dialing it in. You start to hear it in a way you haven’t heard it before. To hear it grand like this is pretty special.”

Joachim Cooder was born in 1978 in Santa Monica, California. Inspired by drummer Jim Keltner, he began playing the drums at the age of five, and later studied world percussion at the California Institute of the Arts. Since then he has participated in live performances and film scores (often with his father Ry), and numerous recordings, notably Buena Vista Social Club in 1996 and BVSC presents Ibrahim Ferrer in 1998.

Cooder has also participated in the albums “John Lee Hooker, The Best of Friends” (1998), “Dead Man Walking — Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (1995), “Mavis Staples – We’ll Never Turn Back” (2007), and “Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall” (2008).
To view a short video interview with Joachim Cooder at Bernie Grundman Mastering, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT-r3zluSdE

“Love on a Real Train” will be released on Aeronaut Records, April 3, 2012.
For more information about Bernie Grundman Mastering, visit: http://www.bgmastering.com

Grammy-nominated SF Bay Area producer & engineer uses D-Box on multiple albums

EDMESTON, NY – January 6, 2012 – Following up on his Grammy-nominated mixes for Trombone Shorty which still reigns the Billboard charts with singles “For True” and “Backtown,” San Francisco Bay Area producer and engineer Count (aka Mikael Eldridge) just finished the new DJ Shadow album titled “The Less You Know the Better.” Using his Dangerous Music D-Box with analog summing and monitor control as he did on Trombone Shorty’s release, Count is very pleased with the mixes he’s been getting this year, and excited to have his studio working and sounding just the way he’d like. In addition to being a producer and mix engineer, Count is also a musician and remixer and has wide ranging credits from Radiohead, Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra and New Order, to No Doubt, Lyrics Born, and Blackalicious. During 2011 Count also completed tracks fore Zoe Keating and Tycho – both high on the iTunes charts – and five new albums due out next year from The Revivalists, Galactic, Roberto Fonseca, Ryan Montbleau and Inu – all mixed with the Dangerous D-Box. more

Bon Jovi Producer Luke Ebbin Helms Ambitious Project

Bon Jovi lead guitarist and producer, singer/songwriter Richie Sambora is recording his third solo album at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood. Luke Ebbin, producer of the Bon Jovi albums “Crush” and “Bounce,” is helming the new project.

“Richie and I have worked on and off together for years,” explained Ebbin. “Richie came off the Bon Jovi tour energized and we got together to write a couple of songs. The results were very good, so we kept writing more and decided to go in and record them. The recordings came out great, so Richie decided why not make this a solo record? There are eight songs in the can now, including a co-write with Bernie Taupin. We’ve started round two of sessions and hope to have a full album done by early spring.”

Sambora’s first solo outing was “Stranger in This Town” (1991), a critically acclaimed blues-influenced album that featured Eric Clapton playing lead guitar on the song “Mr Bluesman,” backed by Sambora on acoustic guitars. “Undiscovered Soul” was Sambora’s second solo album, released in 1998 and produced by Don Was.

For information about Ocean Way & Record One, visit:
http://www.oceanwayrecording.com

Contact Robin Goodchild for all booking requests.
Email: rob@oceanwayrecording.com or call 323-467-9375.

HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 2011: Although one is tempted to write baldly that John Arrucci is a percussionist just as, for example, Albert Einstein was a scientist, Arrucci’s modest nature would probably not tolerate the comparison. So… suffice it to say, Arrucci is very talented. His biography includes twenty-plus years on the faculty at Princeton University; study on three continents; mastery of Classical, Jazz, North Indian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, and other traditions; and a fine and very extensive list of composition and performance credits on high-profile albums, movies, and commercials. Arrucci’s latest passion is demonstrated in Metaphors, the first of three albums of his original compositions. Months of painstaking research led him to the Metric Halo ULN-8 preamp/converter/interface, on which the entire album was both recorded and mixed.

“I was updating my studio in preparation for Metaphors,” Arrucci said. “I needed preamps, AD converters, and a monitor controller. I was grateful for the help of three friends, each of whom is an expert engineer with a unique and strong opinion about audio.” Arrucci resolved to purchase only equipment upon which all three engineers could agree. “Two were Mac guys and the other was a PC guy,” he continued. “But that was just the start. They each had very different feelings and criteria.” To arrive at an unbiased decision, the group gathered together the contenders and then conducted a blind shootout. “The Metric Halo ULN-8 was the clear winner and earned each of their approvals,” he proclaimed.

One of the consulting engineers was Mike Cirile, who would also later record the initial session tracks for Metaphors. But before he did, Cirile gave Professor Arrucci some homework. “I am certainly not an engineer,” Arrucci asserted. “But I’m making a good-faith effort to become more knowledgeable about engineering. The Metric Halo ULN-8 is a deep piece of gear and it ships with some powerful routing and mixing software. Mike knew I wanted to really learn how to use it, so he gave me assignments to build [virtual] mixers in Metric Halo’s MIO Console. The assignments were complicated. I had to create big mixers that had all kinds of groups with ‘pre-fader-this’ and ‘post-fader-that.’ Although it was initially challenging, I learned a lot, and now I feel empowered.”

The first, Cirile-engineered sessions featured piano, bass, and, of course, drums. After that, Arrucci took over the engineering duties for his own overdubs, which included marimba, conga, vibraphone, alto flute, and a handful of other exotic instruments. “The ULN-8 was utterly solid,” he said. “I had had problems in the past with interfaces that didn’t want to play nicely with my Mac, but the ULN-8 was not only well-integrated in terms of the user-interface and stability, but there was also zero perceivable latency. It was nice to just use the box, without having to jury rig a work-around solution for latency on overdubs.”

He continued, “Everyone involved in the initial sessions commented about the strikingly beautiful sound on playback, before anything had been effected, processed or mixed. I felt gratified that my rigorous vetting process had paid off. The Metric Halo ULN-8 was really going to put the music, on which I’ve worked so hard in its best light.” Arrucci edited in Digital Performer and then used Digital Performer together with Metric Halo MIO Console to mix. Metaphors is now available at www.JohnArrucci.com, as well as from the usual suspects (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). A portion of the proceeds from album sales will go directly to the Rotary Foundation’s global fight to eradicate polio.

ABOUT METRIC HALO
Based in New York’s Hudson Valley, Metric Halo provides the world with high-resolution metering, analysis, recording and processing solutions with award-winning software and future-proof hardware. www.mhlabs.com