Just got home from my last half day editing and recording at New Improved Recording. Last week I was laughing at how I somehow hadn't put it all together that this record would sound just plain beautiful. I knew I had really interesting writing, melodies and songs, and I knew I was hiring the best musicians I knew to rehearse and record with me. But then I wrote parts and arrangements for these musicians, studied up on vocal improvisation, and added that. And then while recording it all, I came to understand my project was in the hands of an incredible sound engineer and human being, Jay Pellici. He's a magician with dials and cables, has ears like nobody else I know, and works with kindness and joy every step of the way. Kindness like, "That was really great, Mel! You're still a touch flat on that note. Let's have you sing it again." What a rare gift to have a collaborator like that.
So, trust me for now, it's beautiful. We'll get to mixing and then mastering the songs in the next few weeks. And truthfully I'm already excited about the next set of songs that will be recorded here!
PS Jay and I came up with some new vocab for the recording world to share, like "If we can't patch it, plunk it!" i.e. - If we can't just redo that end section of the song, then plunk in the former take and seam it together. And, my favorite, "faux vox" - (pronounced "foe voe") having Patrick play the vocal harmony on clarinet so we can hear it alongside the other instrumentation. :D