This month Boy George started recording his new reggae album at The Cowshed, produced by Richie Stevens and featuring “Pee Wee” Ellis on saxophone and Culture Club backing vocalists. We got some great feedback from the first sessions: “Mate you don’t know the half of it – studio sounds top notch from dub to rock and everything in between.”

We are delighted to have The Blockheads recording their new album “Same Horse, Different Jockey”. They are rocking as ever – with amusing frontman Derek The Draw who will take you on a journey of playful existence, engage in current affairs, have a good old laugh and teach how to apologise from deep inside. Lineup of legends Chaz Jankel (keys), Norman Watt-Roy (bass guitar), John Turnbull (guitar), Mick Gallagher (hammond), John Roberts (drums) is shining through with witty arrangements and tight performances. Recorded on 2″ 24 track tape machine and mixed using vintage outboard this album sounds full fat fun and fab!

Melissa James – Day Dawns
A powerful and moving soul/pop album produced by Joe Leach.

Pixie Ribs – Cigarette
A powerful and moving hardcore shoegaze EP produced by Joe Leach.

Sam Carter
A beautiful, burning and artful album by BBC Folk Artist of the Year.

Scarlett’s Roses
Hotly tipped 8-piece fusing melodic eighties left-field pop with rapping.

Niteflights
Sometimes fragile, at times uber intelligent wry and poetic commentators. A real favourite of ours.

Bongos Ikwue
Nigerian pop music legend and philanthropist’s comeback album, recorded in Nigeria and mixed at The Cowshed

Pixie Lott
Joe produced a banging new track featuring pop starlet Pixie Lott, to raise funds for Barnado’s.

Sliding monitors

We recently upgraded our computer monitors to provide masses of screen “real estate” – handy when running a pro audio workstation. But the most of our work still happens to 24-track tape, and the last thing you need when recording analog music is a dirty great pair of computer monitors in your face. It’s just not on. But how to solve?

After some head scratching, Joe took inspiration from the enduring if painfully banal lyrics of “The Grand Old Duke of York”, installing an elegant mechanism that in duping the behaviour of the Old Duke’s flabbergasted army, liberates the screens in the vertical plane, allowing the user to brush them away with but a wave.

In plain English, when they are up they are up, and when they are down they are down. And when they are only half way up, well, you get the picture. Literally. Here’s a picture.

ProTools 10

We now provide ProTools, making it easier than ever to transfer projects from other studios and take advantage of our ability to warm up unflattered digital sources using our vintage tape machines.

Avalon 737SP
This tasty device is like the Harley Davidson of studio outboard. It’s covered in chrome, goes very loud, and trust me you don’t want to drop it. A great addition to our equipment list.

SOS-cowshed-studio

“Just about all of us, one way or another, are fed up with the status quo, and one of our most effective communication tools – music – has been failing to reflect this. Raising Voices is a creative outlet for all artists, with an emphasis on those with topical material. We will be using the unique environment that is Glastonbury to build momentum around the protest song.” – Joe Leach

Greenpeace in collaboration with Joe Leach of Cowshed Studio London will build a fully kitted out, professional recording studio at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, using the theme “Raising Voices”.

The 60 sq m studio will be constructed of timber and straw bale, feature a control room, live room, vintage drum kit, grand piano, vintage instruments, vintage mics and preamps; in short everything needed to make release quality recordings. There will be two stages and a workshop area providing a platform for unsigned acts to perform to the public under the Raising Voices theme. A video feed to the stage area will allow visitors a look in to the studio sessions in progress.

The Cowshed will run on two fronts – first to act as a resource for unsigned artists to use for their own recording opportunities, assisting musicians through networking facilities, production and songwriting workshops, second, to provide a platform to encourage established artists to express their support for the wider environmental and economic issues that confront us all.

This is where we are seeking industry involvement – we’re looking for signed artists sympathetic to Greenpeace’s wider causes to join us at the studio by registering their interest for an exclusive recording session. We will be providing a world-class recording studio, green room and private chill-out area, creating publicity in exchange for artistic endorsement, while supplying any subsequent recorded material to the artist or copyright holders for their own possible future use, in the same capacity as that in which commercial studios operate. As such, all material produced will remain the exclusive preserve of the relevant copyright holders.

With label/management consent we will facilitate media coverage, an attractive opportunity given the highly unique nature of the project and the scale of the exercise.

Interested parties can contact director Joe Leach. Further information can be found on the Cowshed Studio Glastonbury microsite.

In addition to the studio, a program of late night entertainment will be curated by Mi7 on the Cowshed’s stage, taking advantage of the massive footfall across the Greenpeace field in the late hours of the festival. Mi7 have built a reputation for hosting acts at the tipping point of their careers, including Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling, Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine) and Rumer.

Rock electronica act Eyes on Film, recently signed to Andy Gould of Spectacle Group and X-ray Touring, Tongue Fu, Sound of Rum, Molotov Jukebox, and Six Nation State will be appearing on the stage. Artists interested in playing the Cowshed stage contact Geoff Southall at Mi7.

NB. We are not able to offer tickets to the festival.

A week ago it seemed certainly perfect – the sun beat heavily down on Myddleton Road as we thrust our spectacular Wills and Kate flag proudly out over our excrement-bejewelled footpath. Torn down and tossed aside by some drunk jerk with an irony-bypass a night later, I was left wondering how deeply this country is in trouble.

Today, terrible shadows of doubt descend over the land, as Winston Churchill might have put it. Will it rain tomorrow? And if so, is this proof that God has finally abandoned our otherwise noble and long-lived queen?

And will rain make any difference, with talk of 60 million real-thinking people boycotting the wedding.

Boycotting my arse. I’m not exactly a royalist, but this ‘boycotting’ malarkey is a load of old coblers. It’s like saying because I don’t watch the FA cup final I’m boycotting football. In the world of football, that’ll make me go down in history as a real trouble-maker.

I for one have made the adult decision that I am going with my two offspring, aged 20 and 4, to the spectacle rain or shine. And whilst I will carry no placards to this event (it’s a wedding, after all, let’s be a little bit good natured about it), I will proudly hold my slightly poo-stained wedding flag aloft, and wave it with ironic gusto.

And if someone asks me if I’m proud to be a royalist, I’ll tell them that I think they’re a bit past it, that I think the country is being poured down the toilet by the demigods of consumerism, and I’m not exactly happy about it, but give them a chance. And I’m glad they’ve got out of their house to join me on the street for a celebratory glass of wine in the sunshine. Or the rain.

So anyone else who fancies boycotting the boycotters and enjoying a day that will, for whatever reason, be unforgettable, we’d love to meet up for a bit of a street party. We’ll be near horse-guards parade. Keywords Prosecco and skid-marks.

2010 has been a good year for us at The Cowshed. There was more work, creativity, novelty, fun and clarity then ever.

First lot of Joe and Jonny’s ( Joe Leach and Jonny Phillips aka Bart and Burly) writings came to life at the beginning of the year. What sounded ridiculous as a demo transformed into a swan collection of 70’s inspired Kraut Lounge tunes sending good vibes and grins all around. “Good Times” came to life and promptly secured a publishing deal and worldwide distribution with Lift Music Brighton. The album is about to be finished and handed over to the public.

Another successful partnership of this year is work on Eyes On Film EP “Tales of My Lady the Night”. Three songs ready to be showcased created a stir in senior music clique, more lingering conversations and an inspiration for a video featuring Columbian superstar Monica Lopera – “Charge Me Up” released in UK and USA, what’s next?

A very warm start to the summer kept us busy fitting the Synth City – collection of rare analog synths and modified drum machines all plumbed in to the computer and desk. Earliest recordings prove to be decent, check out our music player for “You are a toy” by Lucky Victims – try and detach yourself from sweet siren Kitty La Roar and you’ll hear the beeps and dings now on offer at the studio.

Summer also brought The Cowshed’s 10^th birthday celebration – time to be reflective and receive presents like a Pro Tools installation from our friend and producer extraordinaire Teo Miller. Time to be jolly and party too – debuting “Good Times” and Jack Lawrence’s  album “Long Road Home” on the very memorable night at The Cross Kings.

What a year! To wrap up this blog – we ought to say thanks to all of you talented people for bringing your music to the shed and letting us share the gift of artistic expression. Our spirits are flattering high and foreseeing more joy in a year to come.

Merry Christmas,

Biba and Joe

Eyes On Film recorded their first EP  “Tales of My Lady the Night” and here is a mini documentary of it. Influenced by first kiss, lingering conversations and pop music this band is ready to take off whoosh

The Cowshed is turning 10

Come and help us party!

Debuting the stompin sounds of Joe Leach and Jonny Phillips’s wild Kraut Lounge 7-piece “Good Times”

and the launch of Jack Lawrence’s album, recorded and mixed at The Cowshed.

Jack Lawrence on stage 10:30

Good Times 11:45

Friday 2nd July, 9PM – 2AM, £5 on door

The Cross Kings,

126 York Way

Kings Cross

London N1 0AX

Hope to see you there,

Biba & Joe x

p.s. Kraut Lounge tunes can be heard on www.myspace.com/phillipsleach , do check and befriend

Just heard from Blockheds’ Chaz Jankel that the music to the film Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, recorded at The Cowshed last October, has been nominated for a BAFTA! Looking forward to blowing Avatar out of the water, tee hee. It’s nice to know

Well done Chaz for the nomination, and well done us for recording it so fat.

Other news for the month, I’m dusting off my white gloves to live mix my latest production development Eyes On Film this Wednesday 17th at The Water Rats. They’ve provoked a huge amount of interest, including currently being cruised by Guns’N’Roses current manager. Tickets have almost sold out, so contact us if you would like to be on the industry list.

In 10 minutes though, I’m back in the studio for overdubs to Jonny Phillips’ and I’s Kraut Lounge album. Huge thanks to Mark Fletcher (drums), Ian Tripp (percussion), Rob Mullarkey and Simon Little (bass), Jim Watson and Gary Moberly (keys/hammond), Ed Jones and Jamie Anderson (saxes) and Simon Finch and Damon Brown (trumpet/flugelhorn), who whipped up a veritable blizzard in our leiderhosen. All of these musicians are great people and world-class players, so contact us if you’re looking for any of the above.

And listen out for some psychadelic cheese lounge emanating from a lift, airport lounge or possibly even a supermarket near you!

Virtually all our artists last year opted to record to analog 24-track tape, and the comments we received about the sound, the vibe, the speed of results and the sheer fun of it really confirmed that keeping our studio analog has been far and away the right way choice. Thanks!

Projects currently on the go include award-winning experimental jazz outfit Killer Shrimp’s forthcoming album (describing me in the process as “Sound Mayhemist” in their cyber bumpf), the finishing touches to internationally renowned composer/guitarist Richard Chapman’s amazing new record, the continuing development and production of Dan Mills’s great band “Eyes on Film”, and my own project, a collaboration with composer Jonny Phillips in a work of 60’s-psychadelic-lounge-inspired pieces.

Of course there’s been plenty more going on here, but I’ll leave that for the next blog.

On the gear front – look out, we’ve just acquired two beatiful Coles ribbon mics to capture drums brass, piano and electric guitar even more melliflously than we were before. These beauties are as-used by the BBC and EMI in the 60’s, they bring a real smoothness and warmth to any performance they touch. Soul even.

Once again thanks for all of your ongoing support. It means a huge deal to us.

See you soon –

Joe Leach

At the risk of sounding like every other dull tw*t out there I’m going to get excited about a new piece of recording gear! Yeah, I know. Bye.

It’s a new portable recorder, a small but devillishly useful thing, the Korg MR-1000.

I was asked to record a live album for Aussie comedian Brendon Burns*, and in typical Joe Leach style I put my neck on the chopper and suggested we make world ‘istry by making the first 3D comedy album ever.

(Gawd, here we go, since you asked… although we have only two ears, we hear sound in 3D. How can this be. Well our heads and our pinnae (look it up) literally encode the signals reaching our ear-drums with enough info to tell us things like… the pub’s 25 feet away on the right… my wife’s 200 feet behind… shit there’s no floor! I’m going to die! as one disappears through the cellar hole, etc)

Well, stick some miniature mics in your ears and there you have it. All the spacial info gets captured.

On to what you asked. Well, see if you get as excited at the answer as I do. The Korg MR-1000. Possibly the most detailed and accurate recorder ever made, that’s what.

Phwoooar! This little beast is a beauty, and you all need to know how it works so you can explain it to your parents.

Using DSD, or direct stream digital, it records audio using 5.8 milion 1’s and 0’s per second. That’s a lot isn’t it. So it must be good.

Oh but the sound!

As you know, what sets us apart from the others is we record just about everything to 24-track tape for the sound. Then we mix though loads of lovely analog outboard to stereo tape, also for the sound. But then it has to enter the digital world. But how? I think you’ve guessed. Recording in hi-definition DSD audio, our masters are now super high fidelity. Releasable on SACD. Future proof. Preserved beautifully for life.

So there’s something to get on the phone about. Record at The Cowshed, you’ll sound better than ever.

Of course, if you need gigs recorded, location recording, etc, call or email now. I’ll rock up anywhere in the country on a fast motorbike stuffed with quality mics and wonderful recording gear, to mix and or record your next gig. In 3D if you like!

* Brendons Burns’s album “The Thinking Man’s Idiot” is out in September on the Laughing Stock label. And it really sounds like you’re there.

]]> https://cowshed.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/the-cowshed-goes-moobile-with-dsd/feed/ 0 cowshed DSD Korg https://cowshed.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/apr-09-diy-2/ https://cowshed.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/apr-09-diy-2/#respond Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:44:45 +0000 http://cowshed.wordpress.com/?p=130 We’ve just had a week of mixing with Teo Miller driving – this gave me the opportunity to sort out a couple of minor cracks on my motorbike fairing, determined as I was not to pay a pro body shop to do the work.

Armed with a Halford’s fibreglass repair kit, some hard-core epoxy, a few tins of paint and a day to myself, in I went.

I have often thought that making a record must be one of the hardest things to do in the world. I would like to add spray painting to the list. It looks easy. It should be easy. Dammit it’s got to be easy! But five days later, as I affix the remaining screws and clean up the final vestiges of mess, I have to say it has been quite a learning experience.

If I had spent just five more minutes with the masking tape for instance, I wouldn’t have got flecks of blue on one of the white panels. Doh! This alone would have saved 8 hours (it was a real bastard to get off!). And if I’d had a well-lit spray painter’s workshop, I wouldn’t have the wind blowing paint into uneven patches. Or have to go back and re-do things that I didn’t see until sunrise next day, simply because it was too damn dark.

Watching paint dry left me with a lot of time to think about what we do. Increasingly we’re getting mix sessions for home grown recordings that need to be taken to the professional level. Sometimes a lot of this is repair work that would be unnecessary had the correct tools for the job been available in the first place – such as accurate monitoring and decent headphone sends. The cost of a tricky mix can work out more than recording largely live and balancing from a high quality source off tape (don’t let that put you off getting a quote though – we do love mixing others’ source material and will let you know honestly if we can’t achieve great results within your budget).

At least a bike is just a bike. The difference with a record is that we live with it for ever. And if it isn’t right, players are reluctant to come back and give their all a second time. A performance is a one-off, and while we may be able to gloss over mistakes, the truth is that home-grown records will not stand up to a kick-arse live recording made in a pro environment with quality gear. And a record you are not confident with becomes a record that doesn’t sell.

What we do ain’t life-or-death. As the saying goes, “It’s only music”. When I flog the Beemer, I’ll advertise it as having “a slightly amateurish paint-job”, and expect a hundred or so less for it.

Record at The Cowshed next time and relax knowing you won’t have the same dilemma with your carton of 1000 brand spanking new CD’s.

Til next time,

JL

Albums must be like buses – you wait for ages and, well you know the story.

This year has been especially wierd because we went for a few months in a vacuum. I was putting it all down to the Kredit Krunch (why call it a depression when you can make it sound like a fantastic new piece of shit from Nestle! I’m sure I’m not the first one to notice that). I was almost expecting to go the way of a hundred other great studios or the occasional bank when BANG!, the bookings hit us like a fleet of number 29s.

So just as I’m putting the finishing touches on an album with the wonderful Verona Chard I find myself starting another tomorrow morning, with singer Kerry Hodgkin, produced by Ian Shaw.

Other highlights of the past month or two are an album of great striding piano jazz from the world class Darius Brubeck, a stunning collection of Mercer songs by the revered Scots jazz singer Todd Gordon, an album of really lush originals by the very beautiful and silky toned Juliet Kelly, 15 Elvis remakes (spanning over 2 decades of Elvis’s career) for the rather good ITV movie, “Caught in a Trap” on a TV near you soon, an album by the fantastic experimental Astrakan and demos with the exceedingly talented newcomer Joe Jackson (no not THAT Joe Jackson)… 7 albums in two and a half months… oh my lord I HAVE been busy!

One of the common features of all of these records is that all of the artists tracked exclusively to tape, and mixed using our wonderful analog outboard. I’m not knocking digital when I say that if we’d done it using the computer my head would be HURTING right now (a 10 hour day of digital playback certainly pokes one fair and square in the lug hole…). i’m very excited about the sound of these our latest records and can’t wait to upload them on to the site for you to hear.

Subject to the copyright holders’ approval of course!

Cheerio, Joe

Exciting new projects being finished here this summer: albums from Juliet Kelly, Todd Gordon, Darius Brubeck and 12 Elvis Presley’s tracks for an ITV movie (carbon copies of the original, if not radical improvements ;-). John Lennon impersonator lounged around the studio and Lucky Victims filled the tape with their extraordinary live set featuring piano and vocal mash ups of Frank Sinatra, Shaggy and Radiohead.

We’re thrilled that an overwhelming 98% of you were satisfied with your Cowshed recording, with nearly 50% citing the results as “brilliant”.

What you say really does matter to us. For example in our recent survey 30% of you said we need to provide a chillout space and… ta daa, we started working on it! (Unfortunately the numerous requests for lap dancers has been delayed until next year). 

Here’s what our courtyard looks like now, with further improvements to come…

Congrats have to go to the winners but I was especially chuffed to see so many past clients of mine at the awards and quite a few nominated or collecting them too, in particular Christine Tobin, Toni Kofi, Ian Shaw, Guy Barker, Tom Cawley, Ben Davis and Steve Rubie.

Also special mention must be made of Cleo and John’s performance, which was amazing. Despite being 80 they both sparkled with talent, humour and joy. A revelation.

The aftershow hang at Ronnies was something else. The place swelled with musicians. The upstairs bar staff didn’t know what had hit them. Downstairs the jamming kicked off, with Nigel Kennedy, Gary Husband and Jamie Cullum all playing together in a pissed haze of late night random brilliance. Drum sticks flew everywhere while the inside of the piano was furiously hammered by two grown men desperate to beat it into submission. The wah wah and no less than 3 delay pedals on Nigel’s violin fed back into a deafening high pitched frenzy. Brilliant stuff, it sounded like a fire in a pet shop, but it was great to see Ronnies in the hands of anarchists again. There is hope!

That’s enuff for now – it’s 5am and I’ve got a session in a few hours…

We celebrated Joe’s 40th and Cowshed’s 8th in the legendary 606 Club Chelsea. Very amusing party I tell you! Stylish women, men with hat, sexy sideburns, funky tunes, gifted singers and mashed up cabaret finale. The night proved there’s no business like show business