Mark Kelson - Sound Production & Visual Media

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:34:00 +0000

Well I have finally got around to launching my new site. The content will be based around my work as a Sound Engineer and Musician. I hope you enjoy the content and feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions about the services I can offer you.

I thought this might be a good time to re-cap on some of my projects over the last 9 months.

ALTERNATIVE 4

This is a great project I’ve been lucky enough to get involved with. It is the brain child of Duncan Patterson (ex-Anathema, ex-Antimatter, Íon). As well as my musical involvement as the singer & guitar player on the project, I was also involved on a production level, handling the editing, tracking of guitars, vocals & various other bits & pieces.

This all took place when Duncan came down to Melbourne in May 2011 to work on what would become The Brink. Over the next few weeks a very creative time began. It was my first physical meeting with Duncan, although we had worked previously together on various projects over the years thanks to the wonders of the internet.

I enjoyed my work on The Brink; I was still at school studying sound and eager to get involved in a project, so this gave me the perfect opportunity to use some of my newly refined skills. On a musical level the project also gave me some new challenges. With Duncan having such a specific idea of what he wanted to achieve, it took me out of my musical comfort zone and I was forced to explore new vocal approaches and guitar timings.

For those of you familiar with Duncan’s music, don’t be fooled by the appearance of its simplicity. It is actually far more complicated than it appears on the surface and I think this is actually one of his strong points as a songwriter – he can be technical without overstating it; the subtlety in which Duncan does these things is an art form in itself.

Lyrically it was also challenging as I really wanted to do justice in the delivery of such wonderful lyrical content, Duncan’s answer to that was ‘Grit your teeth when you sing’ which worked, it helped me get that Roger Waters vibe across.

On a technical level we approached the project with what gear we had available to us. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Neumann u87 and the Mike-E from Empirical Labs, which gave me a great vocal chain - even if it was tracked in my home made vocal booth. For most of the guitars we got hold of a HIWATT head and cab, amazing sounding amp to say the least. We alternated between my Telecaster, Les Paul & Stratocaster on various takes. The whole project was assembled and tracked in Pro-Tools. Duncan then shot off to Portugal to mix with the wonderful Paulo Basílio, great engineer and all round nice guy.

Many late nights, lots of cider, cold gin, some classic KISS and much chicken and chips were had by all. The Brink saw the light of day in November 2011 on Italian label Avantgarde Music. A short European tour through the UK, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria & Turkey followed, it was a great time and the live line-up did an amazing job of the songs.

So after a successful start to for Alternative 4 and some critical acclaim, we are talking about upcoming projects, maybe an EP or some more tours. Hopefully some more news soon!

www.alternative4.co.uk

www.facebook.com/alternative4.band

OKERA

These guys are a great upcoming Melbourne Melodic Doom/Death band that I am currently working with. We started tracking the album in July and we will finally have the mix complete at the end of the month. Very epic stuff in the vein of Swallow the Sun & Daylight Dies. Also really nice fella’s, so stay tuned for more details on this one.

www.facebook.com/okeraband

www.reverbnation.com/okera

THE ETERNAL

My band The Eternal is in the process of recording our fifth album When the Circle of Light Begins to Fade. This will be my first album with the band as sole Producer and I am Co-Engineering with the awesome Mat Robins at ColourSound Studios in Melbourne. I find it’s always good to have a little outside involvement on your own projects. We hope to have this ready mid-year - it’s a slight return to our darker heaver sound, somewhere between Under A New Sun and the Sleep of Reason album. Be sure to check out the studio video in my featured video section.

www.the-eternal.com

www.facebook.com/TheEternal

THE UNICORN MURDERS

The Unicorn Murders are a great new Canadian band featuring former members of the band Tenth Planet. I became connected with the guitar play Brian through our work with Jeff Martin (The Tea Party). Brian and I hit it off, so he invited me to be involved in the production of their album.

My roll currently is to help shape melodies, contribute the occasional guitar parts (tracked at my home studio) and I have also worked on some lyrics for various tracks... then it all gets sent over to Canada! I love these modern times in that respect, international collaborations are so much easier!

Some great people are involved in this one, Mike Turner (Crash Karma and ex-guitarist for Our Lady Peace) is Producing & Juno award winner Mark Makoway is handling final mix duties

www.facebook.com/pages/The-Unicorn-Murders/256431264397061

www.soundcloud.com/the-unicorn-murders

RAINSHADOW

I Produced, Engineered, Mixed and performed on an album for Melbourne Gothic Rockers Rainshadow also in 2011. Waters Imperium is the second album for the lads and I think is a big step up from their first album End Songs - which I also worked on back in 2007. If you live in Melbourne make sure you go check the guys out, they are gigging around town at the moment.

www.facebook.com/pages/Rainshadow/5691614939

www.reverbnation.com/myrainshadow

UP COMING PROJECTS

I have a few projects upcoming. I have had a meeting with a young Melbourne band called Myridian & it looks like we will start an album in a few month, stay tuned for more information on that one. I have a few more things on the go also, but won’t reveal anymore just yet!

If you or your band are interested in a quote or working together just drop me an email!

I’d like to take a quick moment to thank those that have encouraged, supported & inspired me on my journey into the world of sound; Michael ‘Smasha’ Pollard, Tony ‘Jack the Bear’ Mantz, Endel Rivers, Mat Robins, Duncan Patterson & of course The Eternal lads. - Thank you all for your support and belief in my skills. Also a big thanks to Vikas Sharma for his work on my Biography, cheers mate!

Now on that note, let’s make some records!!!

Mark

Japanese Electric Guitar Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:16:00 +0000

I am featured on the cover of Japanese Magazine 'Electric Guitar' this month, in the three page feature I talk about my gear, recording 'Under A New Sun' and about my recording techniques. The Magazine goes out to 60,000 people in Japan every month, so needless to say this is very cool!

Long Over Due Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Fri, 07 May 2010 11:58:00 +0000

So its been a while! Lots of things have been happening, We finally got the new 'The Eternal' album in the bag & mastered this week & its sounding big! Next task is to work out when and how it will be released and things like artwork, video clips and what will be the first single, so still a bit of work to go!

For those of you interested in a taste of the music, I'll be performing the song 'The Sleeper' May 14th at the Corner Hotel (Melbourne, Australia) with Jeff Martin (The Tea Party). This will be the first time any of the new material has been played live and this will also be my first time sharing the stage with the likes of Mr. Martin, so I'm really look forward to it!

The new ÍON album from Duncan Patterson called Immaculada will be out on May 10th, 2010. I'm featured on a few songs on this record, performing backing vocals and acoustic guitar, its a fantastic record, so make sure you check it out!

For those of you interested, at the ripe old age of thirty something I have returned to school to study sound production. I have had an interest in production and have been involved in it on many of my own records, so in the future not only expect to see me playing on the records but I will also be involving myself a lot more in production and also the production of other bands.

That's about it for the moment & I promise my next update will be soon! - Mark

íon - Immaculada

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:29:00 +0000

I just heard six of the new tracks off the new íon album 'Immaculada' and it sounds great, some of Duncan Patterson's most creative work I think. I'm featured on two tracks on this album, I play acoustic guitar along side duncan on the title track 'Immaculada' & I also contribute 12 string acoustic & vocals on 'Damhsa na gceithre ghaoth'. This will be out in the new year so keep your eyes and ears peels... on that note happy new year everyone! - Mark

The Eternal work with Jeff Martin on new album

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Fresh from their 2009 world tour across Australia, Japan Europe, America, Canada and Mexico in support of their album ‘Kartika’, Melbourne’s dark rockers The Eternal will be entering 301 Studios Byron Bay on December 4th with acclaimed producer and multi-platinum recording artist Jeff Martin (The Armada / The Tea Party) to record their fourth album.

Having returned from the tour with the band’s strongest line up to date, Guitarist/Vocalist Mark Kelson states that the new album has a clear vision that will evolve The Eternal’s sound to a new level with the collaboration of producer Jeff Martin. 'We are really excited about this opportunity to work with Jeff Martin who has been a big influence on me over the years and I can’t think of any one better to bring the best out of us & our sound. This is truly a highlight for me as far as The Eternal is concerned.' he said.

Jeff Martin adds ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly re-introduce The Eternal... The type of band I've been waiting to produce. It's been a year now since Mark and I agreed to embark on a journey that begins this December. For The Eternal this will not be a stepping stone but a launch pad. For me, a creative working relationship that allows me to realise an artist's vision and re-connect with past influences, all the while looking into the future...darkly. I envision an alchemical marriage, a musical landscape anchored by organic rock and roll and infested with industrial overtones. To put things lightly, you're not playing with kids here. The Eternal are the real deal.’

The album will be co-engineered by Paul Pilsneniks who has worked with such artists as The Living End, The Mars Volta, Silverchair, Grinspoon & Alanis Morissette, and The Eternal has also enlisted acclaimed Finnish keyboard player Maria Ilmoniemi (Tarja / Husky Rescue) to contribute.

The yet to be titled album will see the light of day in 2010. So check our website for regular updates. More information very soon.

New pictures from the 'Kartika' world tour!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:03:00 +0000

02.08.09

We have finally sorted out our thousands of pictures from our world tour this year, we have added them to our myspace site and have split them into two galleries:

Kartika World Tour 2009 - On the Road
Kartika World Tour 2009 - Live Pictures

These pictures follows us through. Japan, Portugal, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Hungary, Canada, Mexico & the USA so we hope they give you all an insight to our trip and you enjoy!

Our tour blog is also still online if you wish to read about our adventures.

My Discography

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Here is a brief look at the albums I've been involved with over the years.

2008 The Eternal Kartika
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Pipa
Additional Engineering / Production

2008 Ashkhara Soul Burning Promo 2008
Mark: Guitar / Backing Vocals
Engineering / Production

2007 InSomnius Dei Illusions Of Silence
Mark: Guitar / Drums / Vocals
Engineering / Production

2007 Rainshadow End Songs
Mark: Drums / Bass / Keyboards
Engineering / Production

2007 Painted Black Verbo
Mark: Lead guitar on 'Night Shift'

2006 ION Madre, Protégenos
Mark: Vocals on 'Anathema Maranatha' & 'O Efeito do Verão'

2006 Rainshadow Demo 2006
Mark: Drums / Bass / Keyboards
Engineering / Production

2005 The Eternal Sleep Of Reason
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Additional Production

2004 The Eternal The Sombre Light Of Isolation
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Keyboards

2003 The Eternal Promo 2003
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Keyboards
Engineering/ Production

2002 ThreeThirteen ThreeThirteen
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Engineering / Production

2000 Cryptal Darkness Chapter II The Fallen
Mark: Guitar / Vocals

1999 Cryptal Darkness They Whispered You Had Risen
Mark: Guitar / Vocals

1997 Cryptal Darkness Promotional Sampler 1997
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Keyboards

1996 Cryptal Darkness Endless Tears
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Keyboards

1996 Cryptal Darkness Descend Into Thy Grave
Mark: Guitar / Vocals / Keyboards

1995 Paramaecium Within The Ancient Forest
Mark: Acoustic guitar on 'Gone Is My Former Resolve'

A long overdue update

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:53:00 +0000

Since my last update so much has happened, The Eternal released our third album Kartika which was well received, this was followed by a fantastic world tour full of amazing experiences, we did 32 dates through Australia, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Canada, Mexico & the USA. Truly a high point of my career thus far, mostly due to the fact we organised most of this tour off our own backs through endless hard work and networking, anyone out there that thinks The Eternal has some kind of silver, think again! It was quite an accomplishment for the 3 of us & we hope to hit the road again next year.

So now what you may ask? Well on a personal level I have just contributed some vocals to the new Íon album titled Immaculada, its shaping up to be a great album so head to www.duncanpatterson.com for more details. My band of Finnish rockers Ashkhara finished our EP/Demo a while back and it sounds great! Self produced by Anzta Talala and myself, it turned out great, we even managed a cover of the Icehouse track Man of Colours also, the whole CD is at our myspace so check it out!

Since our tour The Eternal have not slowed down a bit, in fact we have accelerated somewhat. We have the studio booked for December 4th with a fantastic producer who I respect greatly and we are writing madly for what is turning out to be one rocking album! About 10 tracks are demoed at the moment and I'm feeling really great about the material, personally I think its some of my best and most mature work, so I cant wait to share some songs with you.

Well I will aim to update this new look site a bit more so stay tuned!

Welcome again...

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kelson) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:33:00 +0000

This blog is from my previous official site, written on 01.07.08:

Welcome to my new site, I thought it would be cool to have somewhere I could post about all my various projects in one place, so here it is, markkelson.com.

I have various projects on the go at the moment. We are about to master the new The Eternal album, which I have been writing and preparing for about 3 years. I'm looking forward to this finally getting a release, the first pressing should be a special one with a bonus disc running about 45 minutes being included. This is coming up very well and will feature some unreleased demos including a re-recording of the song 'Last Embrace' which I wrote back in the Cryptal Darkness days. I've always had a desire to re-record this song as I felt the initial recording did not do it justice. Although the new version is a demo I believe it has captured what the song is about, so finally this one will make it's re-release.

Another project that is in early stages is Ashkhara, this is an interesting one as I am the only Australian in the band, the rest of the guys are Finnish and are known for such bands as To/Die/For, Soulrelic & Saralee. Guitarist Antza and myself have written around 16 songs for the project and there is some great stuff there! We have commenced recording a five track demo, all the music is done (We managed to get some recording done on my recent trip to Finland) and we hope to do vocals and the mix very soon. You can find out more about the band and hear some early samples at our myspace.

A solo album is something I have been thinking about, basically because I have a few ideas that don't fit in with any of the above bands. I have around 5 half tracks, its going to be quite mellow but i think it will be a nice contrast to some of the above projects. I hope to have some of this material online this year to give you all a taste.

For the next few months my focus will remain on The Eternal and preparing all the finishing touch's for the album, like a new website, video clips etc... so still quite alot of work ahead on 'Kartika'

Well, with all that out of the way, welcome to the site and please sign the guestbook if you have a moment. If you would like to hear some songs I've been involved with please go to: www.myspace.com/markkelson