Ian Smith – Passing Trains by Catherine North

Shortly after Dan passed away in March, my good friend Ian Smith wrote a song in Dan’s memory called Passing Trains. Ian and Nick Skalkos performed the song at Dan’s wake in March. A few weeks later we were talking with Ian about the future of Catherine North, and decided that recording this track as our first new project after Dan’s passing would be very appropriate.

July 13 was Dan’s birthday. Help us celebrate by passing this on.

Download the MP3 right now!
Click here to download

Stems from Spirits‘ latest single, Into Gentle Arms, are up for grabs. Stems can be downloaded here. I got the first opportunity to put my spin on this song — take listen to the moon:and:6 remix in the player below!

Spirits “Into Gentle Arms” Remix Contest

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Kathleen just finished editing a teaser video for the Catherine North MashUP filmed on June 11, 2010. Thanks to everyone who helped make the night a success. Enjoy!

It’s always a great feeling to see and hear the final release of every project I work on. But when the release is on 12-inch vinyl, that feeling is amplified.

Just yesterday I received my copy of The Coppertone’s debut LP, Hidden Dreams. Wow. I’ve heard these songs many (many, many) times, but putting the record onto my turntable yesterday was amazing. I think One of a Kind is truly the stand out track in this format.

The Coppertone, Hidden Dreams — Vinyl Release Party
Friday, July 30 at The Piston, 937 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Show starts at 10pm

On Friday (June 11) Kathleen and I, along with the rest of the folks at Catherine North, are producing an experimental concert/recording project we’re calling Catherine North MashUP.

• The Premise: Invite two individual artists who don’t know each other. Pair them up for a joint recording session/concert performance.
• The Catch: They collaborate live in front of you, the audience, while we record the process and outcome. No preproduction. No overdubs. No take two.
• The Venue: The main tracking room at Catherine North Studios – an inspirational open concept church space, fantastic for capturing live-off-the-floor performances.

Our two guest artists will be:

Karyn Ellis

“Eloquent and original” (Kerry Doole, Tandem Magazine), this Toronto-based artist has emerged on the Canadian roots pop scene with her brand new full-length album Even Though The Sky Was Falling as her impressive calling card. As a performer, she exudes an energy and presence reminiscent of Sam Phillips, Regina Spektor, Sarah Slean, while her voice has drawn comparisons to Feist and Norah Jones. www.karynellis.com

Ian Smith (The Miniatures, SPIRITS)

Ian Smith is a published songwriter with many recorded co-writes. Ian has ventured all over North America and the UK writing and touring. His most recent project, SPIRITS, combines the talents of Brad Germain (Marble Index) and Nick Skalkos (The Miniatures) to create “something with less inhibitions, really fun, and as dance-y as possible.” www.myspace.com/iansmith2008 | www.spiritsband.ca

Get your tickets here — Admission is PWYC: Guestlist (free), Supporter ($5) and Patron ($20). Proceeds from Supporter and Patron ticket sales will go towards supporting the project.

I like Brian Eno’s productions, but quotes like this drive me mad:

The other day I heard a band who had the worst singer, the most out of time drummer and most out of tune guitarist I’ve ever heard on a professional record, and I thought, at last, the reaction against pro-tools perfection has set in. A pro-tools engineer would have sorted it all out, but this band was an actual celebration of human frailty. It was so rough it was really encouraging.

I don’t really recall out of tune and out of time performances on too many of Brian Eno’s productions. Perhaps the next U2 recording will filled with “an actual celebration of human frailty,” but I doubt it.

Less than 48 hours after Dan Achen passed away, the internet is filled with beautiful stories and shining recollections of Dan. And this doesn’t surprise me at all.

Dan taking care of a quick mix tweak at Catherine North.

I met Dan less than three years ago, but it feels like I’ve known him all my life. I think that’s one of the things that made him great. It didn’t matter if you saw him last year or yesterday; it was easy to pick up the conversation and feel at home with him.

I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work on so many recordings with him. Watching him work as a producer was so enlightening. With thoughtful critique he inspired people to be their best. That was Dan at his best.

We started many days together with a coffee in the morning, recording in the afternoon, dinner at B&T and a pint in the evening. A pattern that will be familiar to many artists, engineers and assistants who’ve worked with Dan.

I miss him dearly. But I am consoled by the fact he did what he loved every day. He lived his passions. He loved life and the people around him as much as we loved him.

Remixing is a great way to experience music in a new way. Normally, I work with an artist to create a recording for that artist. When remixing, the recording is already done. In fact, the song is already mixed, and a remix is just an opportunity to put a different spin on the song. But I still let the song tell me what to do. A remix isn’t a blank canvas. It’s a framework. I listen to the individual tracks, chose what seems to best represent the song, and fill in the rest. Enjoy.

Tunng – Hustle (moon:and:6 remix) by moon:and:6

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The Randalls‘ debut album, Rainy Day Music, was recorded and mixed at Catherine North Studios in 2009. It’s now available in CD form.

Just yesterday, Alan Cross flagged the Randalls as one six acts worthy of some attention in this post at exploremusic.com.

Below is a sample of “Quicksand,” a song written just before the band started recording in the studio last spring.

In 2009 I had the opportunity to work with the following artists and producers at Catherine North Studios. (I’m sorry if I missed anyone.)

• Chelsea Redford
• Ophelia Syndrome
• The Randalls
• Erinz Fire
• David James Martinez
• Grainne and Moe Berg
• Steph Fraser
• Mojave
• The Hippy Mafia
• Adam Michael
• Erica Knight
• The Rest
• Count To Fire and Colin Cripps
• Craig Smith
• Rose Cousins and Luke Doucet
• Earl Stevenson
• Betty Shyne
• Little Jackie Wright
• Pulse in Tempo
• The Passengers
• neGar

I hope 2010 is a great year for everyone!