The Honey Ants

Argy Bargy.

2011-10-22T16:59:35+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Day at the brewery.

2011-10-22T14:41:22+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Loves my new rug.

2011-09-17T10:22:38+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Traveling Wilbury's box set. YES.

2011-09-17T10:11:29+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Update

2011-09-08T11:43:00+00:00

Things have been peaceful here on the site for a few weeks, reason being we’re currently busy ~~bees~~ ants writing and recording new songs (when we’re not doing our day jobs). Back to our roots with this batch, looking forward to setting them free.

Ants jigsaw

2011-08-20T09:55:06+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

A rare day spent working in the same room on songs.

A solo set

2011-08-16T15:40:08+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Played a solo set at St George's Church, Holborn, London. Along with Tinlin and The Geese. Had a great time, the sound in that building was amazing.

This man is playing a saw.

2011-08-03T04:05:32+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Studio upgrades

2011-08-03T03:55:24+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Added a couple of nice items to the studio in the past few months. Helping me to get vintage tones as God intended.

Note to self

2011-07-13T09:43:54+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Trying out Alex Tinlin's new (old) J200. This guitar used to belong to one of The Hollies.

2011-07-11T11:58:58+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

The Trouble With You (as in BBC show 'Off The Hook') - The Honey Ants

2011-07-06T07:49:07+00:00

	The Trouble With You (as in BBC show 'Off The Hook') - The Honey Ants The Trouble With You by The Honey Ants. We love the 60s. You can find this on iTunes. thehoneyants.co.uk	From: thehoneyants Views: 50 0 ratings
	Time: 04:17	More in Music

I'll Stop When I'm Done (song only) - The Honey Ants

2011-07-06T07:39:46+00:00

	I'll Stop When I'm Done (song only) - The Honey Ants "I'll Stop When I'm Done" by The Honey Ants. Release the ants! EP available on iTunes. thehoneyants.co.uk	From: thehoneyants Views: 46 0 ratings
	Time: 04:17	More in Music

Mister Sunlight (as featured in Sirens, C4) - The Honey Ants

2011-07-06T07:27:11+00:00

	Mister Sunlight (as featured in Sirens, C4) - The Honey Ants Here's our song Mister Sunlight. It was featured in the Channel 4 programme 'Sirens'. Available on iTunes. thehoneyants.co.uk Lyrics: There's a kind of light Comes from you And it's the only light I've ever known Such a perfect white But it comes and goes Then I forget And go it alone Won't you come in Help me Mister Sunlight I can't see it on my own Help me Mister Sunlight Before I am left to go Help me Mister Help me Mister Sunlight! Sunlight. There's a kind of light Comes from you On a lonely night You lead me to Such a perfect white But it comes and goes Then I lose sight And go it alone Oh won't you come in	From: thehoneyants Views: 1765 21 ratings
	Time: 04:02	More in Music

I Can't Escape (song only) - The Honey Ants

2011-07-06T07:16:46+00:00

	I Can't Escape (song only) - The Honey Ants Hello hello. Here's our song I Can't Escape. You can find this song on iTunes. thehoneyants.co.uk Lyrics: i thought about telling you about whats going on i talked about leaving you but not for very long i watched you sleeping i breathed you breathing i felt the pain of 'shes the one'. i dreamt about saving you in front of everyone i went without everything in spite of everyone you won me hands down you beat me and now i feel the pain of 'shes the one' i tried making sense of you i tried making fun of you I realised that i can't escape i wrote about leaving you and moving on i tried it and found out it was just as wrong you missed me leaving silenty creeping back to the pain of 'shes the one'	From: thehoneyants Views: 60 0 ratings
	Time: 02:01	More in Music

Secrets of the Pop Song

2011-07-03T07:51:59+00:00

The BBC are airing a new series under this title, the first of which went out last night and was dedicated to ballad.

I watched this on iPlayer last night and was glued to it, fantastic programme. Guy Chambers teams up with Rufus Wainwright and they write and record a ballad. Very interesting commentary on various points of songwriting from such writers as Neil Tennant and Sting to name a couple.

If you’re obsessed with songwriting then you too may well find this very inspiring watching. If you’re not, you’ll undoubtedly find it intriguing. Highly recommended.

Here’s the iPlayer link, 30 days left at the time of writing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012fzzs/Secrets_of_the_Pop_Song_Ballad/

Mister Sunlight hitting your screens

2011-06-18T12:58:56+00:00

On Monday 27th June Channel 4 are airing episode 1 of a new series Sirens, and our track Mister Sunlight is in it!

Nashville snaps

2011-06-17T06:56:44+00:00

Nashville, a set on Flickr.

I’ve just returned from a trip to the states and spent the best part of a week in Nashville. Man what a cool place. Also, what great people. Met some absolutely lovely folk and made some great new friends.

A very old university friend of mine who now lives in Nashville was able to organise a show at The Basement, which is beneath a record store called Grimey’s. That was fantastic and I really must upload the video. I did the tourist thing but found some time for geeking out by getting around a couple of studios and the Country Music Hall of Fame museum.

Here’s some snaps from Ocean Way Studios, the legendary RCA Studio B and the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

And this. Studer A800 24 track tape machine.

2011-06-17T06:35:07+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

As is this.

2011-06-17T06:34:58+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Look at the size of that thing!

2011-06-17T06:34:49+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

This is cool as, trust me.

2011-06-17T06:34:40+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Fairchild 670 in pristine condition. And other lovely things.

2011-06-17T06:34:31+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Hammond

2011-06-17T06:34:22+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

The legendary Ocean Way studios

2011-06-17T06:34:11+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Blagged myself a quick tour

2011-06-17T06:34:02+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Huge live room

2011-06-17T06:33:52+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Old Sony (ribbon?) mic

2011-06-17T06:32:55+00:00

The Honey Ants posted a photo:

Want a tape sound? Use tape.

2011-05-07T19:29:29+00:00

When it comes to recording at home using Logic, I’ve been blithering on about tape plugins for a little while to anybody who will listen. They’ve produced some great results in getting some more analogue tones, sweetening the lifeless landscape that is pure digital audio.

However, I’ve just given these software plugins some rather splendid competition:

I’m (way too) pleased to introduce you to the Tascam 38, eight-track recorder. <beams>

I’ve run some mixes through it already and it just trounces anything a plugin can do. If you’re into getting a tape sound then your answer is buy a tape machine. The colour that is present, the smoothing of the harshness – there’s more truth in it.

If the horror stories I’ve heard are to be believed – and I’ve no reason to doubt them – buying a used reel to reel is like going for a stroll in a minefield. They are vastly complicated machines and there is a large chance you’ll end up with something that is only 60% functional and it’s going to cost you 60% of your income to repair. After many hours of use (which machines of the 70s and 80s will have in the hundreds) they all require attention. The ongoing care: clean before use, clean during use, clean after use. Although this part isn’t such a chore. Wiping away at the tape heads with an isopropanol-drenched cotton bud is much more satisfying that it sounds.

Luckily for me I came across an expert in navigating these types of minefields. The machine now in my little ‘studio’ is in as-new condition having been rebuilt from scratch. Its restorer? a Russian fellow by the name of Evi. Not only was he full of good advice, but bloody hilarious too, so I thought I’d make a little film of my visit.

Let the hunt for decent, unworn reels of tape in this country for less than £100 begin…

Using a knackered four track to get some tape sound

2011-05-05T14:19:52+00:00

For some time I’ve been harbouring a pretty strong obsession with creating recordings that sound as if they were made using an old reel to reel tape, even though they’ve been recorded directly into Logic on my iMac.

The reason, in a nutshell, is that tape imparts a warmth to the sound. Listen to almost any album recorded in the 70s and 80s and you’re hearing the sound of tape. Modern records don’t have the same character and to many people’s ears, mine included, recording to tape helps to produce a sweeter sounding recording. I wrote about it in another post back in March.

Arcade Fire recorded their album The Suburbs onto tape (before taking back into the computer to edit) and also transferred it to vinyl and back so that the CD version might benefit. Lifted from a post on the ever-informative gearslutz.com:

The Times wrote an article on Arcade Fire a week ago. Here’s an excerpt:

The band took its time recording “The Suburbs,” working and reworking songs for much of a year in homes and studios, using 24-track tape. “I’d hate to take a guess at the budget,” Mr. Butler said, but he added that part of the cost was equipment the band would continue to use, including a 1940s mixing console with vacuum tubes. Each completed song was pressed onto a 12-inch disc, and the vinyl playback was recorded for the final digital master.

“We recorded it on tape, we press it to vinyl, and the digital is the archive of this physical thing that exists in the world,” Mr. Butler said. “We’re preserving it and using digital as a mode of distribution, but ultimately there was something real that was made.”

Using plugins

The latest results can be heard in this song ‘Give Me Arms’:

Give Me Arms by The Honey Ants

It’s using a combination of the Airwindows ToTape and FromTape plugins on most channels, and they do a superb job. Results have recently improved as I’m now recording through an LA-610 preamp. My source material is warmer, complex and more analogue feeling to begin with.

Using the trusty 4-track

Mister John Webber (of goodbye_delete) was recently over to mix to a new song called “Freedom In Those Hills”. We were using lots of ToTape and FromTape and then decided to shove all the backing vocals onto some genuine tape courtesy of my old and knackered Tascam four track:

Ain’t she a beauty.

This thing has taken a beating. It went to university with me, got fag ash and beer all over it. Then it came back to London, fell off a shelf once and died. Luckily a resourceful kiwi mate took it apart and with some carefully placed pieces of foil and solder, got it working again. Not even 1cm of gaffa. I did then give it to another friend who ended up chucking it out and it’d been out in a skip. I asked for it back and he salvaged it, and the thing still works would you adam and eve it. If this had been anything made after 1995 you know it would’ve given up sooner.

Anyway, so I had a good quality cassette (brand new early 90s don’t you know) and we recorded the backing vocals onto the tape. We did them nice and loud so as to get some mild distortion from the tape. These were then played back into the computer, and because the tape machine plays at its own pace (i.e. at an inconsistent speed of its choosing), edited them back into place (which took me an hour).

Here’s the result (listen to the backing vocals):

Freedom In Those Hills by The Honey Ants

Don't Forget To Write (rehearsal) - The Honey Ants

2011-05-05T11:11:52+00:00

	Don't Forget To Write (rehearsal) - The Honey Ants Rehearsal for the Bush Hall gig in March 2011. Filmed by J9. A good run through in almost every respect, apart from the slightly missing final verse.	From: thehoneyants Views: 35 0 ratings
	Time: 02:34	More in Music

You're Gonna Bring Me Down (rehearsal) - The Honey Ants

2011-05-05T10:55:45+00:00

	You're Gonna Bring Me Down (rehearsal) - The Honey Ants A rehearsal for our Bush Hall gig in March 2011, filmed by Jeannine.	From: thehoneyants Views: 24 0 ratings
	Time: 03:06	More in Music

TEEVEEEE

2011-05-02T08:57:41+00:00

Good news for our song Mister Sunlight, Channel 4 are going to be using it in a new upcoming show, more details to follow. Aces!

Ants on BBC6 Music

2011-04-22T10:23:07+00:00

We’re pleased to tell you that Tom Robinson is playing us on his show Sunday 24th April. you can listen live or later. Get “I Can’t Escape” as a free download from our Facebook page.

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story

2011-04-03T11:26:33+00:00

This film was released in 2008 so I’m running slightly behind schedule here.

I watched it last night and was absolutely captivated from start to finish. The music was fantastic (obviously), the recreation of Joe’s studio at 304 Holloway Road was utterly fascinating (replete with Binson Echorec, the only non-Meek piece of hardware I spotted), and not that I’m an expert, but the acting was superb.

I essentially want simply to shout watch this film to anybody with a passing interesting in music and/or recording, but I feel I need to qualify it with some filmy observations. I’m not much of a film person but I’ll give it a try:

Telstar is slightly non-linear. We begin with Joe’s eventual breakdown, which is revisited throughout the film, more and more detail being gradually revealed and this helps convey the sense of despair effectively. Con O’Neil (Joe Meek) is absolutely knockout, does a perfectly venomous “ffffffUCK OFFF” and is an exemplary man-on-the-edge.

Major Banks, a key character in Joe’s business life is played by Kevin Spacey. My hat was immediately off to his English accent which was I think the best I’ve heard from an American. Quite a few other well-known faces are involved too: James Corden, one of the actors from Two Pints of Lager (no idea), Jimmy Carr has a single scene, no lines mind. I wonder if he’s a fan.

I have read John Repsch’s book and think I’ve done this in the correct order: book then film. The Book is a magnificent read and paints a gloriously mad world of Joe Meek and his music. To then have the film bring to life all that the book’s imagery (I ‘recognised’ rooms and characters) imparts nostalgia (not having been there, faux-nostalgia?) for this period in time and serves to strengthen my passion for early production techniques and my admiration for Mister Meek.

If you’d like a listen and you’ve got Spotify I’ve made a Joe Meek playlist.

We’ve got a blog.

2011-04-02T15:40:04+00:00

John: I’ve been blogging on and off for a couple of months, about works-in-progress (you can hear them), general thoughts, books et al. Have a read at http://thehoneyants.co.uk/blog. Unless you’re here already. Confused? The ‘news’ category appears on the website too. Bit chicken and egg isn’t it.

New toys!

2011-04-02T14:16:45+00:00

I thought I should bring these new additions to your attention, they make me very happy indeed. I’m also very happy to report that I have shot of my old Tapco S5 monitors which sound like arse and were nigh on impossible to mix accurately on. Still they got things off to a good start and I certainly appreciate the sound I’m getting now. The LA-610 is *incredible*. In a different league to the TLA strip.

Bought the speakers off a man on a boat. They smell terrible but sound amazoid.

Evolution of a band’s sound

2011-04-02T13:51:23+00:00

When it comes to the sound of a group of musicians there are to my mind two primary ways to shape the sound: allow a musical director/leader to dictate what everybody plays or allow the sound to come together organically, each individual bringing his own influence.

Both this and the quest to find “a sound” are things I’ve struggled with over the years. To know one’s sound is a challenge as it requires that you have found your musical voice. I think it involves playing to your strengths, but I’m not sure if that is necessarily true.

Scott and I have written so many songs over the years that it becomes increasingly difficult to pinpoint a sound that I could say is ‘the sound of The Honey Ants’. I have spent countless hours over the last ten years messing around with sounds in my tiny studio, recording songs and demos with a varying degree of success. Not having any formal training it’s taken me an awfully long time to get my head around the subject of mixing and production, something that I’ll never have completed studying.

More relevant to this post’s title is the fact that the recordings which Scott and I think are the ones that should be played live then need to be re-arranged or translated to suit the group of musicians willing to help out.

Two years of line-ups

For The Honey Ants, this began about two years ago when I asked James Grinnell and Caroline ‘Quipsie’ Main to play piano and sing with me. We played an acoustic set and did a few gigs and had lot of fun. One acoustic guitar and one piano. I’m very singer/songwriter (I hate that that phrase is the most apt here) in my playing – i.e. it’s all about the melody and I’ll play just enough to deliver some basic backing so I can sing you it. So that was a basic sound.

I was then resolute in the fact that the answer lay in us championing the sounds of the 60s and I went about recruiting a drummer and a bassist. Infact, James ‘Jambo’ Pritchard (former drummer) recruited himself after watching Quips, James and I do an un-amplified acoustic set in Soho. I managed to persuade a friend Will Farquarson to play bass and we set about rehearsing. The sound was still acoustic guitar and keys but now took on a more 60s feel with the three part harmony backed by a solid rhythm section, some electric rhythm guitar during which James would hop onto acoustic guitar. This was further augmented with the addition of Jonny Lewis on lead guitar (electric), which was kept clean and reverberent at all times of course.

For a number of reasons, including busy people’s lives, this line-up played a small number of gigs before we stripped back to a three piece. With Chris McKie taking over on drums and James Grinnell now playing bass and singing harmonies and my acoustic guitar, we changed sound again. From full-on jangly 60s pop to bouncy folk and some more rock moments via overdrive on the acoustic (!) and some hard drumming from Chris. Over a year or so the three of us really gelled and made the arrangement very much our own, Chris and James bringing heaps of great ideas to the table. Certainly the addition of Chris made a huge difference to the way we played and was a key moment of the continuing journey.

This period was a lot of fun for me and was a time when I was able to concentrate a lot on the lead vocal, something that hasn’t traditionally been a strong point of The Honey Ants. But the line-up is again evolving, and once again we find the sound is evolving with it.

With the booking of Bush Hall gig, I was determined to put together a big band, loads of voices and to deliver a long and fairly ambitious set that would include a lot of songs that had never been played live (if you’re interested: Honey Be Sad, Get There Slowly and All Of The Best People Smoke, none of which had been played by The Honey Ants). With four part harmony, fiddle, banjo, keys, bass, two acoustics, drums and percussion, this was again a completely different sound. Inspired by the current music zeitgeist to return to our first music interest, the focus was placed on the folk aspect. Folkus. A fairly old song “You Floated By” which has its roots set firmly in the 60s was slowed and decorated with banjo and fiddle, and a song of Americana roots turned into something of a hoe-down.

Songs with alternative versions. Self-covers? by The Honey Ants

I’ve listened back to the recording of that gig and am very proud of what we achieved. Since the Bush Hall gig three weeks ago we’ve moved again towards the 60s. John Kyle has been helping us out on guitar. Both of us spontaneously switched to electric guitar for rehearsal on Wednesday, the acoustics left at home. The resulting sound was exciting for me and another great example of the difference one person can bring. With tremolo and delay on the lead guitar with sounded even slightly more 50s. Last night’s gig in Soho I took along my 12-string Rickenbacker for added jingle jangle. Whilst the acoustic guitar is definitely suited to some songs more, I feel our set is about to take a slightly different path and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.

And in the ‘studio’…

Outside of the rehearsal room and inside of my flat, a different sound is evolving at the same time, and that is the sound of the next EP. ‘Release the ants!’ is a reflection of where Chris James and I were (albeit with a few additions, namely melodica and mellotron) in July 2010. Since then I’ve recorded a number of demos at home in a variety of styles.

Here’s two of these. They’re not finished, there’s a gap in the melody in the first one and the second one is a work-in-progress mix, and a bit bass-light.

And featuring my good friend Miss Jeannine North on additional vocals:

The Future

Alas the band will eventually be losing Chris to the world of quality coffee and Dept of Coffee and Social Affairs. We’re already on the lookout for a new drummer, and who knows what sound-shaping influence they might bring?

Cassette tape – remember that?

2011-03-20T12:43:13+00:00

Okay so the pros hated it as a recording medium, but the world embraced it for a while, until they realised it was basically a bit crap. A recent thread on the ubiquitous gearslutz.com has put me back on the tape trail..

People are still making use of cassette tape as a recording medium in a studio environment. One poster in the aforementioned thread kindly put a link to a studio called Casa Cassette. Go and listen to this song, recorded on two 8-track tape recorders, you’ll be pleased you did. No idea what the language is but aren’t the shouty parts flippin’ brilliant?

http://www.myspace.com/149136667/music/songs/Gebroeders-Drap-50339696

I’m very pleased to have found an eBay seller called retrospecialist selling original sealed type II (code language for better quality) cassette tape, mine’s on it’s way…

Neil Finn – best songwriter since Lennon-McCartney?

2011-03-16T00:55:58+00:00

Scott and I have always been big fans of Neil Finn. We recently went to Hammersmith Apollo (just near my flat) to see Crowded House, and they were fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised to see this thread on gearslutz.com, the original poster asking the question posed in this post’s title: Neil Finn – best songwriter since Lennon and McCartney?

Ok, if we accept Neil Finn as a contender, who else would I allow? Time for a list. To qualify, the songwriter must be kind of contemporary. I mean, Paul Simon or Brian Wilson, Rod Argent, David Bowie, Ray Davies, Jagger-Richards, there’s a finished list, but probably too close in time to the two mops.

Neil Finn
Damen Albarn
Crispin Mills (of Kula Shaker)
Ron Sexsmith
Noel Gallagher? Hmm not sure.
Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy)
David Gates (if he qualifies)
Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys)

Difficult. I don’t think there’s an answer. Obviously, the above list is just from my experience, and I’ve not sat down and pondered for nine hours, which is what these big life-questions deserve. A proper ponder.

Read the full thread here:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/all-about-music/580389-neil-finn-crowded-house-best-songwriter-since-beatles.html

Busy times

2011-03-11T13:34:27+00:00

Bush Hall last night was a great success. Next stop, Notting Hill this Sunday and then 1st April we’re off to the West End. Work has now commenced on EP number two and stay tuned for another video.

Our debut EP is out!

2011-03-05T11:07:19+00:00

We’re VERY pleased to announce that our EP ‘Release the ants’ is now available to buy from iTunes and Amazon.

Tape emulation

2011-03-01T13:44:05+00:00

Gearslutz.com has been awash with posts on the subject of tape emulation, mainly talking about plugins. Paul White’s leader piece in Sound On Sound this month (Feb 2011) is about tape emulation.

So everybody’s going crazy for tape emulation. This is a good thing, I’m after a very vintage ‘tapey’ sound indeed and there’s just no way I can afford a reel to reel, let alone the associated costs of maintenance and the tape itself. My guess is that one of the reasons for increased levels of tape buzz is the latest UAD release, the Studer A800. I’ve no idea what it’s like as I’m on an iMac and UAD have only recently provided a solution for us iMac users in their Satellite system, and it’s cripplingly expensive, so that’s where we’ll leave that.

The Tape Sound

Being a fan of the 60s/70s studio sounds I have a natural interest in getting the ‘tape sound’. As such I’ve tried out a handful of tape emulation plugins, and have the idea of using my old Tascam 404 MkII tape-based four track recorder to help me in my quest for some authentic tape saturation and compression. I wouldn’t expect the results would be startling given that cassette tape is 0.15″ wide and the speeds available on the Tascam are 1.875 and 3.75 IPS (inches per second). Pro tape machines have a 1/2″ – 2″ tape running at 15 or 30 IPS. Tape cassette is tiiiiny by comparison, which means lower quality.

Generational Loss

I love the idea of recreating generational loss. This is loss of fidelity brought about by copying from one tape track to another, much as you’d experience making a copy of a copy on the old two-deck cassette recorders (they don’t feel that old yet do they?).

But why copy when it’s going to affect the audio? It is due to the limitations of early multi track devices. With the four track machines for example, bass and drums would have to be bounced (copied) onto a single free track in order to free up the two tracks they were recording on. This is how you’d record more than four separate sound sources individually, using only four tracks (I’m over simplifying, often multiple instruments would be laid down onto a single track right away, but thats not helpful to us just now). Doing this bouncing with tape introduces a reduction in audio fidelity, typically some loss of top end (treble). For that reason, decisions would have been made early on to record or EQ tracks brighter to begin with in order to lessen the effect of losing quality via subsequent bounces.

This would be done with guitars, vocals and all manner of instruments – Sgt Pepper’s was recorded using four tracks requiring a few bounces here and there. The reason I find this interesting is that part of the tape sound is this generational ‘loss’. Technically, a loss – yes, but as with many things analogue, a tone shaping action. The Beatles considered the sound of generation loss to be a positive effect on their guitar sound. I think in searching for a better vintage sound, this ‘loss’ is an important factor.

But back to talking tape emulation.

Plugins

When I first started out using a tape emulation plugin I opted for Massey’s TapeHead Medium. I’d read favourable reviews of the plugin and Massey products in general, and isn’t kudos and “what’s hot” such an important aspect. I began using this across the master buss and loved what it did for the sound. I think it’s fair to say I began listening to the ‘tape sound’ with more critical ears. Luckily, I’d opted to ‘mix into’ the plugin. This is where you have it on the master buss and perform the mix with it active from the start. Definitely the correct way to go. Turning off the plugin after mixing into it and the difference was startling.

I may never get around to this though as I’ve found the plugin that is capable of a sound that is close enough to what is in my head: Airwindows ToTape:

None of your fancy user interface design here. The controls do exactly what they say. Tape slam controls how hot the to tape signal is, more of this = more saturation. You can go from extremely subtle to nose-bleed saturation if you hit the plugin hard enough, and it doesn’t sound like turd. I’ve not given the saturation a critical listen really as I’m not after that effect so I can’t really comment in detail, but it pleased me.

The treble soften is utter magic. It’s like a “remove digital harshness” slider. I probably ride this way to high but on most instances this slider is almost if not fully to the right. It produce some sophisticated smoothing of the top end, (like an expensive passive EQ might?) and has even done some very natural sounding de-essing on some vocal tracks for me, excellent!

Summary

Nomad Factory Magnetic (I just don’t trust it across the master buss)
DUY DaD Tape (very good indeed but too expensive on £ and CPU)
TapeHead Medium (excellent, and free, my second favourite)
URS Classic Console (expensive and overkill on features for my needs)
PSPAudioware MixSaturator2 (almost but not enough character)

If you’re after some good tapey sounds, and you’re using an AU compatible host it has to be Airwindows all the way. Winner. Stick in on every channel and it will sound great. I also add it to group busses and the master buss. What’s more, ToTape’s author Chris Johnson has just sent out a new plugin ‘FromTape’ to all ToTape owners, this has one “squish” control and that’s it. Does a good job of scooping the sound out in a very musical fashion.

Release the ants!: 1. I Can't Escape

2011-02-28T12:00:03+00:00

Check out the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnGPNLfgutk

Release the ants!: 2. The Trouble With You

2011-02-28T12:00:02+00:00

Release the ants!: 3. I'll Stop When I'm Done

2011-02-28T12:00:01+00:00

Release the ants!: 4. Mister Sunlight

2011-02-28T12:00:00+00:00

Often referred to as Mr Sunlight, and even Mr Sunshine (well really!). This is the track that was featured in Channel 4's show Sirens.

Hear the whole EP and get a download!

2011-02-27T11:53:05+00:00

You can preview the whole EP and download the song in our video (I Can’t Escape) on our new Facebook page! http://bit.ly/gjeF5R

Cutting a 45 of The Trouble With You, old style.

2011-02-21T23:39:37+00:00

	Cutting a 45 of The Trouble With You, old style. A short video of my time in Soho with Lewis Durham and his wonderful old recording studio equipment. Recorded two songs directly onto vinyl using the mechanical process as employed in the 30s. It definitely feels better this way.	From: thehoneyants Views: 643 5 ratings
	Time: 05:34	More in Music

We’ve got a music video.

2011-02-05T20:19:12+00:00

A couple of weeks ago a few of us descended on Clerkenwell’s nicest coffee shop and spent about seven hours making a video for I Can’t Escape. All shot with a Canon 7D. Check the new videos section.

EP#1. Lists. Double album.

2011-02-05T17:44:37+00:00

Like Nick Hornby, Scott and I have always been a big fan of lists.

I’ve lost count of the number of pretend album track listings we’ve emailed each other with. Some classic titles, brilliant ideas for legendary album covers and of course, groups of songs that really work together man. I think in 2002 we had written enough songs and planned three albums. Total pie in the sky. We didn’t have a clue how to make them and certainly didn’t have the budget. We were totally into all of the songs though.

I’m looking at my little notes bit of software which houses lists, lyrics, and some random notes from work in 2009 that I daren’t delete. Here are the names of the lists within:

Double Album Tracklisting (YES)
discography (complete make-believe, but replete with release dates)
ideas for album (misguided)
this is the one youve dreamed about (dedicated to the women on the train)
Master Song List (important)
molly’s gig setlist (local pub gig from 2001, a transient list)
Jingle-jangle songs (songs that go jingle jangle)
The Honey Ants Are Live (songs that the new band can play)

That there’s a really short list of lists, I promise you. There’s dozens of others hiding in both our inboxes. As for the contents of these lists: can’t decide if it’ll ruin future plans by allowing literally some people to read them here on this blog. We’re serious artists you know…

Release the ants! was an easy favourite from the list of titles we came up with. I think the options were The Honey Ants EP, or Mister Sunlight EP. Neither of which really cut the mustard. All in all, a most disappointing list. No depth. No surprise. We decided on the track listing in June 2010 but changed the order of the tracks about seven times. Mister Sunlight was the first track, but we felt I Can’t Escape is more ‘us’, at least for an opener.

Isn’t the artwork fab? A massively talented friend Zoe Barker created it for us. You should check out her other work at zoebarkerdraws.com, it’s ace.

But back to lists. We’ve got some nice new lists for future EPs, which is way cool. Lists are awesome.

I think my absolute favourite list has always been the debut double-album. How completely frickin’ brilliant would that be. A debut double album. Blow people away with your sense of pop writing on the first CD, and then draw them into your world of pain throughout the second. Important lists, need to be just right. The sort of list that demands days of attention and many, many glorious revisions. Trouble is though, how do you follow a double album? Difficult. You’d probably have to summer in India and winter in Hawaii for at least two years to get the right levels of inspiration for at least one more double.

The first double album, now there’s an easy one. Been writing for over ten years, got sack loads of songs? Easy. Difficult second double-album though, steady on. Neither of us are into druuuuugs (I think that was said in a disapproving Southern-American tone), so maybe the answer would be to write one CD hammered on wine and the second one high as kites on (quality) coffee. I think Scott is trying to give up coffee. Futile. I’m trying to give up cigarettes. Hollow. Any artist worth his or her salt must have one quality vice. Maybe I’ll get a typewriter.

I’m on revision number seven of EP#2′s track listing, which is a totally brilliant revision. I think it’s the one. It all depends on this idea for a song I’ve got brewing, which would work really well on EP#2. Ep#2. ep#2.

Which looks better?

A short, but pleasing list, I think you’ll agree.

I Can't Escape by The Honey Ants

2011-02-05T11:38:23+00:00

	I Can't Escape by The Honey Ants Photography, Direction and Edit by Matt Jamie: www.mattjamiefilms.co.uk I Can't Escape by The Honey Ants. Taken from the 'Release the ants!' EP. Released 28th Feb 2011. http www.facebook.com Performed by John Grimsey, James Grinnell, Chris McKie with Fiona Ryan and Daniel Gentely. Filmed on location at Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, Leather Lane, London.	From: thehoneyants Views: 1366 11 ratings
	Time: 02:36	More in Music

Geoff Emerick vs George Martin

2011-02-04T13:51:42+00:00

I’ve recently read both George Martin’s book All You Need Is Ears and Geoff Emerick’s Here There & Everywhere. Both, absolutely required reading for anybody interested in The Beatles, and the times they spent recording their classic albums.

It does seem that there’s some discrepancy between the two books concerning who can take the credit for certain techniques and tricks. The example that springs to mind is that of ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite’. The song features a collage of fairground sounds.

The psychedelic sound they achieved was the (rather famous) result of liberating some tape recordings of fairground rides, splicing them up into sections (f I remember rightly), throwing them up in the air, letting them fall as they do and then resplicing them back together again. I haven’t checked my facts as the books are both at home, but if I’m correct both Martin and Emerick describe this event as their own doing. Interesting.

It’s possible I’ve remembered that incorrectly, and that Emerick correctly credits Martin with the idea itself. But I’ve definitely been left with a feeling of “hang on just a moment…”

So I did a search for ‘Geoff Emeric vs George Martin’, and found a collection of posts from a forum thread originally titled “Norman Smith vs. Geoff Emerick vs. George Martin“. First of all, I shall have to investigate to see if Norman Smith has released his version of accounts yet. Secondly, this thread is an amusing collection of mis-informed, ill-conceived, reactive, and thankfully, fairly balanced opinions.

I’m not really interested in getting to the bottom of such differences, and besides, I have just invested in a copy of Recording The Beatles, which may tender some answers. Read all the books and be thankful they were written in the first place if you ask me.

Read the thread though, trés amusant.

Sometimes, it’s good to think about what you’re doing.

2011-01-31T23:35:42+00:00

I have just wasted an evening recording a song without properly considering what I was doing. We have a song which is very ‘James Bond Theme’ and I thought what with the sad passing of John Barry I’d have a crack at recording a decent version, better than the two dodgy demos I’ve already made of it with vocals and acoustic guitar recorded on a laptop’s internal mic.

Well, eager to get something down and to just hear the song recorded I flew into recording, improvising whatever came out. Slapped on some plate reverbs, compressed the heck out of things and didn’t pay much attention to EQ, thinking “ah it’ll be alright in the end”, and it sounds like tosh. Rubbish. Mud. Thin, awful electric guitars, strings that sound lifeless and over saturated drums that are too low in the mix.

I’m not going to post it up here to listen to as its dire. I will however endeavour to actually engage brain and apply myself properly when recording anything at all. Pah. Waste of an evening, now feeling more stressed, not less.

I don’t expect this is of any consequence to you, my writing this is more spleen-venting than interest-building.

Chase Hamblin

2011-01-30T13:11:33+00:00

A few days ago I was reading a particularly interesting thread on Gearslutz about the apparent lack of melodies in modern day pop music. A sentiment I happen to agree with at large. One fellow posted a link to an artist named Chase Hamblin. I took a listen and bought his EP immediately. I recommend you do the same.

His music is heavily 60s influenced, so the production is naturally to taste, but the songwriting is also excellent. ‘A Fine Time’ is my favourite song of the year so far.

http://chasehamblin.com/

Songwriters on Songwriting – Paul Zollo

2011-01-29T11:33:32+00:00

I must’ve been pestering my friend Matt for a long time about borrowing his copy of this as one day he turned up and presented me with my very own copy of this mighty tome! Don’t pester, don’t get.

Paul Zollo is a man I’m jealous of. He has interviewed the likes of Paul Simon, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young… that’s a tiny snippet of the contents page of this book. I am grateful to him for publishing them though. All these interviews in one book, what a collection.

But first…

Before I can talk about the magic in this text I first need to explain where I’m coming from. I am wandering off down a path to I-don’t-know-where, so please bear with me. I’ve never really sat down and tried to explain my passion for songwriting and as I do I find all manner of unexpected detail making itself known.

For me this is so much more than a book. It is 730 enticing pages that represent the one craft I love the most and would be lost without. Songwriting is much more than lyrics and melody. It transcends almost anything I can imagine and is pretty much the only thing that can keep me distracted all day, every day. Some days I think about songwriting constantly, at a minimum I’ll be musing some old idea or trying to solve a tricky bridge problem to a new song at least twice an hour.

This can make the day job a bit difficult at times, especially when Spotify is on the go and a never-ending stream of beautifully recorded songwriting masterpieces is within easy reach. I feel like we’re in a world that on the whole seems to regard music as background entertainment. When did you sit down and just listen to an entire album? I can’t put headphones on and not be instantly transported into a dream of melodic changes, second guessing the motivation behind an arrangement, internal rhyme and unexpected harmonies. Blend with a romantic nostalgia for tales from the recording studio for a heady blend of evocative escapism.

Those that I work with/for, the previous paragraph is just lies, don’t worry about it. I only listen to Spotify at lunchtime.

Given the (lies) above, when I read an interview with one of my heroes – Brian Wilson, or Paul Simon for example – I am off into that world. When I pick up this book I feel like I am picking up a piece of myself. It might sound self-aggrandising to write that I feel a connection with these fellow songwriters, but it is nevertheless the simple truth. I recognise their artistic struggles and success and long to be somebody who can hold my head up and announce that I, for my bread, am a songwriter. I think that when you’ve been aspiring to something for your entire life and haven’t got there yet the longing builds and can be projected onto the closest passing “guitar heroes of the 70s” documentary, or “live in Red Square” video. Or indeed, collection of in-depth interviews with your songwriting heroes.

And that’s what I have here.

Insights into the craft as individually practised by nearly every songwriter I hold as influential to my own. Paul asks most of them about how they get into the “zone”, avoiding the dreaded writer’s block, in addition to talking about revered classics and how they came to be. I’ve only ever really struggled with writer’s block once, but it lasted two years. I wish I’d had this book on my shelf then, or earlier. The answer to writer’s block, as described across many of the interviews, is not to add pressure; to demand that you escape – but to accept that as and when the inspiration will come and the music shall flow. Sometimes many sub-standard songs will come through first. But this is necessary. Life has a way of burying a melody beneath layers of faux-inspiration.

And it is this, almost affirming knowledge that this book provides. If songwriting is a passion of yours and you’ve not read this book, I’ve got some good news for you…

Phil Collins used same Fairchild as us?

2011-01-23T14:52:19+00:00

Phil Collins’ new album, ‘Going Back’, is a collection of Motown covers recorded using a whole heap of vintage equipment in order to try and recreate the original sound. I’ve had a listen on Spotify and they sure have done a good job of recreating the vibe. Some of the vocals aren’t really on the same page though which is a bit of a shame, but doesn’t make it any less of an enjoyable listening experience if you’re just dialling into the tones, the rooms sounds, the beautiful snare et al.

Wait a minute!

Sound on Sound January 2011 has an in-depth interview with engineer Yvan Bing a some lovely snaps of the outboard gear they rented in (well, in the print version the snaps are there, I’m not an SOS online subscriber so don’t know about the online article).

Take a look at this rack:

See what the arrow’s pointing at? Here’s a photo I took of a Fairchild 670 that we hired in (from the same rental company) to aid with mastering our EP ‘Release the ants!‘:

Looks like the same unit to me! They’ve added some tape markers and stuff but the “sticky meter” label is on there as are the scratches on the right panel.

Of course, this unit is going to have been used by heaps of people given that rental Fairchild units are pretty rare in the UK (I’m guessing). Nevertheless, seeing a photo in SOS of the same being used by Phil Collins is pretty cool.

The album’s opening track is my favourite I think…

Phil Collins – Girl [Why You Wanna Make Me Blue]

… but you have to listen to the drum sound (especially the toms) in this one, fantastic!

Phil Collins – Uptight [Everything's Alright]

Fingerstyle Guitar

2011-01-16T12:23:41+00:00

Aaah. Sunday morning. Coffee and a stack of music magazines to work through. I felt guilty at not having read any music mags for a while, so I just bought Sound On Sound (always), Mojo, Q, Uncut and the US magazine Acoustic Guitar. The last one caught my eye due to it’s cover promising to reveal secrets of DADGAD tuning and also of fingerstyle guitar.

Fingerstyle guitar (plucking the strings with your fingers) is a style I’ve always loved. I used to listen to my Mum’s Paul Simon Song Book 12″ over and over. Then one day I found some Paul Simon tab and spent a whole weekend sweating it out and trying to teach my fingers how to do it.

Over the years I’ve ended up writing a number of songs with this style, one of my favourites being this one:

I’ve fancied looking deeper into this subject for a while and so this morning I picked up the Acoustic Guitar magazine first and began with an article on Travis picking style (used in the above song). This style of playing guitar is named after the American player Merle Travis. A quick hop on to Spotify and I found an absolute beauty of an album.

Released in 1964, “Country Music’s 2 Guitar Greats” is twelve tracks of Merle Travis and Joe Maphis. Travis distinct style is present throughout, whilst Maphis takes the flatpicking route (using a plectrum).

Here’s a Spotify link to my favourite: Merle Travis – Guitar Rag. Give this one a listen if you’ve got Spotify, not only is it great playing, it’s got the vintage sound, which we all know is the best. Time to make another coffee.

Website facelift

2011-01-12T00:47:45+00:00

Well, the old one was getting a bit rusty. Truth is, it wasn’t really rusty enough, all a bit glossy and what-not. This one’s based on a lovely old “Folkscene” poster I found from the 60s that was advertising Paul Simon and Earl Scruggs.

Removing “creative barriers”. The perfect excuse for more gear…

2011-01-02T12:17:57+00:00

One of my most enjoyable methods of recording is when I’m composing as I go, which is the case for many songs as they don’t always present themselves as fully-formed arrangements. I love how I can be improvising harmonies as I record, bass lines come together nicely, and I make a few melodic and lyrical tweaks.

I’m sure people would say it’s wrong but I sometimes like to jump from instrument to instrument, creating parts as I feel my way through where I think the track wants to take me. This sometimes presents a problem when it comes to recording acoustic guitar(s), and this problem is caused by my studio’s limitations: lack of gear!

The Proper Way

First, a quick explanation of the best way to work: setup a whole band in a live room, tell them to start and hit the record button. Mix track, bishbashbosh, done. Alas, my “studio” has about enough room to seat three people before it starts to get cosy. So then, out with live recording and in with recording one instrument at a time: arrange drums, record bass, stick down guide vocal, add guitars, add keys, then redo vocal and work on backing vocals and percussion.

More often than not, I’ll be feeling my way through, composing everything just before I record it. Imagine a groove, programme some drums and let them repeat over and over, then add some bass, refining the drum parts as the bass line is composed and ensuring the two work together as a unit. If all is going well, maybe I’ll add some acoustic guitars before the vocals and build on top of that. Sometimes though the arrangement won’t politely present itself and has to be coaxed out with a bit of graft, and for me that means swapping between instruments, trying out different phrases, parts, hooks etc and finding what works, and that can be bit of a pain.

My setup

You’re still reading, that means I haven’t quite bored you enough yet, well here we go, get through this I dares ya: I can have my main vocal mic (a Neumann TLM 103 if you’re interested, which I ♥) setup next to the computer, pre-amp close-by (where bass/electric guitars go in) and another mic (ether a Rode NT1A or SE 2200A) setup behind my computer ready to record the acoustic guitars. Which is fine for acoustic guitars recorded in mono. Until recently, they’ve always been in mono. Pretty much anybody can tell you there’s a much more natural sound when they’re recorded in stereo. I recorded this track using the Rode and SE mics:

Quite a nice stereo sound, not perfectly captured, but an okay start. The problem is I had to dismantle my vocal setup (mic stand on mic, another holding the reflexion filter, something to stop room echo creeping onto the recording) in order to free up a mic stand. Naturally, as any sane person putting a home studio together would do, I decided I really should buy dedicated mic stands for this purpose. Of course, need something to go in them, and my Rode and SE mics are okay, but only just.

Removing the creative barrier

Wow where the bloody hell am I going with this? All I wanted to write was: I’ve bought some new Oktava MK-012 microphones and some dedicated mic stands to with them so that I can have them permanently set for recording acoustic guitar parts as and when they drop into my head. This, for me, represents the removal of a big creative barrier and I am hoping once they arrive and all is setup I’m more likely to pay more attention to the guitar parts, tweaking on the go if I like as I’ll have a setup that doesn’t need replicating just so I can get the same acoustic sound as I did yesterday.

And that there is a beautiful reason to buy more stuff, and a dangerous one. I wonder how many more purchases can be justified due to their vital role in removing a “creative barrier”.

Photo shoot

2010-12-20T23:51:28+00:00

	Photo shoot A gripping, thrilling, roller-coaster ride of a movie: some Honey Ants getting their mug shots taken (by mattjamie.co.uk).	From: thehoneyants Views: 78 0 ratings
	Time: 03:00	More in Music

Roll on 2011.

2010-12-20T22:33:32+00:00

We’ve got an extra-special gig coming up on March 10th next year: our EP launch! Ironing out the details but we’ll let you know as soon as they’ve been ironed. Join our mailing-list and we’ll let you send you a lovely email all about it (and bag yourself a free mp3 too).

The Legendary Joe Meek by John Repsch

2010-12-20T08:39:18+00:00

I can’t remember the exact reason I bought this book, but I’m sure it had something to do with the fact I’d recently decided to become obsessed with recording techniques of the 50s and 60s.

Joe Meek was one of the pioneers in engineering and production. He did much to advance the techniques used by studios the world over, and many wanted to copy his sound. This is the fellow who wrote one of the great instrumental pop records of all time: Telstar.

Rock and roll…

He also did much to piss other people off and by all accounts could be a very tricky fellow to work and get along with.

And that’s why this book is so fascinating. Joe Meek threw his toys out of the pram so regularly that I suspect he’d put any modern day rock star to shame. TVs out of windows or not. Other than Phil Spector maybe, I can’t think of any other producers who’d point a gun at an artist in order to bully a better performance out of them.

… but a pioneer

And that’s an even more compelling reason to pick this book up. There are many stories of his “weird” techniques (close-micing drums and strings), his home made studio gear, which paved the way for the Joe Meek line of equipment, put together by Joe’s suffering assistant (whose name escapes me). He setup his own studio at 304 Holloway Road which is described in the book in much detail. Wires everywhere, unsafe power sources, tapes scattered, recording brass on the stairs… sounds awesome! There’s an plaque on the building now, I must go and visit that some time.

Something to chew

But back to the book. It’s a decent read, took me a while to get through it on my various tube journeys here in London, but I was always looking forward to picking up where I left off. There are many many names involved, and my tendancy to forget names the moment there are read/spoken didn’t do me any favours, but it didn’t matter too much.

Many legendary artists get a mention, David Bowie, The Beatles and Phil Spector to name a few, the list is long. Buddy Holly fans may find an additional interest in that Joe Meek was a massive fan of his. He even conducted scéances in order to “contact” the departed Buddy Holly. As you do.

The book left me feeling more relaxed about how I go about recording in my little studio, and that there are no rules. Well, a number of books have contributed to that, but this one certainly rammed it home.

I definitely found a huge new interest in the sort of vintage equipment Joe was using and building. I also bought a CD of Joe’s “I Hear A New World” concept LP, which frankly, is weird as, but its a marvel to hear and remember it was released in 1960. Techniques like flicking the teeth on a comb are described in the book, and its wonderful to listen to the album whilst flicking through the pages, trying to pick out what’s been described.

And here’s a link to the book on Amazon, no affiliation here as usual. I’m writing this review because I want to.

The Honey Ants in the studio

2010-12-19T19:03:51+00:00

	The Honey Ants in the studio Short crap movie of our time in Blue Pro Studios, Sep 2010. www.thehoneyants.co.uk	From: thehoneyants Views: 169 0 ratings
	Time: 04:32	More in Music