Wee Pink Sound

some say Leland and ghost town antics

Stephen Orsak — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:24:18 +0000

Cole suggested that we go big, so some say Leland decided to employ a junior high orchestra to help us achieve our Morriconian goals.

Lindsey and I decided that the best way to make a junior high orchestra sound fantastic was to let them do exactly what they never get to do: make loud hideous noises with complete disregard to the usual trappings of western music like pitch and timing. Instead of scoring any parts for them, we used a loose framework and a series of hand gestures to create slowly shifting atonal walls of sound that immediately evoke bloody scenes of yore.

Our intent was to collect a dozen or so samples that we could then layer in post production for texture and tension. We collected a few different iterations, most of which started in a particular key and then slowly shifted away from that key and into an atonal cacophony according to Lindsey's visual cues.

The kids were fantastic and their performance exceeded our expectations. It always amazes me how two disparate sound sources can mesh so well just based on their intent. Even though our guidelines and goals were loose, the orchestra samples fit perfectly... Most of the students didn't even know the recording was happening, they just showed up to morning rehearsal to find Lindsey and I there with our glitter batons, having never heard the song their performance was intended for.

There is subtle layering of the orchestra throughout the song, but you can hear the orchestra in full effect during the last minute or two of the song. Have a listen!

Overflow

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Patient music is the hardest kind.

Stephen Orsak — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:31:11 +0000

how to be patient...

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Paper Cloud SXSW Party

Stephen Orsak — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:35:20 +0000

:::::::::::::::::::::Paper Cloud Collective Presents:::::::::::::::::::::
FRIDAY MARCH 19th DAYSHOW
an unoffical SXSW Backyard Showcase
sponsored in part by austinsound.net & rockstar bagels

|||||featuring artists||||||

3:00 - 3:30 = alexa woodward
3:45 - 4:15 = dana falconberry
4:30 - 5:00 = tom brosseau & shelley short
5:15 - 5:45 = dan grissom
6:00 - 6:30 = south china
6:45 - 7:15 = twigs & yarn
7:30 - 8:00 = inlets
8:15 - 8:45 = peter & the wolf

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Dana Falconberry CD Release

Stephen Orsak — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:21:50 +0000

These images were take at Dana Falconberry's CD release party at the mohawk in January of 2010. I feel lucky to have been a part of the project! Here is an excerpt from the Austin American Statesman review:

"In a toasty living room in an old house next to a dilapidated motel in the middle of the 2,500-strong town of Hallettsville, Dana Falconberry and three of her friends gathered around their microphones one day in June and recorded for 11 hours.

They tore through 30 songs, recording most of the wispy, buoyant folk songstress' catalog. Outside, in the still summer air, the cicadas chirped so loudly you can sometimes hear them on the recording, deep in the mix.

'It was beautiful and spooky driving down these country roads in the middle of the night. You can see all the stars,' Falconberry says . 'So it was kind of like this magical trip to get there. And we pull up and there's this inn that's totally crazy and looked like the Bates motel. It was creepy, but it was perfect.'

The sleepy burg of Hallettsville — just down the road from Shiner and about 110 miles southeast of Austin — provided the perfect backdrop for the recording of Falconberry's 'Halletts,' her spare, stripped-down second full-length album, for which she plays a CD release show tonight at the Mohawk.

Falconberry chose the unusual locale — the home belongs to the grandmother of friend and engineer Stephen Orsak — with an eye toward making a record that better captured the purity of her live performance. 2008's 'Oh Skies of Gray,' the debut from the ethereal Austin-based musician, was an enchanting exercise in alluring folk that — with its lush production from Roy Taylor, a touring sound engineer for Patty Griffin and others who'd recorded such Austin acts as Glass Eye, Stick People and Craig Ross — sounded nothing like her live performances.

For 'Halletts,' Falconberry went back to basics, recording with a small band that included harmonizing vocalists Gina Dvorak and Lauren McMurray and bass from Andrew Bergmann. Six of its eight songs appeared on 'Oh Skies of Gray,' in remarkably different form — what sounded enrapturing but involving on the debut sounds simple and clean on Halletts."

You can read the full review here: Austin American Statesman Article

The images below were take at Dana Falconberry's CD release party at the mohawk in January of 2010. I feel lucky to have been a part of the project!

Hallets Review in the Austin American Statesman:

http://www.austin360.com/music/in-the-clubs-dana-falconberry-177117.html

Hallets Review on TapeBombs:

http://www.tapebombs.com/musicblog/?p=750

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Raina Rose "When May Came"

Stephen Orsak — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Last september I had the pleasure of engineering a full length album for Raina Rose and friends. We recorded the album remotely over a four day period in a friends living room. The musicianship on this album is really fantastic, and most of the tracking was done live, including vocals. This is a teaser for the "making of" video that is being produced by Robert Steel. You can find more about Raina on her website: www.rainarose.com

You can also purchase "When May Came" on iTunes:

Raina on iTunes

Here is what annie street arts collective had to say about the album:

Annie Street Arts Collective Review

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Hungry Ghost Cinema

Stephen Orsak — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:58:02 +0000

visit Paper Cloud Collective for details...

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Sugar Sessions with Dana Falconberry

Stephen Orsak — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:28:16 +0000

I think artists perform better when you liberate them from their usual environment. And I think perhaps the best recordings are made in the country! For weeks we wracked our brains to come up with a good location. Dana really wanted to record in an abandoned house, I really wanted to record somewhere with air conditioning… We settled on my Grandmother’s house in Hallettsville, a small town just east of the infamous Shiner, Tx. No one is living there right now so we had plenty of privacy, and my Grandmother’s decorations and collections were pure inspiration for Dana’s lace and chalk style of neo-folk music.

We arrived on Saturday and spent the evening turning the wood paneled living room into a sweet recording studio. On Sunday the whole band arrived, bright-eyed and fresh for a thirteen hour session… We recorded 18 songs, with multiple takes of each song. We specifically wanted to capture a classic ensemble sound with a modern Hi-Fi intimacy and clarity. Luckily the band sounded fantastic and well rehearsed, which makes all the difference when recording so many takes live.

Thanks Dana for an inspiring weekend. And thanks to the musicians for your beautiful voices and effortless style…

Dana Falconberry – songwriting, vocals, guitar
Gina Dvorak – vocals, percussion, banjo
Andrew Bergmann – bass
Lauren McMurray – vocals, percussion

Stay Tuned for the CD release…

http://www.myspace.com/danafalconberry

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some say Leland on the KUT

Stephen Orsak — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:26:49 +0000

This is the second time this summer that one of my recordings has been featured on KUT's Texas Music Matters as song of the day!

KUT song of the day...

I play guitar with some say Leland and engineered/co-produced their recent album Fifty Miles Into The Main. I have been working with them for close to two years now and I'm really proud of the project. The overall mood and musicianship of the album is fantastic and Erik Wofford of Cacophony did a wonderful double mint mastering job.

"Some Say Leland has a gem with their latest full-length, Fifty Miles Into the Main. They’ve assembled a collection of simple, lovely melodies housing tales that strike up a sort of melancholy, a sense of longing that pulls the heart strings mighty hard. But there’s no sentimentality here. These are solid, gorgeous songs, American roots music at its best." - Laurie Gallardo - Austin Music Minute - KUT

Purchase Fifty Miles Into The Main

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Triple Mint Mastering

Stephen Orsak — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:25:24 +0000

DWLDWD by Nate Grace was featured as the KUT song of the day last Friday! We recorded the song the weekend before using my magical 8-trk, blew it out using an old cassette tape deck, then mastered it back onto the 8-trk for the triple mint master sound…

Here’s what KUT had to say:

“Austin’s Nate Grace has embraced his lo-fi side, with his first two releases available only in cassette. Now he’s moved on to 7″ with Bangin On Wine. coming out late next month and followed by a west coast tour. On this 7″ is our song of the day, DWLDWD, a track that was previously available in it’s cassette version. The haunting quality of his sound reminds you a little of The Velvet Underground, and a little of an old 45 where they sing about their girlfriend getting hit by a train, while still somehow remaining current. Just give it a listen and you’ll see what I mean…”

-Meg Murphree

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Pure Ecstasy in my living room

Stephen Orsak — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:27:04 +0000

...Easy 7 sessions

Nate Grace and Puke Scene are now Pure Ecstasy, and they use enough reverb to bake a kitten. Yesterday we recorded three songs straight to 1/2" 8trk, then transfered them into the computer for editing and mixing. 12 hours later and a new 7" is waiting to be pressed. Always and everything live and fresh. I am continually inspired by their approach to recording: no overdubs, super relaxed, analog smearing, and mangling amounts of reverb...

Also, I'm proud to mention that "You're in it now" from the last 7" we recorded was featured on Pitchfork a few weeks ago, in their forkcast section with a small write up they borrowed from Friendship Bracelet. Hopefully the press gods will once again shine upon us.

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