Benjamin Hermans saxsolo!

Somewhere in February 2011, we had a great recording session with Benjamin Herman. A great saxplayer known from a.o. The New Cool Collective. The plan of featuring Benjamin on a some of our tracks had been in our mind for some time but somehow it never happend (probably due to busy schedules).

Until this day in February, where everything worked out. We prepared three tracks for him and booked the recording studio of Ivo Witteveen. Benjamin is a very cool and nice guy who has the ability to feel the vibe and the atmosphere of a track very fast. We had a fantastic session!

When we record, we record everything. Let the musician play several takes until he's empty. Mostly the early takes are the best, so we start recording when they're still warming up. Don't miss anything! We go for the vibe and the feel of the solo. Not focussing in on little parts, trying to get a complete solo during the session. Just let the music flow and get it all on tape!

When we work on tracks it is often horizontally. Work on a track for a while and than leave it for a while. That way the music stays fresh to our ears and when you pick it up later you'll instantly hear it's weak and strong points.

We started working on one of the Benjamin tracks in March (super stuff!) but the other two still stayed on their little shelves, just waiting to be worked on. That's exactly what we did yesterday! Working on a solo means looking for the take that has the best flow, melody, build-up and dynamics. Start from there and build a solo with the right energy and balance. Replacing parts here and there with parts from the other takes. Final goal: a solo that flows! That's what happend exactly yesterday: great moments in a producers existence!

see part 2 for rest of this story.