First of all, let’s get this out of the way – yes, I watch X Factor. Even though I’m always banging on about authenticity, about being natural, unconventional and genuine – I’m a regular viewer.
Why ?
Mostly because I’m a parent of two highly active little boys, and at the end of a long, busy Saturday it’s pretty much all I can cope with !
But also because it’s masterful reality TV – or at least it was once. In the last couple of years the “Britain’s Got Talent” – style melodramatic music, over-cooked personal sob-stories and blatant attempted manipulation of the viewers has really started to stick in my throat. But despite myself, I still watch.
Last night however, they went too far. Several (if not all) of the acts were blatantly auto-tuned.
This is an enjoyable short film about the making of Amon Tobin’s excellent Foley Room – a great album which you may already know about. If not, I strongly recommend it.
I talk a lot about classic albums, recording live instruments and ¨real, natural sound¨ on Production Advice, mainly because in this time of virtual instruments and laptop recording studios I think it’s becoming something of a lost art that needs highlighting.
BUT I have always had a passion for electronic and dance music – Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Oxygene’ was the second tape ever played in my Sanyo personal cassette player (I couldn’t afford a Walkman !) and it would be hard to overstate the importance of Orbital in my music collection – to pick just two examples.
(What was the first tape ever played in my Walkman ? It’s too embarrassing to reveal in public, but ask me on Twitter and I’ll DM you the answer :-p )
I can’t take any credit or thanks for finding this video – it’s lifted straight from a series of posts on Bobby Owsinski’s blog, featuring isolated instruments and vocals from a fascinating range of artists, each with some interesting comments.
If you’re a Production Advice reader, I’m sure you’ll love the video (well, the audio, anyway ;-p) – and, I’m sure you’ll enjoy Bobby’s blog, too.
And that’s the point of this post – head on over and subscribe !
OK, I think it’s time to come clean. This may shock some of you, so brace yourselves…
I’m not a Pro Tools expert.
…I know ! How can that be ?!? I’m a mastering engineer, a pro audio geek and I write blogs on music production – HOW can I not be a Pro Tools whizz-kid ?
Well, before you unfollow me, block my email address and blacklist my RSS feeds – let me explain.
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