Hello All.

We've just wrapped up a new record called "University A Cappella" and I'm back on tour.

I'm hoping for an April release. Its mixed and mastered and art will
be turned in in a few days.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I've put together a record of
university a cappella groups performing my songs.

Our method of recording and the production concept was inspired by
National Geographic field recordings and old seventies Nonesuch
Records field recordings of native music of different cultures.
Simple live recordings, documents of music being made in real time
that capture the inimitable thumbprint of a culture as it is in
motion. I love that shit.

So it was in that spirit that we recorded student a cappella groups
live in their natural habitat with a minimal of mics and no overdubs.
It was me, Fleur, Joe Costa on planes trains and automobiles lugging
cases of recording equipment into lecture halls, rehearsal rooms,
dorms and even a campus synagogue. We didn't get to nearly as many as
I would have liked - I just kept telling myself I can always do this
again and make a series out of it.

As I now know these groups do record quite often and release CDs.
However their style of recording generally more resembles that of
modern pop music where each track is recorded separately, isolated and
tuned. This is totally fine and produces a very other worldly
effect. These kinds of highly produced a cappella recordings often
fool your ear into thinking that there are real drums and basses. Its
pretty amazing but not at all what I wanted to capture.

What I did want to capture was the moment and the feeling of being IN
the group. If there are so many of these popping up (hundreds!) then
there must be a reason to be in them. I wanted to find and capture
that without killing it.

As I listened through the more than two hundred submissions I found a
few examples of existing a cappella recordings that I felt represented
the state of the art of the highly produced a cappella style recording
method I've mentioned. And although this kind of slick production
was possibly the antithesis of my original idea, I felt they should be
included just based on excellence. One is a version of Darren
Jessee's "Magic" by University of Chicago Voices in Your Head.
Always opting for black and white photography analogies over baseball
ones, I would say this recording is the Jerry Uelsmann of all vocal
recording. It puts the listener in a place that's obviously not the
real world but still a hell of a cool place to live for three and a
half minutes.

The recorded of "Selfless Cold and Composed" was self recorded and
submitted by the Sacramento State Jazz Singers and while they put each
singer on separate tracks, and while it sounds quite perfect, its also
quite live and very untampered with. We mixed their original tracks
to make sure they sat in with the other performances on the album but
the production is very much theirs. The reharharmonization in this
arrangement is insane! I seriously doubt we could have improved on
them to have come limping in with our equipment for re-recording.

Two others were phoned in for us because I couldn't travel to them and
they followed our guidelines for recording perfectly and sang their
asses off too. University of Colorado at Boulder Buffoons recorded
Landed and bravely left the warts and all as I'd asked. No overdubs
or computer tuning. Just live singing. Thank you. We picked a few
takes, edited and mixed.

FIfth Element from Wisconsin, the smallest group in the lineup also
recorded on their own and sent it in. They sent an already edited
performance but its very live and I felt captured what they did
naturally.

All the groups were a total joy to work with. They were total pros.
Through the repetition that is often necessary when recording old
school, the lead singers stayed completely on top of things, pitch and
performance while the harmonies got tighter and more energetic. Some
got it on the first take. Some gave us a ride back to the airport.
Some had beers after the recording with Joe Costa. Some groups were
girls and some groups were boys and some were mixtures of all three.
I'm starting to feel like Dr Suess. One group is from a university
who's lawyers called us up and told us we weren't allowed to mention
any association with their university. Funny, because I attended that
school and was proud to work with these guys and try and pass on a
little of my post college professional experience. Ironically I felt
like I learned more from watching these kids work than I ever did
during my stint there as a student.

One group is from Newton High School in Mass. They were total
pro's. I felt they had a take fairly early but they insisted on
getting it better and I'm glad they did.
They were so good I never felt as though I needed to take it easier on
them. We were making an album together.

Some of the singers in these groups are music majors. Most are not.
One fellow had recently graduated and was teaching high school science
in the next town and I insisted they call the guy up and bring him
in. He sounds like Art Garfunkle.
Some of the singers in these groups will sign deals and make records
but most will not. That goes to show that music doesn't require a
license or radio promotion. Power to the fucking people!

Well... two of the tracks required a major label artist with a fancy
studio and those tracks are my stab at a cappella. My label were very
kind to be involved in this but they did insist that I contribute two
tracks in order that they could justify the release. I thought, no
problem. Big problem. If i wasn't in awe of these singing groups
before, now that I've spent tens of hours arranging and recording two
songs, I am now. Boxing was scored as a kind of four part jazz
invention and was very time consuming. The voices are mostly mine and
Jared Reynolds'. Basses were sung by the famous Webb Wilder, local
vocal coach John Ray and our own Joe Costa. Effington filled what I
perceived as a serious gap in the new wave a cappella arena. While
Boxing is a pure and organic arrangement, Effington uses the studio in
the way that some of the modern a cappella groups do.

Some groups were recorded and the recordings were not used. There
were just too many tracks on the album as it was. That happens to the
best. Not all recordings come out like you want them to. These
tracks will be featured on our websites because they should be heard.

I honestly can't wait for this to come out. There's nothing like it.

Ben