All language subtitles for 19 - Mitchell Froom & Tchad Blake

hello I'm Mitchell froom and I'm Chad

Blake and we're talking to you from la

Fabrique in the South of France were in

the middle of a seminar that we're doing

for 15 participants and this is just a

bit extra to answer questions from the

world out but so we have ten questions

and the first time we've worked together

in 14 years so it's a great occasion

first question you want me to read here

yeah a Steve McClintock Chad I love how

the Arctic Monkeys

am and Black Keys El Camino have such a

full bottom end like a hip-hop record

can you share any tips or techniques for

achieving that nice full bass and kick

Cheers

that's pretty easy both these bands came

to me saying exactly that they they

wanted a live band feel but to have some

Sonics that reflect the modern sound of

hip-hop records and so I added a sample

and I'm pretty sure I used the samples

that are on this drum agog is the

sampler that I have and there's a

there's two samples that I use a lot and

that's techno 15 and techno number five

and you just have to play with the

tuning the EQ and the phase some maybe

high-pass filtering to just it's just

got to fit with the rest of the drum kit

in the bass so play around with that and

you should get it exactly that your turn

okay Pete hello santé what are the new

tools that you've discovered in the last

five years that made the biggest change

in your productions new keyboard

software's the thing that's made the

biggest change in my production is

something that was a new tool for me

which is Pro Tools I am

I kind of avoided learning it and I

found myself doing needing to do more

more arrangements full band arrangement

strings horns everything so past three

years I've been writing a lot of music a

lot of tracks working with artists that

way and also delivering full

Arrangements on Pro Tools and new

keyboards I just got one I love it's

called a op1 I brought it here everybody

seemed to like it it's a great keyboard

and it's one of these ones everyone will

use in their own way so you can sample

off FM radio you can mangle sounds in a

lot of different ways you can sample

your own keyboards or guitars or

whatever it's a great thing and it's got

cranks and rubber bands it's got

everything you want and it's tiny and

but a solid is a great great great

instrument and another thing called a

pocket piano that it's just fun I

haven't used it a lot on recording but

it's a just a little 8-bit analog synth

and these are the first dopey one on

this are the first new keyboard things

that I've found maybe in 15 years that I

like so my key cooling I frequently

record vocalist guitarists trying to

separate the vocals and guitar from a

take is tricky especially if I want to

apply pitch correction any tips also

keeping the hand off the snare tracks

that is a really you know age-old

engineering problems and besides the

obvious of just doing things separately

which with I don't do a lot of pitch

correction on vocals myself so I mean I

if it was going to be a lot I'd record

them separately but if you can't for the

like acoustic guitars and vocals is just

finding a mic that really rejects the

acoustic and there are there's annoyin

I'm sorry I can't remember the model

number but it looks like a pencil mic

with a larger head like a kuat 6 or

something like

it's it's so it's not the greatest vocal

mic sound but you can work with it and

it really it you have a guitar here and

the vocalist up here and you just almost

don't hear the guitar at all the other

thing is using a lavalier mic which we

did a lot call all the records that we

did back and then 90s would have if it

was acoustic guitar it would have been

recorded this way is putting a little

lavalier back then it would have been in

ECM 50 a Sony ECM 50 or an ECM 55

putting it as an omni lavalier condenser

that would put it inside the sound hole

just hanging slightly inside the sound

hole roll off all the low-end add a

little bit of sansamp and you know

really virtually no leakage of vocal

into the guitar then you just got to

find yourself a good vocal mic as far as

the hi-hat my only tip i've never found

anything that worked for me except that

worked as good as having a set of high

hats around that are quiet just find

yourself a really good pair of high hats

that sound good and that are quiet you

can you can find under half the level of

these k's or a lot of drummers come in

with high hats that that are for live

and it's just really meant to project

find something else or i would say this

yeah just get the balance right have the

drummer play it quieter there's nothing

that sounds better than a balanced

drummer so if it's and i think you're

despite it all the way to the end if you

don't get a balanced kit to make the

decision of how loud you want stuff and

have the person play like that yeah

that's some drummers will get thrown by

that and in that case get the Crider

smith yeah but that's but also if

they're thrown by that just give them a

chance and they learn how to play in the

studio you know that it it's actually

that you're right that's the only way

they're going to learn isn't it yeah it

was probably we've admitted I remember

some guys that played the hi-hat too

quiet yeah for my taste

I I can play a balance

and just encourage them not to all the

sudden start bashing it you know so it's

play balance the attract yeah I think as

an engineer it's not always your job to

like think that you can do the

impossible I think it's okay to ask

Volkl this when they're singing to work

the mic people don't do that much

anymore

drummers can work the kit and work the

mic themselves you can find ways to do

that so I think it'd be really good to

maybe put some heat on on the signal

coming in you know yeah and if they

record a take of the drummer have them

come in listen say the well this there's

just a mic overhead listen how loud your

hi-hat is or listen out loud your

cinereous like could you please play

balance and try to give them their

headphones so it sounds like they should

sound and yeah I think that's good

Andrew Todd's can you name three records

that change the game in terms of

production and Sonics in the last decade

I just no I I don't have an answer for

that except just that I think some

people are original and I like them but

I think everything's so diffused now

that there's just these pockets of

people that like certain artists so it

doesn't seem like there hasn't been the

new Beatles or anything so I don't know

if you know maybe there's some records

you've heard that you really like or but

not I don't know about game-changer that

I would point to I I remember like some

people thought Feist record the remind

remain a reminder whatever scope that

that was it changed the way a bunch of

female artists looked it at how to do

music you know there's records that

different people have admired I'm sure

hip hop records you you know that

there's guys I there's lots of stuff

that I like and that you know I love to

listen to it at home I think I'd have to

go back farther than the last decade for

game-changer for me I think when I think

of a game-changer for me in that in

modern recording I think of supa dupa

fly missing misdemeanor alley

you're saying record my boo do you know

Dan yeah Angela we just changed the

whole way but really it was supa dupa

flight it did it for me I am I got that

record and played it because we were

still sounds back I just remember

playing that there and just thought it

was so beautiful I just think that's

it's about as close to a perfect record

that you can get as the between

production and Sonics and what the

artist is you know the identity of the

artist is just fantastic

next John Smith Chad on the Finn

brothers album there's a track where the

vocals appeared to be elevated above or

on top of the mix was this the use of

the K u 100 mic and the ka 100 for those

who don't know is a binaural microphone

some people call it a dummy head it was

designed by a guy named Fritz Kuhns

cough and it's I'm supposed to give you

like a realistic representation of a a

binaural field which is just a binaural

is how we hear how humans here and I

don't remember doing vocals on any

particular song but it there is I think

there is a track on there I recorded

almost the whole thing with the by

neural head and then added some stuff

but so it could be a the thing about

being on top of the mix I'm not sure I

understand what that means and where

that would be do you mean literally on

top because that's easy

anything mono to my ears anything mono

on headphones goes to the top and

whether it's by neural or not the hard

part the tricky bit is to get something

a sound like it's in front or behind and

that's where binaural you try to that's

what you try to work with binaural but

somewhat level like if the vocal level

isn't real hot it sounds more on top if

it's really loud it sounds in front if

you're talking if he's talking about on

top of the mix then level wise and

that's level but because

mentioning binaural I'm thinking on top

or in front because yeah something on

top of the mix is level it would be

level I'm sorry I'm not sure I

understand the question entirely but the

short answer is I don't remember sorry

they're all smart love your work can you

explain your basic mixing set up for the

Sheryl Crow record maybe focus on one

song in particular yeah I think it's I

think it's simple it is going back away

so I don't remember exactly what the

setup was but at that time if you're

asking about like what was on the stereo

bus maybe it would have sex we used

vocal chain I'm not going to remember

specifics a stereo bus at that time was

a al smart see one that was Mitchell's

compressor that we had a limiter and the

I was using sans amps mixed in for bass

and maybe kick drum bits of the drums at

that time I wasn't using level lock on

the drums was I that would hundred them

it was just API console it was something

I used to use them a guitar pedal the

dod analog delay a lot for vocals for

very short vocals what was that there

was that one song called the book that

we used this morley pedal I remember

that it's the only specific I remember

is using this oil candle a to get the

sound of the acoustic guitars at the

front they're all warbling a little did

you recorded that that wasn't him oh no

that was part of the mix move initial

mix may be recorded it while we were

mixing good I am sorry I can't be more

helpful in that and it was very simple

it was just a 48 input API desk really

with a an al smart limiter 24 track tape

24 track tape mixed are we mixed that -

Sadie right 16 bit 441 Clifton Cox

hey Chad first off thanks for taking the

time to answer questions for those of us

who constantly love to learn me too

on the Black Keys brothers album it said

they gave you a simple kick and mono

overhead track the wandering for years

how you got that mono overhead the sound

so big wide natural is it a stereo with

tulle reverb tight delays

I can't put my hand on it but whatever

it is sounds great thanks

every song I think is a bit different

but mainly if you hear a spread on there

- stereo it's probably speakerphone and

I don't remember what patch was used or

what ir was used but I used calls living

room I've used the bathroom there's a

white tiled bathroom there's a thing

called an actual a at Attili ER I don't

know what is that French Victor might

know what else there was another anyway

Oh girls bedroom was another one so yeah

speakerphone also used H 3000 patches

really all really small stuff that maybe

the the best bit is any of those things

I probably would have rolled off all the

top end it's just so it sounded dull I I

do that a lot for reverbs and rooms like

5k and up just pull it down just you

know maybe not a really sharp slope but

like 12 DB per octave shelf 5k or 8k

just gone and it sounds really nice and

you

Mauricio Mendez a metalhead I love the

sound II records that's how I got to

know you I noticed my favorite records

were made by you

thank you can you tell me some strange

or weird recording techniques you've

come across or invented yourself like

damp going in an aluminum hose and

recording that sound that's a good idea

yeah thank you very much I love your

work and creativity but think that's I

mean that's on the engineering end which

which yeah we were like-minded in that

is that anything we could do to change

the sound I learned from a guy named

Sherman Kane who used to talk about the

plumbing of a microphone and I took it

kind of literally saying that all

microphones were omni and um that you

there was electronic things and

mechanical things that happened to make

to turn a microphone into a cardioid or

bi-directional ER and so I started doing

that myself with Omni microphones is

taking cans and pipes and putting them

in trying to change the EQ curve of the

mic and the get out different weird

polar pattern so that's where that comes

from it's using anything so it's just

unlimited I think unusual what I

remember Mitchell doing in unusual

techniques was was putting together lots

of really different instruments like

you'd have a keyboard part that you

you'd want a note out of but then you'd

get like a Mark's a phone and add that

to it but then what that really filtered

and then that was almost it and then you

go out and do I don't know a percussive

bass note on the b3 and then that was

all mixed together to create one kind of

sound and sometimes it could just be a

stab like up to one lesson George George

Martin

like that's orchestral where you combine

a few inches to create one instrument

and when people double it's better to

try it in octaves or fifths or like

create overtones from something but I

would if I was going to suggest

something for example we entered a

period where I remember we whenever we

recorded drums we tried to change up the

drum kit like instead of the hi-hat set

this up instead of snare you put some

jangles on it or just and then Chad

would experiment with different kinds of

miking distortion and then eventually

that would affect the way the drummer

so if you want to find weird techniques

I would try this I think it's much

easier to come upon something if you

start with something unusual say and

then see how strange and see if in the

process of all of it if you can come up

with something if you're just mixing and

you have a straight drumkit it's harder

I mean you can do stuff but it's not

going to sound all that difference

really needs a really good to start from

the top because it changes everything

way every time you're coming on to

techniques you know you go like oh I see

how we do that with drums but there can

never be a hi-hat you know but you won't

figure that out if you get a drum kit

that you're trying to mix it's already

got all that stuff in so yeah I think

that's probably how a lot of stuff came

about it was like a circular we like set

up the drummer would start to play

something then we change the kit around

and what if we did this and then you'd

be working on stuff and he'd be getting

your ideas from and then he would start

to play differently and then eventually

a really good groove would start to come

out of it so it's if you can I would

suggest it

this is cowsy Smith Mitchel Chad how did

you manage to keep a collaboration going

for so long how did you share the

credits wasn't there times when one

fella D had contributed more to the

record than the other how should one

manage those feelings after long days on

projects I think it comes down to one

essential point music whether you

whether you choose to accept this idea

or not music has a requirement which is

a generous spirit and some people are

greedy some people worry about these

things in my case I felt that as soon as

the Chad and I had been working about

three or four years and I think it was

after Kiko people started asking me to

work with them but they were saying what

we want Chad we want to make sure that

we have Chad as soon as that happened I

felt okay now we're a partnership and so

I just told Chad hey you

we're producing this together now and

one of the reasons why did is because

Chad never asked

and so we never had there was never an

issue it was like he was being generous

with me I tried to be generous with him

and it and we just our collaboration

changed I remember there was periods

where arrangements seemed important and

then there was periods where for a while

or ancients seemed unimportant and it

was more about sound so there was I felt

there was records where Chad had

probably contributed more than I had

what I had to offer wasn't really sought

you know the full degree of what I had

to offer wasn't really sought out so but

didn't matter like who cares I mean I

you know Webb done worked on records

where I've gotten zero credit or it's

it's just about trying to be generous

with people and it all works out for you

huh all right I never thought about it

um we we got on from the beginning and I

don't remember a time where we didn't it

was it was a real great collaboration I

I just remember you say I remember you I

mean a lot of engineers may want they

may say I really want to move into

production so I need production credit

or else I'm leaving and you never asked

you never cared you told me he really

didn't want to produce and then you were

like a reluctant producer band started

they were attracted to the sound of the

records we did and a lot of bands don't

want a producer in the room so Chad

started doing it but kind of reluctantly

so maybe that was part of it that we we

weren't like clawing and scratching our

way up the ladder when we just one was

an offended that we just wanted to make

good records yeah that's all we wanted

to do so don't worry about it just keep

going and and like try to be generous at

people if you work with an artist who

says I really want to be co-producer you

say well I'm doing my job but if you

want if it's important for you to have

your name on there go ahead do it look

and people see the record and they see

you produced it with the artist they're

going to look think that you're the

producer anyway you know that in general

I you just don't worry about it so I'll

be quiet now

Nick Hofstra hi guys you both deserve a

pat on the back and a freer an but we'll

hold you to it

boom yeah and aside from that do you

have any advice for a new studio and

engineers to get higher end projects

coming in assuming the quality is there

like as I am sure it's always been with

both of you how did you move up the

ladder to work with more serious artists

with bigger budgets and aspirations

besides word of mouth which is quite

powerful I think it was word of mouth

that's there isn't there isn't it

besides on that we were lucky early on

we the way you move up that that ladder

if you're looking at it as a ladder is

if you have a successful record and or

one that people talk about and and that

in my mind if you have an underground

record that people talk about and

doesn't sell very much that's as

powerful as a hit record the record I

think we did a Latin playboys record

that nobody ever even knew about but

that brought in more stuff that's been

my career than anything else

still this mentioned it's more the mouth

and people liked it and they like the

fact that we worked on it so yeah

there's yeah there's there's no answer

except if it's a new studio if there's

groups you admire I mean maybe you could

offer them to come in for a free day or

something and just try to do great work

for them or you know I don't know it

just ours was just one way so that's all

we know really yeah we didn't take

meetings with labels and we did not at

work we didn't network we didn't do

meetings we didn't know aggressive

management ever no meetings were taken

on our behalf I don't the aggressive

management thing wasn't really on

purpose was it but then it became on

purpose we we did end up deciding we

didn't want anybody to go after gigs for

us we wanted musicians you know artists

to contact us because they wanted us not

because of label which wouldn't happen

I'll label god forbid one thing else

yeah and then we'd never played that

game and the people that are good at

that game do it but we just I never felt

like I that was missed

so Cheers

that's it thank you I mean I barely

degrees will now live impossibilities

but it is quite good make you stay