(English & Japanese)
It's been a while again since my last post! A news update on Lo-Fi's current situation.前回の更新からまた結構時間が経ってしまったが、最新ニュースLo-Fiについて！
We've finished doing the recording and mixing for the Lo-Fi Album Stereo Soul last week.
We spent a lot of time doing the initial recording and re-recording so that made the mixing
pretty smooth. There was almost no editing to do, but we added
some ambiance sound effects
at the beginning of some of the tracks. When you hear the album you'll know what trax these
are!
先週やっとアルバムのレコーディングが完了した！
After the recording process and mixing, we went to visit the Saidera Mastering studio in Tokyo, Japan. レコーディングとミックスが終わってから サイデラ・マスタリングに行った。
Now this was a really special experience...!
One of our close friends and mentor Ao introduced us to the studio a long time ago when we were first recording our 1st mini-album. But we didn't have the resources at the time to master the album at Saidera so we ended up doing at a conventional indie mastering studio.
The experience of the mastering itself this time really changed the way I hear the mix. I went home and had to rearrange my monitoring set-up thanks to this experience! I honestly can't wait to get started on mixing our next album as well.
マスタリングスタジオでの経験は本当に特別で、自分の感覚が全て良い方向に変わって、マスタリング作業が終わったら直ぐに家に帰ってスピーカー設置を始めとするモニター環境を大幅に変えた！
Morisaki-san, wow... now he was an awesome guy. He really knew the sound we were after and was able to nail it so quick, the process was smooth. Kind of like watching a show.
今回の担当のモリサキさんは最高だった。自分達が求めているサウンドを直ぐにマッチしてくれて、本当にショーを見ている気持ちで楽しかった。
Nori checking out the piano that Ono-san uses in his recordings. The photos that were displayed there were pretty cool. ... you know what? I love photography.Anyway, also seen in the picture is Matthew who helped out with some of the rewiring for the /D converters.
What is wrong with this guy? I swear Yosh just does not like getting photographed...
anyway.. the studio was really great and anyone who is looking to get their music mastered, this is the place to go.
Saidera Paradiso
Saideara Mastering
とにかく、最高のマスタリングでした。もし音に最後の磨きを掛けるのであれば
ここしか無い！
予約を入れるためにはとても親切で丁寧なIshikawa-sanに連絡を！
03-5410-6789
The number above is for reservations and inquiries.
They also have a killer blog with lots of info, but unfortunately it's all in Japanese.
サイデラマスタリングのブログも是非チェックしてください。
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/SAIDERA/ 面白い情報満載です。
Wow... we're really finished making the album!! I still can't believe it. I mean it seemed like such an endless project with so many things still not finished.... Boy do I have some stories to tell... It was hard work, but I can't wait to do it again. I guess for a while now I'm going to be busy with Nori and Yosh promoting the album. We hope to get it available everywhere!
I'm a big fan of iTunes, but still I want as many people as possible to be able to get their hands on the CD, just because it sounds so much better.
With iTunes you can get new albums at 4AM in your underwear. (which I think is a great privilege. You'd definitely get arrested if you did that at your local Best Buy ) But sound quality is always a compromise. The best part of some music is the quality of the sound. If I compare the sound environment to interior design, it's almost like the room becomes smaller in a compressed media format. Well... I guess more about that kind of stuff some other time.
後少しでアルバムが手元に届く！楽しみでしょうがない!
We spent a lot of time picking out the right album jacket design and case material too.
I think since people are going to pick it up and touch it, the values that we express in our sound should also be portrayed in the package. Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of over-packaging which happens too much here in Japan. I mean, I understand that the producer of the product means well, but it's just not right considering that we're creating more trash. If you have a lot of left over boxes and cases, they do make good storage for studio miscellaneous plugs, short cables and screws that you have stuffed into a drawer....
今回のアルバムはケースもこだわっているので楽しみにしていて！
2009.10.28 release dateまで後１月以上もあるなぁ。。。
