It was time to finish tracking Dawn and Tim. And time for another adventure. So, I jumped on the ferry to Governors Island, in order to avail of its views.
Now, the original plan was to record vocals on Governors Island, then record percussion on the Staten Island ferry.
In particular, I wanted to record the the Statue of Liberty in the background.
But, the day dragged on, I had a few interruptions. Eventually, I just wanted to get it done and go home.
Rig run down
- Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone
- BandLab Link Digital audio interface
- Pig Hog 10ft XLR cable
- MXL V67G microphone
- Beyerdynamic DT-240 Pro headphones
- Portastand Compact Mic Stand 2.0
- Samson PS01 pop shield
- Phil Cooper egg shaker
- Star-shaped tambourine
- Audio Evolution Mobile for Android DAW app
Recording Dawn and Tim vocals and percussion on Governors Island
Vocals
Firstly, I found the spot I wanted to record at, by Lady Liberty’s gaze. Because I needed to write something poetic like that last sentence.
In any case, I went through step one, which I think has been identical in all three out of the home adventures?
- Link Digital plugged into my phone
- DT-240 Pros plugged into the Link Digital
- V67G plugged into the Link Digital via XLR cable, and perched on the Portastand with the pop shield in front of the mic
I don’t think I had done the admin for it. Actually, if I recall correctly, I did it on the subway on the way to the ferry from Astoria. Hah!
Still, I took a level, I did my usual three takes of lead vocals. Additionally, I knew I needed some kind of backing vocal for the chorus.
Although I hadn’t worked anything out, at some point that morning, I had a flash of inspiration drawing from a song referenced in the song… can you figure that one out?
Percussion
Since I was generally anxious by the time it came to record percussion: the day was pushing on, there had been interruptions, it was hot, it was noisy… I just wanted it all done.
So, instead of packing up my gear, getting the ferry back to Manhattan, going to the Staten Island ferry terminal, waiting for the ferry, and spending another hour or so going to Staten Island and back…
… I just packed away the pop shield, and moved my mic etc over to a view of downtown Manhattan.
Then, I got set up as before, took a level, and blitzed through it in 12 minutes.
Because of the nature of the session, I kept things simple with my old reliables: shaker on the verse, and tambourine on the chorus.
Despite recording the song all over New York City, because it’s written about the UK version of the office, I still think of it as a British song. So, I used my mate, Phil Cooper’s, shaker that he hands out at shows for audience participation.
Recording Dawn and Tim vocals and percussion on Governors Island: conclusion
| Finito!: finally, this song is tracked! | Noisy: but man, that was a loud one – it didn’t register the pier next to the ferry is home to several helicopter tour companies |
| Light audio recording is mobile: in case the stunt on the subway didn’t prove that | Privacy: it’s scary enough putting a ong out there after it’s recorded, never mind being in full view while you’re recording it! |
To conclude, here’s how the vocals currently sound – they have been edited and micro-mixed, because nobody needs to hear too much helicopter.
And here’s the percussion.
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