I’ll never forget the first time I recorded vox in the main room, the 251 was set up in the room and sound was pure magic. The airiness in mic was reminiscent of the of the Garbage records, it was magic. The place had a low key, unassuming vibe to it – you wouldn’t that some of the greatest recordings of the past 20 years were made there.

I had stopped in about a year ago to visit a friend who was tracking upstairs and was reminded that even though its heyday had past – great music was still being produced there. I never knew that Deaf Cab’s Plans record was mixed there, but it was in fact it was mixed on the Trident.

I do not know the exact circumstances of why the studio closed, I know Butch Vig has lived in LA now for many years and everyone knows that most big studios are dying fast. Whatever the case, the legacy of that great studio and its exceptional staff will not be forgetten.

The walls in the room have been treated with beige acoustics panels and there are two DAWs and several synths on the desk against the wall. On surface its just another home studio, but the music that is created in the space is anything but typical. It’s the workspace of electronic music producer, Nathaniel Shreve. Over the years, he has developed many techniques for creating unusual sounds and sonic textures.
Shreve, other wise known as Hidden Variable, created a unique brand of techno that has been pulsating in dance clubs around the world for nearly a decade. He also was one of the pioneer’s for live techno PA in the Midwest using a combination of software sequencers and hardware synths. His home studio serves as his base for his electronic productions as well as a sound design lab where he creates his own sound libraries for sale on the web. The libraries are a result of the meticulous productions he undertakes where he converts his studio into one big modular synthesizer. His approach is a culmination of years of experimenting with synthesis and electronic music production.
Shreve scored his first success with in 2001 with the single “Rain”, a vinyl release on the Digerati imprint. The seductive melodies and artful production created a buzz among DJs and club goers alike. Shortly there after, Shreve moved over to Kompute records where he released another vinyl success called, Misha’s Story. The track was a cult hit among DJs, the machine-like textures Shreve created where very popular in the high-energy club scene. Shreve continues to release his mixes on Kompute Records which to this day have earned him a cult following and underground success.
As you expect for an experimental artist, Shreve’s production is rooted in his years of tinkering with synthesers and programmable effects. His philosophy for creating music revolves around building unique sounds and patches from the ground up. In years past, he would create his own synth patches by utilizing a combination of analog machines like the SH101, Arp Odyssey, Roland 909s and 303s. Once he had mastered those synths, he found the need to expand his sound palette.
Shreve’s solution was to move into advanced digital synthesis on the Kyma Capybara, an advanced sound design workstation. The Kyma was a groundbreaking instrument for Shreve because it allowed him move beyond the “analog only” stigma and embrace multiple forms of synthesis. This process served as a platform for Shreve’s productions, by controlling the rudimentary sounds he could then sculpt effects as an integral part of the synthesis.

Recently, Shreve added another aspect to his production rig – he utilizes a collection high-end analog processors to further sculpt his sound palette. The rack of outboard analog processing includes a collection of analog coloration devices, including the Thermionic Culture Vulture, Sherman Filterbank, and Mutronics Mutator. Besides sculpting, Shreve is affecting his synth signals with varying degrees of harmonic distortion. Many of the most respected electronic music records of yesterday year are admired not only for their beautiful compositions, but the organic sonic nature as a result of synths sounds reacting with transformers housed inside the large format recording consoles of their time. The reaction created rich harmonic overtones and complexity of tone that have made classic electronic records stand the test of time. Of course, these days many records are mixed in the box where synth sounds do not have the opportunity to interface with analog tubes and transformers. By incorporating outboard coloration devices into his production, Shreve truly blends the best of technology from the analog and digital worlds into his recordings.
After years of keeping his studio secrets to himself, Shreve embarked on a project this year to make many of his drum sounds available to his fellow electronic music Illuminati. His collection of meticulously tweaked drum sounds called Driven Machine Drums was released in a limited edition set by the US based company Tonebuilder. Soon after the drums collection was released in late fall of 09, Shreve found the set were selling at brisk pace and has no plans to re-release them when they sell out. “Once they sell out, Driven Machine Drums will not be available,” Shreve comments, “I want the artists to have something unique.”
Other tools at his studio are his trusty White Lines Audio model K near field monitors. For years he had used Yamaha NS10m passive near field monitors because they translated his mixes well to the mastering process. When NS10s became discontinued and harder to find, Shreve tested a pair of White Lines Audio speakers and was impressed by the fact the speakers had the same translation of the NS10Ms but with a greatly improved stereo image and better low end response. “The Model Ks are great for mixing and sound design,” Shreve remarks, “they tell me exactly what’s going on.”
The concept behind his latest endeavor will draw inspiration from playing live techno PA. Shreve laments, “I want move away from left-right linear time and focus on now, always now. The computer is going to act as a tape recorder only during performance.” His new record will incorporate hours of live tweaks and breaks edited into a ten minute track. Knowing his penchant for experimentation, the results will hardly be predictable.

James Curd

Remixing Groove Armada’s “I won’t kneel” amongst other new Greenskeeper cuts. The remix is simply amazing!!! Like Goldfrapp meets Siouxsie And The Banshees!!! Here’s a video of the original.

Groove Armada “I won’t kneel”

Check back for the GK version!

http://www.myspace.com/theboredofeducation

Featuring special appearances by Vampire Dan and Freddie Boom Boom

http://www.macabaret.com/

New modules from Radial – 500 series fans will be pleasantly surprised to find the same classsic Radial units JDI, Phazer and JDV available in the 500 series format. In additional several new modules are coming out like the Komit compressor and a new pre amp module

Ocean Way Audio has revamped there HR series far field monitors with the IMPACT series monitors. There Allen Sides designed beauties having stunning Frequency response + /- 2dB 18Hz – 20kHz
and Symmetry between channels +/- .5 dB 1k to 20kHz.

Thrive Audio showed off their latest in amplification and DJ filter technology. This amp is one of the best sounding amps for live applications I’ve heard in a long time.

The new Retro Instruments 2A3 Dual channel program EQ very interesting. Using Pultec style EQ curves and design improvements of the original version – the new versions offer great flexibility for tracking and mixing applications. I totally want one.

The Adam S3x version is the second generation of the S3A speaker which always struck me as a speaker that was in a class of its own. The new version is very high fi sounding, it made me want to listen some Billy Joel records.

www.myspace.com/yp27

The assistant engineer in Studio 10 has been repeatedly getting barbed with a line from the movie Planet Of the Apes, “You damn dirty ape.” He just did a bad patch, and the line was delivered courtesy of recording engineer Dave Rieley; Planet of the Apes is one of his favorite movies. Dave has been working a three-week long stretch at Chicago Recording Company (known as CRC) on the forthcoming record from the alternative rock band Kill Hannah. This is going to be one of the last sessions for Dave at CRC as he is moving to Los Angeles in a few weeks. He is certainly a busy man these days, in addition to engineering and producing his client’s albums, he’s also handling live recording duties for festivals at Coachella, Bonnaroo and Pitchfork. The extra work doesn’t bother Dave; he’s just as at home in the recording truck as a recording studio control room. His formula for success has been to embrace studio challenges with a robust sense of humor. With a long list of clients including Skillet, Jarvis Cocker, Dionsaur Jr. and Ramsey Lewis, his formula has been working well.
A lifetime music fan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dave decided to get serious about engineering six years ago. After studying with Dan Harjung, formerly the owner of the legendary rock studio Royal Recorders, he set out to work at the biggest studio in the Midwest. After looking around at his options, he eventually landed an interview at Chicago Recording Company. The studio manager, Chris Shepard spent an hour trying to talk Dave out of working in recording business. When he realized he couldn’t be dissuaded, Chris hired Dave as an intern. At the very least, he would have some free labor around the studio. After paying his dues for a year as intern, Dave proved to be a quick study and landed his first break. His colleague was hired to work as an engineer on Elvis Costello’s Deliveryman record and asked Dave to be the assistant engineer.
The Costello sessions were recorded at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, Mississippi with Producer Dennis Herring. Unlike many of the artists Dave had recorded previously at CRC, Costello had a more elaborate tracking scheme in mind for the record. He wanted to track to 2-inch tape for its sonic character, then tracks were to be transferred to Pro Tools HD for editing and finally, the tracks were transferred to a Radar system where it could be mixed through a Vintage Neve 8038 console. The hours Dave had spent practicing editing 2-inch tape in preparation came in handy as the sessions proved to be a high-pressure affair. Costello wanted spontaneous feel for the recording and would unexpectedly launch into a song at any given moment. One of these moments was as Dave was changing a 2-inch reel. As he threaded the tape and hit record, Costello shouts, “Go! Go! Go!” Dave captured it and after hearing it back, Costello decided to leave it on the record. The sessions were an important learning experience and influential for Dave’s future projects. He notes “Elvis was a consummate professional and working with him made everyone on the session raise the level of performance.” The production was a good warm up for the next major artist Dave would work with the following year.
Dave had been tapped to be the assistant engineer for Billy Corgan’s solo record, The Future Embrace. The record’s production was to be a departure from the big guitar and drum sound of Smashing Pumpkins by implementing a mighty arsenal of analog and digital synths. The sessions were unique because the featured five individual Pro Tools HD rigs set up so the composers at each station could simultaneously write music. All the Pro Tools HD stations were mixed through the SSL. Adding another dimension to the project was integrating the production work of Bon Harris of Nitzer Ebb. Bon would reprogram keyboard parts created with soft synths on a large modular synths. The Corgan sessions, “were a massive learning experience,” said Dave, “it was awesome to be a part of such a unique collaboration of such talented composers and engineers.” With all the composers, instruments and musicians involved it was a relief to find Corgan to be “very respectful” of the engineers on the project.
After several years of experience on sessions with major artists, Dave had become a favorite engineer among CRC’s clientele and was recruited to engineer for projects in Nashville and Los Angeles.
Recently, Dave was back in the studio with singer songwriter, Ted Wulfers. Dave had previously engineered his double album, Driving Barefoot. For his upcoming album, Dave joined Ted at Six Ton studios in Nashville. The studio features a one of a kind Inward Connections Tube console. The signal path of Class A tubes and Cinemag transformers proved to be perfect for capturing Wulfer’s Americana styled music. After working with Wulfers for several years, Dave has developed microphone techniques for best capturing his guitar. Dave uses a Mojave MA200, A Sennheiser MD421 and a Royer R121 through the pre amp on the Inner Tube console. The combination of microphones brings out specific characteristics of the guitar tone. Wulfers remarks about the sessions, “Dave truly knows how to get killer guitar tones and capture the perfect performance, his knowledge and skill shines through with his microphone placement and pre-amp, compression techniques. It made the guitars on this record sound huge – just like you’re standing next to the speaker.” The record is slated is set to be released this fall.
Between producing and engineering gigs, Dave can be found in the American Mobile recording truck at various music festivals around the country where he’s is the Live Mixer. He records the feed from stage to a Pro Tools HD rig. With more variables that could go wrong, live recording poses a different set of challenges. “It requires a different mindset, a heighted awareness and a lot of caffeine,” Dave says. “At any moment, something could go wrong that’s not in your control”. Luckily, he can rely on having great gear in the truck. Dave is especially fond of the 96 channels of True System Precision 8 Mic Pre amps, to which Dave remarks “the Precision 8 mic pre amps are exceptional for documenting live performance.”
As his own personal gear collection, Dave uses assortment of classic studio equipment. He has a small home studio which is mainly used for editing and overdubs, although sometimes uses his rig for mixing. As a longtime Pro tools user, Dave faced a decision whether or not to invest in a Pro Tools LE or HD system. The HD system was significantly more expensive but offered the scalability and higher resolution convertors needed for many of his projects. After comparing mixes through each type of Pro Tools system, he was surprised to find that he liked the sound of mixes from the LE system. Dave couldn’t believe his ears but was reassured after conferring with legendary engineer Richard Dodd. He pointed out that LE systems have lower harmonic distortion rates due to the floating point processing.. For monitors, Dave needed an accurate, reliable set of speakers which would translate on a wide variety of systems. After testing different powered monitors, Dave went with the classic pair of Yamaha NS10M and a Bryston 4BSST power amp. To augment the limited low-end response of the speakers, Dave found a rare Yamaha NSW10 Subwoofer (originally manufactured in the late 70’s) on EBay. The sub integrated perfectly NS10s. For compression, Dave has been using a Universal Audio Limited edition 1176AE compressor. He particularly fond of SLO feature (with the ratio set at 20:1) which he finds perfect for controlling dynamics when tracking vocals, “it has this ‘thing’ it does that nothing else does,” Dave says. Assisting him with his gear purchases is GC Pro. Having a GC Pro account manager at his service has been a big plus for gear purchases, “they always pick up the phone, if I need something – I get it right away.”
Through his diverse experiences with artists large and small, Dave has proved himself invaluable to his loyal clients. As Kill Hannah singer Mat Devine points out, “Dave is an extremely fast and professional engineer, with the deadlines we have, we couldn’t have finished the record without him.” With several projects lined for the summer in LA, Dave will have very little time to settle in, not that he’s complaining. Its proof positive that even in the changing times of the music business, there will always be a demand for first class engineering.

For more info on Dave Rieley – check out www.godaveygo.com