Some of the most fun recording sessions I’ve been involved with have happened outside the studio. However, recording on location isn’t only fun. It’s also a great learning experience for everyone involved. Every guerrilla recording session I’ve done has taught me something of lasting value. Most of all, location recording brings home to me how much effect the immediate environment has on what gets recorded.
I’m not just talking about acoustics here, although that’s undoubtedly important. I’m thinking of the ways in which our surroundings influence our behaviour.
For example, I’ve recorded in churches and chapels, but also in primary school classrooms. In both cases, the choice of venue goes a long way towards determining the vibe of the session. Places of worship instil a sense of respect and humility, even in artists who’ve never been to church in their lives. Going back to school triggers nostalgia, playfulness, and sometimes rebellion. I’m not sure I’d go to the lengths of seeking out murder sites or abandoned asylums to record in, but if you make a particular kind of music, I can well imagine that doing so would contribute to the desired atmosphere.
Studios too exert a psychological influence, though familiarity can make this easy to overlook. How many other creative workspaces are routinely built without natural light? And what is the impact of that decision on artists? Recording facilities in educational institutions are often well equipped, but they’re usually bland, impersonal, corporate environments. If no great records have been made in music tech departments, that’s not solely down to the artists or the production team.
Familiarity also makes it easy to ignore the ways in which studio design and layout shapes our own behaviour as engineers and producers. How many of our decisions are guided solely by sonic considerations, and how many by what’s easier or more convenient in our particular circumstances? Did we place that synth at the top of the rack because it’s our favourite, or do we use it most often because it happens to be at the top? Do we always set the drums up in that particular spot because that’s where they sound best, or just because we can easily see the drummer through the control‑room glass?
Leaving the comfort of the studio forces us to focus on what really matters: getting the best possible performance from the artist, and capturing it in a compelling way.
Leaving the comfort of the studio forces us to focus on what really matters: getting the best possible performance from the artist, and capturing it in a compelling way. And shouldn’t that always be the priority wherever we record? Julian Rodgers has distilled many years’ experience of location recording in his invaluable cover feature this month — and even if you never set foot outside the studio, it should be required reading.
Tracking Bands Outside The Studio
Sam Inglis Editor In Chief