Recording

Pioneering work in assistive technology is transforming the lives of people who are unable to play conventional musical instruments.

In 1956, Frank Sinatra revived his flagging career with an album that would define the swing sound and go on to become one of the most highly regarded in history. John Palladino, now in his 92nd year, was at the controls...

This month, we record a jazz big band on location, tracing the project from the planning stages through to delivering edited multitracks to the mix engineer.

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For many, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? is Oasis’s masterpiece. Producer and engineer Owen Morris tells us the story of its creation.

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When you’re recording away from the studio and under time constraints, you need to get the big decisions right — and not become bogged down in detail.

In this new column, engineers share their experiences of real-world recording sessions, explaining the decisions they made, and what went right and wrong along the way. First up, we record an indie-rock band on location...

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Although the shock value of its lyrics and ensuing censorship earned it notoriety, ‘Closer’ perfectly exemplifies Trent Reznor’s radical use of sampling and singularly focused musical vision.

Imagine mixing the world’s biggest bands in front of an audience of millions — with no soundcheck. It’s all in a day’s work for BBC in-house engineers.

The first marathon of the London Olympics took place not on the track, but in the recording studio. Jake Jackson was the man charged with recording 201 national anthems...

The unlikely result of a collaboration between two 4AD bands, the release of ‘Pump Up The Volume’ by MARRS was a great day for house music and copyright lawyers alike.

'Parisienne Walkways' showcased Gary Moore's virtuoso guitar work and quickly became his signature song. Its recording also provided a young engineer at Morgan Studios with his first, unexpected production credit.

Many musicians give great live performances when singing and playing guitar at the same time. So why not do it that way in the studio?

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Recording the White Album was a major project by any standards, not least for Ken Scott, who, at the age of just 21, found himself engineering the biggest band in the world...

'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' was a huge global hit, but it also represented a tour de force in coaxing the perfect vocal from a singer, as explained by producer Narada Michael Walden.

Soft Cell's cover of 'Tainted Love' not only catapulted the duo to stardom in the UK, but also went on to spend a record-breaking 43 weeks on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The story of Don McLean's 'American Pie' goes from cryptic beginnings to massive chart success, and an eventual position as a perennial US radio favourite.

This quirky instrument's versatility is making it popular — but how do you best record it?