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Released
Separately, 'Based On' and 'A true
Dream' make up Steve Kopandy's debut double album. Inspired by world
travels and living in Europe, this emotive journey through living,
loving and leaving comes with a photographic journey. So far it's
received great reviews in Australia and the USA.
Artwork Credits by Steve
Tim
Adams (Designer) and I worked several months coming up with artwork concepts and
refining them as the music developed. In the end, we decided to go with
photo collages, made up mainly of my travel shots in Europe from
2004-2008
 
Many
people think the cover shot is my home town of Newcastle, because of
the ships. It's actually Main Beach Barcelona.
The photo was
snapped by a couple of girls I met on a bike tour. It wasn't supposed
to be anything more than an average holiday shot. I think it's a great
representation of the record.
 
The back cover is a shot of the Berliner
Dom and Palast der
republik, with the Berlin TV
Tower behind, taken
2004. Palast der Repiblik is a communist era building which has been
dismantled due to asbestos (RIP). The red tinge came out naturally
because it was a faulty film taken with my old analogue camera (also
RIP).
 
Inside
the first booklet, the first shot was taken at Concorde, in
Paris.
The second is the Paris Opera House. The final shot
is me and
my friend Becky D at a bus stop in North London,
2005.
 
for
the 1997teen spread we decided to put photos of me and my friends in
our youth, to fit with the theme of the song. The 2 gorgeous girls in
the centre left are Meg and Sara, snapped at my
27th
Birthday in Newcastle. Top left is San and I in
Antwerp,
followed by some long exposure photography tricks by CJ and I
in
Newcastle. The ipod shot is Sarah N and I on the
Eurostar
to Belguim, DJ'ing a mix for each other. Below that is
Becky D
and I in the Trafalgar Square fountain late
one night
after a summer ball, splashing around like kids, and below that, me
hugging Becky D at my London farewell at my former local, The
Raven,
Stamford Brook, West London. The light, top right, shined
down from
the roof cavity of the original Motown Studio,
Detroit.
This is a pretty significant place as all Motown recordings were sent
through a speaker and picked up by another mic in this natural reverb
chamber, thus creating the distinctive sound that Motown became famous
for. Jordan Brown (one of the Based On Producers) used a similar tactic
on 'The Wire', by re-recording the song through mic'd up AM radios. The
little white specs are not falling stars, but falling snow one night in
Kew Bridge, West London,
where
I used to live.
This
is Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin.
Corona & Lime is set in Berlin, so we had to choose a shot form
there to go with the lyric. This one typifies it perfectly- I even
snapped it the actual morning that the song is set in. I didn't think
that much of the photo but When I showed Tim, he loved it. Couldn't
believe I hadn't put if forward for the artwork earlier. It was one of
the later additions to the booklet.
 
This
is Amsterdam Central Station. Just waiting for a
train to
Alkmaar so I snapped some shots. Tim did the cool photoshop edits.
 
Back
at the Bus stop in North London, this time with Ash
and Bec. It
was after midnight, waiting for the N52 to come, so we took about 50
photos. This was the cool arty 'money shot'.
 
The
first Panel in 'A True Dream' is a shot of me in a Tokyo
casino, by Tim Harris. We both loved this wall and the artwork and I
had a feeling it would end up in a CD somewhere. I don't know who the
aritist is. If anyone does, please let me know. On the right is Highgate
Underground station, North London in 2008. I'd
just
finished Rock Trivia at the Boogaloo with Ali Kerry, Ben Hutton, Ben
Capp and a few others. On my way home, fell in love with the lack of
advertising. It looked beautiful. The crowd spliced in between are
watching a live performance at Amoeba Records, Hollywood. I
was shopping there with my friend from LA, Nikhil Korula, and
performing was somebody recently inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of
Fame. But I can't remember who.
 
No
we're not in Amsterdam. On the left is
Kurashaki, Japan, and on the Right is Wels, Austria.
Both
of these shots taken on my world tour with Tim Harris in 2007. It was
6am and freezing in Austria as you can probably see. Tim and had no
sleep as we had just finished an Australia Day party with some locals,
and were really drunk, still.
Solerno,
Southern Italy. Get the ferry to Amalfi and you'll walk past
this
scene. I love the Amalfi Coast. I went back to Rome, picked up my
family and friends and went straight back there.
 
The
shot on the left was taken with my analogue camera in 2004. It was
August in the Netherlands, and I love this beach scene near Alkmaar,
not far from Amsterdam. On the right, I'm with Angie Graham
and
Chad mason, on the Gold Coast, Australia, somewhere
in the
corner of a cafe. Chad, Angie and I were doing shows in Brisbane and
hanging out with Angie's friends on the Goldie. Down the centre are
some photographs taken by Rachael Devlin in her Apartment in Carlton,
Melbourne. We were trying to get cover shots for A True
Dream but
it didn't work out. I like them here though.
 
Up
in the distance are Tim Harris and Meg Russel at Allawah
Station,
Sydney. We were heading into the City for a night out, and I
saw
this photo. I told them to walk ahead.
Recording Diary
1/1/06
NYE is usually a big night. I was in Belgium last year and touring with
Paperadio in Edinburgh in 04, so this year I went totally quiet and
stayed home on my own to write more lyrics, melodies and bridges for
some album songs. So I cracked a bottle of wine about 9pm, sat it on
the piano and bashed my way into 06! I’m really happy with what I
got that night - must have been that party atmosphere going on outside
helping me along!
4/1/06
Over the last couple of days I’ve been listening to my
inspirations, and composing/cataloguing loops and drum beats for the
first set of songs to be tracked. I made a loop and sped up one of my
piano ballads to play over the top of it, then decided to edit the
lyric and go for the more progressive version. This is turning out to
be a pretty fun part of the recording process.
21/1/06
Pro-Tools is like a producer's playstation. It's fun, addictive and you
need practice to get onto the scoreboard. The digital world opens up a
plethora of variables to the garden shed stargazer and the universe of
music making can be as daunting as it can be appealing. Sometimes I
just step aside, put my fingers back on the piano keys and pen a tune
while the computer is sleeping. Anything is possible, but so are the
good places you've already been.
7/2/06
I had Tim up on the weekend and we surprised ourselves at the quality
of the piano sound we got. I'm using a CADe300 for pretty much
everything - it's great for vocs. I grew up with a CAD in front of my
face at Rangemaster so I'm used to them. Wrote a new piano tune called
RSVP on Sunday night.
 6/4/06
Started the first of the studio work last weekend with David Carr at
Rangemaster in Melbourne. Tim Harris and I flew down for a quick 2 day
session in which we talked about the direction of the album, and put
together some drum tracks, a bit of bass and some synth. Still a long
way to go!
11/4/06
This weekend just gone I went to a Pat Pattison Songwriting seminar in
Sydney. I used some of the tools he taught us to rework a song (The
Wire) I've never been quite happy with. It took me 20 mins to rewrite
it and now I love it! Just spent the evening using MIDI on ProTools to
write some keyboard parts for this song.
17/4/06
I've done a few all-night demo sessions over Easter with Dean Glass in
Newcastle - and the music is vibing! Mainly doing layers of synth and
guitars on 6 potential album tracks. We've got the Roland JV880 working
and a JX3P. I'm not hugely proficient with synths but I'm learning
quick. The 7am finishes are a bit of a shock to the system- At least
there'll be not jetlag when I get to Chicago on Friday!
9/5/06
Over the last 2 weeks I've been driving around America listening to
heaps of 80's stuff and writing lyrics in my head. If I came up with a
good one, I'd pull over and take note of it. The songs were written
when I started this album, but have been rewritten a few times. Save
Me a Miracle is now about Beverly Hills, and Road
Trip is
not about a road trip anymore. Back into the studio tonight.
15/5/06
Okay so now Beverly Hills is a new song on its own
and save
me a miracle survives. Everyone likes Save me a
Miracle
except me, so I'll keep working on it. I also tried to rewrite Paris
into a song called 1997teen
but it looks like
that's another one of my rewrites which works as a brand new standalone
song. The upside is I'm gonna have about 20 songs to choose from for
the album, the downside is I don't seem to get any closer to finishing!
Dean and I are pulling some great sounds though. He recently acquired a
new ES Raptovibe. It's pretty cool sounding. Hmmm.. should I be giving
all my secrets away? Maybe I'll score an endorsement!
29/5/06
Got back from Melbourne a couple of days ago to continue working a
couple of songs with David. We worked on RSVP, pulled out a Yamaha
SK-10 String machine (i.e. something that Radiohead used on KidA I
think) and got it sounding really rich and good. Studio sessions with
David are pretty cruisy. Actually, on Friday morning I went to his
house instead and he gave me a history lesson on vinyl, starting from
late 70's, right through to late 80's. This was good in terms of
getting ideas and establishing a sound for the record. So to sum up
where we're at, Dean and I are pre-producing 16 Tracks in Newcastle,
and David and I are working on a couple of songs in Melbourne. I've got
a lot of lyric work to do.. I'm really putting a lot of time and effort
into this release so it better be good.
6/6/06
I tell ya this is hard work. Spent most of the weekend indoors writing
lyrics.
12/6/06
I tell ya this is hard work. Spent most of the weekend indoors writing
lyrics.
13/6/06
I drove to Sydney today and listened to all my album demos with the
vocals turned off. This is really good for driving and pretending
you're a rockstar. I found out I'm a good improvisor but I can't
remember anything I sung. Got home tonight and my 'Complete Rhyming
Dictionary by Clement Wood' has arrived from the USA. I've been writing
for years without one of these things so it better be worth the $8.
21/6/06
Rhyming dictionary was worth it. On my album, look out for such
dictionary inspired rhymes as "All" and 'Berlin Wall" and "Stonehenge"
with "Ryanair" (I know that one's a little dubious, and if you've never
left Australia you might not think these are real words, but they are.
And they rhyme- they do now okay). I wrote and reworked songs on the
weekend and also had my first crack at programming drums. It's very
difficult to tell drummers what to do, but not when they are a
computer. I found this refreshing.
 26/6/06
This is what my album looks like at the moment. Each white square is a
song. songs are positioned on the table depending on what they sound
like compared to other songs. To the top left are my rockier guitar
driven tunes and bottom right are piano ballads. The cluster in the
centre are songs with my new layered sound which I'll be centering the
album around. I'm trying to add synth and string elements, as well as
better basslines to the songs on the fringe to bring them into the
zone. The ones too far out in the corners will probably get dropped or
reworked. I like working like this because it lets my maths brain take
over when the creative gets overloaded. Laying things out logically
helps keep me focussed.
2/7/06
Coming up with lyrical concepts can be the hardest job. I've got
working lyrics for all my songs and am now in the process of bettering
them. In some cases this means starting from scratch on a completely
new theme. There's a song I'd tentatively entitled 'Mr Chicago' (about
Chicago) that I'd been fighting with for about 3 weeks. It wasn't until
I completely abandoned the original idea that I was able to better it.
I ended up writing about outer space. It still needs work... and may
end up going back to Chicago, but sometimes with music, the only way to
get where you want to go is the long way around.
10/7/06
Studio last night. Studio tonight. At the moment We're altering bass
and keyboard parts to try and get the demos sounding as good as
possible. PS Mr Chicago did indeed go back to being about Chicago. The
space thing was a bit ho hum.
17/7/06
I've borrowed a Korg DW8000 synth and am having a blast with that. Also
finding my feet with Pro-Tools Plug in 'Reason Adapted' and finding
some very cool sounds which I'm experimenting with.
31/7/06
The real thing has started. some of the demos are as good as they'll
get so I've set up new sessions on Pro Tools and copied the 2 track
demo versions in. Jeremy and I then went through each song and worked
out the final tempos of each song. we then worked out the formats
(verse chorus verse chorus bridge etc etc) and set up the markers and
click tracks. This weekend I spent most of Saturday recording all the
keyboard parts to midi. It roughly takes me about 2 hours per song -
I'm getting quicker with midi programming the more I do it. Another
session tonight to finish off some keyboards.
11/8/06
Drums have
started!
Today's a big milestone in the making of this album.
I’ve been
demoing
since the start of the year at home on my Pro Tools system, and more
recently at Jungle sounds in Newcastle. I’ve picked the first 10
songs and it’s all systems go from here.
At Jungle
Sounds
I’m working with a producer/writer called Jeremy Black. Some
technical info for those interested…
We're running
an
expanded pro-tools system (Version 4). I've also got my Imac G5 set up
in there and I'm running ProTools LE6 (Mbox2) from the same control
room. The reason we’re working on 2 systems is because the
expanded system has unlimited tracks, but the Imac and LE6 is quicker
for editing.
I picked the
best 10
Demos, imported them into new sessions in Pro-Tools LE, with the right
click times and format markers all set up for the real thing. I've put
down keyboard, bass, vocal and click guides over the last 2 weeks and
finished at 2am this morning getting everything ready for a big day.
Dean - Who
runs the
studio, is
conveniently a great drummer. We have a huge kit setup, all the usual
plus 4 rack toms and a stack of different cymbals and chinas. Not only
are we recording all the acoustic drum sounds, we are recording the
triggers to midi. This means for example that we can replace a snare
hit with a sampled or electronic sound, and change the velocity of the
hit, not to mention move it milliseconds earlier or later, or perfectly
quantize it. The beauty of triggering is that you have perfect
manipulative control over a drum track but it won’t sound
electronic or programmed, as it's been played in on drums. And you've
got all the natural room sounds and cymbal washes to go with it.
We used 2 Rode
NT1’s as overheads and ran them through some sweet sounding neve
preamps.
We took a feed
from the
Mbox guides into the soundcraft desk which runs the HD system, and then
sent it to Dean’s headphone mix. We recorded all the drums and a
2 track of the guides to HD, and simultaneously recorded the Triggers
to LE on my machine to line up with the guides.
It was a
pretty big
operation. We did 2-5 drum takes of each of the songs, starting at 10
am and finishing at 5, with no breaks.
There is so
much music
on my computer at the moment I don’t know what’s next.
Probably a lot of editing.
22/8/06
I don't mind editing drums. I've been doing a lot of it. spent several
hours last night proof listening to the songs and checking that
everything is in relatively the right place. Adding rides in bridges,
loops and triangles where needed and getting the feels right.
In
previous projects I've worked on I've sat back and let the producer
work his magic but for this project I am having a more hands on
approach. I rewrote the chorus to Chicago last night on a whim because
something wasn't quite right, and I've got the freedom to make these
last minute decisions. I also wrote 2 new piano songs on the weekend as
a break from the studio and computer work. Things are going good and
the album gets more exciting each day.
30/8/06
Dean's been sick so the Jungle's been quarantined for the last week and
a half, which has allowed me to get into lyrics and writing touch ups.
A few of these songs have come together in the studio and don't have
completed lyrics yet. As a writer, I can't get really excited about a
song until the lyric is finished. A lyric is like yeast. Your song
won't bake without it. Your beer won't brew until you've added the
vital ingredient.
6/9/06
Guitar week. I had Jeremy back in the studio to help with guitar
arrangements and Tracking. Dean did most of the playing - he's been
playing studio guitar and drums for years so he's pretty quick. We ran
through a pod line 6 rack thing. I've always worked with mics and amps
when in the band, but the pod's quick and easy and sounds great. The
songs I'm doing at Jungle are more keyboard centred so it's working
fine. We didn't do full takes, just put down parts. All was knocked
over in 2 quick evening sessions.
Now I've taken
my mac with all the sessions back home
to tackle more editing. Including all the midi parts, and individual
drum mic's I'm up to about 40 tracks per song now. It's all a bit of a
mish mash so last night I went through all the songs, labelled the
tracks properly, colour coded them and deleted the demos of parts we
have now recorded properly. Tonight I'll be grouping and editing. I
plan to put Bass down as early as next week. Josh Coombes will be
coming in to do the bass tracks- a great local player who's agreed to
be involved.
To add to the
commotion I'll be attacking 2 new
acoustic songs with Jordan Brown (From Glass Army) this Friday at his
place to see how they come up. Jordan's got a great production ear
(Listen to the Glass Army EP and Eve Gibson's ABC Music awards entry).
We had a listen to some of my homemade demos last Saturday night and
came up with some great ideas and approaches to the songs. Jordan's
also coming to Melbourne with me in 3 weeks time to hang out at
Rangemaster. I've got another 2 days booked with David Carr
to
work on 'RSVP' and 'Road Trip', which are both sounding great, as well
as possibly attacking another tune or two.
At the moment
I'm having a great time working with
different writers/engineers/producers; David Carr, Dean Glass, Jeremy
Black, and now Jordan Brown. I'm learning a lot and getting a lot of
hands on experience. I'm constantly making music outside of work hours
these days. I've always got someone to work with! The album is
beginning to forge its way towards an established sound but its still
got a bit more identity to find. I find that doing hands on work with
different producers gives me good options- It leaves no creative stone
unturned and I'm learning heaps. In the end I'll have a lot of tracks
to choose from and will get one producer to mix and compile the album.
I'm not sure who this will be.
I tend to
ramble in this blog a lot and always seem to
be jumping between producers and studios. Hopefully this explains it!
14/9/06
Got home at 4am this morning after knocking over bass on 7 tracks, in 7
hours. Big thanks Josh was grooving and thumping well into the early
hours- And he's never heard the songs before. Top job. Also to Alex
Bulley who loaned me his sweet Ampeg B2R Pre. It kept us nice and warm.
My Early picks for the killer bass tracks are "Falling Stars" and "The
Rock&Roll Life". Actually, these 2 tracks are coming up
amazingly
all over. Even with a lot of editing and mixing yet to be done.
Missed my
session with Jordan last weekend due to sick
and tiredness. I'm all better now and am off to Sydney this weekend for
2 days of grand piano tracking with Tim Harris, then will be working
with Jordan the following weekend on those acoustic numbers. Stay
tuned... This is getting riveting!
19/9/06
Piano went well. I simply put 2 Rode NT1's (I hate rode mics) in a
grand piano (one up top, one down bottom) on a wooden floor in the
foyer of the Arts Quarter at St Paul's Grammar School near Penrith, and
pulled a great sound first go. I spent 2 days playing and
recording. Then I spent Monday editing. Some of it sounds so sweet it
could melt toffee.
26/9/06
I worked on the tracks with Jordan Brown on the weekend. Jordan's got a
small setup at his house in Newcastle so I took some mics and
instruments around and we knocked over some stuff. I used my taylor 414
acousitc, mic'd up with my Cad e300, a Rode NT1 and a Behringer C2. The
behringer sounded very nice for what it is. Probably the best value
money condenser you can get - $90 a pair. The songs are 'Crawl' - which
may turn into quite a large rock number, and 'The Wire' which is a song
we're trying to get the perfect vibe to... It's a song about insommnia
so we're trying to screw it up a bit production wise and make it sound
like it's being delivered by someone who's lacking sleep. I did the
vocal lying down- on a very hot day. 2 days studio time in Melbourne
this weekend.
6/10/06
In
June I
wrote a song about writing songs on planes.
The
0620
Jetstar from Newcastle to Tullamarine – the last 2 times
I’ve taken this flight I’ve worked on a lyric - the chorus
to ‘Road Trip’. I remember writing the first verse of this
song in the middle of the night on a United flight to LA in April, so
most of the song was written on planes… and its called Road
Trip… go figure.
Arriving
in
Melbourne, Jordan (who came along to observe and help out in the
studio) and I made the long bu s/train
trip to the other side of
the city. We met David at Bayswater (a suburb in the east that has
neither a bay, nor water) had breakfast, listened to some demos and
then made our way to the studio to spend the afternoon recording piano
(Classic Audio – in the home of this nice talkative bloke called
Steven). I played a Brother 6’3. We spent about 5 hours tracking
and it sounded amazing enough to put Jordan to sleep, but that probably
had more to do with the early flight we came in on. Tracked the piano
to 2 songs: 'Lost your Mind' and 'Corona & Lime'
After
the
days work, we went back to David and Caz’s place at Belgrave for
some food, and then on to Henk’s up the road (where I often stay)
- and I got to play his Faber upright piano again, always a highlight
of a Melbourne trip.
Sunday
we
went back to Rangemaster studios and recorded the (newly written) vocal
to Road trip. We figured if we didn’t record it today, I’d
never stop rewriting it. As is usually the case with working with
David, I’ll come with an idea and we’ll often manipulate it
a bit, or come up with new ideas to complement it. It’s good to
have fresh ears on your song. And for the first time ever, I recorded
vocals in the control room without headphones on. We were just
monitoring like normal and there really wasn’t a lot of spill
into the mic. It’s nice to be in the same room and to not have
the cans. It’s a bit freer. For a song like Road Trip, it works.
When
Road
Trip was mostly done we recorded the RSVP vocal. I did this in 2 takes.
The song sounds stunning. The SK25 string machine in the chorus is gold
– can’t wait for you to hear it.
We
stayed
with my friends Beth and Rach on Sunday night. Beth got up at 5am and
made us breakfast. The cheap flights are early. Back in Newcastle by
8.30am. Usually the time I get out of bed - on a weekday!
It’s
tough going to Melbourne for 2 days. It feels like you’re just
getting started and then you have to go home again. But at least
we’re a step closer to finishing the album.
18/10/06
Dean
loaned
me his studio for the weekend and I went about replacing and perfecting
keyboard parts and sounds, and did some dabbling with some electronic
and synth layers. Midi is a brilliant invention and I can't believe I
only discovered it this year.
26/10/06
I'm getting a bit nervous. What is this album going to sound like in
the end? How will it all flow together theme wise, lyrically,
musically? Is it a good reflection of me? The beauty of having spare
songs is you can choose your compilation, but the extra choice means
more decisions to make. David Carr (Melbourne Producer) told me not to
worry about this yet... just get the songs well produced and put your
best foot forward. Fact of the matter is I'd love to do this for
another 18 months but its been long enough already. I need to get this
thing out because I need to. There comes a point when you can take
something too far. I'm a singer/songwriter and I need a good album and
a good live show. At the moment I am working towards both, but it's
about time I look a laxative and released all this shit... dumped it on
the world.
6/11/06
4 more tracks down!
Melbourne trip
No 4. Arrived
last Monday night and started working with David at Rangemaster on
Tuesday. We finished Road Trip and RSVP and did rough mixes, both of
which are sounding completely stunning. For RSVP we pulled apart the
old Piano and plucked the strings with a guitar pick to create the
perfect 'that's the last thing the song needed' layer. sometimes you'll
get to the end of a song and it will be missing something. David is
good at working out what it is using pulled apart pianos or computers
from the 80's. On Thursday we were working at David's Museum (house).
He has an old Commodore 64 computer in full working order so loaded a 5
1/4 floppy disk with a music program and played some melodies using the
the computer keyboard. Unfortunately the Commodore 64 is not compatible
with Pro Tools 6 (No Really???) so we had to mic it up. The result was
a sound that you'll never be able to pick unless you read this blog.
Look out for it on a track called Crawl.
 David also spent 3
hours editing a piano track I laid down on the last trip. I now sound a
million dollars. Only those that read this blog will realise I can't
really play paino in time with a click. Nobody else will ever know!!!
hehehehe insert evil laugh. This song (Lost Your Mind) also needed
another part so David put down a chimey Coldplayesque guitar lick over
the chorus and I was dancing around the room saying - That's it, that's
it! Lost Your mind has shined up really well.
I have chosen
the person I will
be getting to mix the album... Phil Butson, also from Melbourne. Phil
used to own half of sing sing studios so he's had years of experience
with top line gear. He's now left to pursue his own music and passions
and David suggested approaching him to mix my album. I went to his
place on Saturday for a few hours and we pulled some rough mixes and he
showed me all the plug-ins he has. I'm really confident Phil's going to
do a great job of bringing it all together (which will be a tough job
considering it has 3 different producers). We'll be mixing in Pro Tools
on version 7 at Phil's place starting December 9.
After a big
Saturday night in
Melbourne catching up with friends, I took the 1140 Jetstar back to
Newcastle, had lunch with the family and then went for a Coffee with
Dean to plan the coming 4 weeks leading up to the mix. Tonight I'll be
replacing some drums at the Jungle, and tomorrow working with Jordan
tracking vocals. A big 4 weeks working to a pretty tight scheduele. We
also have to fit in BVs, extra keyboards (again) and rough mixes.
I'll keep you
posted.
Steve
David and John
hard at work. 
14/11/06
I haven't had
a night off since
I got back from Melbourne. I've been recording vocals with Jordan and
still editing and putting the last few layers over the songs that
Jeremy is producing.. He won't let me move on until everything is done-
It will be nice to sing to perfect tracks all roughly mixed. Jordan is
also pretty pedantic about sound, making me re-sing parts that I can't
really hear anything wrong with... or any difference. I don't have the
ears of a good producer so It's good the have 3 guys telling me I'm not
finished when I think that I am. It's going to be a slick sounding
record.
Things coming
together well but
I still can't describe exactly how this thing is going to sound.
More vocals at
Jordan's
tonight, taking a night off Wed, doing some submixes with Jeremy at
Dean's on Thursday and a full weekend of studio time booked.
21/11/06
Couldn't sleep
last night. The
album was churning in my brain. Every 10 mins I'd turn the light on and
write a backing vocal part, or fine tooth comb a lyric.
Last night I
also began
thinking about a tracklisting and order for the album. What song first
and what's the lead single? What songs are brothers, both lyrically and
musically... and what songs stand out on their own etc etc. The final
cut and order won't be decided until shortly before mastering though...
and compiling is another story. Haven't lost enough sleep over vocals
yet.
At the Jungle,
we've just
finished rough mixing the 5 songs we're working on, minus the vocals
and percussion. Jeremy very keen for the songs to be vibing in the cans
(headphones) for when I put the vocals down (I start vocals on these 5
on Thursday), which is great for me as a singer. The best thing to
inspire a great vocal is hearing your new song in its entirity while
you're singing it.
Also last
week, my good friends
at ABC Newcastle put some effects on 'The Wire' for me. Jeff (The
Technical guru) ran it through a few compressors to try and give this
song an authentic AM radio feel. Jordan will be working on blending the
AM Compression with the clean recording to create some interesting
effects. He's got some cool ideas up his sleeve.
The Wire (a
song I'm quite
excited about) works on a few levels. It's a song about insommnia
(relevant hey), being 'wired', but also about the wire being a form of
communication, like a radio, or some sort of link to the outside world.
I'll leave it at that for now. We'll see how it comes up.
big week ahead.
byezzzzzzz.
24/11/06
Sneak Preview
of the Wire!
We've decided to air this song on ABC Newcastle next week. It's not
totally finished, but that's why we're airing it.
In addition to
adding the
compressed AM effect, we've decided to actually air it because we want
to experiment with tuning in and out of the song, so when the song is
played we'll be armed with a few radios, with microphones on them,
mucking around with the tuning and recording it live back into the
computer. The effect we're predicting will be pretty cool when it's all
mixed properly.
For those
locals that want to
be the first to hear an unfinished track from the new album, tune into
AM1233 ABC Newcastle between 3.30 and 4pm This Tuesday 28 November.
This is a one off opportunity - hope you like the track!
25/11/06
The Wire aired
on tuesday
afternoon as scheduled. We had 3 radios mic'd up. Right on cue, a big
thunderstorm ripped through Newcastle, creating extra static on the
radio from the lightning strikes- It was one of those freak
occurrances. Jore's doing a bit of last min mixing it into the song and
it's come up beautifully. Cheers to Geoff Overmyer, Aaron Carney,
Madeline Randall and Lucia Hill at ABC Newcastle who got this organised
for me.
The Wire is
finished now and
I've been working on vocals and harmonies this week. Got a sax player
coming in tonight to add a what I'm gonna call a 'Christopher Cross
between the moon and NYCesque vibe' solo on a song called 45 to
Amsterdam. It was Jeremy's idea to have the sax, and I tracked him
singing the part last night. Ever heard someone sing a sax solo? It's
pretty funny.
On the weekend
I brought Jore
into the jungle to produce vocals for Falling stars and to lay down
some drum tracks - Road Trip and Lost Your Mind. These had drum loops
on them but sometimes you have to have the real thing. The songs are
gonna shine with real drums
Photos below
of the Jungle.
Drop by if you can sing. I'm kinda over it.
8/12/06
This week
started with a Sax
player. Tom Williams came in to the jungle and tracked the sax part
from hell (or heaven, whichever you like). It was oh so fine.
Out with the
Sax in with THE
Marissa Saroca, who sung like an angel (or devil, no... definitely
Angel this time) over 2 nights. I've since listened back to the 200 or
so times I made her sing Corona and Lime and picked the best takes.
This song was one of my favourites since I wrote it. This song flowed.
After this
vocal session, I
packed up my computer and said goodbye to the Jungle studio. My work
there is done (for this year). It was hard to leave. Sort of like
closing night. I'll be back soon.
Recorded more
vocals at home on
Wednesday night and started editing a piano track. I continued editing
this piano on Thursday afternoon and then went to Jordans on Thursday
night to take delivery of his production masterpiece 'The Wire'. While
we were formatting hard drives and transferring files, I was still
editing that bloody piano track. We finished with a bass part to
1997teen and then it was time for Jore to sign off. He's been great
through this whole process. Patient with the songs, and patient with my
last minute direction changes. David Carr, Dean Glass and Jeremy Black
will know exactly what I'm talking about here.
Tonight I pack
and relax.
Melbourne on the good old 0620 Jetstar tomorrow- armed with a fully
tracked album - in hand luggage of course.
18/12/06
Today I
announced on Myspace
and stevehere.com that I have turned all the above into a double album!
I have been thinking about doing this for a few months now and only
decided that it was going that way last week for certain. That's at
least 16 songs (possibly 18) to be released by me in 2007- And if
you've been following this blog, you'll know where they've come from.
Last Saturday
I arrived in
Melbourne and spent 2 days at my friends home studio tidying up some
final parts, and editing that bastard piano track.
Monday I
arrived at Phil
Butson's home studio 'The Black Box' and we spent 4 days mixing 9
songs- the songs which will be on my first album 'Based On'. Finally as
it all came together I was able to appreciate the vibe of the album.
It's very melancholic. It's the breakup album from Hell. A lot of songs
I had fell into this category so I decided to group them together and
keep them separate from the happier synth and guitar pop stuff (They'll
be put on the second Album.
And Phil was
great. We played
some racket ball, had big late breakfasts, nice dinners cooked by Chris
his wife, and we got a shitload of work done, mixing 9 tracks in 4 days
start to finish. And they've scrubbed up beautifully. Phil is really
pedantic about small things... Mainly P's B's and S's on the vocal
track. He would often perform surgical operations removing them on
pro-tools, usually using fading and volume tricks. 'Sure' I sat there
thinking - 'sounds bloody alright to me!'
Sat night I
went up to Belgrave
to visit David Carr and Tim Harris and hear some of Tim's album (which
sounds stunning as I expected it would) and to play them my finished
mixes. It was so good to hear this thing finished through David's
speakers in his loungeroom. I was nervous. The culmination of over a
years writing and recording- all coming to a heads. Tim loved it, and
apart from a couple of mix issues, David was well pleased too,
particularly with Crawl which has scrubbed up so sweet.
Merry Chrissy
everyone,
Mastering late December.
31/12/06
Falls to You,
The Wire and
Corona went up on myspace just before Christmas! So good to have some
of the songs finally heard by eager friends and fans, and give them a
taste of what's to come on the album. I've also played the whole album
to a number of friends and it's being met by really good feedback from
all (although the non friends and the industry is where the real
feedback kicks in.
It's a year
since my first
entry. 2006 had been well documented. I have an artwork meeting with
Tim Adams today (the third in as many days) to do all the final
adjustments. The art is photographic and European flavoured. Lots of
natural shots and collages of locations, mainly stuff I snapped myself
in Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam and London. I am also compiling
the album today with Dean and doing a rough master ready for pressing
(I plan to master both albums together when the second is complete).
The first run of CD's will go to press on Tuesday. Still ringing around
getting prices. It's a painful task. I want this thing finished!!!
I approached
Ben and Ian (my
old band mates from Paperadio) to use an old Paperadio song on the
album (which was never released) It's called Fever and it fits the vibe
of the album really well. I'm really glad to be able to incorporate it.
It replaces RSVP... A song that needs more work and may be remixed for
the second album. I now have 9 songs that I am crazy about. I love them
all.
I've had a
real hands on role
in the making of this album. My last EP was a little rushed and I
didn't get to tailor it exactly how I would have liked to. I've
produced much of this record, and the artwork, and have made sure I'm
happy with everything. I hope its an album I'm proud of in years to
come.
I spent
Yesterday listening to
all the songs and deciding on the final track order. I made a snap
decision at the last minute to move The Wire from 3 to 6, and move
1997teen up to 3. The main reason is that the right song has to follow
the right song. The Wire runs perfectly into Fever, and 1997teen was a
bit out on its own at track 5. I have made the album work in peaks and
flows dynamically. It starts at the bottom of a hill, peaks at the end
of track 3, then rolls down into track 5 (Corona & Lime), picks
up
again at the Wire, Peaks again at Fever and then rolls out to a fairly
upbeat ending with Lost Your Mind.
Final
Tracklisting:
01
Paris in
the Winter, 02 Falls To You, 03 1997teen, 04 Falling Stars are breaking
up, 05 Corona & Lime, 06 The Wire, 07 Fever, 08 It All Broke
Down,
09 Lost Your Mind.
Happy New
Year! We're almost
finished.
6/1/07
I mastered the
album with
Genevieve Maynard at Revolution Mastering in Sydney. Genevieve was
excellent to work with and polished up the final CD nicely. I've now
heard these songs thousands of times. They've come up so well. It's an
album I'm sure I'm gonna love long after I'm due a new one, as it's so
honestly me.
I should also
mention Tim
Adams. He's my graphic designer and he has produced a fantastic final
product for the artwork. We worked together on this but I couldn't have
done it without him. I can't wait for the world to see it.
The CD will go
to press on
Monday.
5/3/07
I'm so happy
with it. It's very
me at the moment. I was uninhibited with the post production, the
artwork and the way to launch it. It's all flowed together like a
dream. Can't wait to finish off part 2.
8/11/08
I'm back on
this page updating
ready for the Release of a True Dream. We did a True Dream differently.
Producer asked for the secrets not to be revealed. Sorry!
Production Credits
Song The Paris Maze
Track 1
Producer Steve Kopandy
Writer Steve Kopandy
Piano Steve Kopandy
Piano Type Kawai Grand
Piano Engineering Steve Kopandy
Piano mics Rode NT1A (x2)
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Studio Project
Vocal Production Phil Butson
Recording location St Pauls Grammar, Sydney, The Black Box, Melbourne
Writing Location Paris, London and Newcastle
Song Falls To You
Track 2
Producer David Carr
Writer Steve Kopandy
Drum Programming David Carr
Bass David Carr
Synths Steve Kopandy/David Carr
Programming David Carr
Acoustic Jordan Brown
Acoustic type Taylor 414
Acoustic mics Cad e300
Electric David Carr
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e300
Vocal Production Jordan Brown
Recording location Rangemaster, Melbourne, Jordan's House
Writing Location Coffs Harbour, Newcastle
Song 1997teen
Track 3
Producer Steve Kopandy
Writer Steve Kopandy
Drums Tim Harris/David Carr
Drum Programming Steve Kopandy
Bass Jordan Brown (Samick)
Piano Steve Kopandy
Piano Type Kawai Grand
Piano Engineering Steve kopandy (St Pauls Grammar)
Piano mics Rode NT1A (x2)
Keyboard Steve Kopandy
String arrangements Steve Kopandy (Roland D50 and Reason Adapted)
Synths Steve Kopandy (Reason Adapted)
Programming Steve Kopandy
Acoustic Steve Kopandy
Acoustic type Taylor 414
Acoustic mics Cad e300, Rode NT1A
Vocals Steve kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e300
Vocal Production Steve Kopandy
BV's Steve Kopandy
BV production Steve Kopandy
Recording location St Pauls Grammar, Penrith, jungle Sounds Newcastle,
Rangemaster Melbourne, Jordans house, Steve's House
Writing Location Ohio Turnpike, Ohio, Indiana and Chicago
Song Falling Stars are Breaking up
Track 4
Producer Steve Kopandy
Writer Steve Kopandy
Tambourine Jordan Brown
Bass Jesse Delaney
Keyboard Steve Kopandy (Hammond)
Acoustic Jordan Brown
Acoustic type Taylor 414
Acoustic mics Cad e200, Rode NT1A
Electric Phil Butson
Electric Type 80's Gibson Les Paul Special (with Ebow)
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e300
Vocal Production Steve Kopandy
BV's Steve Kopandy
BV production Steve Kopandy
Recording location Jungle Sounds, Newcastle, The Black Box Melbourne,
Jesse's House, Melbourne
Writing Location Newcastle
Song Corona and Lime
Track 5
Producer Steve Kopandy
Writer Steve Kopandy
Piano Steve Kopandy
Piano Type Brother 6'3
Piano Engineering David Carr
Piano mics Neumann KM85 (x2), AKG c451 (x2)
Synths Steve Kopandy (Korg 3000 analogue synth)
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e300, Rode NT1a (BV's)
Vocal Production Jordan Brown
BV's Marissa Saroca
BV production Steve Kopandy
Recording location Classic Audio, Melbourne, Jesse's House,
Jordan's House, Jungle Sounds Newcastle
Writing Location On the train from Berlin to Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Newcastle
Song The Wire
Track 6
Producer Jordan Brown
Writer Steve Kopandy
Drums Jordan Brown
Drum Programming Steve Kopandy
Bass Jordan Brown
String arrangements Steve Kopandy
Synths Steve Kopandy
Acoustic Jordan Brown
Acoustic type Taylor 414
Acoustic mics Cad e300
Electric Jordan Brown
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e300
Vocal Production Jordan Brown
BV's Steve Kopandy
BV production Phil Butson
Recording location Jordan's House, The Black Box.
Writing Location London
Song Fever
Track 7
Producer David Carr
Writer Ben Hutton, Ian Hutton
Drums Matt Slavin
Bass David Carr/ Ian Hutton
Acoustic Ben Hutton
Acoustic type K.Yari
Acoustic mics Can't remember
Electric Corey Sleap, David Carr, Ian Hutton
Electric Type Can't Remember
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e200
Vocal Production David Carr
BV's Ben Hutton, David Carr
BV production David Carr
Recording location Rangemaster, Melbourne
Song All Broke Down
Track 8
Producer Steve Kopandy
Writer Steve Kopandy
Acoustic Steve Kopandy
Acoustic type Taylor 414
Acoustic mics Rode NT1a, Cad e200
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e200
Vocal Production Jordan Brown
Recording location Jungle Sounds, Newcastle
Writing Location South London
Song Lost Your Mind
Track 9
Producer David Carr
Writer Steve Kopandy
Drums Jordan Brown
Drum Programming Phil Butson
Bass David Carr (Ibanez Lawsuit Jazz 1975)
Piano Steve Kopandy
Piano Type Brother 6'3
Piano Engineering David Carr
Piano mics Neumann KM85 (x2), AKG c451 (x2)
Synths David Carr (Korg Poly-61)
Acoustic David Carr
Acoustic type Maton 534
Acoustic mics AKG c1000
Electric David Carr
Electric Type (1971 Ibanez Les Paul Recording, magnatone 480amp)
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Vocal Mic Cad e300
Vocal Production Jordan Brown
BV's Chris Butson
BV production Phil Butson
Recording location Classic Audio, Melbourne, David's House,
Melbourne, Jordan's House, Jungle sounds,
Newcastle, The Black Box, Melbourne
Writing Location London, Newcastle and Melbourne
Song Breaking Boundaries
Track 10
Producer Steve Kopandy
Writer Steve Kopandy
Drum Programming Steve Kopandy
Keys Steve Kopandy
Vocals Steve Kopandy
BV's Chris Butson
BV production Phil Butson
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle, The Black Box,
Melbourne, Ben Hutton's House, London
Writing Location In my apartment in Shadwell, East London
Song Rock'n'Roll, Soho and the Coffee
Track 11
Producer Jeremy Black
Writer Steve Kopandy
Drum Programming Dean Glass
Bass Josh Coombes
Keys Steve Kopandy
Guitars Dean Glass
Vocals Steve Kopandy
BV's Dean Glass
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle
Writing Location Vancouver, Canada, Springwood,
Australia, London, England
Song Falling Stars
Track 12
Producer Jeremy Black
Writer Steve Kopandy, Jeremy Black
Drums Dean Glass
Bass Josh Coombes
Keys Steve Kopandy
Guitars Dean Glass
Vocals Steve Kopandy
BV's Dean Glass
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle
Writing Location Newcastle, Australia
Song Amsterdam
Track 13
Producer Jeremy Black
Writer Steve Kopandy, Jeremy Black
Drums Dean Glass
Piano Steve Kopandy, Dean Glass
Keys Steve Kopandy
Vocals Steve Kopandy
BV's Dean Glass
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle
Writing Location Berlin, Germany, Amsterdam,
Netherlands, Newcastle, Australia
Song Castle
Track 14
Producer Jeremy Black
Writer Steve Kopandy, Jeremy Black
Piano Steve Kopandy
Keys Dean Glass
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle, The White Room, Newcastle
Writing Location Newcastle, Australia
Song Two Knees
Track 15
Producer Jeremy Black
Writer Steve Kopandy, Jeremy Black
Drums Dean Glass
Bass Josh Coombes
Keys Steve Kopandy, Dean Glass
Loops David Carr
Vocals Steve Kopandy
BV's Dean Glass
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle, Rangemaster, Melbourne
Writing Location Newcastle, Australia
Song Miss Delicate
Track 16
Producer Jeremy Black
Writer Steve Kopandy, Jeremy Black
Drums Dean Glass
Bass Josh Coombes
Keys Steve Kopandy
Vocals Steve Kopandy
BV's Dean Glass
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle,
Writing Location Newcastle, Australia, Detroit and Toledo, USA
Song RSVP
Track 17
Producer David Carr
Writer Steve Kopandy
Rhodes Steve Kopandy
Harpsi-Piano David Carr
Keys David Carr
Vocals Steve Kopandy
Recording location Melbourne, Australia
Writing Location Newcastle, Australia
Song First Kiss
Track 18
Producer Jeremy Black
Writer Steve Kopandy, Jeremy Black
Drums Dean Glass
Bass Josh Coombes
Keys Steve Kopandy
Guitars Dean Glass, Steve Kopandy
Vocals Steve Kopandy
BV's Dean Glass
Recording location Jungle sounds, Newcastle
Writing Location Newcastle, Central Coast, Australia
Thankyous
(My extensive list)
Andrew Morse and Wenny
Jordan Brown
Ian Hutton
Roma Waterman
Tellina Zink
Joel Duncombe
Matt Slavin
Stephanie Bradley
Gra Seaton
Jamie and Robyn McAlpine
Sanne Van Craeyevelt
Tim Harris
Bernie Gardner
Owen Thomas
Dean Glass
Jeremy Black
Linsey J Wilson
Terence Koo
Me-Shell Croker
the Holmstrom Family
David Carr
Rick Reeves
Mark McKeown
Ben and Sim Hutton
Nathanuel Kelly
Tristan Maguire
Pete McMurray
Marissa Saroca
Jesse and Al Bulley
Sara Hayes
Phillipa Galligan
Sarah Livesley
Raoul Graf
Sam Hilton
Leanne Page
Megan Duncan
Adam Clough
Dylan Purvis
Vesna Rafaty
Joel Colethorpe
Lucy Hunt
Jeff Thompson
Dave Nelson
John Ruberto
Chad Mason
Alison Kerry
Vendy Matechova
Chloe Ledley
Wankie girl and Becky D
Chris Van Den Hengel
Phil and Chris Buston
David Kennedy
Adam Gilmour
Jamed Hariman
Alex Cameron
Sven Tydeman
Lyn Kirk
Tom Williams
Kevin Farrell
Belle Leplau
James Hariman
Brad and Beth Staines
Carolyn Oates
CJ Nash
Bronwyn Feeny
Ben Capp
Jill Baldwin
Anita Bilic
Marte Bilic
Tim Adams
Yeohan Kim
Lisa Eneroth
Tim Way
Laura Walsby
Amanda and Erik Lennestall
Kate and Ben Field
Sat Bisla
Kate Thompson
Cathy Walker
Pete Wilson at Diskbank
Dead Day Sun
Lisa and Peter and Albi Glennie
Blake Maxted
Kathryn Mohr
Bruce Rave
Keith Armitage
Angie Graham
Darwins Deli
Dean Mason
Cath Mead
Lisa and Rachel Glass
Corey Sleap
Daniel Peterson
Brooke Gorman
Sarah Nicholson
Nick Gibson and Kat
Francine Bell
Lydia Wilson
Mara Hitner
Janelle and Phil Harper,
Genevieve Maynard
Ian and Sarah Thurgood
Stefanie Panaccio
Kristoffer and Yvette Paulson
Lydia Bach
Marina Sans
Trixie Coffee and the Detroit people
The Hoovers and The Meijers
Paula Bel
Braden Kuhlman
The Cosmo Show
Rachael and Bethany Devlin
Geoff Overmyer
Bill Rich
Aaron Carney
Jordan Collier
Isaac Harvey
Phil Gentile
Tony Moore
Carla Sharpe
Adam Aduckewicz
Sheila Vijeyarasa
Najma Zaman
Daniela Hogger
Yeohan Kim
Gary Chen
Deborah Bull
Daren Chan
Crystal Pollock
Nikhil Korula
John Gus
Duncan Hale
Holly Stenning
Zelda Sheldon
Jade Lazarevic
Sarah-Kate Scicluna
Kieren Wicks
Daniel Ball
Stephanie Bradley
James Byron
Madeline Randall
Kat Holloway
Stanley Brain
DEUS
Mick Edser
Elise Hoedemakers
Eloise Beech
Alyece Shaw
Richard Mannah
Paul Stockbridge
Chris Duffy
Deidre Chojenta
Isobel Rose
Lynsey Quirke
Carina Jirsch
Kiralee Anniwell
Nermin Evmez
Michael Gadd
Eve Gibson
Henk Fluit
Cd baby
Lara and Em Horncastle
Al Lee
Greta Jones
Ngaire Smith
Matt Kennedy
Geoff Mascord
Michael Wrathall
Brad Higgins
Mum and Dad
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