Session Files Vocals: Chris Robinson By Lisa Roy DATE: September and November 2003 STUDIO: Groove Masters and 4th Street Recording LOCATION: Santa Monica, California ARTIST: Chris Robinson & The New Earth Mud PROJECT: Cutting vocals with Chris on This Magnificent Distance, Vector Recordings PRODUCER/MIXER: Chris Robinson and Paul Stacey ENGINEER: Paul Stacey (except for "Mother of Stone" and "Like A Tumbleweed In Eden," produced and mixed by Ethan Johns and Chris Robinson, engineered by Ethan Johns) ASSISTANT ENGINEER: Bil Lane and Rich Tosi at Groove Masters; Neil Couser and Scott Wiley at 4th Street Recording "I think people will be surprised to know that we cut the record in a little over two weeks," muses Chris Robinson. After achieving multi-platinum success with the Black Crowes in the '90s, Robinson wowed us once again in 2002 with his first solo release. The follow up, This Magnificent Distance, is due to hit radio this month. True to his roots, Robinson delivers 13 tracks of mind-bending rock and pure psychedelic sonics. "The last record I made was in a little, dusty analog studio in Paris. I've learned a lot about what's going on in music in terms of how people are making records and what's important to them. When I was ready to do this record I definitely wanted to be in a bigger space with more air . . . I wanted a bigger band sound. The first one was more intimate, a Sunday morning kind of record. This one I wanted to be more dramatic and theatrical." Dramatic, theatrical . . . this record is like a 7-layer burrito - it's got all the right ingredients! Robinson was kind enough to share his secret recipe for delicious rock vocals with EQ. SIGNAL PATH "We set up in a room in Jackson Browne's studio, Groove Masters, and cut everything to Emtec 900 tape on the Studer A800-Mk III," shares Robinson. "No one makes their records to tape anymore. It took a couple days to love the machines back into wanting to sound good. But once we got up and going it was great. I did some of my vocals there using the Beyer M160. The vintage tube mics don't sound good on my voice because I'm a loud singer. I need a mic that can handle that. Any old ribbon is going to sound better on my voice because I'm that type of physical singer. We ended up using a few different ribbon mics." MIC TECHNIQUE When setting up for his vocals Robinson believes in the "less is more" theory. "At a certain point of a record I like to be in small spaces. At Groove Masters I did my vocals in their iso booth (12'x12'). At 4th Street Recording I set up in the main room (32'x14'). I don't see any reason to be in a gigantic room to do the overdubs. It's the inherent nature of the kind of music I'm interested in; it shouldn't be perfect. It should feel good, and being human we don't ever get perfect." PROCESSING "None at all was used . . . what's that for?" laughs Robinson. "You can hear technology making people sound good. Maybe the way we make records isn't as important as what is on the records and vice versa. The way we tour and the way we perform it's all part of what you're putting out there. I don't understand loving music so much if you have a computer do the work for you. And I'm not a 'Pro Tools is evil' guy. Pro Tools is an amazing tool. A hammer is a useful tool but you don't buy a bunch of hammers, throw them on the ground, and expect them to make a beautiful house. We try to make records as technically un-advanced as possible. It's about being in a kinetic creative space. We didn't have a lot of time to be in the studio on this record. The best way to work is to get in there and just let it go. So no processing was really used. A few times Paul [Stacey] would run my vocals through a Neve 1073 and an UREI 1176 but that's it." TRACKING JOURNAL Robinson's vocals on This Magnificent Distance have a certain physical immediacy that begs the production secret to his technique: "Not being precious with it and being in a natural place to deliver," confides Robinson. "Since I've become the primary songwriter, I find a different way to express myself. In my own little weird way the lyrics and the vocals on this record are probably my favorite that I've done as a whole." Robinson is quick to share the credit with his co-producers. "A few years ago, Paul and I first started working together at his studio in London and we got a good feeling of how it would be to work with each other. You have to be inspired by those moments and say 'we're speaking the same language and feel the same way about making records.' I had the exact same experience with Ethan [Johns], who co-produced two tracks on this record. They were both really easy to communicate with, real up front and honest about music and the different aesthetics we're trying to work into the records we're making. That's a great place of inspiration. This is truly about feeling validated by not just your talent but your creativity, imagination, and how in touch you are with different parts of how you feel. When we [the Black Crowes] were teenagers and selling millions of records every week - I started with the same ideas back then. A lot of things change in life; the one thing that doesn't change is that I love and respect the tradition I get to work in." This article originally appeared in the June 2004 issue of EQ . All rights reserved by CMP Information, Inc.