Prior to Beneath the Surface, we had only used synthesized strings, which had been sufficient for the electronic dance tracks we had produced prior to this EP. But with Beneath the Surface, we really wanted the rich textures that only real strings can provide.
Rich connected with composer JooWan Kim on Craigslist, of all places. They hit it off and were able to communicate musically right away. JooWan wrote 5 counterpoint accompaniments in ~2 weeks, an incredible feat, IMHO. Rich would convert the score files to MIDI and test drive the results with our songs. In each case, JooWan nailed it.
With string arrangements by JooWan in hand, Rich and I headed up to Berkeley, CA, to record the string quartet. It was also the first time that we were meeting JooWan in person. All of our prior dealings during the composition of the sting arrangements had been on-line or over the phone. So it’s was really exciting to meet the composer and to record the strings.
We arrived Friday nite, saying over a nite in SF with our good buds, Lisa & Ryan of Techno Squirrels. We had great Chinese food in China Town, and then went to City Lights Bookstore.
Rich, Lisa, Anna and Ryan in SF.
On Saturday morning, we all met at Reclaim-Music Studios, in Berkeley at 9am. After Valentino, the owner of the studio and the sound engineer setup and fine tuned the mics and positioned the players, the recording began.
Here are the members of the quartet: Adaiha MacAdam-Somer - Cello; Alexa Beattie - Viola; Liana Berube - Violin; Noah Strick - Violin
By 2pm, we were done and had cranked out 2-3 takes of all the pieces. The players, engineer composer were all really great, bringing their talents and good cheer to help Glycerin realize their musical goals.
Adaiha MacAdam-Somer, Noah Strick, Alexa Beattie, Liana Berube, Rich, JooWan Kim, Anna
It was a very successful trip, and it was so nice to work with folks that were so professional and kind. Rich and I are looking forward to the next trip up to Berkeley!