Artist Recording, Mixing and Mastering
‘Whiskey and Speed’ 6 track EP
I recently recorded and mixed this 6 track EP for notorious Brisbane punk band ‘Whiskey and Speed‘ who have recently disbanded after 10 years of terrorising the Brisbane underground live scene due to guitarist Ben moving to Canada. Please have a listen to four of the mastered tracks below (WARNING: Explicit lyrics contained in some of the tracks),:
‘Sweetness’
‘Metaphor’
‘Completely Professional’
‘Song Generator’
Part of this project was also the creation of a 35min documentary titled ‘Whiskey and Speed; the stain you cant wash out’. Our mission was to take an unbiased look at one of the most dangerous punk bands Brisbane has ever produced who have left their mark on our city (for better or worse). We sought to discover the meaning behind all the chaos of the punk ethos and explore peoples fascination and attraction to this bedlam.
The opening credits of the documentary were to have a retrospective ‘Wonder Years’ type vibe, scanning back over old photos of the band members in their youth. Our team thought it would be amusing to create a short parody of one of their songs ‘Completely Professional’ (original above), using a crooner type aesthetic which is obviously at odds with their actual style. The arrangement and performance of this short parody tune fell to me being most suited to this task! See what you think below:
‘Completely Professional’ Parody (arranged and performed by Adam Higginson)
Please have a watch of the documentary, however be warned that the content is of a graphic nature with drug use, coarse language and sexual references! The above link (in red), will open to a Google Drive MP4 file.
‘Zed Leppelin’ 6 Track Demo
‘Zed Leppelin’ are a Zeppelin tribute band that have played up and down the East Coast since the late 90’s and are widely regarded as the best ‘Led Zeppelin’ tribute band to come out of the country in recent times. The brief was to capture the energy and excitement of the bands live performances (see below example of the band performing at the Top Pub in Byron early 2018).
Whilst remaining true to the Zeppelin vibe and replicate effects and tonal qualities originally used, we were also encouraged to bring the sound into 2018. Six tracks were recorded for use as a demo for agents and venue managers to secure the band live gigs. Please have a listen to three of the mastered songs below (will open in a new SoundCloud window):
Immigrant Song
Good Times Bad Times
What is and What Should Never Be
Permanent Revolution 10 Track Debut Album
Permanent Revolution are an ‘Anti Fascist Street Punk’ Band from Brisbane and were really fun to work with. I now have my first title on a CD out there; STOKED!
Check out four of my favorite tracks below and as above, these links will open in new tabs to SoundCloud (WARNING: Explicit lyrics contained in some of the tracks):
Class Traitor
Gender Blind
What you see is What you Get
Torn Apart
Sound Replacement, Foley and Sound Design
‘The Point and Click of No Return’ (short film)
After seeing our sound replacement work on the opening scene of Back to the future (see below), we were approached by Producer/Director Jamey Brown to facilitate the on location sound recording, Foley, ADR, sound design, music composition and also mix and master his short film which is shortly to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival. This was to be the most challenging project undertaken to date and a real eye opener as to the huge scope of creating a film (even on of only 10mins duration)! Whilst our 4 man audio team worked on every segment of the sound appearing in the film, we decided to appoint the leading role and responsibility for each element to a specific team member. After the natural disposition I had demonstrated in the ‘back to the future project’, I was assigned Foley.
Whilst I believe the story is a little haphazard and hard to follow, I am really proud of the end result and learned so much through this experience by working with so many creatives from different disciplines. Please have a look at the finished production here (will open to a Google Drive MP4 file), and note that the short film contains coarse language and adult themes.
Opening Scene of ‘Back to the Future’
This was my first sound replacement project and it was not only fun but very satisfying. Every sound you hear has been recorded or generated by our three member team on this one (I also did my best American accent for the voice part): let me know what you think in the comments below:
Sound Replacement for ‘Anta’ sportswear company
I received this footage with no audio and was required to add a soundtrack and sound effects meeting the following brief:
- Vision: 2 World Champion female tennis players playing a match in outer space.
- Audio: Sound design – actuated – rhythmic – edgy – slow motion elements – high tech fast paced – competitive – erratic – spontaneous – random – imagination
Music Composition
French Cafe Music
This tune was composed by myself to meet a brief by a games developer who was seeking a loopable track of French Cafe Music for a new game. I composed the melody by whistling into my phone sitting by the river and used a Roland Juno preset to get the accordion sound utilising midi for the string accompaniments. A colleague played the bass line. My vision imagined walking across a little bridge over a canal in Paris and hearing the tune coming from a rustic cafe on the corner. I was very happy with the result as was my client who was really stoked! Have a listen to ‘Force de Frappe’ below:
Voice Over Work
I was lucky to be approached by a company ‘Visual Art Studios’ who specialise in aerial drone footage, animation and editing trailers / promotional videos for property developers. They were seeking a voice over artist for a short piece on a famous architect and a heritage listed house that was being relocated and restored. I had never done this type of work before but had often been told that I had a voice (and head), for radio! The client was very happy with the result.
Work in progress
I am currently working on ‘Friendly Fire’s’ second full album which is also almost fully recorded in addition to Permanent Revolution’s next offering. I will update this page with these projects once they are ready! Hope you have enjoyed listening to these mixes, sound replacements and watching the short film and documentary as much as I enjoyed creating them? If you are interested in how these projects were accomplished, please check the rest of my blog posts which reveal the production details…
Abundant Audio 