Aaron Christenson: I Am Disaster

Today marks the official worldwide release of the first chapter of the newest from Aaron Christenson: An EP to be released in parts entitled I Am Disaster. The story behind this project is extremely powerful, as well as the nature of this music.  

Aaron and I had first met back in college, where we spent a few semesters working on a few projects before Aaron had left to pursue other interests. Now, after almost 10 years, Aaron has reached out to me to collaborate on this new project.  A lot has happened in his life, and I strongly encourage you read about it on his website (see link below) because only he can tell the story the way it's meant to be told. 

I'm truly honored to be able to work with incredible talent, and am grateful to be a part of this project. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next phases of the record. 

To learn more please follow Aaron's Facebook page and YouTube channel, or visit his website where you can read more about the story of this project, and whats to come. All of the tracks are available for purchase on his website, aaroncmusic.com.  Tracks can also be purchased or streamed directly via iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and anywhere else your favorite music can be heard. 

I Am Disaster (EP)  written by Aaron Christenson

Produced by Aaron Christenson and John Bamber

Engineered & Mixed by John Bamber

Mastered by LANDR Audio

New Videos from Tera Johnson

Tera's album HOME is out now and available for purchase, and we're definitely excited! There will be some videos coming out over the coming weeks/months, so be sure to tune in to her Facebook page  and YouTube channel so you don't miss anything!

Both videos were recorded and produced fully on-site here at JBRecording. Enjoy!

ASH - Miracle (Brooks Radio Edit)

Check it out! Here's a lyric video from the studios here at JBRecording set to the latest from ASH (twitter @Mynameisash1 website www.mynameisash.com Facebook http://www.facebook.com/mynamesisash1 ) and Steve over at SHEW | Creative (web: http://www.shewcreative.com) . 

Incredible remix of the song "Miracle" originally released by ASH in 2014. This is a great song originally written for a good cause. If you're feeling like nobody hears your voice, this song is for you. If you feel invisible or powerless at times, put on your headphones and listen to this song, because it's for you. 

I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of the production of this remix, and I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I do. Even after the work is done, I still can't stop listening to it because of the sense of positivity that comes with it. 

Enjoy. 

JBRecording Radio v2.0 Launches TODAY

On March 11th, I posted a blog about changing things up on the radio station; switching to a local-artist-only approach. I'd be featuring music from local artists, and replaying their Artist Spotlight interviews on a rotating schedule. Initially, that was working well, until the radio automation software I was using began to exhibit some odd behavior; it decided to not want to tell time correctly anymore.  If you tuned in expecting to hear an interview, but had music instead, I apologize for that.

After long hours of research, I came upon a new program which did the job far better, and gave me the chance to build a more-refined schedule and structure that I am proud to launch today. 

The programming on JBRecording Radio is going to follow a more structured schedule in the form of Shows. I'm in the process of developing some new shows that I'll be revealing at a later date, but as of this launch the following are some of the shows you'll be seeing on the station: 

• Artist Spotlight - Live interviews and performances by local musicians.
• Artist Mix - A rotating mix of music from the artists interviewed and featured on the Spotlight shows. 
• Sessions @ JBRecording - A mix of the live performances from Artist Spotlight shows and music recorded, mixed, and/or mastered here at JBRecording.

In the months to come, we'll be hearing from some film composers, jazz artists, classical artists, as well as artists from different parts of the country.  I'm very excited for the future of JBRecording Radio, and am grateful to those who have been a part of it thus far and have helped make it successful. 

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve 2013 live countdown to 2014 with John from JBRecording and special guest co-host Cofi Peel.

Just wanted to wish everyone out there a very happy, healthy, and safe New Year. Great things are coming in 2014!  We did a special 2 hour countdown to 2014 show, featuring a special guest co-host, Miss Cofi Peel! And, for the first time, we had some folks CALL IN to talk to us. Lots of fun!

Check it out here, enjoy! If you want to do your own radio show, JBRecording is the place to do it. E-mail me and we'll make it happen. 

Have a great 2014! 

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to take a quick moment to just wish everyone out there the happiest of holidays.  Enjoy this little video I did with ASH. It's a different take on a Christmas classic, "Silent Night." 

Enjoy! 

A different take on Silent Night...

A Piano or Two

Living in an apartment has its benefits, but for music production there are always a few drawbacks as well. Other than drums, the main problem I run into is that of having access to an in-tune well-kept grand piano. With technology ever-improving, the software solutions available nowadays have really been getting very impressive and quite affordable as well. I wanted to do a quick head-to-head comparison of a few piano samples that are out there. 

First, let's take a look at where we started. The below sample is using the "Steinway Grand" that comes with the standard install of Logic Pro.

Listen to jbrecording / Logic EXS24 Steinway | Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio.

Not bad for having come out in the late 90's. That patch has been available since, I believe, Logic 7 or Logic 8, but it might even be older than that. I've only been a Logic guy for the last few years. 

Next, we'll take a listen to a piano from a well-known audio plug-in and virtual instrument manufacturer, Native Instruments. They've been known for some very successful and widely-used plug-ins like Kontakt, Reaktor, and Battery, among others. They released a package of pianos a some years ago called "Akoustik Piano", and this is the sample of their "New York Grand". 

Listen to jbrecording / NI NY Concert Grand | Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio.

And, finally, we're going to listen to another sample but this is from a small developer called VI Labs. I'd never heard of these folks, but I was introduced to them by a friend the other day, and I'm beyond impressed. This is their "American Grand" which comes in a 3-pack with an Italian and German counterpart as well. In their documentation they reveal that it is in fact, a sample of a Steinway D. 

Listen to jbrecording / TrueKeys American | Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio.

I greatly enjoyed the TrueKeys American, and will be using that as my go-to piano for now. There are many other options available for software pianos, the most well-known being Synthogy's Ivory which is quite fantastic. However, it comes on quite a few DVD's, so you'll be spending some time in front of your computer feeding it discs for at least an hour. Those with newer iMacs or Retina MacBook Pros will need to make sure to have an external SuperDrive for the install; doing so over Remote Disc would be just painful. 

The only processing done on these recordings was use of the Universal Audio Lexicon 224 reverb and Precision Limiter to sweeten things up. I made sure there was very minimal limiting to preserve the audio on the recordings. 

What's your favorite virtual instrument piano? Or if not piano, what's your favorite virtual instrument in general? Post a comment, I'm always interested to explore new software offerings especially those from lesser-known developers.

Thanks for reading!  

ASH: "Rush Into Love" NOW AVAILABLE!!

2 years in the making, and now it's official - the newest song from Brooklyn-based soulful singer/songwriter ASH, "Rush Into Love", has been released TODAY. You can download it directly from his website, www.mynameisash.com RIGHT NOW!  

Originally leaked on ASH's "Artist Spotlight" from a few weeks ago, the song is now ready for your immediate enjoyment.  You can check out the Artist Spotlight show here. 

All production work done here in-house at JBRecording. If you have material you'd like recorded and would like to sell online, contact me and I can help you make that happen! 

Buy the song here

Follow ASH on Twitter

ASH Artist Spotlight Preview

We've got a great Artist Spotlight show booked for October! Check out a little preview here - ASH, soulful singer/songwriter from Brooklyn stopped by the studio just to say hello and finish off some vocals on "Rush Into Love", which is coming out on Monday at the Artist Spotlight show! 

You can tune in at www.jbrecording.com/radio from any mobile device or computer, and even check out the show once it's aired on that same page shortly thereafter. Enjoy!