WBPT released our debut album, Strikes Back, a week ago! The production process took over a year, and the final product was well worth the wait. So many amazing people went into making the album from Ed Brooks, Karim Hassanein, to all our Kickstarter backers. Thank you all. Take a listen and tell me what you think. We’ll have physical copies out sometime this summer, and a CD release party to follow.
Author: natestoll
New upright piano
Patrick (White Bear Polar Tundra) recently received a donated upright piano that is now living at Soundscape City. I’m super excited to have this around for rehearsals and tracking!
Loser Boyfriend – Debut EP
It’s been awhile since my last update, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. I recently finished mixing Loser Boyfriends debut EP, Cleaned Ourselves Up. You can listen to it on bandcamp: http://loserboyfriend.bandcamp.com/
We recorded the drums and guitar live with my Mackie D8B, and overdubbed more guitars, bass, and vocals later. And of course, Nathan’s voice wouldn’t be complete without some re-amping!
D8B – Loser Boyfriend Test Drive
I recently was given a Mackie D8B by the amazing Jeff Leonard. I spent my MLK Day with Nathan Tucker giving the board a test drive and tracking drums for Loser Boyfriend. It was super fun. We powered through 4 demo tracks. Stay tuned for the final product coming soon!
and you– (part 1/3) by Shohei Kobayashi
I recently finished mastering the first installment of Shohei Kobayashi’s latest release and you– (just in time for the new year, too!). Shohei did all the production and recording himself. It’s a beautifully concise and heartfelt release. Give it a listen and keep your ears peeled for parts 2 and 3!
To Find Open Space – Nathan Tucker
This summer Nathan Tucker and I spent a few afternoons recording his new 5-song EP To Find Open Space at my studio. It’s a minimalist songwriting approach with acoustic guitar and vocals relying heavily on the power of the words to carry the songs. Think Tallest Man on Earth on a rainy Portland day. Check it out for free here:
http://nathantuckermusic.bandcamp.com/album/to-find-open-space
Building New Cables
Recently, I took some quality time to sit down with about 90 feet of mogami cable, some neutrik gold connectors, and a soldering iron. The results are pictured above. When all was said and done (not including a bunch of burns on my finger tips), I created:
2 x 24ft mogami neglex quad core XLR cable with neutrik gold connectors
1 x 10ft mogami instrument cable with neutrik gold connectors
1 x 1ft mogami instrument patch cable with neutrik gold connectors
1 x 1ft mogami stereo balanced patch cable with neutrik gold connectors
I’m super excited to start recording with these awesome cables! Working with all this mogami and neutrik gear has taught me to appreciate all the craftsmanship they put into their products.
Re-Amping Vocals
I’ve recently been working with Nathan Tucker on an EP, and we’ve been experimenting with re-amping vocals both live and after that fact with this little beauty (a Fender 65 Princeton Reverb 15 Watt tube amp with a 1×10 speaker). A lot of cool artists have been using this technique recently like Feist and most obviously The Strokes.
Hobbit Love
I was watching The Fellowship of the Ring yesterday, and I was reminded of a wonderful thing called “Hobbit Love.” I made this video about 3 years ago, and I realized the rest of the world needs to experience Hobbit Love. The footage is from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and the music is a remix I did of Minus the Bear’s “My Time.”
White Bear Polar Tundra – In Post-Production
White Bear Polar Tundra’s first album entitled Strikes Back is currently under post-production. We finished tracking in June. After finishing all the recordings, we’ve been letting the tracks sit for a bit before diving into mixing them. I will keep you all updated on the process. Currently, two songs (Jupiter and Fire Eye) have gone through first drafts, and we still have 7 or so tracks to go. I’ll post some sound samples soon!
Soundscape City 