Stephen walked to the apartment where we started off the day proper  - with some breakfast. Then Stephen, Steve and I loaded up the car and we set off to the other side of town to the Verge Music Lab.

We were greeted by (yet another!) Steve and his young pooch Molly. Stephen and Steve have worked in this space together a few times for Steve's solo material, so they knew their way around. I got to stroll the space and take in all the awesome detail, room treatment, and microphones ready on stands around the outer walls. It definitely has a great vibe, and all the wood panels, gobos and slats definitely made for a comfortable atmosphere. Steve from Verge put it very simply with a smirk: "Wood makes it good." 

Stephen picked out a couple mics to shoot out on Steve's voice. The first was an AKG C414 XLII - no stranger to a BamBoo session, and the mic we used to record the vocals for 'Hurt You' at the farm last year. The second was a Telefunken AK47 - "Arguably one of the most badass vocal microphone model names." Stephen pointed out, which I did not deny. 

Stephen routed the microphones through some great gear and had Steve sing while he dialed in the tones. He ran each through a Tube-Tech EQ, then one through a Urei 1176 and the other through a Distressor. The two mics complemented each other nicely, and after a few adjustments Stephen decided to use both for the tracking. 

infocus tube tech.JPG

Steve laid out some great takes and Stephen kept the session moving at a steady, productive pace. My role today was support, documentation, cracking-wise and chipping in where I could. It was a fun session for me - I got to sit back and watch these two work together and make some music really spring to life. 

- Marcus

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