INDEX
Emulating Overseas Musicians: Recreating the Atmosphere of Recording in a House Studio
-There is an aspect of “great as music” that simply means that the “sound” is very good, how did you proceed with the production? Goto Ichikawa is credited as both engineer and arranger. You are from the same generation, right?
Nishiyama： Actually, I met him the same day I met HALLEY.
Toyama: The demo sound was made in Logic Pro, but the final master was created in Ableton. In the process of that work, I get opinions from Goto saying, “Maybe we should do this a little better,” and he gives me ideas like a member, so his name is also on the arrangements.
Shimizu: He is like the sixth member of HALLEY. To begin with, he is a drummer, Eisyu. He is a good drummer, and he also plays behind Eishu-kun. He is a good drummer and also does track making. Again, he did everything from drum tech to recording, mixing, and mastering. He generously shares his knowledge with us. When asked, “How did you create this sound?” I am asked, “It’s just Goto and his house (laughs).
Nishiyama: The name “STUDIO HALLEY” is listed in the credits, but that is actually Goto’s house. We all went there and recorded all night long, except for the drums.
Tayama: I stayed there for about 6 nights in a row (laughs).
Taehyun: I almost lived there (laughs).
Takahashi: We wanted to do something similar to the environment in which overseas musicians record in a house studio.
Nishiyama: It was quite significant that the musicians and the engineer were very close, and we were able to communicate with each other easily. The songs that have been released up to now were all re-mixed and changed at the time of the album.
-What songs did you find particularly responsive?
Shimizu: “Lemonade” I think.
Toyama: I was thinking of “Lemonade” too.
Nishiyama: I was thinking of “From Dusk Till Dawn”.
-What do you feel about “Lemonade”?
Shimizu: In the recording stage, we had a few conversations about “Isn’t this song cool? Shimizu: In the recording stage, we were excited about this song several times. The drum sound, piano and guitar sound, mixing, and mastering were all completed with this song. This song really opened my eyes to the whole album. After completing “Lemonade,” it was inevitable that “Comfy” and “From Dusk Till Dawn” were also completed. I could see that if I used these plug-ins and mixed them in this way, I could get a good temperature. My sense is that when we finished mastering and listened to them, we were all like, “This is cool, isn’t it?” I remember being like that.
All: It was cool, wasn’t it?
Shimizu: The vocals, of course, but also the guitar, bass, keys, drums, and all the performances were so cool. Referring to Robert Glasper’s “Black Radio III” and RR=NOW, I had an image of “battle” against the artists I admired. I spent a whole day listening to “Black Radio III” and comparing it to “Lemonade,” and thinking about how well the kick, snare, and hi-hat on the drums were winning, and how much the kick and snare were winning, while the hi-hat was losing. Hi-hat loses” (laughs).
Taehyun: There is a mix engineer named Cue Million, and he mixes most of the records we refer to. So in the end, I thought I was in a tie with Cue Million the whole time (laughs). (Laughs.) What’s great about his sound is that it’s all very grainy. Lemonade” is a song in which each of the five members plays a single role, but we were able to adjust the sound so that each of them can be heard in all the parts where they should be.
Shimizu: Each of them is doing something cool, so we struggled a lot to make the coolness of the song be heard properly.
Taehyun: How was “Lemonade” from the bassist’s point of view?
Takahashi: It was tough. It was traumatically difficult (laughs). It was the hardest part. It was difficult to mix the feel of “Lemonade” with what I wanted to do. The feel was almost like beat jazz. But I did my best to fill it in and balance it out.
Shimizu: If we tried to be 100%, we would see Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and others who still need to continue to challenge themselves. So we focused on how we would verbalize our ideas, and tried to make our good points visible.
Taehyun: While recording “Lemonade,” I could see the room for growth for each of us, but it was also the most satisfying thing we had done so far. I was able to see both the challenges and the results, so I have a strong attachment to it.
-How do you feel about “From Dusk Till Dawn”?
Taehyun: In my opinion, “Lemonade” is more about the playership, but “From Dusk Till Dawn” is more about the arrangement and the structure of the song. From Dusk Till Dawn” is a song that is more about arrangement and song structure.
Nishiyama： “Lemonade” was a challenge, but “From Dusk Till Dawn” is like “I put everything I like in it. From Dusk Till Dawn” has a slightly old-fashioned essence that I like, and on the opposite end of the spectrum from a challenge, I feel like it is filled with things I like, my hobbies, and my obsessions.
Shimizu: Because the keyboard is packed with the sounds of Rose, YAMAHA CP, Hammond organ, and uprights, …… (laughs).
Taehyun: There is a big chorus part at the end, which was also recorded in a room. But it was too masculine (laughs). I recorded it with my back voice, but I wondered how I could make it sound feminine. It was a good memory, and I think it turned out to be a great song.
