Hard Hat Area (album): Difference between revisions
From Allan Holdsworth Information Center
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Allan Holdsworth may use a 32-track Mitsubishi tape machine, but he records at home for the same reason you probably do: economics. The futuristic fusionist has recorded his eighth album, '''Hard Hat Area''',, on Restless (his second release for them), and though overdubbing and mixing at home is his usual m.o., there are significant differences in his approach here than in previous solo efforts. For one, Allan recorded this record digitally, a choice he has some misgivings about. Another difference is that the album has a more live, less cerebral sound than earlier albums, due primarily to the fact that Allan and his mates had toured extensively, honing and shaping much of the music that appears on '''Hard Hat Area'''. But perhaps of greatest interest to guitarists is that the SynthAxe appears on only two of the tracks. In Fact, Allan doesn’t even own a SynthAxe anymore; he had to borrow one for the album! "I only played SynthAxe on ‘'''Hard Hat Area'''’ and ‘Postlude.’ The rest of the album is all guitar, wi th the synth parts handled by the keyboard player," he explains. "Only ‘'''Hard Hat Area'''’ has just me. | Allan Holdsworth may use a 32-track Mitsubishi tape machine, but he records at home for the same reason you probably do: economics. The futuristic fusionist has recorded his eighth album, '''Hard Hat Area''',, on Restless (his second release for them), and though overdubbing and mixing at home is his usual m.o., there are significant differences in his approach here than in previous solo efforts. For one, Allan recorded this record digitally, a choice he has some misgivings about. Another difference is that the album has a more live, less cerebral sound than earlier albums, due primarily to the fact that Allan and his mates had toured extensively, honing and shaping much of the music that appears on '''Hard Hat Area'''. But perhaps of greatest interest to guitarists is that the SynthAxe appears on only two of the tracks. In Fact, Allan doesn’t even own a SynthAxe anymore; he had to borrow one for the album! "I only played SynthAxe on ‘'''Hard Hat Area'''’ and ‘Postlude.’ The rest of the album is all guitar, wi th the synth parts handled by the keyboard player," he explains. "Only ‘'''Hard Hat Area'''’ has just me. | ||
How long have you been using the system where you record at a studio and mix at home? | How long have you been using the system where you record at a studio and mix at home?
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About five years. I started with a little 12-track Akai. Do you know it?
Sure, the one that takes its own cassettes.
That’s the one. And I used to take care of any overdubbing-guitar solos, keyboard solos, bass solos, whatever. Then I would take the tape back to the studio and mix it there. But I sold that unit and bought a board. Secrets [1990] was the first album I recorded entirely at home. | |||
If you mix at home you must have the same format as the studio’s. What do you use as your multitrack, a digital machine? | |||
Musically, what did you try differently on '''Hard Hat Area''' than on previous albums?
One of the things I like personally about this album is that this is the only record we’ve done since the original IOU album [1979] where we played all the music live before we recorded it. Up till now, because of schedules and such, I would write some new music and we’d go and record it. But because the band toured a lot the last year and a half, we played most of the music live before we recorded. Because of that, it has more of a live feel to it than the previous albums. I like that and I must insure that that’s the way we do things from now on.
There is a certain well-oiled sound to the groove.
Yes, I think so. You can hear people stretching, working the groove. It just sounds more organic, less sterile somehow than some of the other records. |
No, I just have my board and rent the machine. Renting the machine is much cheaper than renting studio time. For $3,000 you can rent an MTR-90 for a month. There’s no studio I know of where you could rent for a month for that. You see, I don’t pay myself either. I do it because it’s my album, but I don’t get paid for it. I work for free - and it’s a lot of work. | ||
How was the SynthAxe used on "Postlude"?
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I use it for the bassoon sound. Towards the end I also play a solo, after the keyboard solo. Then there’s a bass solo and then it ends. Whenever you hear the bassoon sound, that’s the SynthAxe. | |||
Musically, what did you try differently on '''Hard Hat Area''' than on previous albums? | |||
One of the things I like personally about this album is that this is the only record we’ve done since the original IOU album [1979] where we played all the music live before we recorded it. Up till now, because of schedules and such, I would write some new music and we’d go and record it. But because the band toured a lot the last year and a half, we played most of the music live before we recorded. Because of that, it has more of a live feel to it than the previous albums. I like that and I must insure that that’s the way we do things from now on.
There is a certain well-oiled sound to the groove.
Yes, I think so. You can hear people stretching, working the groove. It just sounds more organic, less sterile somehow than some of the other records. | |||
==[[Allan Holdsworth Interview (richardhallebeek.com 1996)]]== | ==[[Allan Holdsworth Interview (richardhallebeek.com 1996)]]== | ||
