Enter the studio of wildly creative musician, songwriter, producer and mixer David Wrench! In this six-part series, Wrench takes you through the process of crafting a record by his electronic duo 'Audiobooks'. The song is called 'Friends In the Bubble Bath', and it is exemplary of the band's quirky, old-school aesthetic. Learn about the unusual approach to songwriting taken by Evangeline Ling and David Wrench, with drummer Stella Mozgawa (of the band 'Warpaint') performing on the record. With a multi-track session, Wrench explores the song's arrangement and reveals his mixing techniques with simple yet effective plug-in chains. He also explains his methods of creating samples and discusses why he has moved to mixing fully 'in the box' while opting for analog synthesis over MIDI. He elaborates on why he avoids parallel processing, mixes with a limiter, and handling the issue of dynamic range with clients requesting more apparent loudness.

PART 1

Project introduction, songwriting methods, improvisation, beat and synth programming

PART 2

Vocal recording process, analog synthesis vs. MIDI, effects, EQ, multi-band compression

PART 3

Blending live and electronic drums, performance style, recording, track and buss processing

PART 4

Male and female vocal treatment, level automation, snare and synth effects, mix buss chain

PART 5

Drum sample creation, filtering, ADSR curve manipulation, analog tape, mix compression

PART 6

ITB workflow rationale, signal chain philosophy, parallel processing, limiting, loudness

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