If you haven't seen the programme for Melbourne Music Week yet, trust us when we say there’s tonnes of great stuff (including the chance to catch HTRK after a lengthy time away at the Labels Live@ series). But what we’re really excited about is Record & Release when we drop a recording studio in a city laneway. A bunch of great bands are coming down over the week to lay tracks live to tape, with each of their recording sessions resulting in limited edition EPs, mixed, mastered, pressed and released just 24hrs later at Buffalo Club launch events. It's yet to be seen if this is the best idea ever or a sure-fire way to a lack or sleep induced nervous breakdown.Manning the recording desk throughout the week will be Jack Farley, producer for such bands as Beaches and Twerps. We had a quick chat with him about the pressure of a working in a shed, a quick turnaround, and late nights.VICE: Hey Jack, firstly, thanks for handing over your life to us for a week. Tell us, what did you think of the idea of R&R when you were asked to be involved?
Jack Farley: I thought it was pretty ambitious. A lot of bands that I’ve worked with like to have some time after recording to listen to mixes, so that they have some perspective and then make appropriate changes. They are going to have to make a lot of decisions on the fly; not much time for second guessing.Have you done much of this style of recording before?I’ve recorded in a few strange places before, and the studio that I run is nothing more than a big warehouse. People often choose to record in a place that not only matches their budget, but also somewhere that they will be comfortable in. For some people, that’s a professional studio, for others it’s the lounge room. I haven't done much with such a short turn around though or in a non-studio type place that neither myself or the bands has seen before.What do you think will be the biggest challenges of the week?The biggest challenge will probably getting used to the space in such a short time. The first night of recording will be pretty interesting as I have no idea how the space is going to work sonically. Whatever difficulties exist will just have to be turned into assets.Do you work well under pressure?I don't imagine it getting too stressful. I guess some people work better under stress, but I think that it is a way of working that is very draining. Each band will have different ideas about how much work they think they'll be able to acheive and assuming that they are realistic, I don't imagine there to be to much pressure.Are you worried about getting enough sleep?I'll be drinking a lot of coke, I can tell you that much.Record & Release will run from November 21 to 25. For more MMF or Record & Release information, head over here.
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Jack Farley: I thought it was pretty ambitious. A lot of bands that I’ve worked with like to have some time after recording to listen to mixes, so that they have some perspective and then make appropriate changes. They are going to have to make a lot of decisions on the fly; not much time for second guessing.Have you done much of this style of recording before?I’ve recorded in a few strange places before, and the studio that I run is nothing more than a big warehouse. People often choose to record in a place that not only matches their budget, but also somewhere that they will be comfortable in. For some people, that’s a professional studio, for others it’s the lounge room. I haven't done much with such a short turn around though or in a non-studio type place that neither myself or the bands has seen before.What do you think will be the biggest challenges of the week?The biggest challenge will probably getting used to the space in such a short time. The first night of recording will be pretty interesting as I have no idea how the space is going to work sonically. Whatever difficulties exist will just have to be turned into assets.
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