Find a Wingman (or, Wingwoman): Find someone whose musical opinion you really trust and get them on board for the recording process. For me that was my friend, Steve Grady. He’s got a great ear and is really adept at the technical side of recording and production, which really helped the process. Do your best to lay your goals and ambitions for the album on the table before you start and try your hardest to keep your egos as far removed from the process as possible once beginning. Openness is the key to creating with other people.
Get the Vibe Right: The vibe and atmosphere of the space is hugely important. I recorded the album in my little house/recording studio on my family farm in Woodford, Queensland, which was incredibly peaceful and a great space for creating. I spent an initial two days just setting up the inside of the house with lamps, pictures and plants in all of the different rooms. Creating a welcoming and warm environment to record in on a daily basis was really important, and having no time constraints or hourly studio rates hanging over my head really eased any sense of pressure.
Great Albums Aren’t Expensive Albums: You can get a high quality recording, on a very low budget. I researched exactly what equipment and microphones I thought I would need, and went about acquiring and hiring them. I also had a few microphones of my own and was fortunate enough to borrow some other gear from my friends; guitars, amps and pedals. After I’d hired and borrowed all I needed to make the album, I’d only spent about $700.
Throw Yourself Into It: The value of being completely invested in the process, day and night. I had mattresses set up on the floor in the kitchen, I’d wake up at around the same time each morning, eat some breakfast with a cup of tea or coffee then basically start recording. We’d record all day and late into most nights. I wanted minimal outside distractions during the process, so I made sure I had all of the necessary food and supplies on hand. I didn’t want to be coming and going, I wanted to have my mind on nothing else but what song I was working on for that given day and continued like this until the album was complete some two and a half weeks later.
Perfect Imperfection: Building each song from a bedrock live performance of just the guitar and me was crucial in capturing the vibe and humanity of the songs as they were written. Perfection was not the aim, but capturing the soul of the song was. For me, this is far more important than having every note and beat to a grid and overly sanitising the whole thing. This was also a huge lesson in trusting my gut and knowing when I’d captured the true performance and when to move on.
