Au Pays du Cocaine
Song Choice
For this project, 'Au Pays du Cocaine' was chosen by my group. The reason we chose this song is because my group and I were familiar with the song, all being fans of the band. This song allowed me to showcase my ability to use MIDI for the piano and keyboard parts, as well as producing a different kind of mix to Cowboy Nudes.
Due to time constraints, we opted to omit the bridge section to ensure high quality recordings, which further ensures a higher quality product.
The Recording Process
The first thing that my group decided for our project was which studio we would use for our track. The studio picked by us was SSL2, chosen for its versatile and consistent sound. This was important to us as it allowed for us to choose our room to sound not as dry as Audient, and not as reverberated as SSL1.
Microphone Choice
For our drumkit, we used an Audix i-5 for the snare, a pair of Sontronics STC-1's as overheads, and a Lewitt LCT-040 for a hi-hat mic. For for the rack toms, a pair of close miked Audix D2's.
The set of Audix drum mics were used because they were available in the tech base, as well as we like how they sound. The Sontronics STC-1 microphones were
For all of the guitars, we used a D.I signal and the Fender guitar amp in our college. We picked this amp because we liked the raw sound of it and felt it fitted the tone of the song. We also used a D.I box, allowing us the option to re-amp the guitars or to have a blend of D.I and Amp Sim to create more interesting sounds for our mix.
For bass, we used a Fender Rumble amp for a clean and balanced tone, as well as a D.I box which allowed us more opportunity to play with our sound and re-amp if necessary.
For vocals, similarly to Cowboy Nudes we used an AKG C-414. My group and I picked this microphone because we love how it sounds with vocals, making for a recording session and mix that we enjoy personally.
For our Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI) we used the same setup as the vocals, recording the raw sound of the built in speaker. This method was favoured over a line input because the slight "bitcrushed" sound, as well as breath sounds, was a sound that we liked.
For our synths, we used line outputs from the back of the synthesiser. This is to ensure the clearest and most accurate sound possible.
Microphone Techniques
For the toms, snare, bass drum and hi-hat, we used a close microphone for each only a few inches away from the drum/cymbal.
For the overheads, we used a spaced pair technique for an accurate representation of the stereo space.
The guitar required no microphone, however in the Amp Sim we emulated an off-axis Shure SM57 because it was a sound that we enjoyed personally that fit the tone of the song.
For vocals, we sat our performer roughly 12 inches away from the microphone, set up with a pop filter which allowed us to have a clean and accurate recording. For our EWI track, we recorded the built in speaker sound of the instrument via the same Audix C414 setup and distance from the microphone as our vocalist.
For bass, as well as the D.I, we close-miked the amp which allowed us to have a clean recording that doesn't have too much 'room sound' or reverb.
The Mixing Process
For this mix, it was important to me to have a clean sound that was mostly raw and only tweaked to make the listening experience more positive. This was important to me as the original track is very stripped back and simple. As said in the main Au Pays du Cocaine page, my recording group omitted recording the bridge section due to time constraints which added to the simple nature of the song.
Listed below are the tracks, their intended sounds, and techniques used to ensure these goals were met.
For more in-depth screenshots of the mixing process, press the button below.
Vocals
For the vocals, inspired by Geese and many live performances I've been to, I wanted them to be unpolished and natural.
To achieve this, I added minimal mixing, opting to only correct things that were negatively impacting the mix such as EQing low frequencies and adding reverb.
I would've panned the vocals left, right, and centre. However, due to an unresolved issue in Pro Tools, I was unable to make this happen when releasing my final mix. Had I had more time to complete this project, the vocals would have been panned as opposed to mono in the centre.
Finally, I sent the vocals Aux (Auxiliary) track for reverb to create a consistent sound for my track.
EWI
For the EWI, I added an EQ to the track. This EQ was used to remove low end, and remove any unwanted frequencies that came from the synth. I did this to make the mix less fatiguing and more pleasant to listen to.
Bass
The bass (recorded both amped and D.I) is layered to have a more dynamic and interesting sound. For more information on this sound and the plugins used, please consult the mixing photos
Drums
The drum sound was intended, much like the vocals, to be fairly raw and only corrected where it needs to be corrected.
To achieve this sound, I first added EQ to all of the tracks that corrected and cleaned up any unnecessary frequencies that degraded the sound of the mix. After this, I added a light tape saturation to the drumkit to add slight punch and warmth to the sound.
Piano and Pad
The piano acts as a rhythmic base
Guitars
The intended sound overall for the guitars was to have the leads be relaxed/zen, and for the slight rhythm to sit beneath the piano and pad.
For the lead guitars, I balanced the octave and EWI so they all blend together to create a large sound. This technique is similar to how 'Super Saw' synths are made in pop songs.
I also added EQ and compression to the tracks to add sustain and correct any bad frequencies that were interfering with the mix.