So This Is Home was released on 1st September 2014. We caught up with the band to tell us about the process of recording it!
We spent the last half of 2013 writing the songs for what would become So This Is Home. A friend of ours came to our rehearsal space for a few days so that we could demo all the tracks ahead of our actual recording sessions with Oz Craggs at Hidden Track Studios. This meant we could send Oz the songs in advance so he could get a real feel for them before we actually went down there. Then, the week before Christmas, we packed all our stuff up and made the 200 mile journey down to Folkestone to spend the week in a dodgy haunted B&B whilst we recorded So This Is Home.
Because Oz was already familiar with the demos, it meant that we could get straight on with working on the drums on the first day. As a band we’re really not fans of the over-produced drum sound that is popular in alternative music at the moment, as we think it sounds too synthetic, so we spent some time working on getting a really massive drum sound that would make the groundwork for the EP. Eventually it was time for Joe to bang his drums – and he went through his tracks like a powerhouse – even getting a one-take-wonder on Barfly. Joe’s efficiency meant that we got all the drums finished on the first day, so we retired back to our B&B for some beer’s in the bar, and prepared for an early start on guitar tracks.
Day 2 began with a particularly frosty morning – which should probably be expected from a coastal town in December. We warmed ourselves up by enjoying a cooked breakfast with all the grannies who were also staying at the hotel – then we walked down to the harbour front to take in the sights a bit. It was really one of the only chances we got for any sight-seeing whilst we were there and made for a chilled out start for what turned into our longest day in the studio!
We worked in the studio from 10am through til midnight that day-a lot of time was spent coming up with the best tones for the different sounds of the EP. Time consuming as it was trying different amp heads and pedals to get the right sound, it was very satisfying when Jonny and Phil started shredding their guitar parts as you could really hear the EP starting to take shape.
It took 2 and a half days to get all the guitar parts done-it was great being able to take our time making sure they were perfect and sounded the best they could! Next it was time for Dan to step up on bass. When Oz isn’t making other bands sound awesome in his studio, he plays bass in Feed The Rhino, so Dan was really looking forward to working with him on getting the right bass tone for this record. We ended up with going through a mix of Dan’s and Oz’s gear to get the sound we wanted.
Recording the bass bled over into the morning of the last day, so pressure was on for me to nail the vocal tracks! I made some of my own recipe warm-up juice of manuka honey, camomile tea and whiskey then locked myself in the booth for the rest of the day. We broke the tracks up, moving some of the more strenuous sections to the end of the session, so as not to blow out my voice. Oz was great at helping me come up with some great backing vocal parts and harmonies that really helped to fill out the sound.
It was a long week of hard work-but Oz really brought the best out in us and it was easily the best recording experience any of us have had. When we were sent the finished product it just blew us away – we knew all the work had paid off.
