whalebone: Albums

Rootsy...Folky...Live and Funky... - 2009

Track Listing:    

The idea for a live album came about when we realised that there was a growing difference between our studio recordings and the way we sounded live. Playing in front of an audience has always given us a spark and spontaneity and an extra dimension that’s not always present when we rehearse or record in a studio. We wanted to capture this energy on a CD and thus was born the concept of recording a live album.

We chose Cinnamon in Bridgnorth as the venue, as we had always considered it as our ‘home’ gig, and so on a sweltering 1st of June 2008, we set up our equipment in front of an invited audience and pressed the record button... After a hot and steamy two hour show, we had the raw material in the can. The recording included three guitars, one fiddle and several tracks of general audience noise / heckling / good natured abuse.

That was the easy bit. The following months were spent deciding which tunes to use, editing the tracks and mixing. We had decided that we wanted to keep the music as it was recorded without doing any repairs in the studio, but it took us a while to decide on how to include applause and announcements from the stage. Eventually, we left out all of the talking, as it detracted from the music, but other than that, what you hear on the CD is what we played on the night.

Next came the artwork, which includes the ‘faery’ design to go with the opening track ‘King of the Faeries.’ The deep red of the album colour theme is a reference to Cinnamon where it was recorded. The title was chosen to represent how we feel the album sounds and also as a sly nod to The Who’s ‘Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.’

We then handed the recording and artwork over to Torch Music in Berkshire, who mastered the album giving it the final sheen and sizzle. The end result is a CD that sounds just like it did on the night and we are immensely proud of it.

Incidentally if you have the CD you might have realised that there isn’t a two hour show on it There are several unreleased tracks that may see the light of day sometime in the future. Watch this space...

Technical notes:

Steve used a Taylor 314CE plugged into a Fishman Aura pedal and then into an AER combo. We took a line out of the amp and also out of the pedal and chose whichever sounded best on each track. Char used a Yamaha APX9 and an APX5-12 (Twelve string) on two tracks, both plugged into an AER combo - both the AER's are Compact 60's. Sarah used a Headway Band pickup on her fiddle, plugged into a Zoom A2 Acoustic Pedal. All of this was fed into a Yamaha AW1600 Digital Workstation, which we use for all our recordings and there were also a couple of room mics mixed in to capture the live feel.

There to Here - 2009 (remastered) with bonus tracks

Track Listing: 

The first whalebone CD was recorded when we were playing as a guitar duo, although it features many of the tunes that we perform now as a trio. Influenced by the approach taken by Richard Thompson and encouraged by conversations with Pete Ware, a producer we had worked with previously, we decided to record the tracks as live performances in a single take without overdubs wherever possible, and so in November 2006 we set up our recording equipment for a week to record the album.

The setup was very simple, consisting of two microphones placed back to back with Steve and Char playing facing one another. Each tune was rehearsed and then several takes were recorded until the spirit of each piece had been captured. Some tunes were nailed after one or two takes, but others proved elusive. Sometimes external influences seemed to be shaping the performances – Dreamstate was recorded with a misty autumn sunset adding to the atmosphere in the studio. Devil’s Chair as a grey mist swirled outside the window.

Most of the tracks on the album were recorded during that week, Lost Days being one exception. It was written ready for the sessions, but time constraints meant it was recorded a week or so afterwards with Sarah attending the session but not playing. Mixing took place in December and the album was released in January 2007.

The title of the album was chosen to reflect whalebone’s musical development over the previous twelve months that Steve and Char had been playing and performing together. The music hints at wide influences with Blues, Celtic, Classic Rock and Eastern sounds featuring in the mix.

The album has since been remastered by Torch Music Productions, and now includes three bonus tracks, whalebone versions of three tunes - Blackbird, Sultans of Swing and Hotel California - that have become favourites at gigs.

Technical notes:

Steve used a Taylor 314CE guitar and a Gibson Les Paul (on Devil’s Chair) Char used a Yamaha APX9 guitar All instruments were recorded using Rode NT1 mics into a Yamaha AW1600 digital recorder.