The Self-Recording Band
Weekly no-bs episodes for self-recording musicians. Brought to you by full-time engineers and producers, working on hundreds of songs every year. No hype, no fluff. Not trying to make brands happy, not being paid for an opinion. Simply sharing what has worked for us and the artists we've worked with. Listen now and approach your next DIY recording project like you're a seasoned pro!
The Self-Recording Band
"Can We Really Produce Our Own Album Start To Finish?" (Steady Drops Case Study)
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Can you really make a professional-sounding album yourself?
Martin Kreuzer from Steady Drops had doubts. He questioned whether he could pull it off. And so did his band mates.
Until they did it.
Now he joins us to share how his band recorded, produced and mixed their latest album entirely in-house. And what it actually took to make that happen.
We talk about preparation, creating a sonic vision, recording real drums, learning to mix, building confidence as a producer and knowing when to ask for help.
We also discuss:
- Why demos & pre-production are so important
- Preparing before you hit Record
- Recording authentic performances
- Mixing your own music
- Learning much faster with coaching and feedback
- Why great songs always come first
If you’re working on your own record, this episode is packed with practical lessons you can apply immediately.
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For links to everything we've mentioned in this episode, as well as full show notes go to:
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If you want feedback on your songs, your arrangements, your recordings, or your mixes…
…followed by a clear plan to build your confidence and turn your demos into finished releases...
...plus the professional guidance to implement it all:
👉 Apply for coaching:
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We’ll listen to your music, create a custom plan for you, and help you execute it step by step.
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Today we are here with Martin Kreuzer from the band Steady Drops. Steady Drops is a punk rock band from Zwizel, which is my hometown, actually. So I don't think we've ever interviewed a band from my hometown. This is this is really cool. So he lives in Zwizel, the same town that I am from. And they, his band Steady Drops, just released a new record that's called Pathfinder. And the cool thing about it is that they've done everything themselves, which is, if you listen to the record, pretty impressive. Like that one, you know, holds up to some of my favorite punk rock records. And like it I've been part of the of the process, which was really cool. I, you know, was there, helped them with the drum recording, but just like one day I did the setup and everything. And then, of course, inside of the of our program, I answered a couple questions. But Martin did pretty much everything himself. Like he mixed um the songs, he recorded everything. Um, and like, yeah, just listen to listen to the record. You're gonna find it really impressive. And I have tons of questions about it just because Martin did an exceptional job on this one. And I can't wait to hear what happened um with the band since then, what the plans are, um, the rest of the process that I wasn't a part of, and like everything about it. So, Martin, thank you so much for coming on to the podcast. And thank you for taking the time and welcome to this show. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you very much for having me. It's absolutely a pleasure. Awesome. And as always, I'm not doing this by myself, I'm doing this with my wonderful friend and co-host from Spain, Manel Espinosa Berenguer. Hello, hello Manel.
SPEAKER_00Were you going to say hello Spain? Yes. Like it felt like Eurovision or something like that. Yeah. Um, yeah, so um happy to be here uh again uh and happy to get to talk about recording, mixing, and stuff. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, totally. So where do we start? Um I I say it every single time. I kind of don't like the typical, you know, tell us about the background and the story of the band and how it came to be and all that, but I some like in some way I have to do it so that people know who you are and what you're talking about. So maybe give us a quick summary of who you are, um, who the band is, uh, what kind of music you're making. And then I always add one thing, and then tell us one thing that is impossible to figure out unless someone asks you, like one fact that is not the normal biography thing. Oh, that's a tough one.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So um yeah, I am a guitar player, um, a self-taught guitar player, basically. And um at age of 17, um, I started to play in some kind of bands. I don't would call it actually band, but yeah, we thought it was a band, me and two friends. Um then later, my brother joined in, um, who played the drums. Um, I did the rhythm guitar, and a friend of us was on the lead guitar and another friend on the bass. So we had kind of band going, and from there we started to do cover songs, um, like things like Green Day, Psalty One. Um, we tried Rise Against, but I I could not really sing as uh Tim, so we we let that go. And um yeah, at some point we decided to write our own songs, and so the whole thing started, and the steady drops were kind of boring. Um yeah, I would describe, yeah, as you already said, punk rock in the genre punk rock. Um but it's it's always I find it always very difficult to describe your own music in some way. I don't know why, how's that, but yeah, it's difficult. But punk rock is a is a good start, yeah. Um yeah and that's the story.
SPEAKER_03Cool. Well what's what's one thing that people cannot figure out if they research your music online or whatever, like one thing that is they pretty much nobody knows.
SPEAKER_01Um we never play a song the same way twice. Never ever. Oh. That's interesting. Not in rehearsal, not live, um, not uh during recording, which is some which is strange and should not be. But yeah, we we never play a song twice the same way. I don't know how's that, but our drummer is always putting in some new uh hits he never did before. Um the bass player is putting in some notes that never happened before, but it it always sounds good, so that's fine.
SPEAKER_03So it's always a little bit of improvising. That's interesting. Some kind, yeah. So that means when you let's let's just start there. That's a great topic, actually. So that means when you record, you not you don't necessarily have, like if you record a bunch of takes on top of each other, you don't necessarily have the same take over and over again for each instrument. You so you're not you're not just choosing the the best take in terms of feel and like mistakes and stuff like that, but you actually get to choose between different types of performances because it could be slightly different from take to take?
SPEAKER_01I mean, yeah, our goal is um, like let's say the at the drum recording, uh we of course we tried to get the same takes um for each pot, of course. But um yes, the we it happened to be that we had at the end some takes that differed a little bit from the others, and sometimes we did not use them because we didn't like them, and sometimes we used them, especially those takes because they sounded great. Um yeah, but the the wrath uh playing is kind of the same, yeah. Sometimes there's a hi-hat or a a different fill on the tombs, something like that. But yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and you also had like a pre-pro and demos and everything as kind of the blueprint for the record. And I I just bring this up because I I already know when people are watching this or listening to this, uh, they're gonna be like, We told you so, you don't need a pre-production demo, whatever. You can always improvise it. It's always like spontaneous and creativity, blah, blah, blah. And like, yes, there's always room for that, but still you were really prepared and you had a version of the song that you could have recorded, and then you just take the freedom to change things up spontaneously if you if something comes up. But it's not that you went into the studio and then somehow the songs came to be like you you had you had something written and you had a version that you could in theory like play the same way. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. We had uh all of the songs that made it to the final record. Uh, we had a rough mix of them, um, which every band member signed, yeah, that's the way uh this song should sound like. And uh this was the foundation for everybody rehearsing the songs over and over again. And yeah, only after that we started the recording.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, um how do like you were you were the producer basically? Like, I mean, I don't know how much the the rest of the band has done, but I know that you have definitely done most of it in terms of like recording, editing, mixing, and all that kind of stuff. So, how important is the whole preparation for you? Like, was that was that that whole demo and pre-production process was that essential for the entire thing? Or like because I just asked because this is something that so many people completely like skip. They might jam in the jam space and then they go straight to recording, and then all kinds of problems come up, and the recording sessions take forever. And so that's why I'm interested in in your opinion here. Like, what was it beneficial to have those demos and to have the rough mixes before you went to the real recordings?
SPEAKER_01Yes, absolutely. Uh very important. Um for me, especially for me. Um we already did some kind of recording or one one one album. No, actually, it was an EP with uh five or six songs, I can't really remember, where we didn't do the whole pre-production as we did it uh this time. And there's definitely a recognizable difference in quality for the whole thing. So it's very, very important uh to be prepared for the recording session, which is everybody knows their parts, the parts are completely written. Everybody so the parts exist um when you press record, and um everybody rehearsed his parts, and yeah, absolutely very important. Cool, perfect. Did you go oh sorry, yeah, and also the the whole sonic vision, let's say, if you want to call it like that, because actually the most important thing, if you would ask me, because um knowing what you are going to sound like or how you want to sound like is basically the most important thing. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that would have been the next question. Thank you for bringing that up because I remember, and just for context, like we host this, we have this coaching program, the self-recording syndicate, and Martin joined that, and then we helped him guided him a little bit through the the process and everything. Um, and I remember when we started working on this, the one of the first conversations was exactly that when it came to drums. Like, which kind of symbols, which kind of drums do you think we can we should use here? We have you told me what you have, and then you told me a couple of references and and like some snare and kick sounds you liked. And then we were going back and forth, like, okay, for this kind of sound, I would go for this kind of drum and I would mic it like that, and I would maybe choose these types of symbols. And there was this ongoing conversation about this, and then um pretty yeah, everything else as well, like with the guitars and stuff. So you had a pretty clear vision of what you wanted, and then we just made sure that you get the most out of what you have, or you were even, you know, if if you had needed to get something you don't have, you would have probably done that, or like, you know, whatever it takes to get to the result. But that was the first part of the conversation, just to figure out where are we actually going with this. Because not it not just because you have a setup, it doesn't mean that what you want to sound like is possible with that kind of setup. So it's it's important to know what you want and then start with the instruments, start with the room and all of that, and and and give yourself the best chance of actually getting there. Um so yeah, that was that that stood out to me from the beginning that you knew exactly what you wanted. And I don't know the internal band dynamics because I just, you know, I have the conversations with you. Um so that is my next question. Like, is everybody in the band on the same page, or is it one of the situations where like everyone has different favorite bands and everyone loves completely different sonic aesthetics, and it's really difficult to get everyone you know on the same page to one kind of vision for the entire thing? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's the case. Um but it's not that that bad. Um everybody has their own uh favorite bands, their own musical influences. Um but there is at certain parts there is a common sense, if you want to call it like that. So um everybody we started okay, the we after we had the songs basically the the wrath mixes finished. Um we had the lyrics, um, and then we thought, okay, how do we want to sound? And we took like two or three weeks, and everybody was collecting references for his own, and then we brought them together and um basically decided how we want to roughly create a sonic vision which fits for everybody. And yeah, this that's pretty cool for me because a band lives from each band member and everybody's bringing their own um influences to the table, and this is the foundation of a of the the whole sound for the band. So yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It's it can be difficult, like sometimes I don't know, it can be beneficial bringing all these different influences together and then creating something unique from that, but it can also be difficult, of course, and it can be a lot easier when everybody wants to do exactly the same thing or likes the same things. But yeah, it didn't get in the way of that project, definitely. Like it was just something I was interested in in it. I didn't have the impression that it like slowed things down or something, so so that was fine. Um before you went into this project for the for the the current record that you just released, you didn't start from scratch, right? You already had some experience recording and like or home recording, you did some things in the past. Um how did the the previous records or things you've recorded before, like how did that go? Like, did you do all of that on your own? Like what like just just give us an idea of like your your skill and knowledge level before this record? Because this one, if honestly, if you listen to this, you wouldn't know that it's a DIY self-recorded record. So um just tell me about what it was before that record and where your skill level was and where you started, basically.
SPEAKER_01Um we released an EP before this record, um six songs, I think, yeah, if I remember correctly. And the recording process for this EP was like all the guitars were just uh the eyes, um where we with with AMP sims. Um also for the bass, just a bass line with AMP sims. Um and the drums were 100% programmed. So yeah, that was the record, and everything was basically done um by me except the lead guitars. So I've I've recorded all the the rhythm guitars, the bass guitar, the vocals, and I programmed the drums, and the lead guitar was played by our lead guitarist, um but recorded the same way. Um that was the previous EP, not the current record, right?
SPEAKER_03Yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_01The previous EP, exactly. So um I had uh a basic knowledge of the whole recording. Um I had a decent interface and we plugged the guitar straight in. Um I had some microphones for vocal, which which worked out. Um, but I had like zero um knowledge in the whole mixing and uh everything else besides recording, uh basically zero. Um therefore we went um I'm a little bit ashamed to say that. We went on Fiverr for some freelancer and um just throw through all the tracks at him and said, Okay, do something, make it sound like something. And um, yeah, I would never do this again. Let's say it this way.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I mean it wasn't it it was a start for the band, and you had uh to be fair, you know, you had an EP and it you kind of it's it's it's it's it's better than what a lot of people do in the beginning, but yeah, it's not it's if you're going for the best possible really good sounding results, it's probably not what you should do. I agree. Yeah. But I'm mainly asking, I I asked this question not to to, you know, it's not so much about the old record or how good or bad it sounds, but it's more about a lot of people don't believe that you can actually make a record yourself that sounds good. And I know that also in your band there was kind of like, of course, skepticism, and you talk to the other guy, yeah. Like we already knew each other and there was some sort of trust, but then also I remember um that the rest of the I I was talking to um a couple of people in your band when we or to Phil, especially, yeah, when we were uh we played a show together, I think. And or did we actually play, or was I just there as a guest? I don't even remember. No, we actually played together. We played together, yeah, in in Strauben, right? Yes, exactly. Yeah, and uh then we talked, and I remember him saying, like, I I still don't believe that we can pull this off, or I'm not fully sure that we can pull this off. It just looks and sounds so complex and all that, and so and that's normal. But I like your story is actually a perfect example of how it is possible, and it's not possible for for everyone, with like every situation is different. But if like if you have some sort of recording experience, like you have a little bit of a very basic home studio uh setup, you have recorded things before, you don't start completely from scratch, and even then it's possible, it just takes more time. But you're the perfect example because you already knew kind of how it works, you went through the process with other people, you you were able to record things. Um, it just it just was that plateau from yeah, I can I can do demos to like I can make a proper record, and that is totally doable. And so this is just a very good example of that, and and that's why I wanted to to talk about this and bring this up to encourage people that you know they they can try it themselves. And there's so many people out there who have been recording for years and without like really good results, but it is possible, and um yeah, so that's kind of that's kind of where I where I was going with this. Also, though, I need to say one thing, it didn't just happen overnight and it wasn't something that was super easy because it also worked because you put in a lot of work into this. Like you know, there were certain things that you had to redo, or like you also wanted it to be really great, so you didn't just give up when something didn't work, you did it over and over again. You you just wanted it to be right and you put in the effort and you even went, you know, the extra mile, created your own impulse responses from your amps, and like things that most people don't do. Um, and that's also part of why it worked, because you put in you put in the work. And so my next question would be where does the passion for recording and mixing and all that come from? Because you, you know, you gotta like it, because otherwise you wouldn't, you, you, you just won't do it. Like some people are just artists who don't want to have anything to do with any of the technical stuff. And if you're that kind of person, it's super hard to learn, of course. But it feels like you actually have a passion for it. You kind of like it and you were interested in it in it from the beginning. So, where does this passion come from? Why did you even want to deal with the recording and mixing side of things?
SPEAKER_01Uh that's a very difficult question because that's what I'm asking myself all the time. Where is this coming from? Um I think it's a strange story, but uh at the age of let's say 13, 14, something like that. Um I've got for my birthday, uh my parents bought me a CD from Green Day. So um a recording from Green Day, and and it was some kind of special edition because it also contained a DVD with um recordings of the the recording process, so you uh videos of the recording process from Green Day in the studio. And I watched it as a kid and I was absolutely fascinated. I thought this is the coolest thing ever being a band in a recording studio and turning all the knobs and and uh I don't it just uh it just got me so into it. And ever since then I'm watching uh YouTube videos over and over of bands in the studios, bands I like. There are a lot of them out there, bands in the studio, how is a certain record recorded in the studio? And yeah, I'm just so sucked into the whole topic, and ever since I'm yeah, I'm into it.
SPEAKER_03Interesting. So you just saw that video, and you were not like, I want to be the band in the studio, you wanted to be on the other side of it as well.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah, that took a while to realize it, to be honest. Um at first I always thought, okay, I wanna I wanna be a in a band and going with my friends to a recording studio, having fun recording a record. Um that was always my goal, and in the whole process, and especially especially during the recording for Pathfinder again, I thought, okay, I really like being a musician and I really like being on a stage and performing, but what I like even more is um being in the studio and record bands and do the mixing and and mastering and stuff like that. So yeah. I don't know why, how's that, but that's how it is.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I I totally understand. Yeah, you like of course, yeah. But like, but yeah, it's uh it's it's interesting. Yeah, and again, I'm bringing this up because the this show is meant to first of all help people learn things about recording, but then also to inspire and encourage people. And um, I'm always interested in the why behind, you know, why why people do the things they do, and and um it I and I always want to be realistic and I wanted you know to I want to tell people that it's not something that is like that you yeah, that just happens overnight. You gotta have a passion for it and you gotta put some work into it because otherwise it wouldn't work. And you have all those things. So yeah. Um do you work with other bands as well now, or do you want to do that?
SPEAKER_01Um I to be honest, I thought about it a lot lately, um, but I'm not doing it right now because um, yeah. I maybe I didn't have enough time the last couple of months um for that, but yeah, let's see, maybe maybe in the future. I I don't want to do it uh don't be offended, but I I th I couldn't could not imagine doing this for a full-time job. Um I think it it would definitely stay a hobby for me, but I definitely can imagine working with some other bands, maybe bands I know, um, if they need help at some point. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, totally.
SPEAKER_03But that that's that that's totally fine. I mean I think if you for anyone wanting to get into this, wanting to start this, um working with other bands, I think doing it. Part-time on the side as a hobby is always the best idea in the beginning. And then you never know, like it could turn into something, it could not, but like without having the pressure of having to make it work, I think it's a smarter move. It's the opposite of what I've done, but I also I knew that that's all I wanted to do, and that there was no plan B, but it could have failed terribly. So that's actually the smartest thing to do, just no pressure and do it on the side and enjoy it, and who knows what's gonna happen. Yeah. All right. Um so what is the most exciting part about making a record for you? I think the recording sessions.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I think, yeah, absolutely. The recording sessions. Being with all the band members in the same room and recording final takes. Um that's definitely what I like most about the whole thing.
SPEAKER_03Interesting. Is it more about like creating something with other people and the fact that like um yeah, you're in the room with others, you're not just by yourself, but at the computer, and it's this creative process where you know nothing exists, and then when you're done, something exists, like the creation of something that fascinates you? Or what what is it exactly?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Is it that that kind of aspect? Yeah. That yeah, you got the point, yeah, absolutely. The creation of something, uh, yeah. Absolutely. I get it, I get it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And so opposite question, what is the part that you don't like at all? Is there anything or like the the the part you like um you know the least?
SPEAKER_01Yes. Um the whole drum and vocal editing, of course, which which has a such a big influence on on the whole thing. Um but also is the it was the hardest thing for me to do because I in this topic I basically had no knowledge at all. Some some basic foundations, but not really, not really deep knowledge. And so yeah, that was the hardest part for me to do. Absolutely. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Most people, most people. There are these like weird people like Thomas. Sorry, Thomas. Uh no. No, but Thomas, I don't know if he specifically enjoys editing that much, but like, yeah, I mean, I think he does. But no, there are these people who just love most, and I'm I'm actually kind of like that too. It's it is a part of me, who just like the fact of like I'm I'm um I'm at my computer. I get I take something that is not ideal and I turn it into something that's awesome, and I can do that on my own time and by myself, basically, and then I deliver it and everybody's super stoked about it. I I kind of get that. That's why I'm a mixing engineer as well. But then there's obviously the whole social part and the whole creation from nothing kind of part with the band in the studio that's also fascinating. And in my case, I kind of need both, honestly, a little bit. I gravitate towards the let me be in my zone, let me be the mixing engineer thing. But every once in a while I need to get out there and do an actual production, not just to keep my skills fresh, but also because I need to be in a room with people and create something every once in a while. That's kind of a balance there. Yeah, I totally get that. Cool. So, what are the songs about? And what was that kind of vision and vibe we were talking about? Like what did you want to create? What did you come up with when you talked about that with your bandmates?
SPEAKER_01So maybe the writing of the songs started, I think, somewhere around 2021, I think. So a few years ago, actually. Um was a difficult time, to be honest for me, because um I finished studying and the whole uh Corona pandemic thing uh started to take over. And um yeah, I wrote up like thousand applications to all the companies everywhere and got nothing. And I was at home sitting in my room and thought, okay, now you've studied five years and now you are sitting in your room and don't get a job, and you need to pay some kind of insurance and whatever. It's um it was weird, just weird, really weird. And um then I've started to yeah, write songs because I got bored, I had time. Um different things were going on in my mind, and I've yeah, it was kind of a personal therapy if you want to call it like that. So that's when the songwriting process started, actually. And I wrote about the topics that um yeah, influenced me at that time. So Pathfinder, finding your path, finding your way in life, finding out who am I, who yeah. Who who am I? Yeah, that's the the basic question of the whole record. Who do I want to be? Um, yeah, so many questions, even questions I don't still know. Um just a weird time at that time, 2021, with the whole pandemic thing. Yeah. And I think to be honest, a lot of records started at that time, somewhere around, because bands had time. They couldn't play live, uh, there was nothing to do, really. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03Interesting. I didn't yeah, I had I didn't know it was about that period of time, but it makes it makes total sense, yeah. Um not all songs, not all songs to be honest, but most of them. Yeah. Before you dive deeper into the sonic vision of this, Manil, um, I just now see the raised hand there, which has probably already been up for like 20 minutes, like as always. But like I need to get used to this icon in Riverside. Yeah, but so go ahead, please. You can just you can just also interrupt, dude. But like, yeah, I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_00Two questions. One, I guess it has something to do with what you just said, the sonic vision, which is that I'm curious, because you said, Martin, you said that every member of the band had or has different tastes and also different visions, and and I guess you have to combine all of that and create one vision. So I'm curious about how that process uh came to be, basically. Like, did did you have to abandon some ideas because some of your bandmates had different ideas which were not really uh you know compatible with your ideas and that that that sort of thing?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah. Um, we had to abandon some ideas, um, but not specific for the sonic vision, more for certain parts in the songs. Like, for example, I wrote an intro to a song and it was very fast, very aggressive. And um, our lead um guitar player wanted the exact opposite. He wanted a calm and dynamic intro, uh kind of a build-up for the song. Um, and I was like, no, we we have to to push it right from the start. It needs to, yeah. Um, and this was kind of a where we abandoned the idea of we abandoned my idea actually. So we started a calm um and steady buildup for the song. And in the first moment I thought, uh no, I'm not very happy with that, to be honest. But as I've listened to the demo, I was like, okay, yeah, actually, this was the right decision for this song. It really fits. Um, and in a strange way, this happened for most of the the times when we had opposite opinions on on things. So in the end, the the one who didn't get his his part in always was like, Okay, yeah, you were right. This sounds good. So at the end, there was a a common sense, absolutely. And for the Sonic Vision, it was basically the same. So as I said, we already we all took the time to to find our our references we want to have for for drums, for bass, for guitars, for the whole mix, um, etc. And of course there were different opinions on on things, but yeah, in the end, everything everybody was happy with with the final results.
SPEAKER_00And do you think it's been like uh beneficial for for you to have someone else's input?
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And um not just the input of the bandmates, of of musicians, if you want to call it that like that.
SPEAKER_03Um that's a great way to put it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Sometimes. And but but also the opinion of people who are not that deep into music. For example, my wife, who she she really likes music, she has basically the same taste in music like like me, but she doesn't play an instrument or something like that. So she has no deeper knowledge. I hope she does not hear this podcast. But but have her feedback was very important for me because she listened to the songs and thought was like, uh, this sounds weird on a part I've edited for like two hours, and she she was just, no, that that doesn't sound no, this no, I don't like it. You have to make it faster or you have to make it whatever. And yeah, that input was really great, to be honest. So, yes, input from from the outside is yeah, very important.
SPEAKER_00Benedict, do you have anything to add?
SPEAKER_03But basically, I I just wanted to ask one follow-up question to the whole like what's the record about, and like how does that translate it to what it should sound like? Like, does that is there any connection between what the songs are about and what you wanted them to sound like? Or was that decision purely based on we like these bands, we like this kind of music, this kind of genre, that's that's why we want our songs to sound like that, but it's not necessarily a vibe that is transporting the content of the songs, like one or the other, or both. I don't know. Just just tell me about how because you had this clear vision, you you told me exactly what you liked. So how did you arrive at the sonic vision for the songs?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, um I don't really know how we came to the result, but we are uh in my imagination, the songs should be as impactful as possible without losing some kind of dynamic element, if you know what I mean. So there should be louder parts, quieter parts, uh faster parts, slower parts, um changing throughout the songs. And somehow I I always wanted very open chords for the whole songs on the on the guitar. So um let's say if you want to put a simple power chord on the guitar, and I I've always used to play the additional two high strings um to make it as open and wide as as possible. So this was yeah, the the sonic vision for that. The drums should be really impactful and and heavy, but not like heavy metal, some kind of strange blast beats or whatever. So that was the the rough idea in my head. And the the challenge was to to somehow this it was almost like a feeling. How should the songs feel if you want to call it like that? And the challenge was to transfer this feeling to the actual songs.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. That makes total that makes total sense. And I I um it's also not surprising that you don't fully know how you arrived at where you arrived. It's just you like what you like and you have certain influences from different bands, and you kind of sometimes it's hard to put into words, but what matters is that you have it in your head and you know, like this is what I'm going for, pretty much. And in this case, it sounds like it's a it's a combination of what the songs or the yeah, what the songs are about and what their the the topics are asking for. Maybe some sort of idea that just started. Sometimes you also have an idea, and then that starts the process, sort of, and you the the the the riff or whatever tells you what it needs. And then, of course, of course, you um have your favorite bands and the music you came up with, and it's just stuff that you like in general. And so it's a blend of that, usually, right? But what matters is that you came to something that's pretty clear, where you're like, yep, that that's what the record is gonna be, pretty much. Um yeah, absolutely. Cool. And could you put that in into words, like just for people when they check out the record, like you know, you said impactful, of course, and then also some sort of dynamic element. But was there like specific things about you know guitar tones, drum tones, or overall balances, you know, dark or bright, or like any anything that you remember where you're like, yeah, that's definitely something we wanted sonically?
SPEAKER_01It's very hard to describe. Really, the the songs should transfer the the emotions and the the feelings behind the songs. That's really what what matters the most um to me. And it's a best answer, actually. Yeah, it's very hard because sometimes you listen to songs and it's not the the the totally polished, uh high-produced uh high-end song, uh high-end production, but the song um grabs you emotionally, and that's the most important thing for me, to be honest. Yeah, agreed. Manel, switch topics.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Okay, so I like to know, or I'd like to have a clear idea of the whole process, because um you both know how the process went because you both participated in there, but I think that people listening to us and me, for example, that um I I was not part of the process, I don't really have a clear idea of how the process went. So I'd like to know like exactly who did what, what was the role of Benedict into all of this, and all of that, so that the audience can also have a better idea of how uh this uh was done, and they can maybe think about having a similar process for their music.
SPEAKER_01So, as I already mentioned, most of the songs were written in 2021, something around that. And it was at the end of 2024 then we had like 13 or 14 songs um finished. Uh we we actually wrote more, I think it was like 16, 17, 18 songs, something around that. But um during the demoing, uh we realized okay, some songs are not gonna make it because they just no, we have better songs. Um so we we left a few songs aside. And end of 2024, we had enough songs together, and we thought, okay, hey, now we really can do some kind of let's make an an album, you know, let's put those songs onto an album. And um we thought, okay, maybe we can do the recording ourselves. Maybe, but definitely, definitely not the mixing and the whole everything that came comes after the recording. Zero chance. And I knew I knew Benedict, I knew um that he has a studio in in Swedel, and I really like his his work, so we thought, okay, absolutely, we are going to Benedict. And um the whole recording like 12-13 songs, get the mixing done, get the mastering done, it's just a lot of money, to to be honest. So for a small band who we uh all work full-time jobs, but the band doesn't bring us any any money in in that way, of course. So this what was a hard decision. And mostly more more important than the financial thing is that I wanted to do it myself. So I I was like, I I don't have the knowledge, but in some way I want to do it myself. Um, but I also wanted to get the best possible result, of course, for for the whole thing. Um and by by accident, I got uh wind of Benedict's project. Um, and I was like, okay, yeah, this is it, this is exactly what I need for this uh recording going to happen. So um it was a no-brainer. Um I knew Benedict um, as I already said, for quite some time. Um and yeah, the decision was absolutely clear that we are going to join Benedict, or I am going to join Benedict's project for this. Um, and I think that yeah, the the whole process was like I've uploaded all the demos for my songs to Benedict. Um, we had a a kickoff call for all that, and then it was a lot of the the sonic vision. We collected references, we talked about them in um always Benedict gave us some feedback and his thoughts on this, which was very important. Um, and at some point we were like, okay, now we really can start with the recording. Yeah, and the recording was some back and forth. Um, so we've recorded some parts, we've sent them over to to Benedict for his feedback. Uh, we recorded again and uh etc. It's like a little ping-pong effect. And yeah, at some point we had the recording done. Um, and if you have any questions, just interrupt me. No, I'm just talking. Yeah. Um after the the recording, um what was really helpful was that Benedict did one of the songs, the mixing for one of the songs. So the first song um was mixed by mixed and mastered by Benedict. Um with some feedback loops again, until we said, okay, this is exactly what we want. This is perfect. And this was basically the foundation for all the other songs. So we had a clear reference, how we wanted to sound, everything was done for in this uh one song, uh, which was perfect. We loved it, and yeah, this was the the foundation for all the other songs um where I tried uh to mix them myself. And for this one song, Benedict mixed. Um, he of course he showed me what did he do, where and why and how, and yeah, everything in his mixing session. Um he explained it to me. Um yeah, and so I've started mixing the other songs. Um, again, feedback over feedback over feedback. Um, I did a mix, I sent it to Benedict, he gave me his feedback, I implemented, or at least try to implement it, send it again back to Benedict. I've got the feedback. And yeah, this was I I've learned so much by this. Um I think you can watch like 20 years of YouTube tutorials uh and don't get the information from two calls with Benedict. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00And did you do also the drum recordings yourself?
SPEAKER_01Yes, we did. Um, with a lot of help from Benedict, of course. We were very lucky because we actually um could use a really great room for the drum recording. Um, and Benedict helped us. We we set up the kit and all the microphones and um set up the kit, and then Benedict came over because he's not that far away. He came over, he checked everything, um, he retuned the whole kit basically. So yeah, that's what I do. But it it worked, uh, it sounded way better after that, to be honest. Um, and then we've started with the recording, yeah. So real drums were reused. That was very important for us. So we wanted to have real drums, real guitar amps. Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I like I mentioned this because I think that many times part of the do-it-yourself thing is to know where do you need help, right? And because like little things like Benedict going to the drum uh recording session and helping you out, I don't know how much time he spent there, but maybe like two or three hours or whatever, that can make a big difference. Um, and that happened because you knew that you needed help there. So, you know, sometimes even if the approach you have is the do-it-yourself approach, like I want to do uh most of the things myself, it's super important to know where you can get some help, because that tiny little thing can make a big difference.
SPEAKER_01Yes, absolutely. And I think recording real drums is basically the most challenging thing to record, as a a a beginner at least. Um yeah, and therefore Benedict's help was was really important. Uh in front of the recording, he gave us all the the infos on yeah, you have to watch out for this, this, and that, the face, the whole face thing is very important. With uh like I think we've used like 14 or 15 different microphones for the whole recording of the drums only. So face is a very big topic there. Um so we tried our best to set it up in a way that works, and Benedict checked everything as I've already mentioned in front of the recording, and we've adapted some things again, retuned the kit, and after that we were ready to go.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, this is like kind of you had the the bonus there where um I mean I do the same thing with everyone that joins the syndicate um coaching program. But you had a bonus because I was so close that I could actually be there physically and not just um You know, uh do it remotely, which obviously helps. Yeah. Um, but but yeah, the the principles are always the same. And what matters is that you took the time and did the extra work to yeah, figure out something like phase that again, a topic that so many people skip because it seems so technical and complex, and like ah, who cares? You know, people just don't do it. And then um the whole drum recording in general, like you said, it's just such a complex thing where if you record real drums, from you know, starting with the the drum skins uh selection and then the tuning and then where to put the mics and then getting the phase right, all those things. So what matters is that you took that part seriously and actually got help there. Whether you do it remotely or or in person is like secondary. It obviously helps if someone is in the room, but it's still the what matters is that you did it. And even though I was there, you still had to do some things afterwards where we were like we were going back and forth on some of the phase things. We I think we discovered a couple of things afterwards where I don't know what exactly changed, but you know, it's sometimes when you are in a room, um, and especially for me, it was not my not a studio room that I was used to, so it's kind of the monitoring and everything. So it's you get it right, but there can still be things that once you listen to it in your normal like control room, you realize, oh, maybe I don't know, if I it's just such a complex, you know, thing, the whole drum, the the whole drum kit with all the microphones, that it could be that maybe in the in the in the studio room you had the two kick drum mics in phase, and maybe that was in phase with the overheads, and maybe the same for the snare, but then maybe for whatever reason the bleed from the snare into the kick drum puts things out of phase, or like the weirdest things can happen, and or you know, and uh so and sometimes you discover that after the fact that that was the case here too, and you just didn't stop, or we didn't stop even remotely until we got it right, and then you need to you need to make sure to not mess it up in editing again because that's the the next step when you then go to the drum editing and you have the group the tracks together and then do the edits, you can mess up the phase again if you make mistakes, or you can all kinds of things can happen. It's just a complex beast, um, you know, a drum kit with many microphones on it. Uh, but you did all of that, and it I think that part was the most important part of the process where it was absolutely critical to get help from the outside because everything else you can kind of get away with, or it's kind of doable, but that part really is what what matters so much. And also, what I always say is like when the drums suck, the same is true for vocals. When drums and vocals suck on a record, the whole thing sucks. It's just no matter what. And you can get away with all kinds of guitar tones somehow, but the drums need to be right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I agree with with that, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah, so that was kind of a funny story uh for the drum recording. We we saved the hardest song somehow for the last song. Um me and my brother did did most of the recording, the other two joined in uh uh every uh time they they have had time for it. Um me and my brother were it was like 7 p.m. something like that, and we thought, okay, let's do this one last song. Uh we can do it, we can finish the drum recording today. Um and everything was ready. I pressed record, and Benedict, my brother's name is also Benedict. He started this song and Vash, he just teared the the snare uh head apart, and we had no spare heads, so we were like 120% motivated. Yeah, let's do it, we can finish it, let's give it our best. And he was like, bum. Okay, we go home now. Yeah, but sometimes, yeah, that's how it works.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, oh, that's also that's funny. No spare heads, yeah. I mean, it can happen. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Next time there will be spare heads, but it's a it's a learning process.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So that was that was the the process. Did we cover it all uh already, or where did we stop in the whole recording process for Manel just so he knows how it works? Like I was there in the drum part of it, then you took the drums home, you did the editing and all that, you recorded bass and guitars yourself. We didn't talk in detail about the guitar recording, I think, where you did um your own impulse responses and tried a couple of different approaches and setups. And then you even gave the impulses to our community, which I'm very grateful for. And I was blown away by the comparison between uh the real thing and the impulse response you created. So maybe you can talk about that real quick. It's a little more technical, so I'm not sure if everyone can follow along with this, but it's again impressive what you were able to do and figure out there.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah, I've created impulse responses because um some amps, or let's let's say like this, um most of the amp heads have some kind of send and return effects loop. You know, you can turn on and put effects uh within the chain. And I thought, okay, I can do the it was during demoing. So okay, I can record my real amp um by just going from the send out into my interface and then put some kind of speaker emulation on it and play with my real amp in total silence in my bedroom. Let's call it like that. Um and I was like, okay, but I wanted to have my own guitar cap. I wanted to have my own guitar sound. And um I knew the topic of impulse responses, but I never knew how to create, actually create them. And um I watched a video on YouTube and I thought, okay, let's just try try this. Um, and what you do is basically you just uh put one sample of white noise um and send it through your amp and record what's coming out of your cap. Um so it's it's really strange because it sounds like something like that. That's it. Um and you record this, what comes out. So basically how your cap is responding to uh the input of your amp. You grab this and uh use it as um as simulation for your cab. So you're going with your AMP into your door and putting this impulse response you created. Um and I was blown away by the sound. It sounded just like the real AMP with an SM57 in front of it. Um and I've also sended uh those files to Benedict. So one file where I actually put the SM57 in front of my AMP and just recorded my AMP, and one the other one where I'm not using a cap at all, just the input response I've created. And yeah, I think on the real one you could hear slightly noise floor from the AMP, but that's basically everything. So there was no big difference at all.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And just for context, thank you for sharing that. Just for um further explanation for people listening, you put like you put, like you said, one sample of white noise, which means just like a a millisecond basically, or whatever, like a very short blip of white noise through the speaker, you record that, and then just in case people are wondering, how from there you go to like hearing your your cab, uh you need an impulse loader, impulse response loader plugin. And you can uh you don't have to do the actual conversion of that wavefile that you recorded into the impulse response yourself. You just drag and drop it into a loader like that, ideally. And then um yeah, it it's called like folding, and then it turns it into it turns the wave file you recorded into the impulse response. And so you have you can have an AMP sim and then that afterwards, or just an amp with the the line out and then that afterwards. Um but it just it replaces your your actual cap and it behaves pretty much like the cap. And there's a little more to it, but like that's kind of the the idea. And yeah, and depending on how well you do that, it can sound very convincing or not. And when you sent me that the example, I was like, yeah, you can absolutely use this even on the record. Like if you wouldn't have told me, like I I think I could uh I was able to tell because of the noise floor, but that is not something you need on the record, anyways. It's actually something you're probably gonna be fighting in the mix, so the the sonically was the same. So that was really, really cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. And what's what's really cool about this whole thing as for the drums, we had this really cool room to record the drums in, and I've also created those impulse responses in that room. Um, and now I can recreate this specific sound uh from my home studio because I still got the impulse response, I still have the same amp. Um, if I tweak the settings right, I can create the same sound again. Yeah. From basically everywhere. So that's pretty cool. Yeah, that's absolutely cool.
SPEAKER_03Totally. Yeah. So there's that. And then uh vocals. Was there any challenges there or any like aha moments, things that went wrong or w well, or I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there was a aha moment. Um, I did the vocals mostly by myself because somehow I want it to be for myself. Um after You're the singer in the band just for the biggest. Yeah, exactly. I'm I'm the singer. Um I've gone in in the the rehearsal room and I build up some some kind of walls by just putting big mattresses on the wall, and I I built some kind of a ISO box for me um where I put the mic stand in and and I've recorded the vocals there. Um usually maximum one song per day. So I was working, I'm still working a full-time job, and I'm coming home from work, I'm trying to eat something, and then I'm driving to the the rehearsal room and recording vocals and like three or four hours for one song. That's it. Then my voice was kinda worn out and yeah. And there was one very funny moment in that, and one aha moment. Um the aha moment was definitely that I always tried to be extra sure. So I did every part like four or five times. Um, and after that I was like, okay, let's do again, let's do two additional takes for every part. And usually when you listen to that again, usually the best take is two or three. Never one, somehow. One is good, two is better, three is the best mostly, and the rest you can just delete them or don't even record them because you won't use them anyway. Um at least for me, it was like this.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's not uncommon.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And the funny moment was we we shared our rehearsal room with another band. Um, Benedict's brother actually plays in this band, and um I was in my ISO cap. I didn't saw the room, I was in my ISO cap and I was screaming the hell out of my voice and recording the a very hard part. Um, and after like half an hour, I went outside to grab a drink, and Benedict's brother was sitting there and was like, Oh, hey, I don't want it to disturb you. I was like, Whoa, how long do you have do you have been here? All like half an hour I was listening. It sounds good.
SPEAKER_03She was sitting in the room there and hearing you watching you scream in the ISO booth, basically. That's funny. That's funny. Uh awesome. You never told me that story.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, during the summertime it was very hot. I was topless inside this vocal cap sweating all over and screaming the hell out of it. At least it didn't interrupt you. Like he was polite. No, he was he was very polite. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So yeah, that was the process, Manel. Now you know how it worked. Yeah. That there was this one mix with the mixed walkthrough that's part of the program, of the coaching program, and then a little bit of revisions there, and then you took over and mixed the rest of the songs. Not the not exactly the same way, but like it it was pretty like what usually happens when I do the mixed walkthrough is I send it out, and then people try to do the next mix themselves based on what they've seen me do to their music. And of course, it always is very, very helpful, and the results that they get after this are usually much better than before. But it takes a couple of iterations typically to really get there, just because it's it's not it's not easy, right? And and you know, and I'm used to getting something back where I'm like, yeah, kinda, and now let's do a couple of tweaks and then we're there. And you sent me your mixes, and I was like, how I was going back and forth between my mix and then yours, and then like, damn, like that it's it those mixes could be on a record together. And it was it was this is kind of I said in the beginning when I started to this coaching program that my goal for this was always for like I wanted people to beat my mixes, actually. That's the best thing I can do in the coaching program because that would be ultimate like success if you start out and you have less experience than me and your mixes are not that great, and then you leave the program and your mixes just sound better than mine. That's that would be ideal. It would hurt my ego, but it would be ideal. And so, but and like in this case, it was like, damn, yeah, that that is that sounds yeah, you know, yeah, that was that was just perfect right away. And then you just did some tweaks and all that, but like if you listen to the record, it's it's like it's really fantastic. I really mean this. And the rest is always at a you know, at a certain level, it it is just personal preference, it is not a matter of like much better or worse anymore. And sure, there are still things you're gonna get better over time. There's still things you could improve, like just like I could improve and everyone could improve always. But in general, it is a matter of like taste and personal preference. And yes, I would have mixed it slightly differently, but not because it's better or worse, because just because I hear it differently. And that's totally normal. And so, yeah, I was I was really stoked about that when I heard this and how close you got. And I think there were a couple of things we tweaked a little bit, um, but it was pretty quickly pretty much there.
SPEAKER_01It would not have been possible without you. There were no chance at all that we could deliver some some the the quality and and the final result. Without you, there wouldn't have been a chance to do this, really. Uh it was so helpful. And what I basically did is I I've got your your your mix file for the first song, your mixing session, and you've walked me through it and explained everything, why you were doing um what and when and how and whatever. Um and I basically tried in the first step to recreate some kind of your mix. So I of course I didn't had all the the plugins or the the output gear that you've maybe used. Um but I tried to at least come close to your mix, and from there was a point, it it took a while, but there was a point where I came somehow close, and then I've started on tweaking things like okay, what if I move the EQ band a little bit? What what happens to the sound? How does the some kind of compressor respond if I change the the settings on here? What does it really do to the sound? And this was this was yeah, a real good thing to learn things. So that helped a lot.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's act that's very interesting that you try to recreate it first and then move away from it and do your own thing. That's actually a really good strategy. Um but yeah. And I'm glad to hear that it helped, obviously, that totally, but also you gotta be able to hear it first. And so um, yeah, it was it was pretty, pretty impressive overall. Um I'm curious to hear the the rest of the band, are they like how long did it take until they were on board with the with the idea? I mean, and are they even on board with the idea now? Like, do they now like are they happy with the record as well? Because there there was skepticism in the beginning, and I think we never talked about that. Are are they happy as well? And if so, like how long did that take, or when was the moment where they were like, yeah, I think we actually can do that? Like uh write an album or or do the mixing and everything by ourselves? Yeah, that I mean I think you you knew that you were gonna write an album, but like I mean the the the result of the the production, the record, all that, like they were very skeptical, especially our lead guitarist.
SPEAKER_01My brother was like, yeah, absolutely, I I trust you, you can do this, let's let's go for it. Um But but Phil was very skeptical because he's like I don't know, he has very specific, um a very specific feeling of how his music should sound like or our music should should sound like, and he was very skeptical that someone else can really create this sound for us. Um and wait, wait, hold on, hold on.
SPEAKER_03This is this this is very interesting because because okay, like first of all, I uh that that's good you you mentioned that. I I actually wanted to know like when was the time when they were then when they started believing that it actually works and then if they actually like it. But it's good that you got back to the skepticism because were they skeptical that you can do it yourself or that someone else can do it for you? Because you've said kind of both things now. Like because if if if they're skeptical that someone else gets the idea, that's usually the argument for doing it yourself. But also I remember him being skeptical about being able to do it themselves, like yourself. So, like, who's gonna do it?
SPEAKER_01No. So um we all agreed that I cannot do it by myself without the help from someone uh external. So that that was clear for for me and everybody else in the band. So we know okay, if we wanna go make this happen, we need some help at some point. But Phil was very skeptical, maybe from our first EP, the previous release, um, because we took a lot of feedback loops with the mixing engineer and um it didn't work out. We we didn't get the sound we wanted. And for this time, Phil was very skeptical because we got the sound we want from our recording, but he thought, okay, whoever will mix this outside the band is putting his own uh stamp on it, if you know what I mean. Yeah, so this was the the skeptic skeptical part for Phil. Um but after the after your first mix, um we took a couple of revisions, I think, for the first mix, but Phil was like, okay, yeah, this is going to happen. So in the moment we received your first mix, Phil was like, okay, we can do this.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's awesome to hear. That's really awesome to hear. And now with the final result that you did at the end, um, are is everyone happy with that? Yeah, absolutely. Cool.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. There were a lot of feedback loops um within the band. Within a band. Um and even some feedback loops long after all the songs are finished. Then Phil came again and said, uh, thought about we could try this again. And we we could try a different drum, Phil. And I was like, Phil, we don't have the drum, the room anymore. We we cannot recreate. I cannot change the drums now. But yeah, it was more like a joke from him, I guess.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yeah. Oh, that's funny. Yeah, but also most bands actually um the even years after the release, there's something that you know, you know you can't change it anymore, but there is always something that you think, you know what, we should have done this or that. Like that's that's just always kind of the case. And it's good because that means on the next project you can do all these things and have new ideas and inspiration already. And like it would be, I think it would be weird if there was nothing that you could, you know, that that you could have done differently, or if if because that means you wouldn't be able to improve anymore. And I think there's always something afterwards with a little bit of distance where you're like, ah, maybe this or that, and then you you know you can try it on next time. But but yeah, very cool to hear that you're super happy with it. Yeah, absolutely. And how is the the the how is it going for the band right now? Like, are you playing shows? Like, what are the plans? Can people see you live somewhere? Um, are you recording new music already? I don't know. Like, what are you what are you doing? Because you're you said that you have full-time jobs. It's um it's obvious you are not a full-time band where you um can do as much as maybe some some other artists can, but like what what's going on in the steady drops world? I still see some posts about shows every once in a while.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, so um we are playing shows, absolutely. Um maybe our goal was like 10 shows a year, something like that. 10 to 15. 15 is a lot, but but 10 to 15 shows a year. Um usually we kind of make it sometimes we play a little bit less because you know, we all work full-time jobs. Two of our bandmates already have children. Um one is building a house right now, so yeah, time is always a a limit limitation there. Um and so yeah, we play live shows. Um we write new music, but without any pressure. So I'm mostly I'm writing new songs and I take them to rehearsal and we play them and adding things and remove things and um rearrange them. So we are writing music, not with a specific goal to to get in the next album already. So just we like the process of writing music together. Um that's what we love to do and play shows. Um I used to To push the others. Because I was always the one in the band who's like, come on, guys, we need to to push forward. Let's do it. I I really this is my passion. Let's do this. Uh we need more shows. We need more songs. Come on, come on. And um it's very hard because there are people in the band that just don't have the exact passion as me, to be honest, which is totally fine, of course. Um and now we all uh find found a common sense and agreed on okay, we play our 10, 12 shows a year, 15 shows is max, and we rehearse once once a week. That's not always happening, maybe once in two weeks, and everything is happening, and the friendship is so strong because I was like, okay, if I keep on pushing like that, I will risk the whole band and the friendship within the band. And I I don't want to destroy this, um, which was kind of hard for me, but yeah, I I've accepted this fact, and I I've got the chance to be part of another band now who is really pushing it uh to the limits, and so yeah, everything's fine for us. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's very interesting. You share that, and very important to hear for people. I've been in the same situation. A lot of people I know are in the same situation. It's very rare that everyone in the band has the same ambitions, and that is totally fine because not everyone has the same goals, every life is different. Some people have more time than others, and priorities are different and all that. And if you're especially if you're friends, it's much more important to you know remember that and not you know make the band um make the band become like a a threat to the friendship, basically. And so um so that is something that's very, very common. It's actually very rare that everyone wants the same things, and it's one of the things that holds so most bands back, like the ones who get who turn it into their career or who are touring full-time or whatever, those are the very rare cases where everyone is on board with that. And even there, it's sometimes a little difficult. But yeah, it is a normal part of it. And if it's a hobby, then that's just something you have to deal with. And I've been on both ends of that, actually. I've been the one pushing, and I to the point where I was like disappointed and it hurt the friendship at the time, and everything got you know better again, and like we solved all of that. But I was in that spot where I was pushing and in a band, and I felt like the others weren't really as ambitious, and it was annoying to me, and it was like disappointing. And then I was on the other side too, years later, where I was like, hey, I can't I don't have time for a band now anymore, and my priorities have changed and shifted, I'm not the same anymore. I still want to be in the band, but it's only a part-time or like a hobby thing here and there, and that's kind of the agreement. And then someone else in the band was pushing more, and then I was the one, you know, slowing things down. And so I I know it from both ends. It's like it's just part of being a band. Um, and it's not a matter of like a question of like who's right or wrong here, it's just different. And for context, you are in uh you're playing in Swallows Rose. You're playing with Swallows Rose now, which is uh people listening to this podcast will probably know the band. They've been on here before, and we've documented the whole recording process of their drums and all that. By the way, that was the same room that you recorded drums in. So if you saw the Swallows Rose drum recording video, that was the room that Martin Orso recorded their drums in. Um so that's exciting for you. You get to play way more than 10 shows now. So yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Um I think 20 plus shows. Um, and I've been in in the band now for yeah, some one year, I think. I've joined in in April last year. And yeah, that's a dream coming true, actually. I never thought that I get the chance to play with those guys in this band, and I I can go with them playing shows live. It's just unbelievable still. I I yeah, it's a dream coming true, and this is basically just happening because of your project. You're uh I've joined your project, and um after that uh you invited me to join this the drum recording session from Swallows.
SPEAKER_03Oh, Swallows. Oh yeah, you're right.
SPEAKER_01I I I was there just uh in the background, watching everything carefully.
SPEAKER_03And and also we borrowed some equipment from you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, that's true. Okay, yeah. You you've used, I think, two or three mics from me, yeah. Yeah. Actually, yeah. But yeah, I this was the first uh time I got in touch with with the guys from the band.
SPEAKER_03So that's so interesting. I'm so happy to to to do the connection there. I didn't even remember that. Yeah, but you're totally right. Yeah, so when we because I said like we were recording drums with Swallows Rose in that room, and I said like if you're gonna record drums in the same room, it might be beneficial if you get if you go there and watch us do it. And Swallows Rose was not in the program. I just they just hired me to produce the record or co-produce the record. And um, so I said, Well, we're gonna record drums there, I'm gonna be there all the time. And if you if you wanna come by, the it's okay for the band, and you can just see what we're doing and learn from that, it might be beneficial. And then also, I was borrowing Macs from you, so that was the least I could do. And you lent me some microphones, you came to the session, you watched what we were doing, and that's where the connection started. And like a couple months later, you they had one of their guitar players who's I think still in the band, had like family stuff and like not as much time to play all of the shows anymore. So they needed someone to fill in as a guitar player, and then before you knew it, you did that, you got that that gig basically.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, and and it happened in in the best possible moment because as I already said, I was the one pushing in inside my band, and I noticed okay, it does not work out, and I just got so frustrated. And maybe a couple of weeks later, my my phone rang, and it was like Manuel from Swallows Rose, and he was like, Hey Martin, I've got your number from someone else. Um, do you want to play guitar in Swallows Rose and play 25 shows plus next year? I was like, what is happening? Yeah, perfect timing.
SPEAKER_03I was so happy for you. So cool. And happy for the guys too, because it's a great match. Yeah. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00The self-recording, building bridges.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Absolutely. That is Manel's thing. He put he takes the the words the self-recording and then puts any word behind that phrase, like and then that's and turns it into a new thing. When we were in Hamburg together, it was like the self-recording beer, the self-recording, whatever. Like we everything. Self shopping. Gross grocery shopping, yeah. But the the funniest moment was like when I when I got when I drove you to the airport, and then I got out of my car and I opened your door for you in the back of my car. And I opened the door, and Manel looked at me and he was like, I feel like the self-recording president. I remember that still. Anyway, yeah, no, I love to build bridges, and this is it doesn't happen always like that, but like that was a good story for sure. Super happy. Yeah. So are there any shows booked in the the near future where people can watch steady drops?
SPEAKER_01Um, actually, yes. There is one in November. Actually, two in November. Um we release all the dates on our Instagram usually, and there's one in October in Austria. So the first time we're playing international. I mean, Austria is not that international from Germany, but it's another country. It counts, it's a different country. So yeah. First time international. Yeah, and some some smaller shows till then, yeah. Awesome.
SPEAKER_03Cool. And uh, where can people look those dates up? Because I want to put it in the show notes and I want to make sure people can check it out. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um just on our basically on our Instagram page, we we put all those. So it's some strange way, Steady Drops was not available on Instagram, so we are called Steady Drops um official. Underscore. Underscore, yeah, exactly. Steady drops underscore. Yeah, exactly. Official.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. All right. Yeah, I'm gonna put all that in the show notes. And then if people uh listen to Pathfinder and like it and they are in the area, they can see you live. Um yeah, any uh you said you're writing music already, so that's exciting. No real plans there yet, but so but but it's we can assume that there will be new music at some point. Yeah, absolutely. Great, love it. Manel, do you have anything to say to this or add to this or whatever? We now walked you through the entire process.
SPEAKER_00Uh well, my final thoughts would be that I think the most important thing, as I said before, uh during the process of you know Martin and the band making the songs, is to be able to recognize where do they need some help. Um and I think it's great that at the end of the day, it's a basically it's a fully do-it-yourself record with some assistance from Benedict. Uh so uh if other you know uh musicians are listening to us, they can probably uh think about like doing something similar. But I think the most important thing for all of this to work is to have great songs and great musicians to play the songs because it doesn't matter if you get to a great room and set up the drums and get Benedict to fix whatever problems you have and uh face and all that. If then you have a drummer who you know every single snare is very different, and yadda yada. So uh there's something that's more important than anything that we've been talking about in this episode, which is something that started back then in time when these guys started to play their instruments and learn how to play music together.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. Very well said. No, it's important. You bring it back to the song, to the music. It's it's something that yeah, there's there should be no episode without mentioning that this is the most important thing. Yeah, you're right. Absolutely. Start at the source. Yeah. And at the end of the day, everyone listening to this record, like normal people listening and enjoying the record, they don't care about any of the stuff we talked about today. All they care about is like, do I like this or not? And you know, and it needs to be a great song that's played well, and then you can do all kinds of things to enhance that and give you the best chance of like uh people actually of people actually liking it. But at the end of the day, it's a it's a good song or it's not a good song, and people will like it or not.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. But something changed during the whole process uh of creating our first album because now I've listened to records and I know okay, I know how much time it took to create this record, and I know how much work is in a in this record, how much hour, how many hours of of work and passion and ambition are in this piece of music. Um I didn't realize that before creating the first own record. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Uh oh man, yes. And also, do you listen? Uh do you listen differently now when you listen to to other productions? Yes. Do you hear things you haven't heard before?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Unfortunately, I'm very sorry, but that's that will never go away again. Like your listening behavior and the way you hear things has forever changed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and and I don't know when exactly did it did this happen because at some point it just clicked, and now I'm I'm hearing things in in songs I've heard 10,000 times I've never heard before, and even some some kind of I I cannot unhear this anymore. It's so strange. Yep. That's part of it.
SPEAKER_03It's like uh uh yeah, that's that's uh a by a side effect, like a byproduct of this whole thing. But yeah, cool. Man, thank you so much again for taking the time. Is there anything else we forgot to say and tell people about your band? So it's uh steady drops underscore official on Instagram. Uh there you find tour dates and links to everything you have, probably. Then I'm gonna I'm gonna put the Spotify and all that in the show notes, of course. Um, anything else we forgot? Anything we should, you know, point people to? Not really, I guess. Not really. Okay. Well then thank you again for taking the time today to be on the show. Um if people have any questions about this, please email us podcast at the self-recording band.com and we'll forward it to Martin. And if uh you liked that episode, please let us know. If you didn't like the episode, please let us know. Uh we always want to improve. We turned this into an interview-only format now. Uh, we're just restarting the show. So give us guest suggestions, um, topic suggestions, you know, or or like things you you want us to try. It's always gonna be interviews, but let us know uh what you want to hear from us. Thank you, Martin, again. And I'm gonna leave you with, or we're gonna leave the audience with the final question and your answer to this that we always ask, or I'm gonna always ask now because Malcolm and I had started this years ago, and we should get back to that. And this is burger or pizza? Uh pizza. I'm going with pizza. All right. All right. All right, cool. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Well, thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, uh, and also thank you for trusting us with your music as well. This is this is uh also for us, it's like a big deal that people come to us and like you know, let us work with them on their music. It's we don't take that lightly. So thank you so much. Thank you all for listening as well. If you are watching on YouTube, thanks for watching. And we'll see you all next week. And thanks, Manel, as well, for being here with me as always. You're very welcome. Bye-bye. Bye. Goodbye.