CD Biography
For both Hugo and I, making this album has been a labour of love. From its conception in the form of a conversation a couple of years ago, the album has been drawn to fruition by the belief and support of the musicians and manufacturers of instruments who appear on this album; without whom the recording would have not been possible. For this we would like to thank all of the musicians and manufactures for their contribution and support in allowing the recording to become a reality. Our desire to make an acoustic album, yet to not be confined to the predictable, was both exciting and ever challenging.
As a result of our interest in popular British and American guitar oriented rock music, it was inevitable that this influence would rub off on the final product. 'Swans In Flight' has become a celebration of both musician and instrument, with strong influences from folk thought to hard rock. There was a few original objectives left to be used in rock music; one remaining option is that of the creation of a rock album where only acoustic guitars can be used, within any context regarding both the songs sonic demands and genre. With the advent of new software recording technology and the internet, it has made this all possible. When asked, “Why would we wish to do this?” I would personally answer; “Because we can and we wanted to create something different!”
With the exception of a couple of tracks where guests chose to record using direct inject signals from their acoustic guitars, all guitars are acoustically recorded and have largely been recorded with the affordable, yet high quality Studio Project T3 microphone amplified by T L Audio's Pentode Tube PA1 microphone preamps via MOTU AD-DA converters. As anybody will be aware from reading my recording column in Acoustic magazine, the concept of reamping acoustic guitars is not new and has been used ever since the electronic amplifier was utilised solely to create exciting new sounds. This said, other than on one occasion when a Fender 100 watt 4/12 stack was employed for the track, 'This Poor Boy', I never used an amp on the session; all distorted sounds were generated by Logic Pro 7.2.2 Guitar amp pro. At times in order to create different sounds and playability, the string gauges and various un-standard tunings were used. These range from simple use of capos to DADGAD, and standard tunings dropped to lower keys, with a few variations on the way.
Our agenda was to use the guitars 'as supplied' by the manufacturers, as they would have arrived at the shop, utilising both cheaper and more expensive models. It was always Hugo's and my decision to allow all musicians full autonomy with their performances, and in most cases each guest has delivered their performance via either the internet or by traditional snail mail That said, due to the nature of the project, throughout the recording process there have been many logistical problems to overcome.
'Swans In Flight' was not recorded using the typical live sessions where all musicians would normally play together and the performances are captured in largely one moment. As a result, the tracks have been built across a period of time and continents and this process has greatly influenced the production. With the chicken-and-egg issue being ever present, accepting how a track can evolve over time, at times out of ones control has been exciting and at times quite unnerving. Despite this we had pretty much a one-shot approach to the recording. We hope that you the listener will enjoy the result?
If this recording dispels just a part of the myth about how acoustic instruments can be limiting or simply not as much fun as electric guitars, then we will have achieved our goal ...
Mark Tucker
