I’m not crazy, you are.
It’s obvious to me.
You live, but do you really know why? It was your parents who willed you into existence, not your own desire for life. Culture curated your preferences and your mannerisms. Privileged circumstance showed where you might be valuable, and disadvantage became the sore points of yourself.

Do you know what is truly yours?

Maybe nothing at all. And yet, anything could be. You could buy a car if only you save enough money. You could have joy if you found love.

But so often I catch myself wanting none of that. I don’t want anything at all. I want nothing to lose, such that everything feels like it is being gained. Every second I exist is time being generously added to my life by the universe that wills me to experience it. It’s not my time. It’s not my life. Everything I learn, everything I use, (from the car that I drive to the body that I inhabit!) is for the sake of the universe, which includes you. As I so vehemently oppose pain and hatred, I ought to become healing and love.

For your sake. If I do this, we both can have joy.

And yet it is so hard.
What do you think? Would you help me love you? Or am i crazy

Pic above is the average frequency response when comparing the Sm57 and AEA R92. Together they should capture an extremely full sound. So I use this pair on my snare.
Snare Sm57 through an intense preamp is a classic snare sound as well, lots of CRACK! Adding a ribbon should support it well, and mine’s quite dusty. And both mics operate dynamically! cool. Hi Hats will get in the other side of the ribbon, and imediately their icepicks will be confiscated.

So then for an equally massive kick, we pick the most bass-sensitive condenser ever…. and push the diaphram to the limit. And then all the kick distortions are analog!!! The Rode NT1 has a little bass boost when compared to other condensers, so I’ll go with that for now.

So with such a full drum sound already, the toms and cymbals will need some powerful sidechains to keep them from turning the mix into noise. You can use the demo loops, or record a second live drum take. 421s are good at catching extremes, so they are great for close tom micing. They will capture a powerful fundamental while also hearing the treble of the stick hitting the drumskin. AKG D112s operate similarly, but their size would require them to stand a bit further away.

But I would perfer a giant, distant kit sound. This adds a vintage vibe and also stays out of the way of the kick/snare core. And that way, you also don’t have to add fake reverb to the toms in post. My perfered overhead setup is to reuse the R92 ribbon from earlier over the ride, and a brighter ribbon for the crash. This means the hi-hat and ride will have the same mic colouration, allowing the drummer to switch or between hi-hat and ride grooves without upsetting the mix much. The hi-hat will still be farther forward; they are not ducking under the snare as the ride is. The long tail on the ride also allows for very dramatic ducking movements, for when that sound is desirable.

Best Tracks: Time Takes Time, Brother, Black Walnut, Faeries
Genre: Art Pop, Neo Soul
Year: 2024

Claire and Ciccio had a beautiful vision with Music is the Answer, and they executed it perfectly. It’s a blessing that SHEBAD exists, and from Fantano to J-Wave in Tokyo, the world clearly recognises that. It’s so inspiring to see such creative artists get the praise they deserve.

So why is the world (and myself) falling in love with this music? The opening track, “Love is the Message”, is everything great about SHEBAD. The song is a sonic landscape of guitar reverbs and bass harmonics, kept in time by Emmitt’s hypnotic ghost-note funk. Claire’s vocals are as smooth as silk. Her lead vocal is commanding and romantic; she reminds me of Daniel Caesar, but with more sweetness in her voice. The background vocals add an extra layer to her character, with harmonised runs that even Nai Palm of Hiatus Kaiyote would be proud of. And every time I hear the bass/vocal outro on this track, I never want it to end.

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