Facts on JODELEY (released in August 2020)
Jodeley is my third album, and it was released after attending "Årsstudium i Blues"/A one year blues music study at the Notodden University. One of the fruits of this school year is the blues song "Born To Freeze" (track 5), inspired by the great blues we listened to, though I can never escape an album without a little country/folk.
During this year I purchased Pro Tools for recording, mixing and mastering. We learned some basics on how to record and mix songs in this software at school. Past years I have recorded in Garage Band, with no experience adjusting EQ, compressor and panning. Also, I have used a local guy for mastering the songs for my other releases. This time I ended up diggin' into this unknown universe, doing the mastering part myself, even though you're not supposed to! ...Internet helped me with this part (https://ask.audio/articles/8-essential-steps-for-mastering-in-pro-tools). At least I saved some bucks (Everybody knows being a student tears on your wallet). I hope I didn't do a terrible job. I am still a freshman at what I do.
Good news (except for the panning), is the banjo you hear on "Foreign Light" (track 7)! This is not my doing, but my fellow student Sigve Wilhelmsen (Thank you again!). I must say this is the song I am most happy about right now, I used SO many hours tryin' to get all the other instruments in (because I'm a freshman at every instrument I play), and creating a good balance in EQs, reverbs, panning etc.
New lessons
While listening to the songs after my attempt to master, I found out the vocals were uncomfortable sharp/upfront. I had no idea how to fix this, so I decided to record the worst vocals again, standing further away from the microphone. The vocals are still not perfect, but better,
New experiences
I used the sound of rain in "Welcome Sunday" (track 9).
I also tried out both an acoustic guitar made slide and a washboard for the first time.
Funfacts
1: "Foreign Light" was written to be used in a documentary, and you MAY get the pleasure to see this documentary in 2026(?). It is filmed in the Norwegian village Hessdalen.
I also used the recording prosess with "Foreign Light" as my springtime exam assignment, and therefor got some good help from a teacher making the instrumentation better balanced.
2: "I Know a Man" was not supposed to be released - ever. When I first startet using ProTools at home (springtime 2020) and tried out the church reverb, I thought it was so cool, I started improvising while recording. When I later assembled the record list, I decided to add it.
