Already looking ahead, the band were back in the studio in late March to work on their followup album. Our friend and neighbor Bryan B. dropped by for a couple hours one day and snapped some nice shots of the band for his blog, Subinev. We really couldn’t be happier working with the gents of Dinowalrus.

Best Behavior by Dinowalrus

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper continues to rack up the good press, landing the cover story in the latest issue of Performer Mag. We’re currently hard at work on her debut studio album. Its going to be a doozy.

April 2012 Issue of Performer Mag

Last but not least, check out the latest BB Songs piece featuring Hilly Eye. If you’re not familiar with Brooklyn-Based, it’s a blog/email newsletter that tracks events, people, and places of note in our fair borough. Every month or so, BB picks a band or artist to interview and they come to the studio to record one song. Sometimes it’s a cover song and sometimes it’s an original, as was the case with Hilly Eye. This is our 11th BB Songs feature and we’re loving it! Stay tuned for Hilly Eye’s debut 7″ out on Don Giovanni Records May 1st.

Good vibes with Lady Lamb the Beekeeper....

Pearl and the Beard was in the studio to record the next Brooklyn-Based Songs segment. The band covered Bon Iver’s “Re: Stacks”. They instilled in the song a lovely atmosphere and moodiness that isn’t really present in the original. They also played the song in triple-meter instead of duple-meter which seems to give it more propulsion. You can read the Brooklyn-Based interview here.

In January, we were pleased to host three days of orchestral sessions to record the score for a short film called “The Scout”. An homage to classic 80s Spielberg films like ET and The Goonies, the film’s score, composed by Andrew Morgan Smith, is very much in the style of John Williams.

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

Before recording the tune, Aly mentioned that she really liked Cher’s cover of the song from the 1960s, which was produced by Sonny Bono (a Phil Spector mentee) and was most likely recorded at the famed Gold Star Studios. As such, we relied heavily on room mics and lots of chamber reverb for the mix. The experience was a wonderful collaboration and house engineer/producer Nadim is currently at work producing Lady Lamb’s full-length.

We’re thrilled that the Eon Contemporary Orchestra’s cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” is finally up. Eighteen (!) string musicians piled into the studio for the project. It was important that we get a muscular drum sound. It didn’t hurt to have the excellent  Walker Adams on the kit, but we again made use of room mics, much as Led Zeppelin was known to do. One mic was placed just about as far away from the drums as possible, in the control room with the door open. It sounded great.

Last but not least, make sure to check out “The Devil You Know” by The Loom (recorded and mixed by Nadim for Brooklyn Based). The band recently released their full-length debut, Teeth, on Crossbill Records.

Brooklyn-based band Worry the Worm just released their EP, which was recorded and mixed by Nadim over the summer.  The songs feature punchy guitars, arresting drum patterns, and prominent vocals that float nicely above it all. As an aside, we were happy to put the studio’s new Yamaha Recording Custom drum kit to use and it is featured prominently on the EP.

Worry the Worm EP

!!! (chk chk chk) came in for a couple of days in September to record vocals for a track on their upcoming album. If you don’t know !!!, check out this video.

The latest installment of BB Songs is up! Every month, the publication Brooklyn Based picks a local artist or band to record a song at Let ‘Em In. We’re excited to be involved with this on-going project and glad to help up-and-coming Brooklyn bands get some exposure.

For this latest installment of BB Songs, The Shondes recorded a cover of Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker”. Benatar, as it turns out, is also from our fair borough. Here’s a rather thorough list of distinguished Brooklynites that we found quite entertaining.

Milagres, who recorded drums, strings, and piano here many months ago, have finally released their full-length “Glowing Mouth” on the Kill Rock Stars label. They are currently on a national tour.

Finally, we were pleased to host a couple recording sessions with the Itty Biddies. They are an all-woman band who play children’s music that is at once catchy and refined. We had fun hearing them effortlessly switch from jazz to pop to rock, etc.

Joe Ancowitz recording trumpet for Mike's album

This past month, we hosted a couple sessions with musician Julia Nunes, as she continues to work on a full-length album with talented producer/engineer Zach McNees. Most recently, they were in the studio recording strings…we seem to be getting quite a few string sessions lately, a testament to the sound of our large live room.

Milagres, who recorded drums, piano, and strings at the studio a while back, will finally be releasing their album Glowing Mouth September 13th on Kill Rock Stars. We, for one, can’t wait to hear it. Check out the link above to preview a couple songs off the album and catch them live as they gear up for a tour in support of the release.

The month of May saw our biggest recording session yet (18 musicians!) with the Eon Contemporary Orchestra (ECO). The ECO is an ensemble of young professional musicians that records and promotes new music, specifically in the genres of film, rock, pop, indie, and world. We had a great time recording a couple original film score cues as well as an excellent rendition of Led Zep’s Kashmir, arranged by the orchestra’s principal conductor/artistic director Gabriel Lefkowitz. We’ll be posting the recording in the next couple of months.

The ECO recording at the Let 'Em In.

In other news, we’re quite pleased with how our hood is shaping up. New eateries and shops keep opening up, all a block away. Bodegas, bars, liquor stores, delis…some highlights:

The Rock Shop:  our fave music venue

Mission Dolores:  outdoor bar with a fantastic beer selection

The Root Hill Cafe: killer coffee and a damn good chicken salad sandwich.

Ivy Garden: a large (for NY at least) gourmet grocery store.

Oaxaca: great enchiladas and tortas.

Stay tuned for the next couple of BB series, to feature Ava Luna and Will Stratton, two very different but equally-talented bands. Brooklyn-Based does a great job of mixing things up and we’re thrilled to be a part of this.

We finally wrapped up mixing a new full-length with Dinowalrus (click on the link to preview some of the tunes). Dinowalrus have crafted quite a unique sound – psychedelic, but very much beat-driven…I guess you could say it’s psychedelic dance music. Check ‘em out!

And finally, American Darlings were in the studio finishing up an EP. They play guitar-heavy rock anthems and were just voted “Artist of the Month” for the month of May by The Deli mag.

The latest installmentof the Brooklyn-Based song series is now up, featuring the band Soft Black. Each month, the fine folks at Brooklyn-Based pick a band or artist to record a song at Let ‘Em In. The band banged out a song in a couple hours and tracked everything live. One room, one band, one take. The way Ma and Pa would have done it.  Check out the song (entitled “Blonde Magic”) here.

Work continued on Mike Higbee’s full length album. Mike’s got a voice of gold, like an old-school crooner with a little more edge. Think oom-pah rock with a tinge of french folk-rock. NYC, NEW YORK

Yos Munro from the band Steel Phantoms was in the studio to record a score for a short film called “The Itch”. The score is great — a little reminiscent Jon Brion’s work, but it definitely has its own unique sound. We recorded drums, synth, piano, organ, clarinet, upright bass, glockenspiel… really utilized the live room to get some intimacy in the mix. Room mics!

In early January, Barton Stanley David came in to record a 5-song EP. He’s got a lovely soulful voice that you don’t hear all too often these days. We’ll be finishing the EP sometime in March.

We expect to feature an eclectic group of musicians. The second song for the series has already been recorded and mixed and it is worlds apart from the first (and was recorded with lots of overdubs). Check back every month! Or better yet, sign up for the excellent Brooklyn Based newsletter.

Sea of Bees video:
Sea of Bees, the musical project of Julie Ann Bee, shot a video in the studio’s live room for the song “Wizbot”. Check it out here.  The video was beautifully shot and the room looks great. Oh yeah, it’s a good song too!

Bits ‘n Bobs:
Listen to “Young Bucks“, by Dinosaur Feathers and mixed by Nadim. From the source:
“Music Muleis proud to take the step from virtual to physical with the release of our debut record, a 300-limited-edition pressing of a quadruple A-side split 7″ from psychedelic, harmony ridden three-piece Dinosaur Feathers (Brooklyn) and tropical flavoured garage punk outfit Carnivores (Atlanta, Georgia).

28 North, from the land of “black-and-yellow” was in the studio for 20 days to record a full-length. It was a pleasure working with producer Felix McTeigue to capture the band’s raw energy. A band to keep an eye on for sure.