Kadman’s first record was one of the first Baltimore records I heard after I moved here a bunch of years ago. It was simply not anything I had heard out of Baltimore. Or what I thought “Baltimore” sounded like (little did I know!). I thought this band was incredible. There was something different about them. I’ve still yet to find a band here in Baltimore that sounds like them. That said, I am drawn to bands that think outside the box and do things differently. That is one reason why we worked so well together. We did a mini-EP last year (that will hopefully someday see the light of day), but I felt like we could do so much more together. I was happy when Dave (the singer/guitarist) came to me to produce his sophomore effort.

Anything

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This record went through a few stages. We scrapped the drums a few times, muted a ton of guitars, re-tracked bass tracks, wrote one song in the studio, I played theremin, re-thought the vision and then rinsed and repeated. It was a four month process from start to finish but felt like one. Dave was a great musician to work with. I’d ask him to “add this pedal” or “let’s try this room mic over here” or “hmmm, this section really doesn’t need that acoustic guitar in the chorus” and he wouldn’t flinch. Of course, Dave brought his own thing to the table as well. He’d bring in a keyboard part or a drum idea or a harmony. It was a two way road in building this record.

Mountain Song

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Dave put together a solid and vibrant band for a rather subtle yet dynamic sound. Frank Corl, the drummer, came from more of a pop/rock background but really understood the nuances of Dave’s music. He really put forth the art of the snare. We ended up using a half dozen snares on the record. James Bahleda came from an electro/goth background. But he is this beast of a bassist who can not be stopped. Be it on upright or electric. There are some lines he put down that still amaze me even after the umpteenth listen. And he has good taste in Scotch. Last but not least, I brought in Dawn Dineen and E.Joseph to sing on a few tracks. Dawn duets with Dave on one song called “An Army Rises.” E. Joseph and Dawn are both amazing singers and writers on their own. Both due out for another record soon, as well!

There are really few words to describe the record, it should speak for itself, but I’ll try. It’s a record of nuances. It’s intense – it’s acrobatic – it’s very different than their last – it’s dreamy, it’s loud, it’s quiet, it’s dense. Enjoy the samples!

Little Darling

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Our friends, Kadman, came by the studio last week for a fabulous microshow and they gave us some really moving interpretations of their songs. They did two sets, the first being songs from their first record. And the second set came from their upcoming record I’ll be producing here at Mobtown.

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Just finished mixing two tracks for Kadman’s upcoming EP that we recorded last month. They’re taking some time off and planning to finish up in the fall. All around, I think we’re all pretty happy with what came out of their sessions. It’s very emotional dynamic stuff and makes for good listening. We spent some time working with the natural reverb from the room mics placed in the lounge and getting the range and energy they were looking for. Check out the clips below:

Untitled

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Blue Walls (Sad Version)

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Baltimore’s own Kadman came in to the studio last week to record 2 songs for their upcoming EP. The sessions went smoothly. We tracked drums, guitar and vocals. The bassist is on vacation and should be back in the next week or two to finish up his portion. We’ve done some rough mixes and they are sounding pretty good.

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I used to pretty much write off all artists dubbed “Singer/Songwriters”. It was so overplayed in the late 90s. With Elliott Smith and the look-a-likes. Granted, Smith knew how to craft a song and he clearly had something to say, it just didn’t speak to me.

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