Filmed on my iPhone 11 Pro-Max and edited, on phone, using the 'Splice' App.
October 25th, 2021.
Abbey Road Studios, London.
Dark Round The Edges was being remastered for the 50th Anniversary - releasing in 2022.
Remastered by Sean Magee for Seelie Court Records.
Current plan is for a single sleeve, no frills version during the first quarter of ‘22, followed up with a DRTE Double Album, hopefully mid '22, which may also be part of a Boxset of DARK material from 1969-1996.
Further details when available.
The session was 2 days after my partner, Katy, of 18 years passed - suddenly and totally unexpectedly.
I very nearly cancelled the trip - but Katy knew all about it and was really chuffed for me, so I know she would have wanted me to carry on.
This session was in her memory - and the LP will be dedicated to her, as well as my late daughter Carly and my two previous bass players - Bruce Duncan & Carl Bush - both, sadly, now also passed.
The LP will be the first fully analogue pressing since the one I had done for Swank in 1990.
In case anyone gets worked up about the digital part potrayed on this video:
As you know, the SPARS Code, AAA, means 'Analogue' at each stage of the production of the finished product, i.e.:
1) Original recording,
2) Producing a Master Mix (or in the case of DRTE, an Overdubbed Master)
3) and the end result - vinyl, tape or CD.
So DRTE will be AAA, despite this intermediate digital step.
Actually, I suppose you could say it's AADA - although I'd go further and say AAdA as the digital intervention is extremely minimal.
It's basically used to enable time to decide if any minor manipulations are required in Gain/Balance before the lacquers are produced - after the Master Tape has had its full potential electronically realised.
This could take many plays of the tape which, itself, may well be fragile.
Fortunately, being 50 years old, our tape is quite robust.
Paradoxically, tapes that are only 40-30 years old - possibly less so.
Something to do with the glue that was used then to bind the magnetic layer to the carrier medium.
An ecological thing, apparently, but that glue degrades over time resulting, in some cases, in the magnetic layer shedding on to the rollers & tape heads.
'Sticky Shed'.
Baking the tape from several hours to a few days can prevent this - but that can only be done a very limited number of times so, normally, a safety copy would be made.
Our tape could easily have been played several times - but you then acrue many hours of Studio time - and at Abbey Road rates of £185ph + VAT, that's not something to be undertaken lightly!
So Abbey Road and, as far as I know, most Recording Studios, use this digital stage to basically store the analogue audio from the Master Mix before committing to the lacquer.
Actually, I was assuming they were going to cut the lacquers while I was there but they need to know which factory is going to use them as, apparently, it makes a difference to their production.
I didn't know - so they couldn't cut.
I'm actually glad of that now because this digital stage gave me time to listen intently to the remaster - as I asked for three, VERY SUBTLE changes to gain or balance on just 3 tracks.
And on only VERY SHORT SECTIONS of each of those tracks.
Everything else is exactly as it came off the 'Overdubbed Master'!
https://www.facebook.com/darkedges
https://www.darkedges.net
https://www.reverbnation.com/darkedges
Online Interview:
https://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2013/10/dark-interview-with-steve-giles.html
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