You need a session muso.........
Back in the day, most recording studio's had a group of session musician that they would regularly call upon for a session and there was good reason for that. But now with the ability for every songwriter to quickly slap down a drum sample or bass line themselves, the humble studio musician has been left by the wayside.
After working with many different artists and seeing them sometimes struggle getting their backing parts exactly how they want, taking days, weeks and months on things that could be finished in a moment and then move quickly ahead, I decided to offer artist the option of using pro studio musicians and all the equipment from here in the studio on their songs.
A pro sound and finally that drum part that you always wanted at your fingertips.
There are a few great benefits having a session muso play on your song:
1. You're getting a absolute professional to give your music the polish that their years of experience and practice brings, in an instant. Thats invaluable.
2. You free yourself up to focus on other things, rather than slaving over that drum part for 4 weeks and get your music out there and quickly....
3. If you don't have a band or even if your still looking for a specific member, Having a single/EP or album recorded by a professional gives your new band member a great platform to come in onto. It also might give you a better chance of working with someone a little more professional than you otherwise could have managed, by showing them a quality demo or EP that you have put together.
4. You don't do what you cant or shouldn't do. I see a lot of people over stretching their skill set and trying to do it all. Sometimes it's fine, but for most artists you will never be able to play to the level of someone who has worked a lifetime crafting their art. Enter the session muso....
5. You also get access to top quality instrument that they provide. There is no substitute for recording a pro kit tuned by a session muso. Ive recorded a few shocking drum kits in my time and yes after mixing they still sound....
6. It gives you the ability to learn. I have seen people grow extremely quickly as songwriters working with session musicians. They see and pick up what the session players are doing and apply it in their own songwriting and arranging. Doing it all yourself never allows that growth to quickly take place and you soon end up reaching for the same few tricks that you always do... everything soon starts to sounds the same. Good session players always seem to have an endless bag of tricks to call upon and bring something fresh every time.
I really feel that this is something that has become lost a little in the music industry and that must find its way back. The introduction of digital technology has done wonders, but it has also left a few things by the way side that need to be brought back again which will move the industry and artist further ahead.
So don't get bogged down trying to finish your material by yourself, slaving to get it exactly how you want it. You might finish, but the process might be so stressful you wont be able to move on to bigger and better things. Worst still you might not ever finish!
Perhaps a studio musician is just what you need to finish what you are doing, stay stress free and focus on all the other tasks that you need to be about. There is already so much that an artist needs to take care off, trying to be a multi instrumentalist on top of everything else is really often a recipe for disaster.
We have some trusted and extremely talented musicians working with us that are available to play on your session here in the studio or lay down a track on a song that you send through. I've seen what difference it can make having a drum track recorded with studio grade microphones and pre amps by a session player on an amazing kit compared to a home recording played by a "multi instrumentalist". It really just takes a song to another place.
Its a small price to pay for the quality that they can bring and the experience they will provide you with. Songwriters need to experience this again so I say bring back the humble session muso!