String quartet recording for major Warner Bros. artist

Dubway Studios recorded a string quartet for a major artist on the Warner Bros. label, late this March 2018. Producer Aja Grant and engineer Bea Go worked in the Mezzanine studio to record strings (and piano) for one song to be placed on the artist's upcoming album.

Aja Grant is a producer and pianist/keyboardist, known for his work in Brooklyn R&B band Phony Ppl, and production work on Mac Miller's latest album, The Divine Feminine. Grant has also played on tours, with Phony Ppl, backing major Interscope artist Kali Uchis, rapper Theophilus London, and Fetty Wap on Jimmy Kimmel.

recording some luscious strings in the Mezzanine (@ajag.otkeys)

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BMI Composer Rick Baitz celebrates 10 years of the "Composing for the Screen" workshop

Photo: BMI

Photo: BMI

BMI composer Rick Baitz was presented with a certificate of appreciation during the reception celebrating 10 years of the “Composing for the Screen” workshop. Rick Baitz has successfully lead an intensive “Composing for the Screen" workshop that was celebrated at BMI’s New York office on October 11. Sponsored by BMI, the workshop provides a select group of emerging film composers with hands on experience under Baitz’ expert guidance. The six workshop classes, which also include insights from other invited mentors, are followed-up with a year of continued consultation and development.

He will also be honored, alongside composer John Williams, at a special BMI event in June.

In 2016, Rick Baitz was in Our Mezzanine Studio tracking a string quartet for his original composition, Chthonic Dances. The piece featured very detailed interlocking melodic patterns that highlight the rich tones of the string instruments. Chthonic Dances is approximately 30 minutes in length and can be played throughout or a shortened version with an alternate ending.

Season Isle and Remy's Place awarded by Parents' Choice Awards!

We are very delighted to share the news that Rhumba-produced children's podcast, Season Isle and Remy's Place have been given recognition by the highly-acclaimed Parents' Choice Awards!

Season Isle has been awarded a Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award(Category: Audio, Subcategory: Storytelling); and Remy's Place has been awarded a Parents' Choice Recommended Award (Category: Audio, Subcategory: Music).

The two podcasts can be found and heard exclusively on Panoply's children's podcast division, Pinna Audio.

Congratulations to everyone involved on all the hard work and creative energy put into these shows!

Percussion recording for upcoming film, 'Book Club'

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Dubway engineer Louis Fisher spent a day in the Red Room with composer Peter Nashel and musician Joe Bonadio, tracking percussion for the upcoming comedy film Book Club.

Book Club, in theaters May 18th by Paramount Pictures, marks the directorial debut of producer/screenwriter Bill Holderman (A Walk in the WoodsThe Company You Keep), from a screenplay by Holderman and Erin Simms. Book Club stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Andy Garcia and Don Johnson. Peter Nashel, of Duotone Audio Group, and known for his work on Definitely, MaybeCarriers and Great Expectations, was hired to compose the score for the film.

Watch the trailer of the upcoming movie below.

Drum recording for Jimena Fama album 'Ecos de Buenos Aires: Symphonic Sessions'

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Argentinian modern tango artist Jimena Fama was in studio working with engineer Russell Castiglione and drummer Tommy Hartman to record drums for her newest upcoming release, Ecos de Buenos Aires: Symphonic Sessions, Live from Buenos Aires. The album features the highly acclaimed La Sinfonica Argentina (Symphony of Argentina).

The project will be a symphonic adaptation of her debut album Ecos De Buenos Aires, which was completely composed, produced and recorded by Fama herself. The new smyphonic album is described by Fama as "a sensitive and powerful journey that discovers the encounter of Electronic and Classical music providing an innovative artistic experience."

Jimena Fama is composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer from Buenos Aires based in New York and London. Her music can be found on all music retailer platforms and has been featured in a variety of shows on television including Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance and commercials for GUESS.

Here are some photos from the session below...

'Everything That Rises' - New album by John Luther Adams featuring JACK Quartet

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John Luther Adams was back at it with our chief engineer Nathaniel Reichman, this time producing his latest release Everything That Rises. Reichman recorded the illustrious JACK Quartet's performance of the album at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in July 2017, and edited and mixed the recording at Dubway, Montana, and Delmar. The album is newly released by Cold Blue Music.

Adams writes about this composition: “Everything That Rises, my fourth quartet, grew out of Sila: The Breath of the World—a concert-length choral/orchestral work composed on a rising series of sixteen harmonic clouds. This music traverses that same territory, but in a much more melodic way. Each musician is a soloist, playing throughout. Time floats and the lines spin out, always rising, in acoustically perfect intervals that grow progressively smaller as they spiral upward…until the music dissolves into the soft noise of the bows, sighing.”

John Luther Adams, a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award winning composer, is a long-time associate of Cold Blue; his music has appeared on six of the label’s previous CDs.

Mori debuts her latest single, "All My Girlfriends Have Boyfriends"

Artwork by Sarah Myers

Artwork by Sarah Myers

Happy Friday, Dubway family! Valentine's Day is officially over and we've got a special (Un-happy Valentine's Day) treat for you.

Alternative Rock/pop singer and songwriter Mori released her latest single "All My Girlfriends Have Boyfriends" this week, along with its music video.

The pop-punk jam, according to Mori, serves as a "bratty ode to female friendship." She tells The Noise, “I wrote this song to sort of embrace how it feels to be the only one in a group of friends who is single but not because I wanted a boyfriend of my own ... I just missed my friends and wanted them back!“ 

The single was recorded and mixed by engineer Sam Palumbo at here at Dubway Studios.

You can stream the song on Spotify and watch the official music video below.

HERmonics records "She Was Warned" Ahead of 2018 Women's March in NYC

The women's chorus, HERmonics, spent some time in our Mezzanine studio to record and film a performance of the original song, "She Was Warned," written by Catherine Aks. The session was engineered and filmed by Zac Suskevich.

Along with colleague Courtney Birch, Aks conducted HERmonics in the opening ceremonies of the Women’s March on NYC on January 21, 2017. A few weeks later, outraged at the disrespectful treatment of Senator Elizabeth Warren by a fellow senator, she composed “She Was Warned” in her honor.

HERmonics was formed after the 2016 election in NYC to bring together female voices in song for justice and equality at the Women's March on NYC on January 21, 2017.

"Happy XMas" cover by Joey Pero

Broadway actor and musician Joey Pero just released a cover of "Happy XMas (War Is Over)" originally by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The single was recorded in our Mezzanine Studio by Dubway engineer Sam Palumbo, and produced by Emmy Award-winning Peter Fish.

“I wanted to record a song with a message of peace; something we can all embrace a bit more during these tumultuous times. I truly believe if we have any chance at world peace it will be through art and music, not money and politics," Pero said in a recent Facebook posting

The single features Broadway Leading Lady Laura Osnes on vocals as well as Pero on trumpet and vocals.

Recording Norah Jones as a featured guest on Remy's Place

Singer-songwriter Norah Jones guest stars on "Dumplings!" - a new episode on Remy's Place, now live for listening on Panoply's children's app, Pinna, and for a limited time for free on Apple Podcasts! Here's Norah with show creators Michael Rubin & Richard Julian in the Mezzanine.

Michael Rubin, Norah Jones, and Richard Julian in The Mezzanine

Michael Rubin, Norah Jones, and Richard Julian in The Mezzanine

Conceived, written, and produced by Rhumba Recorders co-owner Michael Rubin with singer-songwriter Richard Julian, Remy's Place is a highly sound-designed, sonic extravaganza centered around a child, Remy, who grows up in a music café that his parents named after him. 

Music features some of the best jazz players in New York City (Norah Jones, Tony Scherr, Tony Mason, Henry Butler, Matthew Munesteri, Noé Socha, Kenny Wollesen, Roy Nathanson) and was recorded live in the Mezzanine studio.

STORYTOWN recording a new album in the Mezzanine

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Over the last few months, we've had the pleasure of recording the first album for StorytownStorytown is a NYC-based band playing Southern-influenced indie rock, created by musician and songwriter Guy Story. The band, consisting of drums (Tony Cruz), keys (Charlie Roth), bass (Rick Wagner), guitar and vocals (Guy Story) spent two full days recording basic tracks in the Mezzanine with Dubway engineer Sam Palumbo, and proceeded to record vocals and additional overdubs over the following several weeks, in our main floor studios. Check out some photos of the sessions, via Storytown on Facebook, below.

Guy Story recruited his band after a summer of writing material, recording demos, in hopes of starting a new band, after leaving a stressful job and finding happiness in music. He tells his band's Story in a series of postings on his website, where he reports progress on the project's journey, announcing upcoming gigs, as well as documenting the process of starting a new rock band. Storytown's debut album is currently untitled with a release date TBD.

Vocal recording for web comedy series 'Merce'

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Charles Sanchez and Tyne Firmin, producers of the award-winning web series Merce, have been working with Dubway on recording vocals for new episodes of the musical series!

"Merce is a hilarious, award-winning musical comedy series about a middle-aged, HIV-positive man living in New York City. He is unashamedly and flamboyantly gay, a Pollyanna who sees some events in his life through an MGM lens. Merce is bawdy, outrageous and fun, proving that... Life can be positive when you're positive!"

Live from the Artists Den: Fleet Foxes episode premiere

Joe Papeo, Artists Den Entertainment

Joe Papeo, Artists Den Entertainment

Earlier this Spring, our engineers Russell Castiglione and Mariah Cruz went to the Knockdown Center in Ridgewood, NY to record an interview and performance by Grammy-nominated Fleet Foxes for their episode of Live From The Artists Den.

The episode premiered this fall on public television networks nationwide. Watch the trailer and some clips from the performances below!

Jane Ira Bloom interview for Soul and Jazz radio's "The Fringe"

Last month, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom visited Dubway to record a spotlight interview with Michael Ambrosino, for Soul and Jazz's "The Fringe" series. Bloom talks about slowing down, using every note and her new album ‘Wild Lines - Improvising Emily Dickinson’ on the tenth edition of The Fringe’s Artist Spotlight series. Take a listen to the interview here.

Jane-Ira-Bloom

Jane Ira Bloom is a Grammy nominated jazz soprano saxophonist and composer, noted for her use of live electronics in her shows to alter the sound of her performance. In 2007, she was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for musical composition, and in 2013, in her release Sixteen saunders received a Grammy nomination for the Beat Surround Sound category. "Wild Lines," her latest work for jazz quartet/spoken word inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson, was recently released on September 8th.

The Fringe is a two-hour on-demand program that showcases musicians from around the globe who are reshaping the landscape of Jazz. The show features music that's creative, fun, hip, curious, & thoughtful, but still familiar to anyone who listens to, and appreciates contemporary Jazz.

Live from the Artists Den Season 12 Premiere: John Legend

Joe Papeo, Artists Den Entertainment

Joe Papeo, Artists Den Entertainment

Last December, engineers Sam Palumbo and Bea Go recorded an interview and performance by John Legend at the Riverside Church for an episode of Live from the Artists Den. The music for the episode was mixed by Dubway engineer Chris Camilleri.

The series kicked off its twelfth season this Fall with the premiere of his episode on Thirteen WNET New York and local public television networks nationwide.

Watch the trailer for the episode and clips from John Legend's performance and interview below!

John Legend celebrated the release of his new album, DARKNESS AND LIGHT, with an unforgettable performance at Manhattan's historic Riverside Church for his episode of Live from the Artists Den. Visit artistsden.com/johnlegend for local listings.

'Peg + Cat' episode with Mariachi Flor de Toloache on PBS KIDS

In 2016, we had the opportunity to record music and voice-over for a special episode the Daytime Emmy nominated children's series, Peg + Cat, with PBS Music Supervisor Steven Rebollido, and Music Director J. Walter Hawkes.

Premiered on September 15 on PBS KIDS, "The Mariachi Problem" included members of New York's first (and only) all-women mariachi band Mariachi Flor de Toloache, who play animated versions of themselves in cartoon cameos. The episode featured original counting songs performed by the band as the help Cat serenade his lady love, Rosana, on a road trip to Mexico.

Peg + Cat is a popular children’s television show based on the book “The Chicken Problem”. The show emphasizes math skills for 3 to 5 year olds and seeks to inspire a child’s natural curiosity. "The Mariachi Problem" can be viewed on the PBS KIDS website here: http://pbskids.org/peg/videos

Peg + Cat featuring Marichi Flor de Toloache.

Peg + Cat featuring Marichi Flor de Toloache.

Throwback Thursday: Music for "Pluto Chorale" in the New York Times

In 2016, Dubway hosted a music tracking session for a Virtual Reality Film: the 'Pluto Chorale' from 'Seeking Pluto's Frigid Heart' was composed and produced by Graham Robert of the New York Times (who has worked with the Kronos Quartet). The recording session consisted of recording the vocal quartet with both traditional recording methods and the use of a Soundfield Surround Sound microphone.

View the interactive video at The New York Times here.

SOCAPA

Music tracking and mixing has commenced for the annual SOCAPA sessions at Dubway! Several engineers will be tracking and mixing sessions for the young people enrolled in the program to foster their creativity in music. The students, from all over the world, will be immersing themselves in songwriting and music production for days.

SOCAPA, The School of Creative and Performing Arts, was founded by a small collective of New York artists in Greenwich Village in 2001. It has quickly become one of the premier visual and performing arts programs for young people. This combined effort allows students to have a fulfilling summer experience. 

Talented @socapanyc people recording original music today! Great job guys! #dubwaystudios #nyc #recording

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