High Horse is a song about transition, a song about time; a song about togetherness. When Secret Mountains came to Miner Street on the first hot weekend May, the experience proved formative in more ways than one.
A new song typically undergoes the Secret Mountains regiment of recording: meticulousness. "Our songs take on new forms anywhere between five and ten times before we're content and happy enough to go into the studio," Jeff (Guitar) admits. "We're learning to be okay with that."
Shaking Through, on the other hand, is about making decisions quickly. Time is of the essence and there's no chance to turn parts over in one's mind. But any nerves that the band had were quelled quickly. "I think this is the most active recording environment we've ever been a part of," says Jeff. "For me personally, the biggest thing was not over thinking and just trusting your ideas. You know, letting things happen naturally."
In coming together as a six-piece, the band has had to learn sacrifice and understanding. Started by Jeff (guitar, vocals) & Kelly (vocals), the band soon added Chris (drums), Jake (keys), Corey (guitar), and Alex (bass) to the mix. "Each band member is, at this point, irreplaceable," says Jeff. "we've had to learn how to have restraint and find out what works best for the song rather than our own personal preferences." "I think with six of us we've had to learn how to not only respect each other's boundaries but respect what's necessary for the song," adds Kelly. That respect and trust they have learned through songwriting is on display with "High Horse." Born from tragic personal experiences that Jeff and Kelly shared, the band worked through their situations together rather than dealing with it alone.
“The Biggest thing was not over thinking and just trusting your ideas. You know, letting things happen naturally.”
“It’s important to understand the format of any particular artist before you start recording. Secret Mountains is a six-piece rock band. Six people is a big group, and the more band members there are, the more complicated it is to make sure all pieces form a single, elegant puzzle. ”
In coming together as a six-piece, the band has had to learn sacrifice and understanding. Started by Jeff (guitar, vocals) & Kelly (vocals), the band soon added Chris (drums), Jake (keys), Corey (guitar), and Alex (bass) to the mix. “We've had to learn how to have restraint and find out what works best for the song rather than our own personal preferences,” says Jeff. Personalities are a big factor in the arrangements, and luckily for this band there’s excellent cooperation - no real problem when it comes to writing parts with each other in mind. “I think with six of us we've had to learn how to not only respect each other's boundaries but respect what's necessary for the song,” adds Kelly.
"Secret Mountains is a cohesive unit that is able to find symmetry between experimental and pop music," says curator QD Tran of The Deli Magazine. "The six-piece is made up of members with diverse palates who are talented enough to individually takeover the spotlight. However, the band works together in unison to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts with a unique balance of force and restraint that complements the group's meditative sound."
The respect and trust they have learned through songwriting is on display with "High Horse." Born from tragic personal experiences the band worked through their situations together rather than dealing with it alone.
"Lyrically, the song means a lot to both Kelly and I," confesses Jeff. "It came from a place where we were both going through losing someone that we really cared about and we were trying to figure out the best way to be there for each other." They both retreated to songwriting as a refuge and "without knowing it we meditated on the same things." "It was the first time that both of us had to come face to face with death," says Kelly. "Dealing with it that closely and directly, it was really special how we came together lyrically. It hadn't happened before this, and it kind of brought us back to a good place."
“Secret Mountains works in unison to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a unique balance of force and restraint that complements the group’s meditative sound.”
-Q.D. Tran, Curator
After setting up as a group it was determined that the basics of the song could be captured best with drums, bass, scratch guitar and scratch vocal. Chris played a kit of mostly Miner Street drums. Besides close mics, it was captured with two Telefunken ElaM 260s in a modified Recorderman overhead configuration, plus McTear’s and Low’s signature third overhead Coles 4038. The idea is that the ElaMs capture sparkley stereo, and the Coles captures a fat mono center image of the kit. The room mics consisted of two Fat Head ribbon mics positioned about six feet away from the snare, and relatively equidistant from the toms, with the figure 8 nulls rejecting the kit. The relative closeness of this pair, fed through a vintage DBX 162 compressor, allows the room to sound very big, while imparting very little time delay.
As the heat of the day climbed to its zenith, the session sank deeper into a contemplative
state. In typical Secret Mountains style, time slowed as the band lingered on spacious guitar riffs and Kelly’s melodic voice filled the room. When the tape stopped, the city was quiet again.
Perhaps it was due to the city’s subdued nature in the heat, or perhaps it was the subject material. But despite the fact that there were over a dozen people in the studio, the session never felt frantic.
Alex’s Jazz bass was recorded with a Neumann U67 on the studio’s rare Matchless Thunderman amp. At the same time, Jeff recorded an initial guitar track with a Rickenbacker 330 (strung up with flat-wound strings) going through an Ampeg Gemini - a truly classic sound. He quickly followed-up with a 12 string overdub using the orange Classic 12 provided for the session by Eastwood Guitars. Up to this point, everything was recorded to 2 inch tape.
“It really felt like we got to take a lot of time on each track and nothing felt rushed,” remarked Jeff, later on. “Everything felt right because there was enough time for experimentation, but also because everything went smoothly. I don't think we've worked in such an active recording environment before. It helped the mood and helped us progress”.
In the mix, Jon favored a customized ambience made by a crazy chain of effects sent out through a pair of tube amps, with the reverbs cranked to the high heavens. These were applied to synths, cymbal swells, piano, and vocals, among others. “The idea,” says
producer McTear, “is that the accumulation of several Ring Modulators, Roland Space Echos, Memory Mans and Poly Choruses, all pushed through amp reverb, create a swirling effect that together surrealizes the apparent landscape where the music happened.” The effect is quite beautiful, if we do say so ourselves, and has been used - perhaps abused - all over the Shaking Through recordings of the past year.
The band is quick to point out that everything is a process for them, from touring to recording, due to their size and different backgrounds. But their struggles have been
rewarded, and it makes for a diverse sound and a tight relationship that fits right in for Shaking Through. “I know we've gone through waves of lack of momentum, but I feel like experiences like these are really informative and help solidify ideas and processes. It's awesome for an artist to work with talented people that are there to help you grow and learn."
“Experiences like these are really informative and help solidify ideas. It’s awesome for an artist to work with talented people that are there to help you grow and learn”
Director
Peter English
Executive Producer
Andy Williams
Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy
Producers
Brian McTear
Peter English
Jonathan Low
Engineers
Jonathan Low
Band
Jeffrey Silverstein
Kelly Laughlin
Alex Jones
Christopher Muccioli
Cory Lawrence
Jake Winstanley
Director of Photography
Phil Bradshaw
Camera Operators
Larry DeMark
Peter English
Editors
Josh Camerote
Sean Huber
Audio
Joe Bisirri
Still Photography
Peter English
Larry DeMark
