1935

As in, “Change the channel, hun – my progrum is on!”

The Donuts returned to 1935 this Saturday to record the follow up to Jet Ear,  the last record they tracked and mixed here in 2007. This time around we did it the old-fashioned way: thirteen songs in nine hours, minimal takes, no headphones, no overdubs, no screwing around. Highlights included an obligatory perusal of the best tracks from People Let Me Get This Off My Chest; a bottle of Herradura Silver and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve to keep up the rock energy; Marra’s sausage and anchovy pizza to fuel the engines; and most importantly, re-recording the title track on top of the keeper take. While that may count as one big overdub, we’d prefer to think of it as an additional take as a means to an end. Besides, a little Wall Of Sound™ never hurt anyone.

The Donuts record ‘Progrum’. L-R: Burdman, Don “Don” Noodle, Chuck Vadge, Fathead, Deiter Affeschlüsselgruppe, J. Bearclaw. Click to embiggen.

Long time friend and client of the studio Mike Brenner was kind enough to recommend 1935 to Ed Abbiati of Lowlands , an Italy-based rock band in the tradition of Whiskeytown, Soul Asylum and Marah. Ed needed six songs remixed for their upcoming release due out in the fall. The tracks ranged from blasts of freak-out psych to epic Springsteen-esque rockers. Lots of fun to mix – looking forward to working again with these folks in the future.

Ed Abbiati. Photo by Gabriella Ascari.

Here’s a few photos from the recent session with JJL, the latest project from Jay Laughlin (Lenola and Like A Fox). These guys make a lot of noise for a three piece, even before all the production layers. This ongoing project promises to be a lot of fun. You can find more pictures and a video at the band link here.

Brian proved once again why Orange amps are worth every penny.

Drum tuning. M/S mic setup = RCA 77DX + AT4040, one of 3 different ambient mic options recorded.

1935 recently hosted the Philadelphia Ukulele Orchestra when they came in for the initial tracking session for their first release. An immense amount of material was recorded that day and everyone had a great time. Here’s a few pictures from the session taken by Mark Schreiber:

Cecil St. Vitas

Hubert Clarence Lindencroft

Located in the heart of South Philadelphia, 1935 was founded by producer/engineers Pete Rydberg and Paul Smith. We had worked together on a variety of projects in the past and always looked for an opportunity to find our own space to make music with talented people in a no-pressure environment. That opportunity became reality in 2003 when we set up shop in a huge workspace that was once a Mummer clubhouse.

However, after nearly ten years of countless sessions, late nights and great records, Paul has moved on to new audio opportunities in the Garden State.

1935 remains fully operational as both a recording studio and work space under Pete Rydberg, who continues to engineer and produce records as well as provide audio services to a media-based client roster.

For more information including rates and availability: info [at] nineteenthirtyfive [dot] com.