Sound

The Studio

Offbeat Tracks is our own small studio in the North of England, U.K. As well as recording our own projects, we also undertake recording, mixing and editing projects for a variety of clients.

We run ProTools and Cubase on Apple Macs, and for location recording we have ProTools or a Fostex D-5 DAT recorder. (We still have an 8-track analogue system lurking under the workbench - just in case!) As well as recording and producing CDs for our clients, we now offer in-house CD artwork and layout.

Recordings

Summer '07:

New album in preparation mingling folk jazz and other influences. Samples of "Kiss Prudence" will appear on this site, er... very soon!

Currently working on dance singles for DT inc. We are the first part of the production process, arranging music and recording our fab vocalist Anna Reay. Tracks are then sent off to DJs in London for final tweaking. Dance music fans should listen out for 'Krazy Over You', which will be pumping out of sound systems in London and Ibiza all summer long!

We've begun recording and mixing some new education material for Four Corners World Music Network, which should be avilable via their website late 2007.

We've recently finished mixing another Misericordia album, a local choir christmas release, and now we're back to producing trance tracks... which all in all is a pretty weird mix of stuff.

Podcasts! We've just finished editing some recordings for a NorthEast aural history project. This involves removing lots of garbage from the original recording, and turning it all into a coherent flowing monologue. We'll link to those when the client has put them on the web (if they ever get around to telling us when they do it!!.

The studio has been dismantled, boxed-up & moved to new premises. SInce then we've unpacked some of it and mixed a new album and promo CD for Misericordia, although incomplete building work has hampered creativity! Earlier in the year we authored a CD-ROM for Théâtre Sans Frontières' education show "Around the World in 80 Minutes".

We've just completed a big session called "What floats your boat?" for arts organisation Makers & Shakers. It's a touring art installation with a River Tyne & Tall Ships theme - look out for that around the North East this summer.

We've been recording Julian Sutton's forthcoming solo album during the past year (time flies when you're having fun). There are some fine musicians on this, and the whole thing is being produced by Kathryn Tickell.

We are currently producing some songs which are aimed at the pop singles market. Our client/partner has an impressive track record in the music business, and there's some very nice commercial stuff here. If it makes the charts, you can read about it here.

We've just finished recording a Jazz Education CD for the 4 Corners Music Network, and earlier in the year we recorded the debut album for Magpiety Pype in an Ivye Leaf (a collection of Northumbrian folk songs) and mixed a new album of English Mediaeval Song for Misericordia.

Last year we recorded and mixed a new album for Matt Seattle and Mr McFall's String Quartet - a unique blend of chamber strings with border pipes. You can get hold of a copy of this album via Dragonfly Music.

Stepping Up - a combined arts project which examines how the transition to secondary school affects primary school children from rural areas. For more information, visit their website.

A bit of an Earful! - A collection of music and stories on this companion CD to the Right Earful tour. Featuing Chris Bostock with Graham Raine & Bridget Enever. Visit the website

On the Line - A Millennium musical project, set up by Folkworks, involving musicians from many points along the Greenwich meridian, including the British Isles, Europe and Africa For more info, visit their website.

Composition and recording work on four films for Newcastle based Amber Films has included:

• Dream On
• Writing in the Sand
• Eden Valley
• The Scar

Curiously, we seem to record rather a lot of bagpipe albums. These include:

• This Fiery Height - The Wendigo. A collaboration between the Misericordia duo and Julian Sutton (melodeon) resulted in this delightful album of original music. A new album is currently in preparation. Visit their website
• Out of the Flames - Matt Seattle's ambitious border pipe album. Musicians include Stefan Hannigan & Stewart Hardy. Released June 1999 on the DGM label.
• East is Ablaze - Jaqui Powell Swinburne & Gordon Clark's original combination of Northumbrian pipes, Bazouki and sequenced music
• Robin's m'aime - Misericordia. Medieval pipes & hurdy gurdy with Steve Tyler & Anne Marie Summers and featuring Sean 'Sedayne' Breadin and Judy Rockliff. Visit sedayne.co.uk

Other albums have included:

• Abeco - An album of original compositions by Graham Raine and Bridget Enever. Available now.
• Tenth Avenue Band - Three albums for this energetic Street Band from Newcastle upon Tyne: Chilli Fingers, Hot Foot, and Hanging Out. Visit their website
• Sine Nomine - a live album for this international touring choir .