THRONE ROOM SESSIONS
01. - THE BIG SHOWDOWN
Welcome to the first episode of “Throne Room Sessions,” a series of studio sessions where a group of musicians arrange and record a single track in its entirety in one day.
The aim is focused creativity: trusting instincts and committing to a sound or feeling.
Note: The above is MP3 only. High quality audio can be purchased via Bandcamp.
Performed by Dan Rock, Moses Carr and Lucky Pereira.
Composed and Mixed by Patrick Ryan
Dune Castle Presents… “The Big Showdown”, a hypnotic synth sequencer with kick and bass forming a thumping rhythmic backbone. Textured with percussion, other synthesized sounds, and chorus-washed electric guitar.
The piece was tracked live over the course of one day in the Dune Castle Throne Room. Dan is a close friend who plays in Cantrips and Evening News, Moses is a wizard recording artist and engineer (including mix engineer for DCAS004 and DCAS005), and Lucky plays drums in a very popular international act. The three are old friends with whom I’ve had the pleasure of recording a few times.
Session footage of tracking Dune Castle's The Big Showdown.
MIXING AND REFLECTIONS
I mixed the track over two sessions. I’ll be sharing a little video in the coming weeks diving into the mix process.
The mix was fun and most of the instruments sounded great on the way in, but I found it challenging to find space for both the bass and the kick drum. Some creative EQ and a touch of time correction really helped to find a nice rounded/thumping low end.
On the sessions themselves, they felt like a fun hang far more than they did work. I didn’t have a clear vision beyond six hours in the studio with friends and microphones. Having no constraints or expectations of the result made the session much more playful and free.
The results are a musical and visual snapshot of a moment in time. The videos and presentation are rather rudimentary, but I’d rather that than be paralysed by my own expectations and not share this at all.
There is so much value in these, if only for the archival nature of real people making real music together in a place. As we move further away from that, there is something beautiful in holding that space.
I’ll be sharing more over the coming weeks, including a few deeper videos for the heads.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE ARTISTS
Hot tip: Load this onto your exercise playlist. If you have a smartwatch/fitness tracker with bluetooth capabilities, you can build your own exclusive playlist of non-streamable MP3s and listen while you do your cardio workout.
You can support each of these artists through their own pages:
Thank you for being part of the Dune Castle family and supporting real music. Stay tuned for more!
