In The Studio Focus: Big Merino

Answered by: Stuart Davis

In what studio did you record your most recent release? Damien Gerard Sound Studios.

What made you choose it in the first place? Marshall liked our demos and we liked the vibe there and the engineer. Also, I'd done sessions there years ago when it was known as Electric Avenue.

When anyone with a computer can record something of studio quality, what made you still go into a studio? I think there's a huge difference between a 'bedroom track' with lots of plug ins vs a live recording. There's an intangible looseness and energy to a recording of a band playing live in the studio.

Was there any piece of equipment or instrument in particular that the studio had that you enjoyed using? It was great being able to crank up the guitar amps and hear what they could do.

Who was working with you on the recording (producer, engineer) and what did they bring to the table? Russell Pilling was the engineer and Marshall Cullen had a lot of input as well.

Did you record pretty much live to tape or did you use some studio trickery? We recorded the basic track (bass, drums, two guitars, lead vocal) as though we were playing live - straight to 'tape' - but then overdubbed a lot of guitars, vocals, keyboards, horns and strings.

Do you aim for perfection in the studio or more feeling or vibe when deciding to use a take? It's a balance between the two. You have to juggle a bit and make a call sometimes - sacrifice a bit of perfection for the vibe, or vice versa.

Do you prefer analogue or digital? Digital - makes editing and mixing the recording so much easier and gives you so much room to be creative.

Did you run into any musos while you were recording? Did you swap stories/talk collabs or anything like that? Sharing the studio was Peter Holtz, who has been working with some really successful bands recently. He helped with one track where we needed some highly technical know-how.