The first recording day

From 11 am to 11 pm exactly we recorded nonstop. 13 different instruments (if you don't count the handclap-section), 5 songs and only one day.

All musiscians did an amazing job, sightreading all of our charts. A big thanks also to James, our super-patient engeneer for the day, and of course also to everyone at Sanctum Sound Studios!

Here are the first pictures:

The Studio:

The Musiscians:

 Our bassplayer Keisuke Higashino and me

Drummer Sheldon Thwaites 

Percussionist Noriko Terada

Guitarist Steffen Lang

My co-producer and pianist Michael Engesser

The horn section (without trombone) with 

alto-sax-player Callum MacKenzie, tenor-sax-player Zac Zinger and trumpet player Eric Tait Jr.

Trombone player John Egizi

The string section: 

Pamela Cumming, Violin, Gabrielle Toscano, Viola, Maria Kowalski, Violin and Brent Selby, Cello

And most important: The hand claps setion: Pamela, Gabrielle, Maria and me...

The Studio Crew:

 The world's most patient engeneer James Willetts

The world's most helpful interns Jeff an Lee

 Some recording impressions:

Brent Selby

The horns rehearsing

 Steffen and Keisuke

Michael still focused after 10 hours of recording

 Sheldon on drums

The string section rehearsing

After 5 days of arranging...

These last days have been unbelievable! I didn't even have time to update my blog. The good news: All arrangements are done! Michael and I spent at least 8 hours a day in the studio, cranking out a total of 70 pages of score! Just so you know: Yes, there will be a string quartet...

Here are some impressions:

First thing to do: Signing the contract with my co-producer Michael Engesser

The smallest keybord in the world is great for writing into computer while having coffee in the kitchen

The homestudio

The vocal booth

 Mmmmhhh... shrimp salad!

The beautiful golden sound of the Rhodes

A preview of the first score

 Finally: All scores

Mr. Guitar Nr. 2. In case you are wondering who is Mr. Guitar Nr. 1...

Steffen Lang who will play guitar on the record

 Tired, but happy after 5 days of arranging

Good morning Jetlag!

After a short night (1 1/2 hours of sleep...) my wonderful friend Maike picked me up a 3:30 in the morning and took me to the airport. Thanks again! Shortly after that...

Welcome to Amsterdam!
It took me 35 minutes to get from Terminal D to E, yeah Schiphol is biiiig.

Blogging from the airport...
...before taking the plane to Boston. After being awake for 25 hours I gladly gave in to my Jetlag and went to bed at 9:30 pm local time. 8 hours later: Good morning Jetlag!

Getting Ready

It's my last night in Berlin, actually it's only a few hours... I'm leaving my home at 3:30 am. Everything is ready, my suitcase, my mind, body and soul are prepared for this exciting trip. In only 3 weeks I'm gonna be back in Berlin with my first EP. This is the most awesome suitcase in music history: Wanna know why? Read the small print...

Coming soon...

As soon as I landed in Boston, which will be on March 21st, there will be news, photos, and maybe even some music in this blog. See you soon...