Late last year we packed up a van-load of recording equipment and decamped to Carnegie hall, Sandwick.
Shetland band Vair came to us to record an album but did not want to do it in our fantastic studio - they wanted to capture the spirit of playing live. As local gig-goers know, they are a band who are at their best in front of an audience, and so the most natural way to record them was to sit them in a circle and just let them play. Carnegie hall was an obvious choice as it has excellent acoustics and is a pretty nice place to hang out, so that's where we went.
We spent a few very enjoyable days in Sandwick capturing the essence of Vair. Unsurprisngly for a Shetland winter, there was a bit of a gale so if you listen carefully you might hear the wind blowing on some tracks. You might also hear an occasional passing car. That's the delight of recording in the field folks.
This week we finished mixing the album and it sounds splendid, you can hear the sounds of the hall as well as the outside world but most of all you can hear the real live sound of Vair.
Not long now til you can pick up a copy - Vair will be launching this new album, "A Place In Time" at the 37th Shetland Folk Festival in April.
