Samuel Crown has released a new E.P. "Dream My Way Up," a collection of 5 songs recorded over the past year. Ranging from electronic, synth-based dance tunes to bare-bones acoustic ballads, Samuel Crown covers a lot of territory.
The Sota Boys are back to follow-up their album "Always Say Always" with a Christmas EP, "MistleFlow".
The Sota Boys are a local pop/hip-hop group managed by Droptone intern Drew Schmalz. The group consists of members Brent Haglund, Jesse Johnson, and BJ Skoog, with occasional features from some of their friends. This past summer, we had the privilege of producing their first full-length album, "Always Say Always".
Over the last several months we've been fortunate enough to track and mix Vision The Kid's upcoming album "Lost Summer". Together with Producer Ryan Tru Truax, making this album has been an amazingly eclectic adventure.
New artist Nikki (Nicole Rodriguez) recorded her first 3 singles at Droptone Studio over the last few months. All 3 songs were a collaboration between Nikki and I. Nikki supplied the lyrics and I layed down the tracks. Nikki was fantastic to work with and made huge strides in her musical abilities.
[singlepic id=168 w=320 h=240 float=left] Parallax made their way back to Droptone in early August to record their second live album, "Nice 2." This project is a collaboration among some of the state's finest artists including Big Zach (of Kanser), St Paul Slim, Jellyfish and Corey (of More Than Lights), Colin Hodges (of Know Breaks), Mario Morales (of Los Nativos), DJ Gabe Garcia, Rellium Prime, and Sean Anonymous (of Wide Eyes), and Alicia Steele. Parallax released "Nice 2" on October 1st, at the Cabooze. Give your ears a treat and listen to some fine Minnesota music.
The summer of 2010 has come and gone, but on September 1st one full length album remained. Corby Pelto recorded his debut album "Merry-Go-Round" over the last 3 months here at Droptone and it's out now.
We just just finished a killer one drop track "Turn Back Time" for African based lyricist and singer Mukama Morandi.
Chicago based songwriter, Gordon Vanguard and his grunge-pop band Licker recently did some mix work at Droptone. The band recorded a handful of new songs a few months back at local recording school, IPR. With bare mixes in hand, they asked me to polish them up. I really enjoyed working on Gordon's songs, and I know you'll enjoy listening to them.
[singlepic id=436 w=320 h=240 float=left] Dancer and model, Dani Gassmann has just released her single, "Can't Take It Anymore" on iTunes.
Dani came to Droptone with a notebook full of lyrics and a few melodies in her head, but wasn't sure where to start with her first song. After talking about a stylistic direction, Dani and I dug in and started getting creative.
[singlepic id=163 w=320 h=240 float=left] Maria Isa's latest release, "Street Politics," was another product of Droptone Studio. Maria brought her album to us this last spring and we helped her re-record, re-mix, and re-think her album.
The project began by adding the support of her extremely talented band. I captured the live sounds from her drummer, percussionist, guitarist, bassist, trumpet player, and keyboardist. We mixed in and/or replaced the samples with these live elements and the difference was huge. Maria re-sang a few things and added additional harmonies that helped highlight certain tracks. I worked tirelessly on drum, conga, and bass loops that added a solid, yet acoustic, rhythmic foundation. I then re-edited her vocals to bring out her voice in the mix and tighten her overall sound.
[singlepic id=153 w=320 h=240 float=right] Earlier this summer, Fat Lemon, an alternative rock band, came into the studio to mix and master their latest self-titled release. The band tracked all of their songs independently outside of the studio, and I just helped them get the best sound out of their recordings. We spent 2 days mixing and produced a master shortly after. The process was fun, yet challenging. Fat Lemon is a college band based out of St. Paul. They'll be playing shows in the metro area, check them out.
[singlepic id=166 w=280 h=200 float=left] Morrison Boomer is an acoustic duo from Seattle. They were in Minneapolis over the last few months and I had the privilege to record their first studio release, and their second album throughout July and August. This album is mainly acoustic guitar, bass, and vocals. We added strings, djembe, and piano to a few tracks as well. We had a great time making this 13 track album.
Several months ago I started working on a project with singer songwriter Keaton Kronberg. Before we got too far on his solo project, he ended up adding a full band to the mix and we switched gears. We both decided it would be best to let the band work on the songs for the next 4-8 weeks and then hit the studio together to record two of the sketches we had previously laid out and two new ones.
[singlepic id=167 w=320 h=240 float=right] "Love All Over" was the culmination of 2 years of work by singer/songwriter Noah Cornelius. Noah and I began working together in the summer of 2007. We put down a handful of acoustic guitar scratch tracks and experimented with different tempos and song structures. Once we had that foundation set, we gradually added other elements. Noah's friend Jon played drums for this album and did an excellent job. We tracked and edited his parts over 2 days. The next step was bass, and I volunteered to fill in. I took a few days to work out parts and get them recorded. After Noah was satisfied, we moved to vocals.
Esera Tuaolo is scheduled to release his first solo full-length album on February 26th. The venue has yet to be decided. Esera has been working on his album over the last 2 years, tirelessly perfecting every track. Packed with 8 originals and 2 covers, Esera's album covers a wide variety of musical stylings. From traditional Samoan folk song to edgy pop/r&b songs, Esera's album promises to deliver something for every music fan.
Feel like you recognize the name Esera Tuaolo? That's because Esera is a former NFL pro-bowler, playing in the 1998 Superbowl with the Atlanta Falcons. He's also an accomplished author. His autobiography, Alone In The Trenches: My Life As A Gay Man In The NFL, was released in the spring of 2006.
Several tracks on the album were co-wrote with David Kellogg (Droptone Studio owner). Please take a moment and listen to a few of Esera's tracks on our website ...
Welcome to the Droptone Studio Blog! It's a new year and we've got a new website. 2008 was full of fun and lots of music. It went out with a bang as the studio stayed open around the clock working on Christmas music. Helen Thul, a local christian artist, recorded her first solo project, A Christmas Journey.