It’s been about a year since the first recording session for Good Old Days. It’s definitely been a long time in the making, but it hasn’t felt like a drawn-out process. When you’re producing the same tunes over such a long period of time it’s easy to start second guessing yourself, but having a clear vision from the start really helps. Our vision as a band was to create something that sounded organic, live and that let the songs speak for themselves. As a producer, I wanted to achieve this by capturing natural and characterful recordings and allowing the performances to shine through. I didn’t want it to feel highly ‘produced’ but I wanted it to feel well put together.

It’s a weird comparison to make, but I remember first hearing Surfer Rosa by Pixies when I was about 15 or 16. Steve Albini’s production literally transported me into the room with the band and it was a magical and formative moment for me. I wanted to capture a bit of that magic in this EP. The benchmark I used to measure this by was the drums and bass, I knew that if I got those right and placed them in the same location, then the rest of the EP would sit well on top. A couple of mics in the stairwell attached to the small studio in my workplace did the trick, along with some funky crush mics and a bit of parallel compression on the kit. I’ve talked about this setup in my last blog post, as our last single, ‘Shut the World Away’ was also recorded in the same session. If you want to hear the drums and bass in action, listen to the breakdown in Good Old Days.

In the spirit of featuring the performances and allowing the listener to inhabit the same space as the band, I approached double tracking differently in this EP. Usually my go-to when recording guitar, perc, backing vocals etc is to record a double track and then pan left and right, but having loads of wide sounds didn’t feel right – after all we don’t have two of Alfie or two of Ewan (well, we might as well have two of Ewan with the number of instruments he played on this EP). ‘Go Back’ is a great example where there is no double tracking. Every instrument is recorded just once to help the production feel more like an ensemble performing together, and there’s no hard panning of mono elements. This does mean that this is a fairly narrow stereo field and I had to think about stereo mic’ing to fill the space, but I think it suits the song.

The brass band recording was a highlight for all of us. It was the first time I’d recorded a brass band, so having Alex Smith (baritone) and Jon Mitra (conductor) there to help with the mic’ing techniques was great. We used an ORTF pair in front of the band, a spaced omni pair above the basses, and some spot mics over each section to bring out any important parts. We’re really grateful to all the brass players for taking part, and to Hade Edge band for the use of their band room. The inclusion of a brass band in the EP was a nod to our background; Ewan and I grew up playing in brass bands, and Joe is a current member of Hade Edge band.

I wanted an integrated vocal sound in this EP. Previously, I’ve been guilty of having vocals too loud but being conscious of vocal levels was top priority this time. Call My Own is a solid introduction to the EP with a confident, upfront vocal to grab the listener’s attention right from the beginning. It also has a subtle chorused sound, which is more to do with the interference from the small room we recorded in than any added FX. After such a busy and confident first track, it was essential that Our Love kept the energy despite having simpler instrumentation, so the vocals are a touch quieter, and I made room for the drums and guitars to drive the song forward. Go Back has a dry upfront vocal, because for me, that song is all about the lyrics, and fun fact, it’s also the only song without any Melodyne (sorry Alfie). Good Old Days has a similar vocal level to Our Love but with a bit more space in the instrumentation, so it’s got a presence anyway. The true hero of this EP is the interlude produced by Ewan, it adds space and contrast after a busy first two songs, and it sets up the dry acoustic guitar at the start of Go Back. The acoustic guitar seems to resolve the interlude perfectly and it’s probably my favourite moment of the whole EP.

There’s some of my thoughts and insights from a production perspective. Good Old Days has been an amazing project to work on and the process has taught me a huge amount about production and my sound. Let me know what you think of the EP, hopefully you enjoy it. Good Old Days by Alfie and the Avalon is out on all platforms now.