Category: Blog

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Two new releases I’ve had the pleasure to work on come out today (8/23).  The first is Avos, the acoustic guitar duet record by James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg.  It’s being released on LP by Tompkins Square Records, and has already been garnering some great praise.  Check out this in depth article/review here:  http://workandworry.com/?p=3186

The other new release is the digital version of Junk Culture‘s Hang Roxy single on Illegal Art.  The A-Side features vocals by Jana Hunter (of Lower Dens and her own bad self), while “Chippewa Kids” has vocal contributions from Sarah Barthel (of Phantogram).  Altered Zone had some kind words for it, check it out: http://alteredzones.com/posts/1822/junk-culture-hang-roxy-feat-jana-hunter/

Thanks for taking a look, dudes.  Feel free to get in touch!

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I’ve been talking about this stuff for a while, and now there’s stuff to share!

“School Glue”, the first song from the new Pterodactyl album Spills Out debuted yesterday on Pitchfork.  Check it out: http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/16176-school-glue/

Spills Out will be released November 15th on Brah / Jagjaguwar.  I handled the bulk of the recording duties, spent some time on the mixing, and mastered the record.  People seem to be digging it, which rules – coz I really like it!

Avos, the album by James Elktington and Nathan Salsburg, comes out on Tompkins Square August 23rd.  It was recorded in a few sessions in my old living room, and mixed earlier this year.  My grandma heard it and loved it!  You can stream the album in its entirity on Fretboard Journal:  http://www.fretboardjournal.com/audio/album-preview-james-elkington-nathan-salsburgs-avos

Hope you guys like this stuff too!  Thanks for checking it out.

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My friends and I have started a new snack stand called Dynasty Cafeteria!  It’s inside 285 Kent (in Williamsburg, next to Glasslands), where they have a DIY arcade by Babycastles and periodic live music.  Have some watermelon, grape kool-aid, or freeze pops to cool off, or snack on some summer rolls or grilled cheese waffles.  We also have daily specials – check out dynastycafeteria.tumblr.com for more info!  Open daily, 8 PM – 1 AM.

I recently mastered the upcoming ‘Hang Roxy’ single by Junk Culture for Illegal Art.  Both “Hang Roxy” and “Chippewa Kids” (the b-side) are super catchy electronic pop tunes built on glitchy hip-hop beats and irresistible melodies.  I highly recommend picking up the 7″ (or the mp3s) when it comes out this Fall!

Also of note, I recently upgraded my interface to an Apogee Ensemble!  The MOTU had served me well, but it was time to step up my game – pro gear, pro attitude.  I’m setting it up today, can’t wait to get into it…

Thanks for stopping by to read this!  Feel free to reach out: jonathan[dot]schenke[at]gmail[dot]com

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Mindreading, the long-delayed second album by Singer, is out now on Drag City.  This was recorded in 2009 after Todd Rittmann left to form D(ead) Rider (which is particularly awesome live), and the results are more synth-oriented than Unhistories, and even more abstract.  I assisted the band in the recording (setting up mics and getting sounds for the group to build upon), and it was mixed by Randall Dunn (who has previously worked on releases by Sunn 0))), Earth, and Black Mountain).

I think Drag City sums it up best: “Democracy in motion…slow motion. Drifting into and through an amoebic evolution in sound, Mindreading discerns a new form of pop music. Paranormal or supernatural – take your pick!”

In other news, the upcoming Pterodactyl record Spills Out is finished!!  It turned out amazing, we’re all super-psyched on the outcome, and the early artwork looks fantastic.  Look out for it this Fall on Brah/Jagjaguwar.

Also, I just returned from another year working at Pitchfork Music Festival.  Shabazz Palaces, Kylessa, James Blake, and OFF! were definitely the highlights on my stage.  As always, it was a marathon weekend, but my friends and co-workers on the staff made it all run well, and it was awesome to see my Chicago folk again.  Big shout out to Matt, the Ice Cream Man!

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Big OOPS for letting this go so long without updating!  But check out this amazing cover for AVOS, the new record by James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg coming out this summer on Tompkins Square.  The sleeve is from a painting by the lovely Lauren Gregory, and the album was recorded and mixed by yours truly.

I recently recorded two songs with my friend Daniel Francis Doyle in Austin, TX and am in the process of mixing them both.  One of the tracks is in his classic one-man-band style for an upcoming split 7″ on Monofonus Press, and the other is a old-school ballad for an upcoming compilation on my own SOUNGS Label.  Danny is one of my favorite performers and an all around great dude, so it was truly a pleasure to do this recording with him.  Keep an eye out for him and his new trio on tour this fall.

I also recorded basic tracking for the alterna-shoegazer/bombastic rock band Soren Well, along with their guitarist and my friend Derek Mabra.  It was a great 3 days of tracking at Derek’s Honeyland Studios in Brooklyn. We recorded solid foundations for their upcoming full-length album This Year’s Rapture and the accompanying Academy Girls EP, which they are hard at work finishing overdubs and mixing.

And most recently, I recorded an epic mega jam by the Brooklyn group Starring for their upcoming second album. The album’s being mixed by Matt Mehlan from Skeletons, and it sounds fucking rad from what I’ve heard.  Their first disc, Wife of God (on Death by Audio), is pretty damn good too!

I also had the good fortune recently to work on another project coming out on Chicago’s Positive Beat Recordings.  A few weeks ago, I mastered Lost Coast by Ryan Daniel Hammer, which I believe is coming out on cassette and MP3.  It’s a collection of ambient/drone songs, melodic and heavy but not too dark and never saccharine – really good stuff.  Check out this video experiment accompanying an earlier version of “Long Face”, one of the album’s tracks, here: http://vimeo.com/20954629

Also, check out this Impose Magazine feature on People Like Us (which was on their Best of the Month list!):  http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/people-like-us-happy-lost-songs

Thanks for stopping by!  And as always, please get in touch if you would like to discuss working together on an upcoming project!

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A few albums that I’ve recently worked on have upcoming release dates.  First is the People Like Us album Welcome Abroad, out May 24th on CD via Illegal Art (see the album art above).  Next is The Most Vernal of Equinoxes by Natural Harbors, a hand-cut limited-edition 10″ LP on Positive Beat Recordings this summer.  And this July, the long-in-the-works guitar duo record by James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg will be released on LP by Tompkins Square.

The Pterodactyl record is now in the final mixing stages.  I’ll be finishing mixes and mastering it in the next week or so.  It’s been a long process, but we’re all excited about the results – I can’t wait for people to hear this stuff.

And Thu, Peter, Taylor, Dan, Matt, Lauren and I have finished about an hour’s worth of animations called The Misguided Guide to the Origin of Everything.  Thu’s been posting various clips from the cartoon over the last month or so, and here are a few for your viewing pleasure:

How Did Salt and Pepper Get Together? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZxOokNVyNo

What is Dust?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pehpiFLlW_w

How Does Television Work?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEGOAj_XDeM

What is a Banana Split?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Iudczbj0uM

Thanks for stopping by!  And as always, feel free to get in touch if you’d like to work on a project together.

xo,
schenke

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Hey friends,

I just started working on the next episodes of The Misguided Guide to the Origin of Everything – the new show I’m working on with Thu Tran & the Winty Crew from Food Party. I loved the way the pilot turned out – check out the teaser above – but I feel like everyone stepped up their game for these next episodes. Keep your fingers crossed that they’ll be coming out sometime soon!

The Pterodactyl record is coming along well – we’re finishing the last bits of tracking, and Frank Musarra (Hearts of Darknesses / Trey Told ‘Em) has started the mixing process.  We were able to get some great performances, and the overdubs and arrangements took things to whole new levels.  Everything sounds huge and melodic and weird – I’m mega psyched!

They’re playing Tuesday March 8th at the Parts & Labor record release show in Brooklyn before taking off to SXSW.  Check out tour dates here:  http://panacherock.com/artists.php?id=105

In the meantime, I mastered a record for my friend Anthony from Chicago and his new project Natural Harbors.  I enjoyed his last EP (under the name of Arctic Circle), but this really caught my imagination – great beats, inventive production, catchy melodies… the works.  I’ve had these songs stuck in my head since I started working on them.  Keep an eye out for the record later this year on Positive Beat Recordings.

Also, my good friends the I Ching Quartet have posted their discography online to download for free!  I worked on three of these records, including the newest one These Dreams, of which I am particularly fond/proud.  Check them out: http://www.ichingquartet.com/discography/

Thanks for stopping by!

TTYL,

schenke

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I’ve spent the last two weeks with my friend Jesse and the rest of the (awesome) dudes in Pterodactyl, recording their new record. Pterodactyl has put out records on Brah/Jagjaguwar and Deleted Art, and appeared on a split with one of my favorite bands Oneida.

All the basic tracking is done – we did two days setup in Jesse’s loft and another in their practice space, getting all the basics down.  (The photo to your left is the M train passing by Jesse’s window)  We’re working on overdubs and vocals now – always an involved process, but nice at your own pace.  Frank Musarra – from Hearts of Darknesses and Trey Told ‘Em (with Gregg Gillis/Girl Talk) – will be mixing the record in a couple weeks, and I’ll be doing the final mix/master after Pterodactyl’s SXSW tour with Parts and Labor.

The material is really exciting, taking their abrasive noise-pop from Worldwild, steeping it in the more melodic psychedelia experiments from last year’s Arnold’s Park EP, and steering it directly into Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound.  You guys will love it.

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That’s right, folks.  Scrappers, the documentary by Brian Ashby and Ben Kolak about scrap metal scavengers in Chicago, made Roger Ebert’s year-end list… and I had the pleasure of mixing it!  Check it out:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/01/the_best_documentaries_of_2010.html

If you live in the Chicago area and haven’t had a chance to see it, there’s another screening next week:

Scrappers @ Doc Films
Friday, January 21, 7pm
Max Palevsky Cinema, Ida Noyes Hall
1212 E. 59th St.
$5
Followed by Q&A with the filmmakers
http://docfilms.uchicago.edu
Sponsored by Fire Escape Films and the Center for Latin American Studies

In other news, we just spent a day recording voices for the second episode of the new show by Thu Tran & the Winty Gang.  There was much laughing.  The pilot turned out amazing, I can’t wait for people to see it…. more news as it develops.

Also, I’m also working out the details to record the new record by Pterodactyl this winter.  Righteous!

ttyl, schenke