What happens when you compare the record you’re making now to the one you made a few years ago... and your first reaction is:
“What the fuck? We sent this to our mixing engineer?”
That’s exactly what happened to Stefan Thoms and fourcitycolony. And honestly, that’s a pretty good sign. It means they got better. A lot better.
Want to make incredible-sounding records yourself, without having to figure everything out alone? → https://theselfrecordingband.com
In this in-person episode at our studio, Stefan joins us to talk about how fourcitycolony have developed their approach to making records over several releases.
They record most of the music themselves, but they don’t insist on doing absolutely everything themselves. Instead, they’ve landed on a hybrid approach: DIY recording, combined with outside help for mixing, mastering and feedback when it makes sense.
And that opens up some bigger questions:
Should a record simply capture what your band sounds like... or should you use the studio to create something bigger than what you can reproduce live? How much do influences from other bands matter? What's the vision for the project? Should you try to recreate sounds from a reference?
For fourcitycolony, the starting point was their live identity. They already knew how the two guitars should interact and what they wanted the band to feel like. Their goal was to get that sound and energy onto the record, while still allowing themselves to add things that wouldn’t necessarily happen on stage.
We also get very practical.
Stefan talks about having to re-record guitars because of tuning problems, changing the way they structure recording sessions, renting a better room to track drums, separating loud guitar cabinets from the musicians during recording, and learning when another take will genuinely improve something versus when you’re just doing it again because you can.
And once again, one of the biggest reoccurring lessons from making records yourself:
Knowing when something is good enough.
Don’t rush the beginning of the record. Set the standard. Don’t get lazy toward the end. Don’t leave the hardest songs until everyone is exhausted. And if something simply isn’t happening that night, come back tomorrow.
We also talk about why bringing in a professional mixer can be useful even when you know exactly how you want your own music to sound like:
They’re hearing the song for the first time, without hundreds of rehearsals and demos shaping their expectations. That outside perspective can reveal things the band simply stopped noticing.
Pair that with professional feedback, coaching and guidance during pre-production and the recording sessions and you have a bullet-proof, no-compromise approach.
In this episode:
- Capturing a band vs. producing a band
- Getting better from one record to the next
- The guitar tuning mistake they won’t make again
- When re-recording is actually worth it
- DIY recording + professional mixing and mastering
- Why they rented a better room to record drums
- Making a studio record that truly sounds like your band
- Adding parts you can’t reproduce live
- Knowing when a recording is “good enough”
- Why an outside mixer hears things you don’t anymore
- Vocal recording, pitch correction and keeping imperfections
- Songwriting, emotional lyrics and ridiculously catchy choruses
If you’re recording your own band and wondering what you should do yourself, what you should get help with, and how to make every record better than the last, there’s a lot to take away from this one.
Check out fourcitycolony:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fourcitycolony
Tour Dates, Socials & Music Streaming Apps: https://linktr.ee/fourcitycolony
Also mentioned:
I Wish I Could Stay Records: https://www.instagram.com/iwishicouldstay.ka
Krachige Platten: https://www.instagram.com/krachigeplatten
Want help making your own recordings and mixes sound professional?
https://theselfrecordingband.com
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For links to everything we've mentioned in this episode, as well as full show notes go to:
theselfrecordingband.com/324
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