Debut album on CD-Baby, iTunes etc ...

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:10 am

Hi there,

my name is Danilo, I'm from Italy and I'm a loyal MOTU user since 1986. I've subscribed at Unicornation on 2004 - more a lurker than an actual active writer I've to say - and even if I never personally met James (Steele) on those Motu tequila-party dinners during the LA-NAMM show every year, we know each other "online" since the early pioneering days of Motu-Mac.

After a never-ending period of work, I've found the time to write and record thirteen tunes. The result is my debut album MOVING.

It's possible to find it here:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/danilo

Or here on iTunes:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZSt ... 4&s=143450

MOVING has been done 100% with DP plus a large collection of virtual instruments and plugins available out there.

Mixing has been done in analog domain back to DP through SUMO, an amazing british toy:
http://www.audient.co.uk/Audient_Produc ... &ItemID=50

I did master it with a friend of mine in his beautiful studio http://www.logicalbox.com/eng/chi.htm using a TC System6000 ... "steroid version".

Needless to say, it is - at least for me - a nice project and I'm very proud of it

Thank you James for the opportunity to let me write about it on this board.

ciao everybody

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:10 am

Incredible, Dan. Just incredible. If I had to come up with a criticism, it would also be a compliment: This music sounds like a Pat Metheny project.

We need more folks like you around here. Thanks for sharing your work.

If you have the time, please tell us about your process.

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:41 am

Jim wrote:Incredible, Dan. Just incredible. If I had to come up with a criticism, it would also be a compliment: This music sounds like a Pat Metheny project. We need more folks like you around here. Thanks for sharing your work.

I'll take it as a compliment, ok? Thanks Jim

Jim wrote: If you have the time, please tell us about your process.

Sure, why not ... just ask me what you would like to know (software, hardware, outboard, recording ... whatever), and I'll try to fulfill your curiosity.

ciao

P.S.
Spread the voice about MOVING

reekguitar · Post by **reekguitar** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:40 pm

Danworks,
Congratulations, absolutely beautyful work!
One can feel the experienced, techniqually brillant, yet musical skills!

regards
Reek

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:47 am

reekguitar wrote:Danworks,
Congratulations, absolutely beautyful work!
One can feel the experienced, techniqually brillant, yet musical skills!

Thank you Reek

Obviously the CD sounds much better than the streaming mp3 - we all know about that, don't we?

- but thanks to the net (CD-Baby, iTunes, etc), also independent musicians/productions will have a chance of being heard from every curious person out there.

ciao

P.S.
Spread the voice about MOVING

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:06 am

danworks wrote:... just ask me what you would like to know (software, hardware, outboard, recording ... whatever), and I'll try to fulfill your curiosity.

One of the reviews on CD Baby called this a Do-It-Yourself project. How much of this was done on home-based equipment? Like, did you record some parts in a big studio? Is the piano real or virtual?

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:41 pm

Jim wrote:One of the reviews on CD Baby called this a Do-It-Yourself project.

I imagine the reviews is referring about the fact I played a lot of stuff on this project. I had a couple of great collaboration though, two fantastic inspiring drummers friends of mine, Elio Rivagli e Dede Ceccarelli.

Jim wrote:How much of this was done on home-based equipment? Like, did you record some parts in a big studio?

hmmm ... I believe we must redefine the concept of "home-based" studio

Nowadays we have more possibilities at home than I could even imagine 25 years ago into an average analog 24 track tape based studio. To answer to your question, yes, everything was done with my home based studio stuff, apart for the drums which obviously needed a large room so I went in a "big studio".

Jim wrote:Is the piano real or virtual?

For the piano sound I've used Ivory (Steinway and Yamaha), Akoustik Piano (Bechstein) and a custom sampled Fazioli (F228 model) that was in a fantastic studio many years ago. I've built a preset into MachFive and ... that's it

ciao

P.S.
Spread the voice about MOVING

dpdan · Post by **dpdan** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 10:53 pm

Very nice Dan,
I couldn't help feeling the influence of Pat Metheny, that's a good thing

dpDan,

reekguitar · Post by **reekguitar** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 1:23 am

well your drummers ain't no beginners either!

Andre Ceccarelli is one of the biggest names in Jazz drumming, well at least in the country slightly upper north from you!

Did you play the Guitars as well?

Regards
Reek

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:41 am

dpdan wrote:Very nice Dan,
I couldn't help feeling the influence of Pat Metheny, that's a good thing

Thank you dpdan ...

Metheny and Mays, as Zawinul, Melhdau, Bill Evans and Sakamoto, or even Bartok, Prokofieff and Mussorgky, are just few of the fantastic musicians that obviously influenced me as musician the most, that's inevitable.

The same way Wes Montgomery, Ornette Coleman and Milton Nascimiento influenced Metheny at some point, Barber, Bartok, Puccini are still influencing John Williams in his great soundtracks, or the "Bird" influenced most of the sax player out there.

Obviously I don't even think to compare myself to those guys ...

They are in the Olympus of musicians-composers, while even if I'm proud about my career, and specifically what I wrote and played on MOVING, I still feeling (and I am) very down-to-heart, big time. Nothing wrong with that though

By the way, very nice job on your cello demo, quite impressive especially on trills and legato.

ciao

P.S.
Spread the voice about MOVING

supersonic · Post by **supersonic** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:36 am

Very nice indeed.

I'm sure many would find details of equipment/techniques used quite interesting. If you don't mind sharing them that is, of course.

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:32 pm

reekguitar wrote:well your drummers ain't no beginners either! Andre Ceccarelli is one of the biggest names in Jazz drumming, well at least in the country slightly upper north from you!

North-West I'd say

With Elio we're really good friends, we kinda started together in the music biz (early eighties), and now he's one of the top session drummers in Italy. When I've proposed him if he wanted to play on MOVING, he was quite excited I couldn't even believe it ...

Dede is the man!! A musician with an immense outstanding resume, but most important, an amazing person and invaluable friend. I feel honored I've got his talent on my project. And last but not least ... he's half italian too

reekguitar wrote:Did you play the Guitars as well?

Yep, guitar and electric bass, but I'm not a proper guitar n bass player at all! I just knew which kind of sound and phrasing I wanted, therefore while I was writing it I've rehearsed a lot taking a particular care of those elements.

And then I'm so good on editing

ciao

P.S.
Spread the voice about MOVING

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:16 am

supersonic wrote:Very nice indeed.
I'm sure many would find details of equipment/techniques used quite interesting. If you don't mind sharing them that is, of course.

Thank you supersonic

No problem for me, I can start with the basic hardware setup and host software, then if you have more specific questions I'll dig deeper.

G5Dual2.7/4.5gig RAM/MacOSX.4.7
250gig internal (osx - apps)
300gig internal (sound libraries)
250 FW800 music project
DP5.1/UAD-1/MOTU 2408mk3/1296/24I-O/MTPAV

Shuttle XPC P4-3gig/2gig RAM/WinXPpro
120gig internal (win - apps)
300gig internal (sound libraries)
VSTack/KORE/MOTU 2408mk3/MTPAV

Outboard:
Lexicon PCM90
Roland SRV2000
SPL Gold Mike Valve preamp
RNC1773 compressor
BOSS GX700
Equitek E100 microphone

ciao

P.S.
Spread the voice about MOVING

reekguitar · Post by **reekguitar** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:38 am

Danworks,
Thanks for all the input, the guitar playing is great don't worry!
you are a very talented and fun person.

For you, i'll have a glass of Sangiovese d'Abruzzo this evening!

Cheers and keep up the great work.
Reek

danworks · Post by **danworks** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:00 pm

reekguitar wrote: For you, i'll have a glass of Sangiovese d'Abruzzo this evening!

Un type franÃ§ais buvant du vin italien !?

(spell?)

ciao

P.S.
I'll have a Bordeaux ...