Behind the Scenes at Golden Mastering

A seasoned mastering engineer working at K Disc Mastering in Hollywood during the “birth” of independent labels like SST, Sub Pop and K Records in the early 1980s, John Golden took independent releases seriously when no one else would. It’s no surprise that after opening his own family-run mastering facility in Ventura 15 years ago, Golden Mastering, his name is all over the production credits of independent releases today. Joining his father in 1998, JJ Golden has become a mastering engineer in his own right over the last decade, mastering releases for the likes of Calexico, Devendra Banhart and The New Pornographers. John’s daughter April Golden rounds out the facility as studio manager.

Q: What are the golden touchstones and guiding principles?

John: I think we provide a unique blend of old and new. By this I mean with 50 years combined experience in mastering, there are many approaches and techniques to pull out of your bag of tricks. We are constantly adjusting to new recording styles and musical content that keeps us on our toes and makes the ob really fun.

Q: JJ and John, how do your approaches to mastering compare?

JJ: That’s a tough question. I think our approaches are similar in that we both sit down, listen and tune in to what’s going on in terms of the recording and mix, as well as the bands’/artists’ requests. We each have our own interpretation of what a project needs based on our personal tastes as well as our experience from working with various personalities and their art. We’ve each selected different equipment in our own rooms to suit those tastes and individual needs.

John: I agree with that. Mastering is, for the most part, a one man job. Because of this, it’s helpful to bounce ideas off of each other as well.

Q: How have changes in the structure and function of the music industry affected the work you do?

John: One thing that comes to mind is the way that people listen to music now. With digital music distribution, there are so many possible listening environments and a plethora of different playback mediums. This means that when people are listening to their mixes and/or mastering jobs, there are sometimes such dramatic differences between systems and listening environments that it can be misleading when making adjustments to a mix or master.

Q: Do you still cut lacquers for vinyl?

John: Yes, we have a Neumann VMS-70 lathe that is in use all the time. It varies from month to month but I’d say a good 25 to 30 percent of our business is cutting lacquers for vinyl.

Q: John, how have you seen the independent music community evolve over the last three decades, through the mastering lens?

John: The amount of independent music that is done today is vast since anyone can buy the equipment to make their own recording for very little money. Combine that with the internet and you have the ability to make a recording and put your music out to the masses much easier than even 10 years ago. This creates another situation: the artist, songwriter, producer, engineer and record company are sometimes all the same

person! This is where it gets very difficult to be objective about your songs and your production, and why you need to consider someone ‘outside’ to do the mastering. A fresh perspective from an experienced set of ears can be very helpful to someone who has possibly lost touch with their project. It puts us in a unique position of mastering engineer/educator.

www.goldenmastering.com

Interview with Dane Sundseth, Founder of Yukon Promotions

After relocating from Eugene, Ore. to Los Angeles to pursue music journalism, Dane Sundseth has found himself in a good place. Not only able to work for himself and go to shows five nights a week, he is also helping indie artists in Los Angeles and across the West Coast gain a foothold in the radio and press world with Yukon Promotions. Keeping a tight-knit personal approach to his business dealing, Yukon Promotions is not even a year old but boasts an impressive roster that includes The Parson Red Heads, The Weather Underground,

Rumspringa, The Monolators, Correatown, Leviathan Brothers, Les Blanks, Casxio, The Harpeth Trace, Flashing Red Lights and Day of Lions, amongst others.

Q: Tell us about your approach to promotions.

A: A lot of publicity companies are these faceless names in an office in New York City that bands may never meet and rarely get to talk to – not to mention they are pricey. I don’t want to be like that. I want my artists to know I’m working for them and that I’m working with them. I want to go to their shows, I want to meet up and have drinks with them when I can. It’s much more beneficial on both ends if you feel like you’re friends and that you’re on the same level.

Q: How do you determine how much energy to focus on local vs. national press/radio?

A: Generally, if I’m working with a band that is putting out its first offering, local press and radio is definitely my first priority because that’s where we’re probably going to have the most success. I still always try for national coverage too though, because you never really know – a lot of bigger, more national outlets pride themselves on uncovering some truly never heard of bands, so there’s always a chance that it will pay off to reach out to those people.

Q: It seems like Yukon has been predominantly promoting EPs as of late – do you find EPs are the smarter promotional medium in the current climate of the music industry?

A: I work with a lot of bands that are just putting out their first releases and are looking to start getting their name out there. For this type of situation, I would almost always advise that an EP is the most logical, not to mention financial-friendly choice. I like to think of EPs as an introduction to a band, it’s a good first stepping stone that lets you get music out to press and radio contacts as an attempt to start building a buzz and a name for yourself. That way, when it comes time for a full length, you have a better idea of how it’s going to do and who you should target. The Weather Underground have done a very good job of this – in the last year, they’ve self-released three EPs, and it’s paid off well for them. Each EP saw more interest from press and radio and now they’ve worked themselves up to a point where more national outlets have their eye on them, and they are touring constantly with larger acts like French Kicks, Matt Costa and Constantines as well as playing Bonnaroo and High Sierra Music Festival.

Q: Tips for bands doing their own promo?

A: Be patient. It’s a lot of work these days because the market is so oversaturated with new music coming in constantly. You may send out 100 promos and only get real feedback on five of those, but you know, that’s a good start. Also, keep in contact with who you’re trying to target, whether by email or phone – these people have huge stacks to go through so you want to keep reminding them of your band. Be careful though, you don’t want to be too pushy or you may scare them off, just keep it casual and hopefully they’ll check it out. Overall, good music still speaks for itself – you’ve just got to get them to listen first.

www.yukonpromotions.com

IN THE NEWS

Emily Wells recently celebrated the release of her new album, The Symphonies: Dreams Memories & Parties, a collection of 10 modern symphonies written, performed, recorded and produced by Wells. The album bridges the gap between classical, hip-hop and folk –

“symphonic folktronica” – and features layers of violin (21 separate tracks, in fact), analog synthesizers, samples, drum machines, glockenspiels and toy instruments, as well as lyrical narratives. Bassist Joey Reina and drummer Sam Halterman add to the compositions and are also featured in Wells’ live ensemble.

www.emilywells

music.com

The 28th annual Sunset Junction Street Festival will hit the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard in Silver Lake on August 23 and 24. Three stages will feature perform-ances all day from artists like local favorites Radars to the Sky, The Happy Hollows, Castledoor, Bodies of Water, Jonathan Rice and Entrance Band on Saturday, as well as Menomena, Langhorne Slim, Broken Social Scene and Cold War Kids. Then on Sunday, The Henry Clay People, Voxhaul Broadcast, Oliver Future, Gram Rabbit, HEALTH, !!! and The Black Keys will all perform.

www.sunsetjunction.org/

streetfair

Darker My Love’s sophomore effort, appropriately titled 2, is scheduled for an August 5 release on L.A.’s Dangerbird Records. Its 11 tracks were produced by Dave Cooley (Silver-sun Pickups, J Dilla). Now a quintet with new member Will Canzoneri on organ and clavinet, the band’s wave of reverb and fuzzy guitars hit the California coast last month with dual-city residencies in L.A. and San Francisco, as well as the Pacific Northwest, with a performance at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party. Darker My Love will wrap its residencies early this month with a show at The Independent on August 5 and at The Troubadour on August 7, then join forces with The Dandy Warhols as main support for their North American tour next month.

www.darkermylove

music.com

Earlimart will return home from its summer tour in support of Hymn and Her this month. The tour kicked off on July 17 at The Casbah in San Diego, and after taking the duo up the West Coast, made its way around the East Coast and Midwest last month, and will conclude in Austin, Texas on August 5.

www.myspace.com/

earlimart

After the debut of the F Yeah Tour this summer, which featured 28 shows in 28 days across the U.S., F Yeah Fest will return to its hometown of Los Angeles for its fifth annual extravaganza on August 30 and 31. The two-day music, art and comedy event will be held in downtown L.A. as opposed to Echo Park, where it has been held for the last four years. F Yeah, which has also been hosting showcases at SXSW called Mess with Texas, is curated by Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks) and Sean Carlson.

www.myspace.com/

fyeahfest

L.A.’s Red Rockets Glare Records recently released the debut EP from The Sweet Hurt, titled In the Shade of

Dreams. One of the few recent additions to the label, the band is the project of Wendy Wang, a musician who performs with local groups Let’s Go Sailing, Honey Honey and Correatown, and works as an engineer at Red Rockets Glare studio. The EP was thus written, produced, engin-eered and performed by Wang.

www.thesweethurt.com

On August 5, L.A.-based vinyl-friendly label Black and Greene Records will release the new album from Apollo Sunshine on vinyl and as a digital download. Titled Shall Noise Upon, this is the third full length for Apollo Sunshine and will come out on CD on September 2.

www.blackandgreene

records.com

Evangelista joins Xiu Xiu this month for their U.S. tour on August 14 in L.A., then crosses the country with them, parting ways after a show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York on August 28. Evangelista will then meet Xiu Xiu back in San Francisco on September 13 for a homecoming show at Bottom of the Hill.

www.myspace.com/

evangelistasounds

Thailand recently self-released its new EP, The Remote Controller Absorbs the Place. The follow-up to 2007’s Motorcade LP, the album features five tracks recorded, produced and mixed by Thailand, and mastered by Dave Cooley.

www.myspace.com/

welcometothailand

The French Semester will hit the road on a West Coast tour this month in support of its recent release, Open Letter to the Disappeared. The jaunt will include two dates in San Francisco, as well as all the usual stops – and then some.

www.thefrench

semeseter.org