Thursday, January 28, 2010

Producer, Cookie Marenco from OTR Studios, Takes Her Proprietary Recording Technique to Grace Cathedral

On January 11th and 13th of 2010, Cookie Marenco brought E.S.E (Extended Sound Environment) recording to Grace Cathedral for a special event featuring solo vioinist, Emily Palen. Along with Marenco, came much of the staff from OTR Studios who chose to record live to DSD (Direct Stream Digital). For this recording, Marenco brought out Gus Skinas, founder of the Super Audio Center and early pioneer of DSD recording/SACD for Sony Music.

The two day remote marks the debut of newly formed Valence Records founded by Gregory James. His history on Rogue Records is well marked by 8 contemporary jazz guitar releases of his own, nearly all recorded at OTR Studios by Marenco. James was enthralled by Ms. Palen's fierce improvisational style. After stunning performances on the soon to be released The Valence Project Palen was asked to be the first solo artist on Valence Records.

When James asked Marenco to record the solo violin project, her first instinct was to use the
E.S.E (Extended Sound Environment) technique at Grace Cathedral. E.S.E. was first designed for Blue Coast Records by Marenco and engineer/audiophile Jean Claude Reynaud. This marks the first release where the technique is being licensed for use by another record label. The San Francisco landmark proved to be perfect to capture the surround sound of the violin.

"This may be the finest recorded sound of acoustic music I've heard", remarked Gus Skinas after listening to the surround sound played back in his Boulder, Colorado studio. Marenco is planning to write a detailed white paper on how the recording quality was achieved. For more information you can write her directly at cookie@otrstudios.com or call 650 595 8475.

Along with Marenco and Skinas, the crew from OTR consisted of Patrick O'Connor/GM OTR Studios, Tim Jones/house engineer, Andrew Doyle/chief assistant, Gene Johnson/video, and Paulo Horn/assistant.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Dynamic Mastering Debuts at OTR Studios for High Resolution Sound!

We've all heard the complaints about mp3 sound. Now, there's something you can do about it!

Dynamic Mastering
If you own the rights to your music, are a record label, or have access to your mixes BEFORE they were mastered at 44.1, we can remaster with the full dynamic range. We have developed several proprietary methods for mastering to 96kHz and 88.2Khz audio (also 192 and DSD) to create new stereo audio suitable for the new fans of FULL DYNAMIC RANGE.

The whole recording chain has taken a turn for the worst in the last decade, but not nearly as drastic as what's going on in Mastering. The Loudness Wars, Over Compressed Audio, Resampled Digital... whatever you want to call it, your Mastered CD should sound as good as your Mixes did.

For those of you who think the public doesn't care, YOU ARE WRONG! We have seen tremendous acceptance of our 96kHz downloads by an international audience looking for DYNAMICS, DETAIL, FULL FREQUENCY RESPONSE AND GREAT RECORDING TECHNIQUE. Granted, this isn't your everyday consumer, these are people who value MUSIC and SOUND. This is their passion.

We are now working with several small labels to give them the edge that they well deserve in these changing times. Our own Blue Coast Records began selling 96kHz downloads last March with overwhelming success! Priced between $2-$4 per single and $30-$40 per album, Blue Coast Records 96/24 High Resolution downloads are outselling the 44.1 CD quality (that is half the price) by as much as 30 to 1.

These High Definition files can be listened to through iTunes, Windows Media and most audio cards sold today. Our listeners are far more advanced than many musicians. With 3D TV on the horizon, you can bet that higher quality audio will not be far behind. This is your jump into the future.

How can you take advantage of this new wave of music fans?

If you're looking for a way to distribute worldwide, we can also help you with that. Ask about our Downloads NOW! program and the Artist Connex Rotating Module. Through our sister division, Argo Arts, we have developed marketing and sales tools for the next generation of the music business.

Call us for a complete program that takes you from production to distribution to building a community at your website.

650 595 8475

check out these artists on Downloads NOW! with 96kHz downloads

TheValenceProject.DownloadsNOW.net
KeithDayan.ArgoArts.com
BlueCoastworld.com/Houston-Jones/CalicoHeart24-96
BlueCoastRecords.com
RobIckes.ArgoArts.com
GregoryJames.com/Come-To-Me
ButchMorris.DownloadsNOW.net/NowhereEverafter