Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[VinylGuy]

I have a busy enough week that it's actually to my benefit that this hasn't officially leaked yet, but Jesus Christ, leak already.

yeah pleaeeeease

[guitar_davey]

So I guess they did use amps...


Can you describe the room where you were working?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist anymore, because my house flooded during that bad L.A. rain. The studio was molded over and unusable. Rick Rubin did me a solid and cleared out Shangri-La for us to work for the rest of the period at a moment’s notice. It was fucking so cool of him. We wouldn’t have been able to make this record without him and that place. My studio was not a big room. It’s your typical basement. It was originally a home theater when the house belonged to the manager of Charlie Chaplin. We turned this space with concrete walls into a studio, treated it and put speakers up. The amps were upstairs all over the house. The guys were very much right next to each other. We’d track, put the main band down, and if someone had to fix a thing or two, they’d fix it or do some overdubs and make things fuller. Then, Ed would sing. That was it. Same thing every time. It’s not fancy, you know? It’s a fucking band. Let’s hear them play. When you listen to the record, at any point you can close your eyes and say, there’s Jeff, loud and proud. There’s Mike, there’s Stone, there’s Ed.


How fun too that they’re playing your gear and Josh’s gear. Were there some specific items that wound up being used a lot?

A guy named Alexander Dumble made the amps. He was a very strange guy who unfortunately passed away in 2022. He made Stevie Ray Vaughan’s amps and countless others. He would refuse to build them for a lot of people but for whatever reason, he agreed to make four for me. They’re all ‘50s Fender mods: a Vibrolux, a Champ, a Deluxe and a High Powered Tweed Twin. Jeff played through a Fender Bassman. We plugged Stone into a Les Paul and a Strat again. Mike played all old Strats and a 1959 Les Paul. Jeff was laughing because he said, no producer ever wants me to play my 12-string. And I was like, play the 12-string! Can you play ‘Jeremy’ on that for me? He wrote the main riff for ‘Dark Matter’ on a 12-string.

[stip]

https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/S ... f-Fear.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/React-Respond.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/wreckage.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Dark-Matter.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Wont-Tell.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/upper-hand.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/W ... Stevie.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Running.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/S ... pecial.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Got-to-Give.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/setting-sun.mp3

just a periodic bump. still havent been able to liste. to these

[Farmer John]

So I guess they did use amps...

Can you describe the room where you were working?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist anymore, because my house flooded during that bad L.A. rain. The studio was molded over and unusable. Rick Rubin did me a solid and cleared out Shangri-La for us to work for the rest of the period at a moment’s notice. It was fucking so cool of him. We wouldn’t have been able to make this record without him and that place. My studio was not a big room. It’s your typical basement. It was originally a home theater when the house belonged to the manager of Charlie Chaplin. We turned this space with concrete walls into a studio, treated it and put speakers up. The amps were upstairs all over the house. The guys were very much right next to each other. We’d track, put the main band down, and if someone had to fix a thing or two, they’d fix it or do some overdubs and make things fuller. Then, Ed would sing. That was it. Same thing every time. It’s not fancy, you know? It’s a fucking band. Let’s hear them play. When you listen to the record, at any point you can close your eyes and say, there’s Jeff, loud and proud. There’s Mike, there’s Stone, there’s Ed.

Well, technically he didn't say they actually used the amps.

[Tj]

So based on the Watt interviews I'm expecting that while waiting for Wonder. Ed some how found the inspiration to write about a experience about Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. That is super cool also I've said it before, but feels like asking himself what would Chris do.

[jdopj]

Tomorrow's the day for the movie theater showings! Im excited

I’m super excited. I have listened to the leak or any of the clips. I want to hear it fresh front to back with excellent sound.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[dad]

This is a pretty common approach, where the amps are isolated elsewhere in the building. The challenge is making tweaks on the fly is almost impossible, you wind up relying on a direct signal to the computer and reamping/using an amp sim in the mix.

I’m skeptical there’s much analog amp sound on these tracks but I could be totally wrong. Will listen closely once it’s released.

is there an artist/album you know that uses that approach where it works well?

i'm genuinely curious.

[evenslow]

Make Watt the… director of the next album (no involvement in the technical side of the recording). Just an excited guy getting them to have fun but someone else records it

Based on literally everything I've heard -- interview and audio clips -- I actually think Wotman should get another producing gig, but with zero technical input whatsoever. Put him in a great studio with a team of really skilled analog-trained engineers (Adam Kaspar would be my choice). Have it mixed by someone competent.

That seems like the sweet spot, for sure.

[Tj]

This is a pretty common approach, where the amps are isolated elsewhere in the building. The challenge is making tweaks on the fly is almost impossible, you wind up relying on a direct signal to the computer and reamping/using an amp sim in the mix.

I’m skeptical there’s much analog amp sound on these tracks but I could be totally wrong. Will listen closely once it’s released.

is there an artist/album you know that uses that approach where it works well?

i'm genuinely curious.

Brian May

[Mr.x]

i can't believe nobody is going to PM me the leak

Tell me about it. I've been staring at that 0 New Messages thing all day.

[Homeboyd]

Watt certainly gives an entertaining and informative interview...like him or not his excitement for this project jumps off the page. And there are some really cool nuggets about the process.

[Strat]

Make Watt the… director of the next album (no involvement in the technical side of the recording). Just an excited guy getting them to have fun but someone else records it

Based on literally everything I've heard -- interview and audio clips -- I actually think Wotman should get another producing gig, but with zero technical input whatsoever. Put him in a great studio with a team of really skilled analog-trained engineers (Adam Kaspar would be my choice). Have it mixed by someone competent.

Keep going, im almost there

[Val]

i can't believe nobody is going to PM me the leak

Tell me about it. I've been staring at that 0 New Messages thing all day.

How about now

[Coach]

Weren't the audio people convinced amps weren't used?

[Val]

Weren't the audio people convinced amps weren't used?

Me when I’m reading one of these trust me I’m an engineer posts

[Strat]

Lol

"Was there a discussion about how the band wanted this album to sound?

That’s not really the process, you know? Nothing changed from what it sounded like when the band was putting it down. We have good tones. ‘React, Respond’ is a great example. That’s a Jeff riff. He had the A and B sections. So as he’s showing them to us, I’m tweaking the bass sound and getting it gnarly. Especially when you’re working with a band, you’ve got to listen to each other and you’ve got to be willing and open to learn. Matt Cameron knows how he wants his drums to sound. He’s been recording our favorite rock drums for a very long time. The musician that you’re working with guides you to help them get the sound that’s in their head. It’s a very collaborative thing. For Matt, it’s important for it to feel like you’re almost standing over him and can hear the air off the drums. The overheads are a big part of the sound. There are little things you can do to make things more exciting as they’re going and feature those parts. You can hear the way his body moves together on the kit. It’s not like the band put a bunch of stuff down and then all this production was added. The sounds were carved as we were rolling together and the band was very much involved in each getting the sound that they hear in their part. Then, it was our job to make everything speak. I wanted it to stand up against other modern music that’s out now, but it’s very much all five guys."

Then turn them up damnit!

[DDWJMUVW]

https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/S ... f-Fear.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/React-Respond.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/wreckage.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Dark-Matter.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Wont-Tell.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/upper-hand.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/W ... Stevie.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Running.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/S ... pecial.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/Got-to-Give.mp3
https://darkmatter.pearljam.com/audio/setting-sun.mp3

just a periodic bump. still havent been able to liste. to these

I've listened - I hope this is NOT what the streaming versions will sounds like. Seems very low quality and there just isn't a crispness/instrument separation I would expect. I'd be REALLY disappointed if this is what it sounds like Friday at 12am on Spotify. Please god no.

[E.H. Ruddock]

i can't believe nobody is going to PM me the leak

Tell me about it. I've been staring at that 0 New Messages thing all day.

It is just a cell phone recording. Check page 351 or there about. You gotta work for it

[digster]

I haven't listened, but don't really know what to expect, especially with the descriptions of the songs I'm hearing. Like, Waiting For Stevie is supposed to be the most Ten-sounding song they've ever written since Ten, but I listened to the 30-second clip, and it just sounds nothing like that to me (that's not a knock on the song one way or the other, it's just that I wonder how wide the gulf for me will be between what I've heard about the songs and what I think they actually are).