August Burns Red, With Life In Mind

Posted by Carson Slovak on Jul.26, 2010

We’ve been super-busy the past few months and it looks like the next few will be the same. Garrett and I finished up co-producing / mixing With Life In Mind’s new album for CI Records. It came out great and the band did an incredible job with everything. This project was a fantastic learning experience for both Garrett and I, as we introduced each other to our own different methods and techniques. I think the record sounds sick! Head over to the band’s MySpace page to check out a new song from the album.

I just put the finishing touches on the mix for the new live CD / DVD “Home” for good buddies August Burns Red. We’re all really stoked on how this came out. It’s raw and full of energy but still tight and heavy, just like their live show. The DVD was filmed right here in Manheim, PA last month and features an hour-long performance to a sold out crowd of 1,250 people as well as a band documentary and other sweet stuff. The live performance is also being released as a CD via SolidState Records on September 28th. I am beyond stoked about this project as it was new territory for me in terms of mixing and I love how it came out.

Speaking of ABR, we just scheduled a few sessions next month to record a new song. It’s already shaping up to be amazing. Details forthcoming. Also, this is old news but head over to iTunes and pick up Texas In July’s new single “Uncivilized” which we recorded a few months back. Other cool projects coming up include: The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, Now The City, Ace Augustine, Adam Taylor, Vision and Color, Coming Forth By Day, My Heart To Fear, Dream Device, One Day Broken and Years Since the Storm.

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With Life In Mind, Young Turks, TOTA

Posted by Carson Slovak on Jun.24, 2010

First things first: Atrium producer Grant McFarland’s band and close friends This Or The Apocalypse just released their sophomore full-length album via GoodFight Entertainment on Tuesday. The album was produced by Josh Wilbur (Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu) and Chris Adler (Lamb Of God). Additionally, a bonus track for overseas release was tracked and produced right here at Atrium and mixed by Josh Wilbur. TOTA has a long history with me and the studio. They played their first show ever with my band, Century (which some of them even ended up joining haha), I produced all of their past records and they’ve grown rapidly right alongside the studio. I’m super proud of these guys for creating such an incredible album and becoming the band they are today. Go out and purchase this album immediately as it’s by far the best release of 2011.

In other news, Garrett and I have been hard at work with the new full-length for CI Records’ With Life In Mind. We’ve been having a blast with these guys and it’s great to do a real project with Garrett. He’s been tracking vocals and editing drums in the B-Room while I meticulously tune and track guitars and bass. This album is obnoxiously heavy and well-written. Think Shai Hulud / Misery Signals guitar work with the most pissed-sounding vocals ever. We’re finishing up tracking by mid-next week and should have everything mixed and mastered by 4th of July weekend. Super-stoked for this to be completed.

Lastly, best friends Young Turks will be in the studio tracking their full-length over the next week as well. This will be a different kind of session for me as we’ll be tracking (mostly) live. The band wants to capture the raw energy of their music that precise editing and meticulous tracking isn’t suited for. I love to try new things and keep the process fresh, so this will be an awesome project for me as well. Stay tuned!

Carousel Kings, An Early Ending

Posted by Carson Slovak on May.20, 2010

We’ve been busy with some cool projects for the past month. Grant and I teamed up on producing a new full length for Lancaster’s Carousel Kings for a few weeks. It was a really fun project to work on considering that the band gave us free reign to really dig into their songs, develop them and make them better. We set up a temporary b-room in our current iso room so Grant could focus solely on vocal production while I tracked guitar in the main room. We established a good work flow and got the project done right. Mixing will take place in the coming weeks.

We’re also really excited about another band from Harrisburg, PA called An Early Ending. We spent five days on two songs. All the guys in the band are super talented and made our jobs easy. Hopefully we’ll have new tracks from both bands posted soon.

Coming up in June I’ll be working on a new full length for CI Records’ With Life In Mind. Garrett will be making the commute from Maryland to team up on this session with me as well. Good times. – c

Launch 2010, Latest projects

Posted by Carson Slovak on Apr.14, 2010

The Launch Music Conference in Lancaster, PA is only a few days away. We’ve been busy getting ready to multitask the event. Not only is Atrium an official sponsor this year, we’ll also be running a booth at the trade show alongside our sister company, Questionable Entertainment. I’ll be speaking on two of the panels as well as moderating ALL of the panels over the course of the weekend. Lastly, CENTURY (the band I’m in with fellow studio dudes Todd and Grant) will be playing our first show in a year on the main stage at the Lancaster Convention Center on Friday with our friends, Texas In July. If you haven’t registered to attend the conference yet, hit up launchmusicconference.com and be sure to come hang out and drink some beers with us.

The new Atrium Audio 2010 sampler will be available exclusively at Launch. The sampler is in dropcard format and limited to only 500 copies. Best of all, it’s FREE! The sampler includes tracks from This Or The Apocalypse, Century, August Burns Red, Texas In July, ArmsBendBack and more. Be sure to grab one!

In other studio news, we were lucky enough to have Texas In July come in for the past week to record their new single, “Uncivilized.” The single will see a digital release in time for their summer tour via CI Records. I also met up with August Burns Red guitarist JB to record a doom-inspired intro for their current sold-out tour with A Day To Remember. If you attend any of the shows on the tour, listen for ABR’s sweet intro! Lastly, we’ve been extremely busy with a ton of other projects from some great regional bands as well. The next few months are shaping up with projects from Where There’s A Will, Carousel Kings, An Empire Overthrown, Adelphia, Worth Killing For, With Life In Mind, Young Turks, One Day Broken, Ace Augustine, Render The Sky, The Life To Come and more. Stay tuned. – c

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Studio Facelift, Launch 2010

Posted by Carson Slovak on Jan.28, 2010

Lots of cool stuff going on. Todd and I have been working on some long-overdue renovations at the studio, including both functional and aesthetic improvements. I’m pretty excited about it. We’re basically doing all the stuff I’ve been putting off forever. Lots of cleaning, painting, hanging new acoustic treatment, wiring new gear and a ton of other stuff. Grant McFarland (one of my great friends and drummer for both This Or The Apocalypse and Century) will be joining the studio as an engineer. The guy is a genius and I’m ecstatic that he’s officially part of the studio team.

Along with all of this, we’ve decided to overhaul the studio’s identity. ‘Century Studio’ always struck me as a bit uncreative, considering it’s also the name of my band. So after a bit of deliberation, we settled on ‘Atrium Audio’. I’m working on a new website for the studio (atriumaudiopa.com), which will be launched within the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

I’m also excited to announce that we are an official sponsor of April’s Launch Music Conference. 2010 will be its sophomore year and it looks like it’s shaping up to be a big one. Hit up our booth at the trade show and hang out. I’ll also be returning as a speaking panelist. I’m not sure what I’m talking about yet, but I’m confident I’ll just end up sounding like a douche. So come check that out if you’d like a chuckle. Additionally, we’re working on a brand new studio compilation, which will be available in time for the conference. The comp will feature current and past Atrium artists. It will most likely be available in both CD and drop card formats, distributed in registrants’ gift bags and free at our trade show booth.

Word. – c

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Victory In Numbers, 2009 year-end

Posted by Carson Slovak on Jan.16, 2010

Seems like I’m not that good at keeping up with this whole blog thing :)

Anyway, I just finished working with a great band called Victory In Numbers. We recorded one track called “Falling To Pieces” to be included on their upcoming Trustkill Records debut. They’re a fantastic band and a great group of guys. Easily one of the most entertaining sessions I’ve had in a while. Big ups to my assistant/ soon-to-be engineer Todd Mogle for helping this session run smoothly. Check out the band here: http://myspace.com/victoryinnumbers

This past month has been a busy one, with a handful of consecutive sessions resulting in a non-stop schedule. I’m very lucky to have such great clients with whom to develop our respective passions. Next week I’ll have a well-deserved break, followed by a few more sessions to cap off 2009. These include the Lancaster, PA-based Ace Augustine, who recorded an ep with me earlier this year.

I’ll try to update this blog more frequently in the coming months, so if anyone actually reads it, stay tuned! – c

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ABR, Chad and Pat, The Life To Come

Posted by Carson Slovak on Jan.16, 2010

Just finished up a few cool projects. I produced and tracked a Christmas cover song of “O Come Emmanuel” for good buddies August Burns Red. The song will likely be released around November in some capacity via SolidState Recs. It was great to actually take our time tracking this, as when I’ve recorded ABR in the past, we were simply doing pre-production demos and didn’t have a huge amount of time to work with. But this is a legit track and we’re all really stoked on how it came out.

I’ve also been writing and producing some stuff with my friends Chad and Pat, who play in the band LIVE (you may have heard of them). It’s been a blast so far, to say the least. Chad’s the guy who pretty much got me into rock music and recording. Updates on that to follow shortly.

Scranton, PA area band The Life To Come were just in this week for a mixing session. We finished up work on their upcoming EP “Fortune Tellers”. They are an AWESOME band and I highly recommend checking them out. Their record hasn’t left my car yet, so that must mean something! – c

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