Steriogram
Official Website:
http://www.steriogram.com
Background:
The word “whirlwind” doesn’t adequately express how Steriogram went from completing New Zealand ‘s first annual Boost Mobile Schools Tour in 2002 to signing with legendary American label Capitol Records in 2003. After recording their debut album Schmack in 2003 at Henson Studios in Hollywood , Steriogram toured internationally, quickly clocking over 300 shows.
Schmack burst onto rock radio with the infectious and frantic single “Walkie Talkie Man”, accompanied by the distinctive “yarn” video directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Michel Gondry. Steriogram garnered a Grammy nomination and five MTV Video Music Award nominations before breaking into the UK with a #19 chart position. Their song “Walkie Talkie Man” became the theme song to an iconic iPod ad, which further increased their international popularity.
Steriogram embraced the DIY ethic early on—from organizing their first tours to self-funding and self-producing their first single “White Trash,” along with “Walkie Talkie Man”—the song that first grabbed Capitol’s interest and eventuated in their signing to the American label. In 2007, Steriogram decided to independently release their second album, This is Not The Target Market, a gritty release that keeps true to their quirky sensibilities. This is Not The Target Market is currently available through iTunes.
Steriogram
Discography:
1999 - Soccerstar
2001 - Sing The Night Away
2004 - Schmack!
2006 - This Is Not The Target Market
Brad Carter on M-Audio hardware: My first experiences in recording were with an old Tascam 4-track recorder. Now that Ive moved into the digital age, my Apple MacBook, Black Box Reloaded and Pro Tools M–Powered have replaced my former setup as my main mobile recording rig. At home in New Zealand I have a Mac Pro with a FireWire 1814, with which I use an Octane preamp as an A/D converter and the other four channels as microphone preamps via ADAT Lightpipe. I also use the Tampa preamp for snares, guitars, bass and vocals. I use two Pulsar microphones to record the drum overheads, a Luna microphone for the kick out, Solaris for the room, and Aires for the vocals.
Pre-production for our new album, This Is Not The Target Market, was written and recorded using a FireWire 1814, Octane and several M-Audio microphones—the Solaris, Aires, Pulsar and Luna—all recorded in Pro Tools M-Powered. At home our band members used FireWire 410 interfaces, Oxygen8 controllers and Solaris microphones to get down some of the initial concepts.
Carter on M-Audio software: Pro Tools M-Powered is a great piece of software—we recorded our album using Pro Tools M-Powered, and since its the industry standard we were able to take our sessions with us wherever we traveled.
I use iZotope iDrum to come up with demo beats prior to recording our live drums. Ive been using iZotope Trash as a scratchy vocal effect, and I just installed GT Player Express, which gives me heaps of built-in guitar effects or acts as a VST plug-in.
On tour with M-Audio: When I travel I use a Fast Track Pro and Aries microphone, and I take one of my guitars back to my room each night so I can work on music. When I develop ideas like this, I usually use Pro Tools M-Powered or Ableton Live. All of the songs that we released on our album This Is Not The Target Market have in one way or another been written in this way.
I started using the IE-30 reference earphones about six months ago and they are great for mixing and getting good balances wherever I am, as well as making my iPod sound amazing. Its been great not having to cart my headphone cans around with me and still get an accurate and flat response from the IE-30s—they sound really cool!
In the past, anytime I got an idea in my head I had to put it down—whether on my phone or my laptop—just to get it out. I started using the MicroTrack 24/96 to jot down my ideas, and its so easy to use! It boots up on my computer as a USB hard drive so I can just drag and drop the MP3s to my iPod or iTunes.
What he is proud of: I am most proud of walking out of my day job five years ago and never looking back! I loved getting the opportunity to work with Michel Gondry and having an arena full of Japanese fans singing every word at our concert. Last but not least, knowing that a song I wrote was heard by millions on the worldwide iPod advertisement was a great feeling.
Ive been working on a project called Pistol Youth, which is a rock band I started with three of my best friends that live in different countries. We have been writing and recording over the Internet and its been so exciting to wake up and check my e-mail to see that someone else has added their part to a song. We are tracking the story—you can follow our progress at Pistol Youth. ( www.myspace.com/pistolyouth )
Why M-Audio? Using M-Audio gear has been a really easy introduction for me into digital recording—its all plug and play so that I can be set up and recording in no time! I can honestly say that the quality of my demos has improved a lot since I began using M-Audio gear—its given me the confidence to learn more and try new things out. M-Audios compact and portable recording setups have made it so easy for me to stay creative when Im out on the road!
The technical support at M-Audio has saved me so many times when Ive been in the middle of a session and have a mind-block on how to do something. Even when Im all the way in New Zealand I call up and they walk me through it over the phone—they are super helpful and fast at diagnosing what is wrong.
The fact that M-Audio makes great gear that anyone can afford has enabled heaps of young kids to get into digital recording far earlier than it used to be possible. They are always introducing cool new technology, so Im always excited to see what they will come out with next!
