Studio Report: Drums

By Y. Boertje

Saturday June 2nd, 2007

Arjen and I picked up Ed Warby at the train station in Dordrecht Saturday evening, and we ventured north to the small town of Holten (Espelo) where the Rooftop Studios are located. Rooftop is the center of the universe when it comes to Dutch/German folk and 'schlager' singers such as Nick & Simon, Denny Christian, Sita and Henk Wijngaard. The evidence of their success stories were proudly displayed in every room of the building. Every wall was covered in images, posters, and framed CDs. We did our fair share of joking about it all, but were silenced when we realized their actual album sales figures.

Rooftop has become the home away from home for producer Gordon Groothedde who occupies the main studio for the better part of the year for his productions because the recording room has such a great sound. He recorded Dutch rock band Intwine there, and, very recently, After Forever. Gordon is a big Ayreon fan, and he hooked up with Arjen during the 'Classics in Rock' event in Ahoy stadium earlier this year. Arjen, who knew Gordon's work, asked him if he would be interested in recording drums.

Ed's drum kit had already been dropped off earlier that week. It is not the same drum kit he uses for Gorefest, mind you! According to Ed, this kit has a more subtle tone while still sounding fierce. First Ed had to get new skins on his drums and tune them. When he was finished, the drum kit was set up in the room, after which Gordon and Joost van den Broek (After Forever, Star One, Ayreon) set up all the microphones (I counted 12). Joost had been called in as Gordon's studio assistant and was a huge help.

The moment everything was set up, Gordon immediately starting 'making sound'. This basically means that he configures the sound board and the computer, so that all the sounds properly balanced. From the very first test recording, it was clear that the recording studio was a good one. A really good one. We left the studio a little after midnight so we could start the next day afresh!

Sunday, June 3rd, 2007

The very first day of recording. We arrived at the studio at 10.30 AM and, after a nice cup of coffee, the first decision had to be made: which snare drum to use? Ed had brought a wooden, a steel and a bronze snare drum. It took a little time for Gordon, Arjen and Ed -- all being perfectionists -- to pick the snare drum that gave the sound that was most suited for the new Ayreon album. In the end they reached a unanimous decision: the steel snare.

After having spent the rest of the day recording four (long) tracks, and a nice dinner at the local Italian restaurant, Arjen asked Ed if he could listen to another track that he decided needed real drums on the spot. Ed hadn't heard the song yet, but listened once, sat down on his drum stool and drummed the exact part that Arjen had in mind. It is official: Ed is a drum computer.

After this Ed was getting a little tired, and seeing as it was already ten o'clock, and we decided to call it a day.

Monday, June 4th, 2007

After a good night's sleep, we arrived again refreshed at the studio at 10.30 AM. We were welcomed by 'Henkie', the young and very playful studio cat, who ended up hanging out with us for the remainder of the recording session (he really liked Arjen). Gordon had discovered some overhead microphone problems, so we had to wait a little bit before we could contine. The studio owner brought Gordon a new microphone within the hour, so off Ed went.

Ed drummed a number of songs, adding lots of ideas of his own, but then hit a bit of a wall when a particular part required a slow double bass drum pattern. Fortunately Ed got it sorted out rather quickly. Afterwards Ed sighed and said that *slow* double bass drums are the worst to record. At the end of the day another few tracks were recorded and we could go to our hotel satisfied, knowing the job was almost done.

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

The first track of the day was laid down very fast. Within twenty minutes Ed recorded an entire ten minute track. The next song however, proved a lot more tricky because it required a complete and utter independence of limbs from Ed to do it. But Ed, being the drum-computer that he is, worked it all out in his head, and after a number of practice runs, laid down the track before lunch.

After lunch it was time for the bits and pieces that had been left over from the previous days. These were the parts in the tracks that required a different tuning of the drums and different sticks, to name a few variations. When Ed whipped out the brushes, after having beaten the skins so hard, we couldn't help but chuckle. Ed may have felt a little silly at first, but then proceeded to record a totally facinating piece of music that had us all smiling and giving him the two thumbs up. He is most certainly a very versatile drummer.

When all bits and pieces were in place, and Arjen had changed his mind a few times about which drum patterns would work best, it was time for the final 'listen-through', to make sure everything was recorded properly. When everyone was satisfied and very pleased, it was time to copy everything to Arjen's hard drive, and start packing up. We had dinner one last time together, and then headed home. In the car Ed was on the phone with Jan-Chris (Gorefest) catching up with all the news regarding Gorefest's brand-new album 'Rise To Ruin' out August 3rd.

Great job and thanks for everything Ed, Gordon and Joost!