Paul Carrack
07/08/08 11:30
Paul Carrack is the latest in a stream of world-renowned artists to show that it pays to ride the waves of technology, keeping an ear to the ground for the latest and greatest recording tools. However, Carrack is the first to admit at least a little anxiety when it comes to interfering with his tried and tested vocal tracking setup – after all, Carrack’s voice is recognized the world over and he has undeniably established himself as a solo artiste of distinction, bringing soul to artists as diverse as Mike + The Mechanics, ACE and Squeeze, among so many others.
“My good friend Nigel Bates who has mixed all my recent solo albums and is a great source of technical support, highly recommended trying out The Liquid Channel. I was skeptical at first because I have been happy with my current set up. However, after trying The Liquid Channel I was blown away, not only with the sound but the versatility, and of course the luxury of storing many different settings. It’s great not only in the studio but a great boon for live work.”
Carrack was first bitten by the music bug as a small child back in his native Sheffield, where he would bash away at a home-made drum-kit up in his parents' attic .By his teens, the Mersey Boom was in full swing, and the young Carrack proceeded to inveigle his way into a series of local bands, learning to play the organ, but it wasn’t till 1974 that his band ‘Ace’ had a huge global hit with his song ‘How Long’.
When Ace broke up Carrack reached a rapprochement with the new-wave scene, playing on albums by ‘The Undertones’, ‘The Smiths’ and ‘The Pretenders’, and joining ‘Squeeze’ for their masterwork ‘East Side Story’, helping redefine the group's profile with his soulful vocal on the hit single ‘Tempted’. After leaving ‘Squeeze’ in 1982, he hooked up with Nick Lowe, who produced Paul’s album, ‘Suburban Voodoo’, cited as one of Rolling Stone magazine's Top 20 Albums Of The Year. In 1985 he helped form ‘Mike & the Mechanics’. Sung by Carrack, the title-track of their second LP, ’The Living Years ‘ was a huge worldwide hit, peaking at number one in America. Yet Carrack still found time to record another solo album of his own, 1987's ‘One Good Reason’, the single "Don't Shed A Tear", broke into the US Top Ten, staying on Billboard's Hot 100 for nearly half a year. He was also developing a parallel reputation as an able and accomplished sideman to the stars, playing keyboards on albums by Eric Clapton, BB King, Simply Red, Mark Knopfler and Elton John.
At present, when he’s not busy on the road (with over 100 shows each year), Carrack continues to develop work for a new studio album. Alongside his Focusrite-designed ‘control|24, his Liquid Channel plays a key role in his creative process.
“Its early days for me yet and I'm still experimenting with different combinations. I’m not a technical engineer but I like to record my own sounds at home and I'm really working by ear. If it sounds good-that's it, then Nigel has to sort it out! My main concern is getting the best vocal sound I can.”
Not an engineer at heart, Carrack needs a set-up that allows him to be creative with his sound without getting bogged down in technical detail. The equipment he relies on needs to be easy-to-use, whilst retaining a level of versatility ensuring he quickly gets to the sound that feels right. By adding Blue’s Bottle to the mix with its six individual capsules, Carrack has an even wider spectrum of sounds. Understanding the importance of making sure a vocal sound fits the mix, with the combination the Bottle and the huge variety of pres and compressors in the Liquid Channel, Carrack rarely if ever has to resort to EQ and effects to achieve the right sound.
“It’s hard to be experimenting and getting on with being creative at the same time but the Liquid Channel and Bottle helps to speed up this process and reduce the time it can steal from a session. The clarity and quality of the Blue capsules are fantastic, and being able to switch heads for different tunes that require different sounds to sit properly in the track is a real bonus. The Combination of the Bottle and the Liquid Channel is, I think, unbeatable in this regard.”
Carrack continues to experiment with new sounds alongside his trusted mix engineer and friend, Nigel Bates. His latest album ‘It ain’t Over’ is released in the US on July 1st. Visit www.carrack-uk.com