Congratulations to The Lodge's Chief Mastering Engineer, Emily Lazar, on her recent Pensado Award nomination in the Master of Mastering category! The award show, which is dedicated to "recognizing the faces behind the sound" will take place at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, California this Saturday, June 28.
Over the past four years, the renowned online video series Pensado's Place has become a haven for music professionals, engineers, and emerging artists. The producers of Pensado's Place have now created an official award show celebrating and acknowledging the great work of these individuals.
"The Pensado Awards provide a new metric for judging & predicting talent in the music industry." -- Forbes Magazine
With a total of 16 categories, our very own Emily Lazar is the only female mastering engineer nominated for the Master of Mastering award. Emily's golden ears and deep passion for music is what has lead her to become one of the most well-know female mastering engineers in the industry.
Some of Emily's most recent mastering accomplishments include Linkin Park's The Hunting Party, Sia's 1000 Forms Of Fear, Haim's Days Are Gone, Christina Perri's Head or Heart, as well as the Grammy award winning Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City, Foo Fighter's Wasting Light, and Dave Grohl's Sound City: Real to Reel.
The live award show, commencing on June 28, will air one week later via an online broadcast on the Pensado's Place website. You can follow the action live on Twitter at #PensadoAwards.
The Walkmen’s front man, Hamilton Leithauser, has officially released his solo debut album Black Hours, via Ribbon Music, and critics are calling it “lively, confidant, and charming.” It’s sound is reminiscent of an old classic New York, when late nights were filled with jazz and good bourbon. The album, vinyl and special release Record Store Day Alexandra 7” vinyl were all mastered at The Lodge by Chief Mastering Engineer, Emily Lazar, and assisted by Rich Morales. The Lodge also mastered the very well known You & Me album by The Walkmen.
Hamilton Leithauser andRostam Batmanglij in“Alexandra.”
Shortly after The Walkmen announced that they would be taking an “extreme hiatus” Leithauser took to the studio to embark on a solo career. Even though Leithauser is now solo, his album contains a slew of big-name collabs, including Dirty Projectors’Amber Coffman, Fleet Foxes’ Morgan Henderson, The Shins’ Richard Swift and longtime Lodge friend, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. The Lodge has worked with Swift and Batmanglij, mastering Chutes Too Narrow, Wincing the Night Away, and Port of Morrow for The Shins, and Vampire Weekend, Contra, and Modern Vampires of the City for Vampire Weekend.
Hamilton Leithauser's "I Retired"official lyric video.
The album was produced by Hamilton Leithauser,Rostam Batmanglij and fellow Walkmen guitarist, Paul Maroon.Leithauser worked alongside Batmanglij, as he also co-wrote the two singles “I Retired” and “Alexandra”. Additional mixing of the tracks by Scott Jacoby and Emily Lazar; both were mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar.
Over the past several months, the album has been receiving a lot of recognition: “What’s most impressive about Black Hours is how Leithauser can bounce from one style to another without disrupting the flow of the album.” His recent two-day debut solo performance at Joe’s Pub in NYC was impeccable. The intimate 190 seat sit-down venue on Lafayette Street felt lush and elegant, and seemed to elevate Leithauser’s big-band sound. The album translated to the stage beautifully, as the show sold out both nights.
Checkout this cool profile on Emily that was released last Sunday on NPR's Weekend Edition!! Click HERE to see the full article or click to here to LISTEN to the interview.
The Woman Behind The Curtain, Making Good Songs Sound Great
by ALLYSON MCCABE
January 26, 2014 8:00 AM
Mastering engineer Emily Lazar poses with producer Scott Jacoby (top right) and members of the band School Is Cool at her Manhattan studio, The Lodge.
Mastering engineer Emily Lazar listens back to a section of the
song "Envelop Me" by the baroque pop band School is Cool.
She's trying to make the main vocals stand out more.
"We pick certain frequencies that we want to hear either more
or less of, and those kind of translate into colors for the listener,"
she explains. "Right now in the raw mix, the lower frequencies,
or the low mids of the drums, are kind of clouding up some of the
other areas we'd like to hear a little more of — specifically these
acoustic instruments that are playing, and the lead vocal.
"We'd like to have a little bit more presence and intimacy," she
says, "so that when you're listening on your headphones or in
your own space, you feel like Johannes, the lead singer, is right
there singing to you."
In the early years of audio recording, musicians performed live in
the studio and their songs were captured directly onto a master disc.
Today, the process tends to include a few more steps — the last of
which involves mastering engineers like Lazar. School is Cool
singer Johannes Genard says these final adjustments help
emphasize thethings he really wants the music to express.
"When trying to convey a story," Genard says, "mastering can
bring to the foreground frequencies that we associate with certain
emotions or certain atmospheres. Certain frequencies convey more
aggression or energy, and certain frequencies evoke depth. It's
more, like, psychological than technical."
Genard and his bandmate Toon Van Baelen flew in from Belgium
to work with Lazar because they admired her work on
Its official: Rolling Stone has named Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires Of The Citythe
number one album of 2013!!This is
the third studio album for the NYC indie rock band, which was released in May
via XL Recordings.
The album, which was
released on multiple mediums including vinyl, has earned massive amounts of
praise throughout the year including near perfect reviews from media outlets
such as MSN, Pitchfork,(received
Best New Music title) and was also named SPINMagazine’s Band of the Year.
Chief
Mastering Engineer of The Lodge, Emily Lazar,
mastered Modern Vampires of the City alongside the album's artful producers, band member Rostam
Batmanglij and Ariel Reichstaid. Lazar also joined
forces with producer/mixer, Scott Jacoby toco-mix the
track “Unbelievers,” the highest charting single from the album
thus far. Rolling Stone also featured two tracks from Modern
Vampires of the Cityon its 100 Best Songs of 2013 list: Unbelievers
at #42 and Hannah Hunt at #4.
There is no arguing that Vampire Weekend has had a truly amazing
year; as Rolling Stone has recently
declared: “Vampire Weekend is one of
the most innovative artists of the last decade."
Sky
Ferreira’s anticipated debut album was recently released on Capitol Records on
October 29, 2013. The 12-track
album titled Night Time My Time was mastered at The Lodge, by Chief Mastering
Engineer Emily Lazar and assisted by Rich Morales.
Ferreira has grown up in the media spotlight; she is an experienced model,
actress and singer who have graced the international runways of Marc Jacobs and
Calvin Klein. She was only 15
years old when she signed a record deal with Capitol Records. Sky’s first
breakthrough hit had been her single “Everything Is
Embarrassing” off of her Ghost EP, which soared to the top of the charts and became
one of 2012’s top tracks.
The Fader #87 Fall Fashion Issue Cover
Even
though her single had attained much success, Sky wanted to create music that
symbolized her individualism and planned to transition from major label pop to
indie rock so she enlisted producers Ariel Rechtshaid (Haim, Vampire Weekend,
Charli XCX) and Justin Raisen (Charli XCX) to help her build a strong
foundation, suitable for the 21 year old’s full length debut.
Night
Time My Time’s release has resulted in an uproar of high praises from
well-known publications such as Pitchfork and The New York Times.
“So it’s both a relief and
a bit of a shock that Night Time, My Time is not only here, but that
it’s one of the most pleasingly conventional and cohesive pieces of pop-rock to
come along this year.” - Pitchfork
Combining
a touch of 80s pop with a punch of 90s grunge-rock attitude, Night Time My Time
has allowed Ferreira to successfully discover her own voice. The album portrays
Sky’s true identity as a talented, complex and edgy young artist. Catch Sky performing live with the Smith Westerns this Monday, November 11, 2013 at Webster Hall in NYC.
Vampire Weekend's new album Modern Vampires Of The City soars to #1. The album debuted at #1 on its May 14th release via XL Records on the iTunes charts, and has sold 134, 000 copies since it's release last week. Placing them at #1 on the Billboard 200according to Nielson SoundScan as well as topping the SoundScan Vinyl, Indie, Alternative and Digital Charts. Read about Vampire Weekend topping the charts in Rolling Stone,Spin,Entertainment Weekly, MusicWeek, New York Times, MTVand many more.
This is Vampire Weekend's second time debuting at #1, their last album Contra also debuted at #1 in 2010, making this the first time an independent rock band has entered at #1 with two consecutive releases. Congratulations to all four band members Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson!
Modern Vampires Of The City is Vampire Weekend's third album mastered at The Lodge by Chief Mastering Engineer Emily Lazar. Modern Vampires of the City was engineered by Rostam Batmanglij, Ariel Rechtshaid, Dave Schiffman, Michael Harris, Nick Rowe, and Juan Pieczanski. The album was produced and mixed by Batmanglij and Rechtshaid, with additional mixing by Emily Lazar and Scott Jacoby (Eusonia Studios, NYC), and Rich Costey (Eldorado Recording Studios, L.A.). We are so happy to see the band being acknowledged for all their talent, hard work and great music!
Check out Vampire Weekend and The Postal Service featured in the May 9th issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. Both bands have high scoring album reviews and Vampire Weekend has a two-page spread in the 'Best of Rock' section. The title speaks for itself 'Because Vampire Weekend Just Keep Getting Better and Better' and we couldn't agree more! In the 'Best of Rock' article Ezra states "When I look at the future, I kind of feel like we can do anything."
This is Vampire Weekend's third album mastered by Chief Mastering Engineer Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge. The new album 'Modern Vampires of the City' received an awesome review of 4.5 stars! Look for it out on XL Records May 14th. Pre-order the CD or Vinyl and/or on iTunes.
The Postal Service's reissue of GIVE UP: Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition is doing spectacular! Rolling Stone gave the album 4 stars and we are so happy to see Ben and Jimmy re-united and on tour once again.
The Lodge is proud to have worked with both bands, whom, from day one we have always believed in. We congratulate them for creating music history and we hope you can get out their and support them too!
Vampire Weekend released a new double A-side single fresh off their highly anticipated album "Modern Vampires of the City"!! The two new tracks “Diane Young” and “Step” are already topping the charts: Pitchfork gave "Step" Best New Track and "Diane Young" made the top of USA TODAY's latest playlist. Mike Snider of USA Today writes "As for the new songs, the workmanship and wordplay remain top-notch".
Previous Vampire Weekend albums mastered at The Lodge include the hugely successful "Contra" and their self-titled debut "Vampire Weekend" all mastered by Chief Engineer Emily Lazar and her team. The Lodge is very proud and excited for the band and can't wait for the release of "Modern Vampires of the City" out via XL Recordings on May 7th. Pre-order MVOTCfrom iTunes now and get "Diane Young" instantlyhere.
Diane Young
Step
The Vampire Weekend boys also showcased two new tracks at SXSW festival during their set on Saturday March 16, Rolling Stone raves "Everyone in the band was grinning as the crowd sang along to every word". If you couldn't make it to Austin, check them out at a theatre or festival near you live!
4/12 Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan 4/14 Indio, CA – Coachella 4/16 Davis, CA – Freeborn Hall at UC Davis 4/17-18 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater 4/21 Indio, CA – Coachella 5/8 London, UK – The Troxy 5/10 Paris, FR – Casino De Paris 5/15 Boston, MA – Agganis Arena 5/16 Toronto, ONT – Sony Centre 5/17 Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit 5/19 Kansas City, MO – Midland Theater 5/20 Denver, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre (co-headline w/ Of Monsters and Men) 5/21 Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden Amphitheater 5/23 Portland, OR – Keller Auditorium
Rostam Batmanglij and Emily Lazar at Apple Store SoHo's "Meet The Musician" Presentation
Earlier this year, Emily Lazar, The Lodge's Chief Mastering Engineer and President, was handpicked to moderate Rostam Batmanglij's (of Vampire Weekend) presentation at the Apple Store SoHo, as part of their "Meet The Musician" Series.
The series features prominent artists, producers and music taste makers offering a deliciously in-depth glimpse into each artist's creative world and has hosted luminaries such as The Miles Davis Quintet, Anthrax and Hip Hop producer 9th Wonder.
Batmanglij is a man of many talents: a multi-instrumentalist, a producer and one of the main creative forces behind Vampire Weekend's infectious world-music bending pop gems. Rostam's relationship with The Lodge started in 2007 when both Vampire Weekend albums "Vampire Weekend" and "Contra" were mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta. A world-wide success, Vampire Weekend's second album debuted at number one on Billboard 200 chart with 124,000 copies sold in just the first week! A milestone for an indie band in this decade! Emily and Joe have also mastered several side projects for Rostam including his R&B synth pop collaboration with Wes Miles (of Ra Ra Riot) named Discovery.
With Emily as his moderator, the duo geeked out on everything from the recording process, the evolution of a Vampire Weekend demo, how the four-piece writes their songs to his production techniques. He even offered a sneak peak into his newest venture in film scoring! Rostam recounted his experience scoring his brother Zal Batmanglij’s psychological thriller "Sound Of My Voice" (which premiered at Sundance) and offered before and after sound clips to the audience. Check out a clip from the movie, featuring Rostam's first official feature film score!
In the upcoming months Apple will be posting a recorded podcast of Emily and Rostam's entire discussion on their website- stay tuned!
A party anthem just in time for the end of summer, "I'm A Goner," is a brand new collaborative singleby Matt & Kim,Soulja Boy and Andrew W.K. released exclusively through Converse! Both Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino stopped by to master the song with Joe LaPorta who has also mastered their last two full length albums "Grand" and "Sidewalks."
Download the track for FREE, check out the gruesome music video for "I'm A Goner" (starring a room full of corpses dancing like there's no tomorrow- huh? exactly.) and a watch a brief behind-the-scenes clip of the recording at Converse'sfree studio 'Rubber Tracks,'all right here!
Want more free singles? Click here to listen & download last year's Converse single, "All Summer," by Best Coast, Kid Cudi and Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij- mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta
Young British visual artist Joe Simpson is currently working on a truly stunning series of portraits using popular musicians as his muses. Among the stars who have been immortalized in Simpson's animated oil paintings is Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend (pictured above),a dear friend and client of The Lodge. Click here to browse Simpson's web gallery of all the portraits completed thus far. Check back often as the project is still in progress and he may be painting up some more of your favorite artists right now!
Continuing our year-end wrap up of the internet's "Best Of" lists, we're happy to report some Lodge-mastered bands made their way onto some more big countdowns: the Rolling Stone Top 50 Songs of 2010, and Top 30 Albums of 2010.
Gaining even more accolades, Vampire Weekend's "Contra" earned the #6 ranking on the Top 30 Albums of 2010. Mastered by Emily Lazar and assisted by Joe LaPorta at The Lodge, the album has found itself onto many of this year's "Best Of" lists.
The always lively Sleigh Bells clocked in at #21 on the Top 50 Songs of 2010 with "Infinity Guitars," while Vampire Weekend earned another impressive appearance at #7 with "White Sky."
Pitchfork Media staff have been busy compiling their annual favorites for 2010 and, as usual, it looks like they have good taste! Check out all the Lodge-mastered bands who made it on their radar below and click here to view the complete Pitchfork staff lists!
