Dreamy singer/songwriter Yuna is a rare talent with incredible song writing skills. Born and raised in Malaysia, Yuna blends 60's AM guitar melodies, soft vocals. poignant straight-from-the-heart lyrics and wonderful pop sensibilities. A law school student, Yuna was writing songs since the age of 14 and was already a sensation in her native country before getting signed to cool indie-pop group FADER label.
With her debut album in English, Yuna teamed up with Grammy award winning producer Pharrell Williams and mix engineer Manny Marroquin (Lana Del Rey, Alicia Keys, Kanye West) and the result is an album of non stop luscious pop jams. The album was mastered at The Lodge earlier this year.
Attracting a lot of buzz, her the dreamy, downtempo lead single "Live Your Life" charted at #1 on We Are Hunted's Spotify app and the album debuted at #86 on the Top 100 Albums on iTunes as well as #23 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart! She also performed her single on CONAN and Last Call with Carson Daly.
Watch Yuna's video for lead single "Live Your Life"
Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana just released his 36th album “Shape Shifter” this last May, 2012. The album was mastered by Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge earlier this year.
Santana has made an incredible career for himself also as a producer, songwriter, vocalist, and percussionist. Ranking in at #20 on Rolling Stones "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time"Carlos Santana emerged out of the late sixties, taking part in the pioneering of jazz fusion, rock, and world music as one of the most successful creators of music.
Having won a whopping 10 GrammyAwards including "Album of The Year" and "Best Rock Album" in 2000 for "Supernatural" this new release sees Santana departing from his trademark rock infused/vocal collaboration style. An almost completely instrumental album, "Shape Shifter" is the first album to appear on Starfaith Records, Carlos Santana's brand new label.
Watch Carlos Santana discuss the making of "Shape Shifter" here:
Neon Trees are a band on a roll. Right after the release of their eagerly awaited sophomore album "Picture Show" the band already hit gold with their super catchy single "Everybody Talks" and we couldn't be more excited. Mastered at The Lodge, "Picture Show" was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen (M83) and was mixed by Billy Bush (The Naked & Famous, The Subways, Garbage,) at Red Razor Studios in Glendale, CA.
Neon Trees formed in Utah in 2005 by lead vocalist Tyler Glenn and guitarist Chris Allen. They were first noticed by Ronnie Vannucci of The Killers (side note: Vannucci recently mastered his solo album at The Lodge titled Big Talk) and helped them get signed to Mercury Records in 2008. They eventually released their debut full length album "Habits" in 2010 and the album's lead single "Animal" went double platinum, reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and an instant radio hit.
With "Picture Show" the band has managed to create an album loaded with the catchiest foot tapping synth hooks pop music could possibly ask for (featuring collaborations Kaskade). The album debuted at #17 on Billboard Top 200 Albums and "Everybody Talks" is currently #9 on Billboard's Alternative Top 20 Songs. Amazing!
We are very excited to see several albums mastered at The Lodge on Billboard's top 200 album charts, those include:
Beach House "Bloom" debuting at #7 Santana "Shape Shifter" debuting at #16 Garbage "Not Your Kind Of People" debuting at #17
Check out the full Billboard Top 200 Album Chart right here
Beach House, Santana and Garbage are all also taking over the top 3 spots on Billboard Independent Album Chart!
Other notable albums mastered at The Lodge recently scorching up the Billboard charts include Foo Fighters "Wasting Light", Imagine Dragons "Continued Silence EP", Neon Trees "Picture Show" and The Mars Volta "Noctourniquet".
Mega Dutch Dance DJ Tiësto remixed Kanye West’s"Lost In This World"; closing track from West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" album. After a year of getting clearance rights sorted, the track was finally posted on Tiësto iTunes podcast.Mastered by Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge-listen to the podcast rip of the track below!
Brooklyn synth wizards, Bear in Heaven, returned to The Lodge late 2011 to master their new album "I Love You, It's Cool" (Dead Oceans/Home Tapes) . A happy studio reunion for the boys since LaPorta mastered their break through/ critically adored album "Beast Rest Forth Mouth" in 2009.
Meshing prog, 90's shoe gaze with layers and layers of dark synths “I Love You, It’s Cool” is their biggest sounding record to date. With producer/engineer David Wrench (Caribou, Bat For Lashes) on board "I Love You, It's Cool" extends the band's homage to 80's synth wave with pulsating dance jams and Jon Philpot's effortless love forlorn vocals.
Leading up to the release, the band made a bold move and slowed down their entire album by 400,000% and then streamed it for a straight 2700 hours! The result was syrupy never-ending drone version reminiscent of a Sigur Ros song and quite the listen!
Don't miss this band on tour because they put on one amazing live show. Check out their tour dates here Also peep their video for their second single "Sinful Nature" below.
It's been 7 years since Garbage released their last studio album and the wait is finally over! Our favorite 90's alt rockers have finally released their first album since 2005 yesterday, and it's already scorching up the charts. The album just hit the #1 spot on iTunes' Alternative Rock Albums as well as the #5 spot on the UK charts!!
"Not Your Kind Of People" was produced by Garbage drummer/legendary Grammy nominated producer Butch Vig (Foo Fighters, Green Day, Nirvana) and mixed by Billy Bush. The album was mastered by our very own Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge.
Head over to http://www.garbage.com to buy the album and watch their first video for the single "Blood For Poppies" below.
Beach House's hugely anticipated new album "Bloom" (Subpop Records) comes out TODAY and we are extremely excited to be part of this release. Mastered at The Lodge late 2011, "Bloom" is already getting the kind of momentum and attention indie bands would dream about these days.
From the band's origination, masters of composition, Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, have been utilizing their impressive technical ability to bring swathes of layered emotion through very simple instrumentation. Things have slightly changed since the release of their 3rd album "Teen Dream" exalting the band to a more confident sound while keeping their minimalist signature vibrato synths, arpeggiated guitars and Legrand's reverb-ed vocals in check.
With the immediate success of 2010's "Teen Dream", the band recently revealed to Pitchfork their steadfast decision to not change their sound as most bands do when faced with that kind of pressure/attention. "I hate it when bands change between records," Scally said "That's not the way we work."
Teaming up with producer/engineer Chris Coady again (Blonde Redhead, TV On The Radio, Grizzly Bear) "Bloom" has captured what is considered the band's most emotive and tightest effort. The critics are raving and Pitchfork has reviewed the album with a whopping 9.1 rating! You can read the review here.
Already a contender for 2012's top albums of the year lists, "Bloom" is not to be missed! Head over to NPR and stream the entire album here or buy the album on iTunes.
Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo of The Raveonettes at Sunset Sound Studios
Shoegaze rockers The Raveonettes just released a dreamy new EP titled "Into The Night" last week on The Orchard. The 4 song EP was mastered by Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge and will serve as a pre-release to a full length that the duo is currently recording at the legendary Sunset Sound Studios in LA with engineer, Alonzo Vargas.
This EP will be the sixth Raveonettes release mastered at The Lodge! Yup, SIXTH! The Raveonettes have mastered previous albums with us including "Whip It On", "Lust Lust Lust", "In And Out Of Control", "Raven in The Grave" and most recently "B Sides and Rarities"
Stream the gorgeous guitar drone-y title track from "Into The Night"here
San Diego's Delta Spirit, a five-piece band fronted by Matt Vasquez, have been well known around the indie-rock circuit since touring with Dr. Dog in 2006. Fast forward to 2012, Delta Spirit released their self-titled third studio album (Rounder Records) on March 13th, 2012.
Produced by Chris Coady (Beach House, Grizzly Bear, Blonde Redhead), the album was recorded in an old church turned recording studio in Woodstock NY, mixed by legendary engineer Tchad Blake and mastered at The Lodge.
In a press release, Vasquez said of the new album:
“We found the sound that we’ve been looking for, that we’ve been growing into, and as soon as we hit on it, we ran with it. That’s why it’s a self-titled record, so we could connect our identity with what we think Delta Spirit is.”
Rolling Stone has written about Delta Spirit numerous times leading up to their self-titled album's release, including a glowing review and listed them in their "25 Can't Miss Acts of South by Southwest 2012". In support of their new album, the band has embarked on a nationwide tour, including a sold out show at NYC's Webster Hall. Check out the video for their stunning single, "California" below:
Misstress Barbara, known as Italian-born/Montreal raised international DJ/pop artist has recently released her sophomore album "Many Shades Of Grey" (MapleMusic Records) on April 12th, 2012. The new album was mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge and follows up 2009's Juno nominated album "I'm No Human" (also mastered by The Lodge).
Barbara Bonfiglio started out on drums at the age of 12 and by the time she was 20 she was working as a DJ in the Montreal club circuit, in addition to sharing engineering duties. Her interest and talent in production and DJ-ing eventually led to an incredible career as an internationally renowned DJ selling out shows all over the globe alongside some of the top DJ's of the last decade.
By 2009, Misstress Barbara decided to step away from the turntables and release her first solo album titled “I’m No Human" featuring much loved musicians like Sam Roberts and collaborations with Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn & John) & Brazillian Girls. The album was nominated for a Juno in 2010 for Best Dance Recording Of The year and launched Bonfiglio's solo career as a dance/electronic artist.
Produced and mixed entirely by Misstress Barbara, "Many Shades Of Grey" showcases Bonfiglio's intricate production style. In a recent statement, Bonfiglio said, "I'm proud of the evolution in the writing, I really think every song has a strong hook, which was something I wanted to make happen. I very much enjoy performing a song where you see the audience singing along, especially after 16 years as an underground DJ."
Stream the first single "The Right Time" right here!
Multi platinum selling Aussie popstar Delta Goodrem recently premiered her a brand new single "Sitting On Top Of The World" masteredat The Lodge!
Produced by John Shanks (Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis) and mixed by Manny Marroquin, the summery feel good track features the gorgeous Goodrem dancing and having a great time. It's got summer time hit written all over it! Check out the video right here:
After a 7 year hiatus, 90's alt rockers Garbage are set to release their first studio album since 2005 titled "Not Your Kind of People" on May 15th, 2012. Garbage drummer/legendary Grammy nominated producer Butch Vig (Foo Fighters, Green Day, Nirvana) produced the album with the band and mixed it with Billy Bush. The album was mastered by Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge!
In an interview withRolling Stone in October, Butch Vig explained, "We got together with no agenda other than to just jam a little bit, f--- around and see what we came up with, and it was inspiring. I think you can hear some energy and a vibe in the tracks that sounds refreshing, a little bit more to me like the first two records."
Garbage launched their own record label STUNVOLUME in anticipation of the release and plan on a massive tour featuring dates across North America and Europe. The band just released a video for their first single "Blood for Poppies" which you can watch below. Enjoy!
You can also watch a great video of the band discussing their long awaited return to the music scene featuring some great album snippets!
Check out Emily quoted in this Rolling Stone mag feature on Foo Fighters' 5 time Grammy winning album "Wasting Light". Emily discusses the merits of going all analog and being the first female mastering engineer nominated for the Album of the Year category.
The 5 time Grammy winning album was mastered by our very own Emily Lazar and her team at The Lodge!
Imagine Dragons are a 5 piece that hail from Las Vegas with a pretty incredible EP wrapped up under their belt ready to blast your ears and tickle your senses. After winning a series of battle of the bands, the band got a dream deal at Interscope Records with multi-platinum producer Alex Da Kid taking them under his wing and signing them on his KIDinaKORNER imprint.
Notorious for his incredible hip hop production work with artists such as Eminem, Rihanna and Skylar Grey, Alex Da Kid got the guys in a studio along with Grammy award winning mixing engineer Manny Marroquin (Usher, Mariah Carey, Kanye West) at the helm as well as mixer Rich Costey (Foster The People,The Shins, Muse). The result is the "Continued Silence EP" released on Valentine's Day and mastered at The Lodge.
The EP is a super charged amalgam of rock, pop, larger than life vocals and blazing synth hooks. Peep some of the tracks on the band's Soundcloud or buy their new album on iTunes. Imagine Dragons will be performing in a few upcoming live events, including SXSW this coming March! They are not to be missed!
Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski of the band Trust recently dropped a video for their single “Bulbform”off of their upcoming debut album "TRST" (Arts & Crafts). The album is slated to hit stores on February 28th, 2012. Postepski is known as the drummer/programmer for popular electronic group Austra and is currently focusing her production/writing skills on her new band with Alfons. Mixed by long time friend to The Lodge,Damian Taylor (Bjork, Prodigy, UNKLE) the album was then mastered by Emily Lazar & Heba Kadry.
"TRST" is a gorgeous album blending in a mixture of rich jarring synths, blazing beats, a little bit of new wave complimented by Alfons' strikingly dark vocals. Check out the video for “Bulbform” below and their recently BNM'd track "Sulk" on Pitchfork.
Last night Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta were at the Grammy nominee reception hosted at the beautiful Hudson Terrace in New York. Emily and Joe are nominated for mastering Foo Fighters' critically acclaimed album "Wasting Light". The album is up for 6 nominations include Album of the Year! Woop!
Managed to squeeze through the zillion photographers and snap a picture using my iPhone, will post some better pics soon...so proud of these guys!
Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer Dion is hitting off the New Year with the release of his album “Tank Full Of Blues” today! The album comes out via legendary producer Richard Gottehrer's relaunched blues label Blue Horizon and will mark the third in a trilogy of blues projects Dion has created.
Mastered at The Lodge by Joe LaPorta, “Tank Full Of Blues” features 11 guitar driven tracks and a constant beating rhythm bound to keep you craving for more old school blues goodness.
If you don't know much about Dion, then you need to get your music history a good brush up. Dion boasts a career in recording spanning 55 years and over 30 studio albums released. He started out as lead singer of Bronx based band The Belmonts in the late 50's and was one of the top singers during the 50's doo-wop era. Dion was the voice behind mega hits such as "I Wonder Why" and "A Teenager in Love". After splitting with The Belmonts in the 60's, Dion embarked on a solo career that took a more R&B/pop flavor and continued to enjoy great success with classics like "The Wanderer" and "Runaround Sue".
This is Dion's second album mastered at The Lodge. "Son of Skip James" was mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta in 2007 and we are very excited about being part of Dion's incredible repertoire once again.
Recently, The Lodge's Chief Mastering Engineer Emily Lazar was invited to speak on a panel organized by the Women’s Initiative Network at Sony Music and moderated by Trevor Jerideau (VP of A&R for J Records). Along with Lazar, the panel included leading ladies in the music industry: audio engineer/producer Ann Minicelli (Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey) and Battery Mastering's General Manager Donna Kloepfer. Emily’s passion for music has been the driving force behind her success, enabling her to create some of the most distinctive sounding albums released in recent years (Vampire Weekend, Depeche Mode, The Shins, Armin van Buuren and David Bowie). Most recently, Emily and co-mastering engineer Joe LaPorta received an Album Of The Year Grammy nomination for mastering Foo Fighters' critically acclaimed album "Wasting Light".
Here is a great picture of the panel. Picture from left to right: Ann Minicielli, Emily Lazar & Donna Kloepfer.
27 years and "3 musical lifetimes" in the making, "Strange Weekend" the eagerly anticipated debut LP from Porcelain Raft will be released through Secretly Canadian on January 24th, 2012! As a teaser, first single "Put Me To Sleep" is now available to stream and as a free download!
Mixed by Chris Coady (TV On The Radio, Beach House, Blonde Redhead), the album was mastered late 2011 at The Lodge.
Mauro Remiddi, the Italian dream-pop maestro behind Porcelain Raft uses a unique approach to making music. Instead of writing about the past or future, the journeyman songwriter captures the constantly moving present in small snapshots. A musically expressed sample rate of life if you will. Remiddi's visceral vocal delivery combined with atmospheric synths, guitars and simple backbeats create Porcelain Raft's electronically tinged pop.
Porcelain Raft will be supporting M83 on their UK/EU tour in early 2012. You can check out tour dates and download the opening single "Put Me To Sleep" for free HERE and take a peek at the dreamy video below.
EMA's explosive "Past Life Martyred Saints" got some serious accolades this year. Mastered earlier this year by Sarah Register, the album was listed on so many year end lists we couldn't keep count. Most recently, Rolling Stone mag's contributing editor Rob Sheffield listed her as his top album of the year.
Wow, 2011 was a truly fantastic year at The Lodge folks.
And now that we're in the middle of award and list season frenzy, we figured we'd put together our very own list of this year's highlights, nominations, awards and year end top album compilations mastered at The Lodge. Here we go...
2011 Grammy Nominations
Album of the Year- Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Best Rock Album- Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Best Rock Song- Foo Fighters: Walk (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Best Rock Performance- Foo Fighters: Walk (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Best Hard Rock Performance- Foo Fighters: White Limo (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Best Long Form Video- Foo Fighters: Back and Forth
American Music Awards
Favorite Rock Artist- Foo Fighters (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
ARIA Awards
Album of the Year- Boy & Bear: Moonfire (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Breakthrough Artist- Album- Boy & Bear: Moonfire (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Breakthrough Artist- Single- Boy & Bear: Feeding Line (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Best Group- Boy & Bear (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Best Adult Alternative Album- Boy & Bear: Moonfire (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
iTunes Rewind 2011 Awards
Album of the Year- Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Billboard 2011
39.) Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Pitchfork Top 50 Albums
50.) Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
46.) Cults: Cults (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
41.) Liturgy: Aesthethica (Mastered by Heba Kadry)
33.) Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
13.) EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints (Mastered by Sarah Register) 7.) tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
Rolling Stone 50 Best of 2011
46.) White Denim: D (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
20.) Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
13.) tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
Spin 50 Best of 2011
46.) Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
30.) tUnE-yArDs: whokill (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
26.) Liturgy: Aesthethica (Mastered by Heba Kadry)
21.) Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
17.) Dum Dum Girls: Only in Dreams (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
3.) EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints (Mastered by Sarah Register)
1.) Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Stereogum Top 50
50.) Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
46.) tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
37.) Smith Westerns: Dye It Blonde (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
26.) The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: Belong (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
25.) Cold Cave: Cherish the Light Years (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
7.) EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints (Mastered by Sarah Register)
4.) Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
MOJO Top 50 Albums of 2011
45.) tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
24.) EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints (Mastered by Sarah Register)
6.) White Denim: D (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
NME 50 best of 2011
43.) Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
40.) Cold Cave: Cherish the Light Years (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
37.) White Denim: D (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
29.) Smith Westerns: Dye It Blonde (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
24.) Big Talk: Big Talk (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
9.) tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
Under the Radar's Top 50 Albums of 2011
43.) The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: Belong (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
42.) Smith Westerns: Dye It Blonde (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
40.) Dum Dum Girls: Only in Dreams (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
39.) Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
31.) Hooray For Earth: True Loves (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
22.) tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
17.) Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
6.) EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints (Mastered by Sarah Register)
Prefix's Top Albums of 2011
36.) Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
12.) EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints (Mastered by Sarah Register)
6.) tUnE-yArDs: w h o k i l l (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
4.) Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
Gorilla vs Bear Best Albums of 2011
18.) Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
4.) White Denim: D (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
The Quietus 50 Albums of The Year
50.) Liturgy: Aesthethica (Mastered by Heba Kadry)
45.) Skull Defekts feat. Daniel Higgs - Peer Amid (Mastered by Heba Kadry)
34.) Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta)
27.) EMA - Past Life Martyed Saints (Mastered by Sarah Register)
15.) Cold Cave: Cherish the Light Years (Mastered by Joe LaPorta)
After taking the blogosphere by storm (literally out of a bedroom!) earlier this year, indie-superman Trevor Powers has been busy spreading his hazy & intricate bedroom recordings to the world! Known as Youth Lagoon, the 22 year old from Boise, Idaho is currently finishing up his second national tour and will embark for Europe in 2012!
Youth Lagoon's new album "The Year of Hibernation" was released through Fat Possum Records on September 27th, and was mastered over the summer at The Lodge!
The album received so much praise this year it ended up on almost every year end list published this month. Pitchfork.com placed Youth Lagoon's album on their Best New Music list and also awarded the video for lead single "Montana" a place on their 2011 edition of their Top Music Videos list! This is an album not to be missed by any indie music fan.
Check out Youth Lagoon's award winning video for "Montana" directed by Tyler D Williams below!
Neon Trees have just premiered their new single "Everybody Talks" on Rolling Stone magazine today. The track was mastered at The Lodge and offers a sneak peak into their highly anticipated followup to debut album "Animals".
Produced by Justin Meldal Johnson, lead singer Tyler Glenn explains to Rolling Stone "I think this new album is darker at moments than the last one and I don’t think our first song from the album sounds like that. I think it’s gonna be more like a soundtrack in that way, it has more of a peak and a valley and a little more dynamic to that. "
Listen to the new track and read more about Glenn's interview with Rolling Stone here
Top row: Richard Gottehrer & Joe LaPorta. Bottom row: Emily Lazar & Sune Rose Wagner
Indie noir/psych rockers The Raveonettes have just announced on their website today that their exclusive "Bsides & Rarities" album is ready for pre-order. The album was mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta and includes 27 previously unreleased gems. Here's a link to their online shop. Be sure to order now as there's only 500 vinyl and 500 CD copies up for grabs!
And in the holiday spirit, the band have just released a christmas song aptly titled "The Christmas Song" mastered by Joe LaPorta featuring an exclusive video:
The nominations for this year’s 54th Annual Grammy Awards were just announced and legendary rockers Foo Fighters' "Wasting Light" album scooped up a total of SIX nominations including: Album Of The Year, Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance for “Walk,” Best Hard Rock Performance for “White Limo” and Best Long Form Music Video for “Back and Forth.” Butch Vig, producer for "Wasting Light,"is also nominated for Producer of The Year.
Mastered by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta at The Lodge earlier this year, “Wasting Light” (RCA Records/Roswell Records) charted at #1 across twelve countries marking this album as the band's first ever #1 record since their formation in 1994. It was also certified gold immediately after it's release.
An all-analog production, "Wasting Light" is a truly brilliant record that captures Foo Fighters at their rawest and tightest as a band. This is thanks to Dave Grohl's insistence not to use a single computer throughout the whole record making process. The album was tracked by James Brown using a 24 track Studer A827 and an API 1608 console in Grohl's garage and eventually mixed by Alan Moulder in the same garage! The final mixes were transfered to 1/2" tape and mastered through an entirely analog signal chain at The Lodge.
From everyone at The Lodge, we wish to send our most heartfelt congratulations to Foo Fighters, producer Butch Vig and engineers Alan Moulder and James Brown. We are all extremely excited about this nomination, not only is it a milestone for rock music but it's also a great achievement for women in audio as Emily Lazar is the first female mastering engineer to be nominated in the Album Of The Year category.
And if you haven't seen it, here's Foo Fighters' video for “Walk” nominated for Best Rock Song.
Counting Crows' guitarist & back up vocalist Dan Vickrey has just released an amazing new album that took 20 years to complete! Prior to joining Adam Duritz and company, Vickrey was the singer and songwriter for his own band Tender Mercies. Naturally, after joining Counting Crows as lead guitarist, working on his own band's debut album took a detour.
However, after two decades of artistic honing, Dan Vickrey has finally released Tender Mercies debut self titled album on Collective Sounds last month. Mixed by Counting Crows' bandmate/engineer David Bryson, Vickery teamed up with his old pals and stopped at no expense to give these songs that mean so much to him the treatment they deserve. The album was mastered by Joe LaPorta over the summer right here at The Lodge and we are all so excited to be part of Vickrey's incredible 20 year journey!
Tender Mercies is comprised of Dan Vickrey, Patrick Winningham, Kurt Stevenson and recent addition Jim Bogios. The group assembled in San Francisco, writing music 20 years ago that would make up the album that was released last month. The timelessness of the album is a testament to Vickery's passion to his craft and candidly admits “What you’ll hear is the complete history of Tender Mercies all on one disc. The songs may be older than you are, but we stuck with them because of their timelessness.”
If you have yet to purchase a copy of the self titled album make sure you preview and purchase it on iTunes or Amazon! To get a first look and listen check out their bandcamp page for free downloads off the album! http://tendermercies.bandcamp.com/
Congratulations to Foo Fighters for winning Favorite Alternative Rock Artist at The American Music Awards! Their most recent album "Wasting Light" was mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta!
After an enormous 24 song sellout show at Madison Square Garden (they played well past the venue's 11pm curfew), Foo Fighters have just been announced as the headliners for the Lalapalooza shows in Brazil and Chile!
In case you missed it, here is Foo Fighters' awesome performance on The Late Show with David Letterman with rock icon Joan Jett.
Electronic music pioneers Thievery Corporation are redefining the way artists interact with their fans. The Washington DC based duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton recently launched the world's first CHNL site on the legs of their recently released album "Culture of Fear", mastered right here at The Lodge by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta!
CHNL is a website that provides a direct & undiluted channel for artists to interact with their fans. CHNL gives content owners a unified medium to sell their work, as well as stream videos and connect with fans through social networking. "CHNL enables us to have a much closer and constant relationship with our fans," states Thievery Corporation co-founder Rob Garza. "Through the tour and into the fall, we're going to be revealing exciting new content and our CHNL will be the place to experience it."
With more than 1.2 million albums sold in the US over the past 15 years, the genre-smashing, establishment-thrashing Thievery Corporation continue to refine their craft. "Culture of Fear" their latest release is a self described, "cinematic-sounding inquiry into space rock that straddles the sweet spot between funk and soul, with a bit of dub and reggae thrown in for good measure." Along with raving reviews, "Culture of Fear"spent 2 months on the CMJ Electronic Charts!
Check out world's first CHNL featuring Thievery Corporation below!
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!
Two-time Grammy Award nominated artist Morgan Page released his new single titled, “In The Air” via Nettwerk featuring Sultan + Ned Sheppard, Angela McClusky, and BT. Guaranteed to get your blood flowing, the new track is straight off his forthcoming LP mastered here at The Lodge.
The Los Angeles based DJ/producer's latest full length album titled “In The Air” was mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta!
Since its release, “In The Air" hit the Top 10 (#9) on the Billboard Dance Radio Chart and iTunes and was considered the highest rated record on AOL Radio! Currently on tour, Morgan Page is well known amongst house fanatics for his original productions and remixes for top charting artists such as: Madonna, Regina Specktor, Katy Perry, The B-52’s, Coldplay, Korn, Norah Jones and many others.
Check out the link below to listen to the new single. Enjoy!
Large Professor has resurrected an old school flavor with his recent single "Key To The City"! The limited edition 12" released via Fat Beats Records was printed on translucent vinyl and features an exclusive Large Professor remix of the track on the B Side. There is also a bonus digital download for anyone who purchases the 12". The single was mastered by Joe LaPorta, right here at The Lodge.
The Harlem born, Queens raised producer and emcee has been the force behind some of Hip-Hop's biggest names. He's responsible for launching the careers of legends like Nas and A Tribe Called Quest as well as producing for a heavyweight roster including Slick Rick, Busta Rhymes, Diamond D, Common, AZ, Styles P and many others. As an original member of the popular and highly respected group Main Source, Large Professor pursued a solo career in 1996 and hasn't looked back. "Key To The City" is the first single from his upcoming album titled "Professor At Large" due out on Fat Beats Records early next year.
Class Actress is Brooklyn's poppiest synth jam export and their long awaited debut album "Rapprocher" was just released last Tuesday via Carpark Records.
Mastered by Joe LaPorta at The Lodge this summer, Class Actress is fronted by vocalist/glam girl Elizabeth Harper along with producer Mark Richardson and engineer/multi-instrumentalist Scott Rosenthal.
If you've been around the Williamsburg indie music scene, then you would probably be familiar with Harper's prior solo work. Harper was more known for her strummy/whisper-y love songs (more along the lines of a modern day Morrissey or The Smiths with female vocals). After a unique meeting with Richardson at a club a few years ago, Harper decided to switch gears and replaced her guitar with a synth and the rest was as they say, history.
Citing influences like Depeche Mode and Human League, Class Actress is like an 80's new-wave time warp but with a more modern pop twist and tragically romantic lyrics that will make your heart swoon.
Follow the link below to hear out one of the standout tracks "Weekend" on Stereogum and be sure to catch them live!
Australia's nominations for this year’s 25th annual ARIA Award Finalists were recently announced, and folk/crooners Boy & Bear have pocketed a total of SEVEN nominations from ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) for their most recent album debut, “Moonfire” including Joe Chiccarelli's Producer of The Year nomination!
Mastered by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta, the 11-track album “Moonfire”(Universal Republic/Island Records Australia) is in the running for the following categories: Best Adult Alternative Album, Breakthrough Artist – Single, Breakthrough Artist – Album, Single of the Year, Best Group, Album of the Year and Producer of the Year.
“Moonfire” also peaked at #2 on iTunes Australia and #2 on ARIA Top 50 Album’s chart!
From everyone at The Lodge, we wish to send our biggest congratulations to the band: Dave Hosking, Jake Tarasenko, Killian Gavin, Tim Heart, Jon Hart and producer/longtime The Lodge client & friend Joe Chiccarelli! To get a sneak peak of Boy & Bear be sure to watch the video for the lead single “Feeding Line” below.
The first video from the Dum Dum Girls' new LP, "Only in Dreams", is out! "Only in Dreams" was released last week via Sub Pop, and was mastered right here at The Lodge by Mastering Engineer Joe LaPorta.
The song is called "Bedroom Eyes" and is catchy and upbeat in classic Dum Dum Girls form. The video was directed by Sam Macon, and is a retro live performance that takes a kaleidoscopic twist. Check it out below. Also get some free downloads and more info about the band straight from Sub Pop here or http://www.subpop.com/artists/dum_dum_girls
tUnE-yArDs have just released a new video for their second single "Gangsta" off their recent sophomore LP, "w h o k i l l"! The album was released in April via 4AD and was mastered at The Lodge by Mastering Engineer Joe LaPorta.
A schizophrenic black and white dance party, the video for "Gangsta" was directed by tUnE-yArDs' mastermind Merrill Garbus herself. A funky compliment to an already eccentric and energetic song, check out the official music video as well as the killer TV debut performance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon earlier this August. tUnE-yArDs are also currently touring in the US and Canada, click here for a complete listing of show dates! http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/tuneyards/tours/
Pop/noise cult favorite, The Raveonettes (VICE Records/The Orchard) are due to release twenty-eight unreleased b-sides and rare cuts on their aptly titled album “Rarities and B-sides". The album was mastered earlier this year by The Lodge’s very own Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta. Fans will be happy to hear that the album will be released on both CD and double vinyl!
Since the Danish duo’s discovery in 2002, they have released five studio albums, and five EP’s. "Rarities and Bsides" will be the band's fourth album mastered at The Lodge.
A long way since their first 2002 EP "Whip it on", Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo have continued to master their brand of fuzzed out 60's-noir rock gems with notoriously sinister lyrics. With the highly anticipated release of "Rarities and B-sides", the band recently featured their track "Aly, Walk With Me" from their 2007 album "LUST LUST LUST" (also mastered at The Lodge) on HBO’s season four finale episode of True Blood. The band is currently working on their next full length due out next year.
Check out the official video for "Aly, Walk With Me" mastered at The Lodge!
Icelandic folk artist Ólöf Arnalds is slated to release yet another captivating studio project, "Ólöf Sings," on November 7th via UK Label One little Indian (Bjork, Sigur Ros). A delicate five-song EP, "Ólöf Sings" was mastered by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta at The Lodge.
Containing covers of some of the great songwriters of our century "Ólöf sings" is seventeen minutes of vivid performances only Arnalds herself could pull off with such sincerity. Produced by frequent Lodge client Skúli Sverrisson (who also produced Arnalds' debut Lodge-mastered LP, "Innundir Skinni"), the upcoming EPincludes charming renditions of Arthur Russell's"Close My Eyes" and Caetano Veloso's"Maria Bethânia," which fans may recognize from Arnalds' live sets.
Want more Ólöf? Be sure to use the download code packaged with your copy of "Ólöf Sings," or download the EP straight from iTunes to receive several digital bonus tracks including Kyu Sakamoto's sunny"Sukiyaki," and a b-side of Arnald's Björk collaboration,"Surrender"!
Keep an ear open for more details on the release of Arnalds' sophomore full length rumored to be out next Spring and, in the meantime, check out this video of Arnalds effortlessly covering Arthur Russell's"Close My Eyes" below!
Grammy Award Nominee Katie Herzig released her fourth studio album "The Waking Sleep" on September 20, her first on Marion-Lorraine Records/Mercer Street Records. The album was mastered at the Lodge by Mastering Engineer Joe LaPorta.
A Colorado native, Katie Herzig's catchy folk/pop tracks have been featured in several TV shows including Bonesand Bored to Death.With her new album, Herzig has revamped her singer-songwriter sound, experimenting with dance-pop beats without losing track of her folky roots. The album was produced by up-and-coming producer/composer Cason Cooley, and mixed by frequent Lodge client Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, Ra Ra Riot).
Check out the inspiring behind-the-scenes clip here on Katie Herzig's site as well as the crafty new music video for "Free My Mind"below. Herzig is also just about to kick off on another cross-country tour, which promises to be a great time. Don't miss it!
Montreal based singer-songwriter Jason Bajada returns to The Lodge with his sophomore album, "The Sound Your Life Makes." The thirteen track project was released on September 13th viaMaple Music Recordings and was mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe Laporta at The Lodge.
Jason Bajada has developed a substantial following over the course of his last three records with a signature piano-driven pop/folk sound. Teaming up for a second time with production team Les Troublemakers, "The Sound Your Life Makes" personifies the calm after the stormy love story of Bajada's 2009 Lodge-mastered "Loveshit." In a recent interview with the Montreal Gazette, Bajada spoke of mending his broken heart and simultaneously summed up the vibe of the album, "...I'm starting to feel OK, but I know I have to be careful. Baby steps, you know? Pain is a pet and you have to get used to letting go, to stop feeding it."
Check out the music video for Bajada's mesmerizing new single, "Down with the Protest," below, created by Les Invincibles director Jean-Francio. Drama in high definition- we enjoyed it and think you will too!
Just a few weeks ago, Jeff Mangum of iconic lo-fi folk bandNeutral Milk Hotel very pleasantly surprised the world by coming out of a 13-year hiatus with announcements of a massive, vinyl box set due out November 22! Mangum visited The Lodge to participate in the critical mastering process with Joe LaPorta.
Known as the quintessential indie rock group before 'indie rock' had even become a common genre, Neutral Milk Hotel's discography has reached almost legendary status over the years, influencing a slew of recent artists including Wilco, Franz Ferdinand, Rilo Kiley, and even pop producer Danger Mouse. To be the first official release since the band's critically-acclaimed "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" and their subsequent break-up in '99, this upcoming box set will undoubtedly be like magic to fanatical ears. According to a brand new Neutral Milk Hotel website, the box set will include:
"...two gatefold 12" records (In the Aeroplane Over the SeaandOn Avery Island), two 10" records (Everything Is EP with bonus tracks and Ferris Wheel on FireEP featuring eight previously unreleased acoustic recordings), two 7" records (Little Birds andYou've Passed/Where You'll Find Me Now), one 7" picture disc with fold-out poster (Holland 1945/Engine), and two 24"x24" posters."
To top it all off, $1 per box set will be donated to Children of the Blue Sky foundation, and every newly-released song will be available as a pay-what-you-will download via BandCamp as of November 22. If you're dying for a sneak peek, head on over here to stream to "Oh Sister" and "Ferris Wheel On Fire" or listen to Mangum's eclectic and personally-crafted playliststo get yourself ready for the upcoming tidal wave of all things NMH. Oh, and don't forget to catch Mangum on a solo tour (yes, he's actually touring!)- complete list of dateshere.
In the few years since joining crossover pop band Grizzly Bear, Chris Taylor has claimed a permanent place among indie royalty, extending his production credits to include debut albums by Twin Shadow and The Morning Benders, co-founding the brand new Terrible Records, and most recently, releasing his first ever solo album, "Dreams Come True." To be released on September 13 under the moniker CANT, "Dreams Come True," was mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta right here at The Lodge!
Typical of Taylor's musical endeavors, "Dreams Come True," is drenched in nuance, layered in effects and a shivers with a genuine sense of humanness. What's new to the scene, however, is 1) the heavy use of synthesizers opposed to his typical array of acoustic instruments and 2) Taylor's voice finally snags the spotlight! Self-produced/mixed/engineered, Taylor also called upon musical comrade George Lewis Jr. of Twin Shadow, whosecritically acclaimed debut was also mastered at The Lodge. Mark it on your calendars, "Dreams Come True" will be released in less than few weeks via Warp Records/ Terrible Records and you won't want to miss the boat on this one!
Listen to the lead single "Believe" here and watch some sweet footage below of CANT's debut show at Mercury Lounge earlier this week to see how wonderfully the songs translate into a live set.
