Photos removed due to embarrassment
The making of "in the alleyway" (a true story)
The singular way that Hercules (Peter Baldwin and Ben Sumner) recorded their first album arose from this situation: they knew they would have access to a music editing facility for an entire summer, and thus could record a multi-track record that could be loaded in and edited there. Unfortunately, the only equipment they owned to capture all the music in their heads were 2 cassette 4-track machines and a crappy dynamic microphone (the much maligned SM 58, for which our intrepid duo exchanged a sealed original of Tarkus). So, foreseeing that they could eventually mix tracks individually, all they had to do was devise a system allowing them to put all the separate instruments (i.e. guitar, bass, drums) onto separate tracks, via the 4-track cassettes, and then load them into the computer. This was accomplished in the following manner: They recording onto cassette 1 (a normal 30 minute tape recorded on one side at double speed giving 7 1/2 minutes of recording time per track) like so-
Track 1 : SMPTE time code
Track 2 : click track/guide track
Track 3 : instrument 1
Track 4 : instrument 2
Then, bouncing onto the second 4-track machine, and a second cassette and recording thus-
Track 1 : SMPTE time code
Track 2 : click track/guide track/bounce of instruments 1 & 2 for guide purposes
Track 3 : instrument 3
Track 4 : instrument 4
And onto a third cassette-
Track 1 : SMPTE time code
Track 2 : click track/guide track/ bounce of instruments 1, 2, 3 & 4 for guide purposes
Track 3 : instrument 5
Track 4 : instrument 6
See?
So now, this method could be repeated ad nauseam with all the instruments completely separate, ready for loading into a multi-track editing program!
Problems started here:
1. The first issue arose with the mere volume of tracks Hercules intended to record. Specific information is hazy on this, but at least 20 songs were attempted. Times that by an average of 25 tracks (drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, strings, vibes, percussion, brass, vocals, etc.) per song and what you have is 500 tracks, perhaps 2 songs per cassette (remember 7 1/2 minutes recording time), and so over 60 hours of information on 125 cassettes. Or there about. Keeping track of all this information along with the Sisyphean task of bouncing hundreds of tracks became an endless headache. On top of that, Hercules still had to track down strange and exotic instruments and score heaps of parts for classical musicians to play. Suffice to say, this project physically and emotionally took its toll on the boys, and Peter still only has partial vision in one eye to this day. Still, they only had themselves to blame.
2. When all the tracks were complete, and all the instruments were ready to be loaded in, other difficulties came up. The SMPTE time code was supposed to facilitate the sync-up of all the tracks in the editing program. However, after the 3rd or 4th generation of cassette, the information deteriorated and became useless. This meant that 75% of the music had to be loaded in and synced up manually. We all know that cassette tapes stretch, and because of this instability, many of the tracks (on average 3 or 4 minutes long) had to be cut up into 10 second sections and moved into place by ear. 4 months later, this task was complete.
3. The third problem was merely aesthetic. The major flaw in this system was the format: cassette 4-track. The end results were many tracks affected by tape "warble" and hiss, not to mention the lack of fidelity. Needless to say, the album has a "unique" sound.
Sadly, because the workload became too intense for these poor lads, several songs (possibly as many as 9 or 10) were never loaded into the computer, and so only survive on the original cassettes- unedited, unheard and forgotten. Perhaps one day, someone will find the time and energy to rectify this sad affair. Missing songs had titles like "I will catch you if you fall", "Helena", "I'm a genius", "Heimlich maneuver" and possibly "dr. awkward". Hercules themselves cannot recall, or refuse to.
In closing, it should be recognized that this album is the ONLY album in recording history to be made this way. Why? Because "alleyway" was created at the exact moment in time when editing software was available, but hi-fidelity home recording was still an expensive venture. Also, they have a screw loose. A mere 6 months after this album was completed, Hercules invested in some proper gear, and some of these technical problems were solved (see: the making of "Jed at fort Juniper").
It should also be noted that despite the dizzying heights of Icarian folly that characterized the recording process, in the alleyway is a touching and highly personal pop record.
-Tristan Fabriani