Real World Go On The Record (Uncompressed!) - Benjamin Lehmann

We have received lots of feedback about Music Club. The question which has been raised most frequently is how the Little Axe album was recorded and mastered. In response we thought it would be interesting to see what Real World Studios had to say about how they handled the process. They have kindly taken the time to give us an insight into how the finished album was accomplished, and even asked producer Adrian Sherwood to add his own take. I am sure you will agree it makes for fascinating, and at times controversial reading.

"B&W and Real World Studios take each album as an individual project, both at the mixing stage and, if we do it, the mastering. The artist is closely involved in all aspects of the production. The Little Axe album was delivered to the Music Club direct from the mixing console. There was no post-mixing treatment of the record. The artist, in this case Little Axe, chose for the compression to happen in the mix to produce the sound they and the producer wanted. All final versions sent from our studio to B&W are sent with the approval of the artist and producer.

Adrian Sherwood who mixed the record has asked us to add:

The way we recorded was live using a digital format. It was mixed digitally and the compression was minimal. Normally I would mix manually using analogue. On this project the whole thing was recorded live and the nature of the way it was recorded meant it had to be mixed digitally. This required slight compression rather than using unnecessary rides up and down. I’m not the biggest fan of compression but I’m prepared to use it when necessary."

Adrian Sherwood Read more

Music Club June Build Up - Susanna Grant

After an excellent response to the inaugural B&W Music Club album we’re really excited to see what the reaction will be to June’s album. We’ve chosen an exceptional debut album from a band which includes both the ex-drummer from Reef and Ronnie Wood’s son Jesse. The Grindhouse album will be available online from 19th June and they are playing live this summer so if you like what you hear you should be able to go and see them.

We’ll keep you posted. Read more

Music Club - Join The Debate - Susanna Grant

Well, it’s been two weeks since we launched Music Club and we’d really like to know what people think, not only of the music but also of the concept as a whole.

We spent a long time thinking this through, deciding on a music policy (excellent in both sound and musicianship ended up being our only criteria), working out how to make it attractive to artists (we decided that the opportunity of recording at Real World and returning the master to them after 2 months would be good) and thinking generally of other ways musicians could get their music heard.

We know we’re taking a risk in not having a library of artists for customers to choose from, but there are plenty of other platforms that do this well, and we thought that the low subscription fee was worth that risk for a one-off album that may introduce you to a world of music you didn’t know existed.

So that’s this month’s open thread, please comment below (and have a look at our comments policy if you're not sure about what to say). Read more

Introducing the Bowers & Wilkins Lab - Benjamin Lehmann

Since our inception we have made it our mission-statement to strive for the transparent reproduction of recorded sound. Technology is moving quickly, too quickly some say, and rather witnessing the application of new sound technology exclusively for the bettering of the audio experience, we have seen in recent years the decline of quality in favour of mass delivery.

More people now have access to recorded music in the world than ever before, that is for sure. However, it often feels as though the fight against poor quality sound reproduction is being lost.

So why the Lab? We thought for a long time about how best to provide an online podium where thinkers, innovators and practitioners of sound technology could voice their ideas. We eventually settled for an area which would provide high quality editorial content, engaging articles, podcasts and vidcasts, on a regular basis. We also chose to let users comment below the bi-monthly features to air their own views and get involved with the debate. The remit of the features will be to take an honest view of how we experience sound in a changing world.Lab is edited by Martyn Ware. Martyn is a musician and sound designer who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the co-founder of The Human League, a band that pioneered the use of electronic instruments in British pop. Martyn is now a leading figure in sound art and design, creating immersive sound environments for public events as well as lecturing extensively on sound, art and technology. Watch Martyn talk about his interest in sound and read more about him in our Fellows section.

We hope you will join us in the Lab over coming months and leave your feedback. We especially encourage people to post long-form answers under the Lab features with their own developed thoughts on the subject matter we are addressing. The Lab is the Society of Sound’s very own think tank, and we want you to get involved. Read more