Songwriter Nathan Veshecco’s latest release, Sunset Again, marks a solitary new chapter in music making. After a decade of writing and producing group efforts (with the occasional solo acoustic tune) at outside recording facilities, Veshecco went inward – in every sense – for his latest effort. Spending much of 2012 on the road visiting family and friends, he penned a batch of tunes that examine the state of his life and relationships as he approaches 30.
Nathan and I first started talking about this album about two months before he started recording it. He had expressed to me that it would be a very stripped down, raw, and real album and most likely just him and an acoustic guitar. While recording this he would be traveling on the road staying at various family member’s houses along the way… So he wanted to know what kind of a mobile recording set up and few pieces of gear he would need. I got him set up with a Pro Tools rig and some good mics. After he got the gear in hand, we proceeded to talk on the phone regularly so I could walk him through some recording tips and techniques. He explained to me what kind of tone and vibe he wanted for the album, and I did the best mic placement and engineering possible, for being a whole state away.
Nathan would send me Pro Tools sessions so I could listen to them and give feedback on what he should do differently or what I really liked about the sounds he was achieving. Slowly, but steadily I received what would become the final sessions, which I used to mix from.
The original plan was to be in the same room to mix when the time came, but, schedules didn’t allow that to happen. We both decided since we have spent so much time talking about this project and discussing ideas together that we were on the same exact page. I conveyed to him I knew exactly what type of mixing needed to be done to this album to finish it, and he cut me loose to mix it by myself. I sat down at 9am on a nice autumn morning in October and by the end of that day I had mixed the entire album, and felt completely satisfied that it had the right sound and was done.
I got a text later on that evening from Nathan after he downloaded the mixes that I sent him saying everything sounded amazing and there was probably only 1 or 2 tweaks he wanted to make before mastering.
Two days after that Nathan was able to come into town to be in the same room to master the album, and we got to hang out and catch up with each other for the day.
I think Nathan has done some amazing songwriting for this project and is starting a new chapter in his career. I am grateful to be a part of yet another album from him and his musical journey.
This process also reinforced how important it is for engineer/producers and artist’s to have very tight relationships with each other. It’s going to help the music grow even more naturally when everybody involved can see the big picture and the vision of the artist.
For more info and updates with Nathan Veshecco check out his website.
Check out this snippet of the album title track:
“Sunset Again”