Collected Animals

Hey everyone

Russell Elevado (co-producer and mixing for Isn’t it Now?) has nicely offered to answer some questions that we might have about the album/the experience of recording it/etc. Post whatever questions you’d like passed on to him here, and we can have another thread in the future with his answers. Keep in mind that he is doing this on his own free time, so let’s be respectful about that.

Let’s try to get in all the questions by this upcoming Tuesday or Wednesday (8/21), depending on how many people are responding to this? If people use this thread for discussion too, maybe just bold or somehow highlight your questions so they don't get lost in the mix

edit: submissions for questions is closed. thanks everyone for posting their Q's

Sick get! Thanks for doing this Russell

was it hard to get the ac guys to agree to minimal overdubs and keeping everything pretty sparse, or were you all on the same page from the beginning?

were you a part of any of the sequencing/track order discussions? it sounds like they were pretty conflicted for a while

Here is my question:

Everything about the sound of the transition at 2:48 of Genie's Open, the way things sound different before and after that point, is perfect. I have no idea what kind of technical considerations go into making that work, where the absent element opens up space without seeming to reduce any of the force of the music. I dunno, maybe I am speaking a little too subjectively on this, but if you agree with that assessment, would you have anything to say about the technical considerations that go into something like that?

Also, thanks for doing this!

Fantastic! Can you share an anecdote or two about the ambiance of the recording experience? I mean, how did you and the band set the mood in the studio? What was memorable about the experience with the band outside of the studio? What did they eat and, more importantly, drink? Thanks, Russell!

And thx hedgecore!

Rad. I'm curious to know whether there was a conscious effort to distinguish the IIN sound from the Skiffs sound.

These songs were all firmly established by the time they hit the studio. Were there any elements/layers/quirks that emerged from studio experimentation?

Also did you guys secretly re-record Cherokee and Prester John in the IIN style please?

These songs were all firmly established by the time they hit the studio. Were there any elements/layers/quirks that emerged from studio experimentation?

Also did you guys secretly re-record Cherokee and Prester John in the IIN style please?

I would literally do anything to hear Cherokee in the IIN style.

My question and comment.

Was the fade-in on "All the Clubs are Broken" the result of needing to find the solution to a problem of how to begin the track? If so, what were the problems you were facing regarding the beginning of the song?

Thanks for producing and mixing the album. It's the best sounding AC album. The drums in particular sound incredible.

One more - simple question:

What was something you found unique about working with Animal Collective?

love the Q about the fade-in,
great questions throughout! will be cool to hear him answer some of this stuff


are there frequencies you always notch when tracking / mixing? were there particular (problem) frequencies that kept coming up with this record?

was there a "typical" signal chain for sounds on this record?

did you cry at any point during this record?


thanks for asking for our input for the interview

Whatever happened with this Q&A?

I had some email issues on my end which caused a delay. Stay tuned

hello everyone, I'm sorry for going MIA on this. I've been dealing with a lot of health issues for a while.

There was communication issues on my end (gmail stopped receiving messages), so here is the first half of answers from Russell. Russell, if you see this, thank you again for taking the time for responding to these questions.



Q: As a mixer, could you describe your relationship with the mastering process ? Once you submit your final mixes, is it out of your hands? Whoever is mastering it can squash your mix/change the sonic qualities in ways/etc without you having any input? If that happens, how frustrating is it, if at all?

A: i've been mastering with Alex Deturk for the past 10 years and so he really knows what my mixes need or don't need. so normally i'll use Alex if i have the choice but if it's a full album, i can usually have the last say on who is mastering. if it's out of my hands, yes it can be frustrating when the mastering engineer is changing the sonics to a degree that it's changing the feel of the master mixes. i will voice my opinion if i don't agree the mastering.



Q: Is there a separate master for the vinyl, and one for digital? What is generally the difference between the two?

A: these days there isn't a separate master for vinyl. most vinyl mastering is done off the digital master. sometimes i'll have a different EQ for the vinyl mastering. but most of the time my digital master will translate quite well to vinyl. a good vinyl mastering engineer will do a manual adjustment of EQ and especially sibilance as the needle starts to creep towards the inner edge. the fidelity slightly degrades as you get closer to the inner part of the record. most notable is the high end which starts to distort more and you can adjust the EQ to compensate. but you have to do it live as the music is playing if you're cutting the master lacquer. 



Q: What is a mic you usually grab for a kick? Overheads?

A: if available, my favorite would be the Neumann Fet 47. it just captures the bass drum sound perfectly somehow more than any other mics i tried. but i'll also use a dynamic in addition. i'll a D12 (if available), 421 or RE20.

for overheads, i like a good vintage neumann tube like a U47 or U67. i also like ribbons like a vintage M160, coles 4068, RCA 44. i'll use the ribbons for close room mics in the overhead positions and/or around the kit, in front or behind and combining with the tube mics. i like to have the flexibility to pick and choose which sound i like later in the mix. so i might not use half of the mics i've recorded on the drums.

the AEA ribbons are fantastic and i've used them to record kicks as well as amazing rooms mics. the R84 and others handle high SPL. i wouldn't use any of the vintage mics for the kick.

also Audio Technica makes excellent ribbon mics that also handle high SPL. AT4081 and AT4080.



Q: was it hard to get the ac guys to agree to minimal overdubs and keeping everything pretty sparse, or were you all on the same page from the beginning?

A: we were all of the same mindset from the start. the songs were already very rehearsed by the time we recorded as a lot of the songs were already being played at their shows. sometimes upon starting a recording of a song, they would mention that they wanted to capture the vibe of performing that song live. so we would track as many instruments as one live take as possible. 

overdubs were done to replace some of the digital Nord keyboard sounds with their analog counterparts or a whole new sound in general. Bunker Studios has an excellent vintage keyboard collection. and the vocals were overdubbed.


Q: were you a part of any of the sequencing/track order discussions? it sounds like they were pretty conflicted for a while

A: no i wasn't involved with the sequencing. and yes they were having some debates so i didn't stir the pot.



Q: Everything about the sound of the transition at 2:48 of Genie's Open, the way things sound different before and after that point, is perfect. I have no idea what kind of technical considerations go into making that work, where the absent element opens up space without seeming to reduce any of the force of the music. I dunno, maybe I am speaking a little too subjectively on this, but if you agree with that assessment, would you have anything to say about the technical considerations that go into something like that?

A: i'm really big on transitions and subtleties and it puts a grin on my face when someone mentions those little things in the mix that are not always obvious. it's like when i'm creating it, i wonder how many people will recognize it and how many will just feel it and hear it as a whole vibe. 

with a band like AC, there is so much room for creativity and so i get more inspiration to do things. but i have a good instinct on creating moments in the mix. like making space in a section to frame a particular riff or dropping out a main element like bass or drums which immediately takes the listener off guard. elements that are constant and muted at the right moment can have a very big impact.

i'm really big on transitions and subtleties and it puts a grin on my face when someone mentions those little things in the mix that are not always obvious. it's like when i'm creating it, i wonder how many people will recognize it and how many will just feel it and hear it as a whole vibe. 

with a band like AC, there is so much room for creativity and so i get more inspiration to do things. but i have a good instinct on creating moments in the mix. like making space in a section to frame a particular riff or dropping out a main element like bass or drums which immediately takes the listener off guard. elements that are constant and muted at the right moment can have a very big impact.

Yay I'm a smile maker

This is good info, thanks for getting these answers!!

Also maybe the thread title should be changed to show the q's have been a'd

The quirks have been assed?!

I totally forgot to read Russell's answers, so thanks for bumping the thread! these are cool, looking forward to the rest hedgecore. thanks for doing this