Emerick To Return With "Sgt. Pepper's" Event In Amsterdam By Janice Brown May 14, 2008, 10:10 Amsterdam (May 14, 2008) -- Famed Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick will take the stage at AES Amsterdam on Sunday, May 18, for a discussion on the re-recording of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a unique project commissioned by the BBC last year to mark the 40th Anniversary of the original record release. This encore special event, which played to a packed house last October at AES New York, will surely be a highlight of AES Amsterdam. Emerick's enthralling accounts of the recording processes of the original Sgt. Pepper's, and the re-recording commissioned by the BBC, will lead to a discussion of contemporary application of Pepper's-era recording methodologies. For this unique BBC presentation, rock bands including Oasis, Travis, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Fray, and The Magic Numbers recorded the original arrangements and orchestrations of Sgt. Pepper's using the original microphones, consoles and techniques, directed and mixed in mono by Emerick. On behalf of the APRS (The Association of Professional Recording Services), artist/producer and APRS executive director, Peter Filleul (Richard Thompson, The Blues Band), will interview Emerick during this special event, and then open up the discussion to questions from the audience. This discussion, though historical in subject matter, will provide highly relevant insights into recording techniques that can be very useful and beneficial in today's studios. "As the programme has demonstrated, recording without the safety net of Pro Tools introduces a collection of disciplines that many artists would otherwise not need to cultivate," offers Filleul. "The realization that a musical arrangement has to be planned in advance, that choices have to be made at the outset so as to be achievable within a tiny number of available tracks sorts out the men from the boys--no more editing multiple multi-track layers. These (old) techniques required a combination of musical and technical talent and maturity that is rarely attainable within the parameters of the endless flexibility that digital workstations offer." Filleul assures that much can be learned from Emerick's recording expertise and experience, adding, "Geoff's programme should be included in every sound engineering and music technology course." This special event will take place on Sunday, May 18, from 11am - 12:30 during AES Amsterdam, at the RAI Convention Center. For more information on the Convention, visit www.aes.org/events/124/.

Email this article
Printer friendly page