The Benefits Of Self-Production
By Addi John
For the longest time, I always thought that if a band or artist wanted to release music seriously, they would have to get it recorded at a studio with an engineer and producer. I was so set in this way of thinking that it only occurred to me after recording several records that I could be doing this for myself. Granted, I also had a diploma in audio engineering, so I knew the basics of signal flow, proper microphone techniques, as well as many other production techniques learnt in school, as well as from watching engineers work in their respective studios. The shift wasn’t an overnight change; it was a slow-paced trial-and-error period of recording demos in my old bedroom “studio” during COVID that I would later send to my bandmates of my former band “Lost in Japan”. These demos were the stepping stones for Lost in Japan’s record Night Talks. This was also when I really started to care about production and what should and shouldn’t go into a song.
Funny enough, I actually began producing other bands and artists' songs before producing myself. These songs I produced were almost my ‘tryouts’ for my band to convince them to have me produce us, since we had already worked with great producers and recorded in world-renowned studios, so we didn’t want to have a major dip in the quality of songs we were putting out. Which is honestly fair. The biggest push, though, was just how expensive recording can be. Especially being an indie artist in an industry that's either feast-or-famine.
Today, I produce and record myself entirely, which has its own set of challenges like knowing when to take a step back, deciding which take to use, how big I want the drums to be, who should mix the song, etc. But, I do love the creative freedom and the ability to say “I made this”. I also want to mention, I do believe every artist should record in a studio and work with others. The point of this is not to persuade you against studios. I’m just letting you know that it is possible to do it yourself and make music that is great. Especially with all the technology we have access to now, we can really make world-class songs in our bedrooms. If you ever want to make a song together, let me know!
Addi John is an Ontario-based singer/songwriter
Website - www.addijohn.ca