The Cakewalk Blog

Congratulations to Paul Oakenfold and TC Spitfire who found themselves at #3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs this past week with the track Surrender.

The track was written by Paul, TC and J Hart who also sang the track.  TC Spitfire who is a passionate SONAR X1 Expanded user co-produced and mixed the track using a combination of all the ProChannel modules.  “This new era with the ProChannel and X1d [Expanded] is on a serious elevated level.  The combination of the modules has me staying more and more inside SONAR natively,” TC told us.

On a daily basis, TC is very busy individual.  Between writing new music, producing, mixing and remixing, he finds himself a bit overextended these days and “taking it and enjoying it while it’s there.”  Most recently, he has worked with artists such as Cher, Matt Goss, Matt Morris and Jean Baptist – and that is just in the recent past.  “On a daily basis I will jump from remixing a track for 4 hours, to writing in another studio for 4 hours, and then back to our lab for another however-long-it-takes-session – for the next barrage of musical craziness.”

For the track Surrender which is currently charting on the Billboard Dance Club Chart, TC collaborated with both Paul Oakenfold and J Hart on the writing side and then built and mixed the song completely in SONAR X1 Expanded. 

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CW AR: This vocal sound is huge in this track.  What was some of the processing involved?

TC: On the vocal track I used the new Hybrid mode in the ProChannels QuadCurve EQ.  I cut quite a bit of the low end off and had quite a bit of mids popping for this track around 1.8k.  I was able to surgically cut out some other frequencies in the mids to get the vocals away from other keyboard parts in that range.

On top of that, I used the PC4K channel compressor along with a slight touch of the Softube Saturation Knob with the switch on the “high” setting.  I also sent multiple lead vocal tracks out to a lead vocal bus which had the PCCL Limiter on it for a slight boost and some tightening.

CW AR: This track and all your tracks for that matter are really tight, what are the main factors for you in achieving this sound?

TC: It’s pretty simple, but it’s also pretty complicated.  It’s simple, because most of it has to do with compression, EQ and limiting, which are 75% from the ProChannel in my tracks.  It’s complicated because carving the frequencies, making the decisions on where to compress and how much, and what to use a limiter on – all factor in.  Sometimes, over compressing and using too many limiters will just make a song sound flat-lined and not breathing.   I think another factor is not using too many of the same compressors or EQ’s on every single track.  I really like mixing up my inserts.  On some tracks I will use the 76 and others I will use the Softube compressor.  I even use the PC4K bus compressor on tracks – call me crazy – haaa.   There are no rules in the digital world and use my ear and the tools SONAR X1 Expanded provides to get the sound to where I need it to be.

In the next year you will be hearing a lot more from Paul Oakenfold and TC as a new deal was just signed with Sony Records.  As soon as the details are released on that we will keep you posted.  Until then, you can check out SONAR X1 for free here.

SONAR X1 is the most intuitive D.A.W. on the market today.  It’s easy to get up and running, and it’s just as easy with practice and experience to become an advanced user.  If you are running windows, and you are a musician, now is a great time to pull the trigger with the SONAR X1 Advanced Workshop Giveaway Promotion.

“SURRENDER” [Completely recorded, mixed and mastered in SONAR X1 Expanded:]

After a long road of hard work and perseverance, the new Cori Yarckin record titled Part of Me was released today in Japan on Spinning Records.  Cori is a busy international singer/songwriter who is also signed to BMG publishing in the United States.  In the past, she has toured extensively, being known for her powerful voice and stage presence, and has even been seen in Rolling Stone magazine and the ever-famous MTV show TRL.  This new record, which was recorded and produced in SONAR X1, is initially available in stores and here in Japan and eventually will be released in the United States.

I’ve had the privilege of working with Cori on a few different records/projects as a producer, mixer and co-writer, and I think this record was the most fun out of them all.  This record has an interesting twist to it as we recorded and produced most of the tracks entirely in SONAR X1, with various people jumping in to assist.  Brandon Ryan did a lot of the preproduction and bed tracks, while Robin Kelly laid down a lot of the synth and drum programming. Then it was my job to take everything and completely mess it up…  I mean put it all together   (more…)

Winter NAMM 2012 was a huge success for Cakewalk. For the second straight year, we were located in the Roland Arena with a great location right by the entrance. We got to meet a lot of new, existing, and potential users. In addition, we had great demos from some of our favorite Cakewalk artists (and even some special appearances). We also got to show off SONAR X1 Production Suite, the new ProChannel Concrete Limiter, and Cakewalk instruments like Z3TA+ 2, Dimension Pro, and Rapture. We wish everyone could have joined us for the show, but here’s a recap that hopefully makes you feel like you were there. (more…)

Enter the Hollywood Undead remix contest today

SONAR X1 user Hollywood Undead is one of the few modern bands that continue to sell records and play to sold out crowds around the world.  This hard working band is considered as one of the biggest and most unique rock acts in the industry today, and now with the help of Indaba, Cakewalk and Roland, they want your help in remixing two of their original songs.  That’s right folks, you could end up with actual credits on a record that is being released on A&M/Octone through this exclusive Cakewalk opportunity; and you never know where it could go from there…  You can enter this contest and win great prizes including cash, recording gear from Cakewalk and Roland, and the opportunity to be on their new remix EP.  Hollywood Undead rely on SONAR X1 and Cakewalk to keep their music original and creative, now they are reaching out to all their fellow SONAR X1 users.  If this sounds interesting to you, please visit here on the Indaba music site to learn more on how to enter. Good luck!

A little over a month ago we featured Javier Colon on our blog the day before “The Voice” premiered.  I don’t think anyone had a doubt that he would be anything less than stellar on the show, but I don’t think anyone realized the impact he would have on viewers around the world.  If you have seen the show you know what I am talking about; Javier’s voice is undeniable, and combining that with his first-class demeanor and composure has authentically gained him millions of fans around the world.  Since the premier, Javier has been on a whirlwind ride and we have been fortunate enough to keep in touch with him even though his schedule has changed…  just a bit;) (more…)

Tuesday, April 26 – New York, NY

If you are making music I think you will agree with me when I say for better or for worse “What an interesting time it is for the recorded music industry.”  There are a few elements that really make it “interesting;”

1. Music creators now have options such as SONAR X1 to create finished masters without having to pay for studios, therefore having the luxury of time to hone in on perfecting the art of making great recordings.
2. It’s a fact that music consumption is at a record high, but at the same time the money (in dollars) flowing into the industry as a whole is at a record low.
3. Major Labels are no longer developing artists.
4. Labels have lost the revenue of the “full length” record due to the fact that consumers can purchase singles for next to nothing now and bypassing those “throwaway” tracks.
5. One can click a mouse and literally “distribute” a song to thousands of people at once.

…add in a few money making American Idols along with the astronomical amount of money it takes to be heard on CHR radio,  and there you have it; an industry that is really tough to figure out right now.

With all that being said, modern technology including the internet has brought one thing to the table for sure; “the truth.”  If you’ve really got something going on and the talent to back it up, cyber-authenticity kicks into high gear and recognition follows.  The internet has created an upward filtering platform where people gravitate towards the entertainment by which they really want to be engaged.  Javier Colon is absolutely a pioneer of this revolution and is about as authentic and talented as they come, which has landed him an audition on the new highly anticipated NBC television show “The Voice” airing Tuesday, April 26th.

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Thursday, February 24^th - Hollywood, CA

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I had the privilege of spending some time with an X1 pro user who really exemplifies the modern day musician on all fronts.  His name is TC (born Anthony Crawford) and he is also known by some in the producing underground as “Spitfire”.  “TC,” as we will refer to him today, is employed by Paul Oakenfold as his main music producer, co-writer, mixing engineer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.  Working in that capacity, on a daily basis TC will mesh with artists such as B.O.B., Usher, Madonna, Lloyd and Rico Love just to name a recent few. (more…)

New York City, NY – January 25th, 2011

Unlike the recorded music sector of the music industry, the publishing world is still thriving for those who have been able to adapt to the changes.  Known as the largest music publisher in the world, EMI Music Publishing is indeed one of those companies and still a well oiled conglomerate dead set on the success of its affiliated writers. Nestled in one of the hippest neighborhoods in New York City (The Meat Packing District), EMI Music Publishing boasts a catalogue and current roster of some of the most successful artists, songwriters and producers in the game.  A walk down the maze of halls in this 20,000sf facility may lead you to nodding heads and a quick hello to a range of diverse multi-platinum music icons such as Billy Joel, The Fray, Pink, and James Blunt to name just a few. (more…)

In this day in age there are very few bands that have the components to set themselves apart from other artists and also cut through in a lasting fashion the cluttered channels of this new digital music era. Flyleaf is absolutely one of these timeless artists and proof that a combination of amazing songwriting, creative sonic utilization and a ridiculously powerful live show is a recipe for a spot in the category of “timeless artists.” Hailing from the state of TX, this band is anything but an overnight success story; in fact their story is the opposite.  Hard work and hard growing pains have attributed to the bands success where non-stop world-touring and a relentless work ethic have been the norm since their debut album in 2005 which went Certified Platinum and contained Billboard hits such as “All Around Me.”

Fast forward to now, where a focused fire burns bright at theheart of the band’s second full-length album. Flyleaf bleed, grow, love and live on the new record titled MEMENTO MORI.  The platinum-selling Texas quintet’s latest offering is a collection of poignant, passionate and pensive hard rock songs.

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