Sonic Youth - The warmness of sound
There is a band that can be associated with the warm, balanced and dense sound that I try to reach: they are Sonic Youth.
This memorable band formed in 1981 in New York, and continues incessantly to release masterpieces of that particular form of alternative rock that they have invented.
Indeed, from the debut albums "Confusion is sex", "Bad moon rising" and "Evol", they have invented and developed a new genre, a new kind of alternative rock, characterized by quiet long and slow tracks, with meditative atmospheres and an unconventional harmonic carpet made with original and dissonant chords. Moreover, they have always used structures that stay away from the traditional pop form "verse-chorus-verse-chorus-variant-chorus". They have always used structures with long instrumental parts, that are inserted in the conventional structure, giving to the music a psychedelic and meditative character.
Their music isn't conceived to give energy to the listener, like it often happens with the classic hard rock. It isn't characterized by catchy melodies too. On the contrary, here the melodies and the harmonic structure are so complex and unconventional that the listener really needs some time to recognize the sense and the pleasure of the music.
For certain aspects, the music of Sonic Youth is similar to the psychedelic music of Pink Floyd: it is conceived to induce the listener to make a mental journey, which develops form the start to the end of each album, with continuity. But differently from Pink Floyd, Sonic Youth often mark out this journey with desolate lands, melancholic atmospheres, rage and a constant sense of restlessness.
This artistic vision is supported by an accurate care for the sound. Apparently Sonic Youth use raw and dirty sounds, but in realty the sounds are chosen with great care. All their albums sound wonderfully: their sound is always full, enveloping, well balanced both for the frequencies and the dynamics.
Mid low frequencies from 150 to 1.500 Hz are often a little pronounced, and this confers warmness and impact to the music. Mid high frequencies are well balanced, while high and low frequencies are often a little weak. The sound reminds the seventies, when low and high frequencies had definitely less emphasis than today.
Under the dynamic point of view, the micro dynamics are strong, with a remarkable difference between the output level of the choruses compared to the verses. This empowers the emotional impact and the dynamic variety of the tracks. Regarding the micro dynamics, the transients are always well balanced, not so strong. This is not the classic hard rock band with a super powerful kick and snare. The meditative character of the music here needs transients that are well balanced compared to the other instruments, not too much aggressive.
If I have to chose the best albums of the band, than I would chose the following:
1992- Dirty (mastering by Howie Weinberg)
1994- Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star (mastering by Howie Weinberg)
1995- Washing Machine (mastering by Greg Calbi)
1998- A Thousand Leaves (mastering by Greg Calbi)
2002- Murray Street (mastering by John Golden)
2004- Sonic Nurse (mastering by John Golden)
It is possible to see an interesting passage in the mastering stage between 3 great mastering engineers, Howie Weinberg, Greg Calbi and John Golden. Three worldwide famous mastering engineers, well known for being able to release always a well balanced and warm sound (this applies overall for Calbi). These are engineers who have influenced a lot, with their work, my taste and my mastering philosophy.
Sonic Youth have influenced a lot the rock world from the 80's to today. They really are one of the most important band ever. Just to make an example, a band that is very influenced by Sonics are Dinosaur Jr., another great band of the alternative american rock music. I have written a review of their masterpiece "Hand it over" here.
I really hope that Sonic Youth will continue to release great albums for a long time. They are not so young today, but the genius and style are in their DNA, so I'm sure we will listen to them again.
This memorable band formed in 1981 in New York, and continues incessantly to release masterpieces of that particular form of alternative rock that they have invented.
Indeed, from the debut albums "Confusion is sex", "Bad moon rising" and "Evol", they have invented and developed a new genre, a new kind of alternative rock, characterized by quiet long and slow tracks, with meditative atmospheres and an unconventional harmonic carpet made with original and dissonant chords. Moreover, they have always used structures that stay away from the traditional pop form "verse-chorus-verse-chorus-variant-chorus". They have always used structures with long instrumental parts, that are inserted in the conventional structure, giving to the music a psychedelic and meditative character.
Their music isn't conceived to give energy to the listener, like it often happens with the classic hard rock. It isn't characterized by catchy melodies too. On the contrary, here the melodies and the harmonic structure are so complex and unconventional that the listener really needs some time to recognize the sense and the pleasure of the music.
For certain aspects, the music of Sonic Youth is similar to the psychedelic music of Pink Floyd: it is conceived to induce the listener to make a mental journey, which develops form the start to the end of each album, with continuity. But differently from Pink Floyd, Sonic Youth often mark out this journey with desolate lands, melancholic atmospheres, rage and a constant sense of restlessness.
This artistic vision is supported by an accurate care for the sound. Apparently Sonic Youth use raw and dirty sounds, but in realty the sounds are chosen with great care. All their albums sound wonderfully: their sound is always full, enveloping, well balanced both for the frequencies and the dynamics.
Mid low frequencies from 150 to 1.500 Hz are often a little pronounced, and this confers warmness and impact to the music. Mid high frequencies are well balanced, while high and low frequencies are often a little weak. The sound reminds the seventies, when low and high frequencies had definitely less emphasis than today.
Under the dynamic point of view, the micro dynamics are strong, with a remarkable difference between the output level of the choruses compared to the verses. This empowers the emotional impact and the dynamic variety of the tracks. Regarding the micro dynamics, the transients are always well balanced, not so strong. This is not the classic hard rock band with a super powerful kick and snare. The meditative character of the music here needs transients that are well balanced compared to the other instruments, not too much aggressive.
If I have to chose the best albums of the band, than I would chose the following:
1992- Dirty (mastering by Howie Weinberg)
1994- Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star (mastering by Howie Weinberg)
1995- Washing Machine (mastering by Greg Calbi)
1998- A Thousand Leaves (mastering by Greg Calbi)
2002- Murray Street (mastering by John Golden)
2004- Sonic Nurse (mastering by John Golden)
It is possible to see an interesting passage in the mastering stage between 3 great mastering engineers, Howie Weinberg, Greg Calbi and John Golden. Three worldwide famous mastering engineers, well known for being able to release always a well balanced and warm sound (this applies overall for Calbi). These are engineers who have influenced a lot, with their work, my taste and my mastering philosophy.
Sonic Youth have influenced a lot the rock world from the 80's to today. They really are one of the most important band ever. Just to make an example, a band that is very influenced by Sonics are Dinosaur Jr., another great band of the alternative american rock music. I have written a review of their masterpiece "Hand it over" here.
I really hope that Sonic Youth will continue to release great albums for a long time. They are not so young today, but the genius and style are in their DNA, so I'm sure we will listen to them again.
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