Out Of Control by From East To Exit

Produced by Dean & Jay

It was hard to pick just one song from this album, it’s all so good. This record was one of the last done on our tape deck. And if you get the chance, you should grab a vinyl copy. The way it was meant to be.

Cascades by Greys

Produced by Mike Rocha

Engineered by Jay

Greys are an awesome, heavy band. 

Grow Old by Vistavision

Produced by Dean Marino

Engineered by Dean & Jay

Vistavision are a great live band, so good that we recorded them live. Dean had the band set up as if they were playing a show, with the amps in a line adjacent to the drums. Then the main sound of the record was made with a set of mics about fifteen feet away, one stereo pair and a mono centre. The result is a “realness” that enhances the eerie and evocative songwriting. You can really hear the sound of the studio space and the band’s ability to perform on this release.

 Blues Static by Yukon Cigar

Produced by Dean & Jay

This song is from the second album we’ve worked on with “Yukon Cigar” songwriter Craig Konyu. This time around we elaborated more on the production; experimenting with layers, distortions, and other fun stuff.

 The Night by Eight Bit Tiger

Produced By Erik Widman

Engineered by Jay & Erik Widman

We may be awkward dancers, but we know how to throw down a beat! Eight Bit Tiger is an indie-dance group from Chicago. We recorded the drums, bass, guitar, and synth for this song off their first album.

Potassium Blast by Graham Wright

Produced by Dean & Jay

Mixed By John Critchley

Production-wise, this song is one of the more complex and experimental tracks on the new Graham Wright record. The tune travels through a wide selection of instrumentation, and the sounds evolve through various states of distortion, fidelity, roomy-ness, etc. In the third verse, things break down into an improvised audio collage. Then we start back up again, building the chorus around a single microphone before the big finale. Potassium Blast has cigarette box amplifiers, saxophones, Hammond organ, and almost every other noise maker we have.

Wrote by The Wallscenery Demos

Produced by James Hicken & Jay Sad

How this song was made: James recorded guitar and vocals in Brooklyn and sent it to Jay in Toronto. Jay added vibes, drums, vocals, and sent his mix back to James. James added some more vocals and mastered it.

Fine Lines by The Rival Boys

Produced by Mike Rocha

Engineered by Jay

The Rival Boys, Sam, Graeme, & Lee; and Mike Rocha, are super cool. After meeting to discuss the project we decided to record all the drums, bass, and guitar live to tape… at the slow speed! We switched our deck to 15 IPS and didn’t look back. The result is exactly what we were looking for, an awesomely grainy and raw sound.

Times of Change by From East to Exit

Produced by Dean Marino

This was a fun session.  Jon and the Boys were a pleasure to work with. The vision for production on this EP was dry, punchy, truthful sounds with very few studio embellishments. This approach worked well. From East to Exit are an excellent live band and Jon (singer / guitarist) is a gear-nut with a penchant for the details that count.

Paper Heart by Love In October

Produced by Erik Widman

Engineered by Dean and Jay

Brothers Erik & Kent, and drummer Mike, travelled from their hometown of Chicago to work with us here at Chemical. We share a love of awesome & interesting music, and worked hard at making something special. The final release will include a diverse collection of songs / sounds. We experimented quite a bit throughout the sessions and also worked long distance, trading files over the internet. For this song, Tiffany (drummer for Sexy Champions) came from New York City to add her vocals.