Morgan Doctor – Other Life

Morgan Doctor - Other Life

Morgan Doctor – Other Life (Aporia Records)

This is the second CD that I got to work on for Morgan. The first was almost strictly a mixing job, this was a little more involved. Like the first, the sources for the tracks came from everywhere, Morgan collaborated with so many players, recording them in unlikely places, editing and organizing the parts and then handing them over so we could go through more of that process.

THERE WERE HORSES – this was mostly a mixing job with some minor editing. Clara Engel on vocals singing words from a found text. This one is a little more electronic in tone, but there are a number of percussion instruments to keep this from feeling too stiff. I’ve had the pleasure of working on several Clara Engel projects so this was a lot of fun to pull together.

COME SMILING BACK – a collaboration between Morgan, Ben Leinbach and Benjy Wertheimer. Like a lot of pieces on this CD, the trick for Morgan was to balance having so many colours without weighing down the track or the groove.

LIVE AGAIN – this one came with a guide bass track from Morgan for me to record over. We tracked that at my old place, The Electrical Room and added the Mellotron flutes at the Slaughterhouse. This is one of three co-writes with Tamara Williamson on this CD. Morgan has played with Tamara for years so it was interesting to hear them collaborating in this way.

SILVER CITY – an instrumental piece featuring string parts by Karen Graves and Alex Grant with plenty of backwards piano, treated audio clips, and electric and acoustic  piano. I believe this is one of several songs that have drums that were recorded at The Electrical Room when Morgan was in the early stages of the project. I played bass on this one also.

SHOW ME HOW – on this one (another co-write with Tamara). We recorded 2 bass parts before mixing. One is an arpeggiated bit (panned left) to counter a more solid line (panned right). We programmed a simple filtered drum loop to plop along with the acoustic drums.

REBEL – this one started out very different when I received the tracks from Morgan. The featured instrument was completely different. I think it was a found clip that was dropped into the piece, but never quite fit. We discussed using another lead instrument and came up with Christine Bougie on lapsteel as an answer. I’ve enjoyed recording Christine on several records, The Expos, Emma-Lee and some demos with Kirsten Jones. With ease she was able to help shape the piece into something cohesive.

A MOMENT TO GO – this was the first one that I worked on with Morgan. The process of mixing this taxed my older system. I’ve since switched to another computer/ another program to avoid the compromising that I had to deal with in order to accommodate the amount of tracks that I was given. Making sub-mixes of certain groups was tricky as Morgan was making subtle changes over an extended period. Many of the tracks were shaped over many sessions.

STARS – this began as a jam that I recorded in Morgan’s rehearsal space with Chris Gartner on bass. Near the final stage, I added bass for the chorus section. Another wonderful track featuring Tamara’s beautiful voice.

THIS DAY IS DONE – another drum track from the earlier Electrical Room session and my final bass part for this CD. This features a sparkling guitar line from Nina Martinez.

NAMSAN SUNRISE – This one was tricky for me as we mixed it in Cubase in a session that Morgan had started. I usually prefer mixing from scratch instead of parachuting into someone else’s session. We spent a good portion of time working on the sound of the vocal sample which was recorded by Morgan on location while she was abroad. When I listen to it now, I enjoy hearing the shift in tone from using a different software with another set of tools.

THE PASSING – on this one, Morgan, did some work with Paul Swoger-Ruston, a long time musical collaborator of mine and a good friend. Like a lot of the record, it was a joy to work with tracks from a lot of familiar musicians. I particularly enjoy the point (at about one third through) when the song shifts into a sadder tone.

BETTER PERSON – this track ends the record with more drone than the rest that evolves into a slow pulse – all sounding very slow-mo. And along with the rest of the record, this was one that I had to sit on, listening to the raw tracks repeatedly to find the focal point, or like Perry Gladstone says, the through-line. In someways, the drones are a bit more of a challenge. Although there were moments of delusion when I thought that I could do whatever my imagination felt was right, I would often get a thoughtful reminder that the real vision for this record was Morgan’s and she always steered it right.

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