APRA-cadabra! Calgary Recording Company is tracking magic

Calgary Recording Company:
Local studio loaded with expertise, great analog & digital gear
ready to rock!!! 

13 December 2017By Christine Leonard 

A hidden entrance, a secret knock, a whispered password. These are the trademarks of a prohibition-era speakeasy, but for audio engineers Ian Dillon and Jason Tawkin the concept of firing up a hard-to-find but worth-the-time recording studio is exactly the kind of underground operation they’ve been searching for. But make no mistake, this is no bootleg operation.  

“I’ve been working in recording studios for a long time, says co-operator Ian Dillon, who first met his business partner, Tawkin, when the two were both students at the Academy of Production and Recording Arts (APRA). “I started helping out at a family-run studio in Edmonton (Blue Room) as a teenager. My career has taken me around the world and established strong relationships within the music community both locally and abroad.”  

“When we finished those courses we went our separate ways,” explains Tawkin, who has worked with collections at the National Music Centre. “I started a studio in a slaughterhouse with another local engineer, Marcello Castronuovo, and Ian started his own studio Electric Park Studios. Years later we would meet again while helping a local vinyl pressing start-up get off the ground.” 

Having amassed a ton of high-end audio gear between them, Dillon and Tawkin came to the inevitable conclusion that they had best establish their own domain and set up a recording studio to beat the band – no pun intended.  

“It’s a collaboration of equipment and experience between myself and Jason,” Dillon affirms. “We’ve been collecting equipment and working in the music scene for many years, and when we had the opportunity to use a very unique space in the city, at a former vinyl record pressing factory, we took it. Since a lot of our recording equipment comes from a variety of now-defunct Calgary-based studios, we thought it would be fitting to honour the city’s vibrant music history with the name Calgary Recording Company.” 

“We have 50 years of recording technology that we can pull from in our toolbox of lovingly maintained equipment,” adds Tawkin. “Plus, we have enough room to record a band live off the floor, which we feel is the best approach when making a record. The results are fantastic because you’re capturing the magic of a moment.”

Veterans at directing studio sessions they have immortalized the creative essence of Goyte, Randy Bachman, Luke Doucet  Bloated Pig, Cowpuncher, Throne Of Vengeance, No More Moments, Citizen Rage, Oh Shit, The Electric Revival (Dillon’s own band) and Sean McCann, just to name a few. Dillon and Tawkin have also mastered and cut vinyl lacquers for big names such as The Misfits, Diana Krall, Muddy Waters, Oscar Peterson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, 54-40 and the Juno Awards. Calgary Recording Company also functions to provide a full range of digitization, restoration and preservation services. Through trial and error, the enterprising technicians have come to gain an understanding and mastery of those key elements that go into a successful studio project.  

“In the ever-growing world of basement studios and hobby engineers, we offer a refreshing spin to the project studio format,” says Dillion. “Our goal is to offer professional audio production services at reasonable rates, in a comfortable environment, using a wide assortment of technologies. One thing that sets us apart from the average project studio is our ability to record analog to tape directly, without the use of computers, for the entire project. We also have our analog system integrated with Pro Tools HD to get the best of both the analog and digital recording mediums. Our shop is designed to offer each client the appropriate methods required for them to achieve their artistic vision.”  

An exemplary blues-rock vocalist/guitarist in his own right, studio door-keeper Dillon knows firsthand the challenges and triumphs that come with the territory. Aiming to work hand-in-hand with their clientele, the minds behind CRC have tapped into a large network of artists, manufacturers, bookers, promoters, venues and promotional services to ensure that each release reaches its true potential.  

“Calgary has a great music scene with the infrastructure to properly support it,” Dillon concurs. “Talented artists, great locales and established music festivals call Calgary home. We are looking forward to playing our role in this very diverse and talented community.”

Turning their eyes and tuning their ears to the prohibitively long and dark nights of a frigid Canadian winter, Dillon and Tawkin are encouraging bands to consider a well-timed retreat to their studio sanctuary in preparation for a busy summer touring season. Pocket flasks of bathtub gin are, of course, entirely optional.

“It’s a great time to focus on your music and prepare for the year ahead,” A sage Dillon advises. “Winter touring can be difficult in Canada. The short days and cold weather are perfect for warming up to a nice analog recording console and getting lost in your art. With proper planning and execution, you can prepare new material now to take on the road in the warmer months.”

CALGARY RECORDING STUDIO is now open for business! 

CRC
4080 23 St NE, Calgary, AB
(587) 888-5453
Always Open

Breakouts and blast-offs: Standout Calgary acts of 2016

08th, December 2016

The Electric Revival

by Christine Leonard

A band apart, The Electric Revival ain’t your typical heavy metal combo. The ensemble has already scorched vapour trails across Europe and North America with their blues-infused, hard rock anthems. Witnesses to the three-piece’s onstage exploits in 2016; including dangerously entertaining gigs at Griffest, The Palomino’s Chronada Day! smoke show, showcasing Calgary’s best at JUNOfest, a recession-buster at Distortion and a leathery coal-miner’s retreat out at The Last Chance Saloon, can readily attest to the fluid yet unfettered voltage this outfit generates in live performance. 

Fittingly, the Calgary-based triumvirate’s earnest labours came to fulsome fruition this year with the release of their fifth album, Magnetic North. A retrofitted juggernaut that put the metal-studded cherry on top of their 2016 victory cake, Magnetic North proffers a rocket ride to the wild side of love, life and the sweet hereafter. Painstakingly pressed upon milky white vinyl, the exciting follow-up to the band’s previous two addictive LPs, was recorded and produced using exclusively analog equipment at Canada Boy Vinyl. As sound-wizard-in-chief at Canada’s only vinyl plant, a lab-coated Dillon was even featured on an episode of the most recent season of The Amazing Race Canada. A riveting audio experience from real to reel, the album stands as a true testament to the trio’s seemingly inexhaustible musical talents and fervor for creative freedom. 

Take a cue from the album’s instructive single “Bury the Needle!” Baby, just turn it up and watch it go!

The Electric Revival buries the needle on ‘Magnetic North’

Ian Dillon of The Electric Revival recorded their latest LP analog-style

by Christine Leonard
22 August 2016

There’s nothing like an honest day’s work, especially when the fruit of your labours arrives in the form of glorious vinyl LPs. It’s the kind of worthwhile pursuit that gets Calgary-based “sonic architect” Ian Dillon out of bed, and into his tidy ponytail and lab coat, in the morning.

“I was being an opportunist,” explains Dillon, who was recently featured in his role at Canada Boy Vinyl during a recent episode of The Amazing Race Canada. “I had gotten the gig at Canada Boy Vinyl as their mastering engineer back in September of 2015, and quickly realized that they had everything at the studio set up to be able to do an analog recording. They had built this amazing studio and had all this equipment that would allow you to record an album without ever touching a computer and walk out with a vinyl. I had been there for about six months, but had yet to see anyone attempt it. So, I was like, ‘Guys, I’m doing it!’”

As fortune would have it, Dillon also happens to be the guitarist/vocalist for the local rock and roll juggernaut The Electric Revival. A blues-infused power trio formed in 2009, The Electric Revival had coincidentally amassed a new haul of hardcore gems that were just begging to be laid down in the studio.

“I’ve been making records since I was 10 years old and it’s the first time I’ve been in a recording studio that didn’t have a computer screen in it,” Dillon says. “As a recording engineer, who makes records full-time, it was like taking something you know everything about and flipping it upside-down and doing it completely differently. For me, it was revitalizing. Like, ‘Wow!’ It’s no longer about sitting in front of a computer screen. Click, click…click. It’s about working with people in a room with a vibe. It definitely changed the process.”

Working closely with drummer Dallas Lobb and bassist Daniel Toews, Dillon chose to extend their grassroots approach to all of the instrumental and vocal tracks used in creating their forthcoming LP, Magnetic North (House of Pleasant Thoughts), which is named for the recording studio located above the Canada Boy Vinyl factory. A polarized follow-up to The Electric Revival’s previous full-length releases, Pirate Radio (2013) and Freaks (2015), Magnetic North showcases a dozen of the vitriolic band’s heavy yet heartfelt anthems.

“Limitations spark creativity. Necessity is the mother of invention. When you have Pro Tools you have limitless options, so you’re almost restricted by that,” Dillon surmises. “The whole idea of analog is that you have to perform and your editing is very minimal. You’re really in the moment and what’s happening on the spot is what’s being captured.”

Bottling The Electric Revival’s musical lightning presents a technical challenge in itself, but one that was facilitated by Magnetic North’s analog recording studio’s location directly above CBV, Canada’s only record pressing plant. Realizing this retro-fitted vision is an impressive accomplishment, and one that Dillon hopes will encourage other artists to take advantage of a purely analog recording experience in the future.

“It was fun watching all the moving parts,” Dillon confirms. “I actually cut all of the quarter-inch tape and spliced it back together; there were all of these tapes hanging down. It was like Abbey Road! Being able to do the whole album under one roof was incredible. Plus, the plant was sponsored by Big Rock, so they filled our fridge with beer every week.”

Magnetic North is available now.

The Electric Revival get their freak on

Calgary rockers The Electric Revival get their freak on for their 4th album 

By Christine Leonard
20 February 2015

1930s film director Tod Browning probably never listened to much heavy music in his day, but he most certainly understood what it meant to stand apart from the crowd. Such was the cinematic bite of his black and white thriller Freaks.

While the three members of The Electric Revival may not have had that cult classic in mind when they named their new album, guitarist-vocalist Ian Dillon, drummer Dallas Lobb and bassist Dan Toews are no strangers to playing the role of disenfranchised misfits who thrive on performing before an awestruck crowd.

“We grew up in Innisfail, about an hour north of Calgary. You could only skateboard four months a year, so there was nothing to do but drink beer and play guitars. It also meant that the garage bands you had to choose from were into either country or metal,” says Dillon. “I met Dallas and Dan in junior high, at age 14, and like most small-town kids we left for the city as soon as we were out of school. We had always been in revolving metal bands over the years, so when we started the group, in 2009, we really wanted to get back to the basics, drums, guitars, amps. We tried to be as primitive as possible and focus on being a solid band.”

It would be three years before the nocturnal trio formally introduced themselves to their audience, raising the curtain on their debut album, Presenting: The Electric Revival, in 2012. The blues-soaked trio decided to keep the ball rolling by releasing a new single every week for 13 weeks that summer. Tightening their grip, The Electric Revival launched their glorious Pirate Radio LP in July of 2013 and followed it up with yet another album, 5 Songs by Electric Revival, four months later. No wonder the band was recently picked up by Cruzer Media. And, achieving international distribution was all the more incentive for Dillon, Dallas, and Dan to dive back into the studio and get their eponymous Freak on.

“The new album was recorded over the course of three weeks, during April of 2014, at Electric Park Studio in Calgary. I produced and engineered the record myself with assistant engineer Jonny Vincent and our pre-production engineer, Steven Lilly. Freaks was recorded live off the floor, together as a band, all in one room using very basic recording techniques… and the best modern digital recording equipment available. We were able to get our hands on a couple of cool synthesizers and used them and the organ a lot on this record, we really like the way it helped fill out the sound.”

Full is an understatement. Freaks kicks off with the explosive howler “My Molly My” a blow-your-hair-back and bury-the-needle joyride that slams into the cerebral cortex like a grasshopper hitting the windshield. Swerving out of the fast lane, the CB heartbreaker “Rolling Stone” postures up for a space truckin’ riff-off that would have Johnny Winter tipping his hat in respect. Southern swelter and soul are grist for the mill on “Wild Child” and “Baby Please (Come Home)”, while the two-edged sword of “Feed My Love” cuts to the drone, scratchin’ for an ‘80s punk fix. Did I just say punk? Yes, it’s in there too!

“The songs are about love, death, freedom, sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, they explore a lot of territory while maintaining The Electric Revival sound. We never want to limit ourselves creatively. We wanted to the extra mile for the new album, so we threw a big party at the studio for about 30 friends. Just like the good old days!”

Available now, Freaks is fated to send epic ripples across The Electric Revival’s smoke-hazed horizons. 

See the Electric Revival on February 21st at the Nite Owl with Mammoth Grove, The Rumble and 7’s Wild.