Ever wanted our songs on vinyl? Now it's your chance and not only that you get to buy a truly one of a kind vinyl. Read all about it. And go ahead and make my day by buying one of them, please. You won't regret it ;) Link right below.
Leesta Vall comes from “least of all” according to company owner Aaron, when I asked him what it meant. It certainly was one of the smallest studios in terms of the actual size that I have ever recorded in, but it also was one of the most unique places I have ever recorded.
Rebekah and I arrived carrying our instruments, one sunny summer morning, at the building which is surrounded by huge street art. It’s in Bushwick and creativity is certainly abundant here. We chatted with Aaron for a while before we began, I asked him how he got started. (Because I’m a nosy old-lady, ha!) Aaron who has kindly eyes, patiently told us that he is a musician himself that used to tour extensively and has a few albums under his belt. But he got into doing bookings then he discovered direct to vinyl recording. “Nobody was doing it,” he said, but it took him a long time to get the first listenable record, 2000 records to be exact! Maybe nobody is doing it, because it takes craftsmanship and that takes practice and patience, lacking in the technology driven modern world. I’m a sucker for craftsmanship - I’m in awe of the sheer dedication and years that it takes to cultivate it. I believe anything worth doing is worth doing well and beyond.
With our shared love for craftsmanship, we got down to the business. Rebekah was placed in a small sound booth and I stood just outside the sound booth door so we could see each other through the glass window. It helps us feel more comfortable to see each other. It took us a few tries for Aaron to find our volume level and adjust the depth of the groove in the vinyl - really fascinating to see. I was really nervous at first - when everything you do is being recorded straight to vinyl the pressure is on! Or so I thought…but Aaron told us that the charm of doing this kind of recording as apposed to normal recording, where quite often you cut and paste a few takes to make one good take, is in the mistakes! He assured us that the human aspects of the performance is what makes the recording special. He recounted the time one of the bands he recorded even began one song but didn’t like how it was sounding so they stopped in the middle and started an entirely different song and finished it. They kept the title of the original song so whoever bought the record sure is in for a surprise! It reminded me of the days recording my songs straight on to cassette tapes in my own bed room, I relaxed and we had a great time recording our truly unique cuts. Who knows there maybe some surprises sprinkled here and there?!
Selfie with the studio owner Aaron.