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A couple of months ago I reviewed an ep by The Florentine Camerata and mentioned that the band had been working with Adam Chinner of Freefall Recordings. Hidden away in St Just, a Cornish town that fits the description of “grey” really, rather well, Freefall Recordings is a secret gem: Adam’s independent studio based in a home, providing a relaxed atmosphere. After hearing that he would soon be working with Kaideka once more, and had worked on The Florentine Camerata’s new single, I thought it was time to speak to the man himself.
First of all I’d like to wish you congratulations on the birth of your first born, Noah, from myself and the rest of DGM. Do you hope to one day show him the ways of Freefall Recordings?
That would be cool! If he has an interest in music production at some point then I’d love to show him.
Well I hope he’s as enthusiastic about music production as you are. Some history for our readers: how did Freefall come into being?
I’ve always had an interest in the way music is recorded and produced and the whole studio process. I had a basic knowledge so 4 years ago I took out a small loan, got some pretty standard recording gear to start me off and I’ve built on it from there.
What’s your favourite part of the recording process?
I love and enjoy every part of the recording process but I especially enjoy the production side of things: chucking ideas back and forth, adjusting the feel of a certain part of a track or just layering little parts up to make something as good as it can possibly be. It’s nice to feel part of a creative project and help to make something that people can be proud of.
What challenges do you face in your line of work?
The main one is making sure you get the best out of each band member and figure out the best way to work and connect with them, then it’s just ensuring you get the right tones and that everything gets recorded sounding as close as possible to a final product to make the mixing process as smooth as possible. Also making sure that bands actually know their songs before recording; bands still working on a track on the day of recording is a major frustration.
What has been the most challenging album to work on so far in terms of pushing your capabilities and learning new things?
I learn new things and techniques with every project. Recently, having to send an unmixed track to France to Julien from Gorod to track to was scary so I had to push myself to make it sound as good as possible but he liked what I had done so that was nice. He guested on the new single from The Florentine Camerata (released on May the 1st)
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently in the final stages of mixing an album for tech death band Hyperion (formerly condemned) which sounds huge. I’m also about to start projects for Monolithian and Reign of Perdition this month which will be enjoyable as they’re all great to work with from past experience.
Why do you think it’s important to charge a fixed rate as opposed to an hourly one?
I’ve recorded in studios before that charge by the hour and there’s always the feeling that you need to hurry up or it’s going to cost more. Charging per track allows me and, more importantly, the band, to relax, focus on the music and just make sure we get the best end result we can without having to watch the clock.
Who is your dream act to work with?
Haha there are too many to mention, I guess it’d be amazing to work on something like a Gojira album.
What would be your ideal set up in terms of equipment if money was no issue?
I’m not really into massive consoles or mixers etc I’d love to get a few top end mic’s and mic preamps. Couple of SSL’s or API 3124’s or something similar would be great. Maybe one day.
Where do you hope to take Freefall in the future?
I hope I can continue to work with as many decent bands as possible, continue to expand my equipment and learn as much as possible to improve my work.
Projects Freefall has been involved with:
Kaideka – false idols and pyrite thrones, blissful image of a dystopian vision
Mad Hatter 2.0 – deconstruct
Transhuman – the fall of man/recreation/uprising (tryptich)
Decimation – bound for the chamber
Promethean – Eocene ep
The sentient – promises
Blue river – x marks the spot ep
The bad channels – excelerator
Tyranus malus – self titled ep
Septic trauma – subservience
The dead heat – self titled ep
HDS – hairy dog shit ep
Purging the Venom,
Reign of perdition,
Epoch 6,
Antari,
Parabellum,
Indelerium,
A New Hope,
The Florentine Camerata
and several others
Upcoming releases from Monolithian, Hyperion (formerly condemned) and Reign of perdition
There is a wide range of experiences a band may gain through recording their music but if a band were to say “I want to record in a relaxed environment with someone who knows how to get the best from us and will result in us having a beastly album to release”, I would definitely send them to see Adam in St Just.
By Eileen Bate
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