Episode 5 - The Failure Tapes

Рет қаралды 35,191

4 жыл бұрын

Ken walks you through the multitrack recording of Failure’s Heliotropic, including an examination of the Heliotropic Bass tone.
Mixing starts at 6:04
Heliotropic Bass Sound at 17:16
Still photos by Priscilla C. Scott:
priscillacscottphotos.com
priscillacscott
Additional photos by
Wyatt Troll
Jeff Bender
Alison Dyer
Olaf Heine
Ryan Daly
Myriam Santos-Kayda
Syd Kato
Illustration by Evan Long
If interested in booking Ken’s mixing services: globalpositioningservices.net...
Failure music and merchandise available at: www.hellomerch.com/collection...
Ken Andrews, Secrets of the lost Satellite, Solo Album: store.cdbaby.com/cd/kenandrews
Second ON album, (Solo Album): store.cdbaby.com/cd/on
Failure Team
Music Licensing: aj@roughtradepublishing.com
Live Booking: ian@33andwest.com
Publicist: monica@speakeasypr.com
All other general inquiries: info@kenandrews.com

Пікірлер: 296

@junglemast3r 8 ай бұрын

GOATED for not hiding all of this extremely valuable production knowledge behind a paywall

@nachshonrorick 4 жыл бұрын

If you told 20 year old me - 20+ years later you will be watching a video of solo’d and mixed in real time multitracks from the Fantastic Planet sessions with the engineer/composer himself, I’d be speechless 😶 Thanks - that was, pardon me, FANTASTIC!!!

@daniellaurent11 4 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad Ken and Greg got back in touch with each other. This is the one reunion I REALLY wanted to happen! I was the only Failure fan in my town, I thought maybe I just liked a shi**y band and didn't know it...years later did I realize that everybody else just had crap taste in music!

@cedricsamir3032 3 жыл бұрын

I know it is kind of randomly asking but do anyone know of a good site to stream newly released tv shows online?

@ezekielseth8398 3 жыл бұрын

@Cedric Samir try flixzone. Just search on google for it =)

@gannongraysen9749 3 жыл бұрын

@Ezekiel Seth yup, I have been using FlixZone for since march myself =)

@cedricsamir3032 3 жыл бұрын

@Ezekiel Seth Thanks, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D I appreciate it !!

@nicolas.grisanti 4 жыл бұрын

The bass tone in Heliotropic is amazing!! Fantastic Planet is a masterpiece.

@billyhughes9776 4 жыл бұрын

Fantastic Planet is one of my favorite records of all time -- and every time I listen to it I listen to it straight through. Outside of the amazing production the songs and the song order are just stellar. A happy place for me -- thanks for doing this Ken. Heliotropic just sounds huge.

@asmokingumbrella 4 жыл бұрын

Ken, thanks for being so generous with your knowledge. This episode is an absolute treat. It's like watching a magician peeling back the curtain to his tricks.

@RaveEpic 4 жыл бұрын

Ken, man, I can't believe this video exists. Small Crimes and Heliotropic are my top two songs from you guys and that massive bass is only one track. Really eye opening stuff with the layers that I hope to use on my projects. Thank you so much for the vids.

@jmiddlefinger 2 жыл бұрын

Small Crimes never gets the love it deserves!

@RaveEpic 2 жыл бұрын

@@jmiddlefinger I was going to tell you that Small Crimes is one of the best songs they've made and I realized I'm the comment above you. SMH. I'm always coming back to Ken videos, I guess.

@jmiddlefinger 2 жыл бұрын

@@RaveEpic Lol!!! It’s Ken Commentception!

@LeonTodd 4 жыл бұрын

It's so wonderful that you're doing these Ken. Thank you.

@KenAndrewsMusic 4 жыл бұрын

Big fan of your channel Leon. Thanks for the shout out!

@LeonTodd 4 жыл бұрын

@@KenAndrewsMusic too kind mate! Looking forward to seeing and hearing what you put out next.

@dnaglitchgaming6565 3 жыл бұрын

Ken Andrews and Trent Reznor are my favorite musicians for a reason. They are literally geniuses on every aspect and know their craft intimately.

@KenAndrewsMusic 3 жыл бұрын

Trent's a big fav of mine so this is really nice to hear. Thank you.

@dnaglitchgaming6565 3 жыл бұрын

Ken Andrews They way you both touch peoples lives and emotions through not just the lyrics but also the unique sounds like encapsulate them is remarkable. Much like Fantastic Planet held songs that invoked feelings without words and at times I felt myself adding my own lyrics. You steal my feelings and show me I am not alone and that this is how you feel about them because they are yours as well. Your not just some cocky vocalist but in love with music in itself. Your highly intelligent and extremely creative with the selfless ability to share your love which puts you right there next to Trent Reznor. Your accolades are quite similar to Trent in a lot of ways and I hope to see you join the prestige known as “The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.” I am honored that you took the time to read my initial message and I just want to say thank you for being part of the soundtrack to my life. Gratefully listening since 1994. Peace Ken!

@hectorsantander4756 3 жыл бұрын

Just imagine if the stems got released for everyone to mix and learn..... That would be a dream!

@jaroslawleskiewicz9128 4 жыл бұрын

Best New Year's gift so far. That song is a masterpiece. I was wondering about the bass tone for decades.

@themarauder3404 4 жыл бұрын

One of my favorite songs ever! Can't get tired of it and been listening to it since 2010, a decade now...

@ragingdwarf 4 жыл бұрын

The Marauder - Man. I feel REALLY old now. I've been rocking this album since '96. Awesome to hear how constant their music has been and how many fans they've been able to pick up and maintain as time passes.

@Morosityband 4 жыл бұрын

This is really inspiring. I feel like taking more chances when it comes to fx and layering. Thanks Ken.

@thechrisricci 4 жыл бұрын

This is spectacular. I've been studying mixing for a while, but to see a song I really dig deconstructed by the person who recorded and mixed it is hugely informative. BTW, I was a depressed college student when Fantastic Planet came out and I just remember that whenever the video for 'Stuck On You' would play on MTV it gave me goosebumps and put a smile on my face, so, Thanks!

@Vrekaro 4 жыл бұрын

Made my week! thank you so much Ken! greetings from Chile! Edit: DAMN, this one was amazing, I swore that the bowed bass intro was some kind of voice sample/radio transmission all this years, and wow, blew my mind, can't thank you enough for this long video!

@ToneSherpa 4 жыл бұрын

that's exactly what I thought. I figured it was something from some movie or something.

@_AleMartin 4 жыл бұрын

Bueeeena, un fan chileno de Failure

@estebancandiaburgos 4 жыл бұрын

wena somos 3!! alguno planea verlos este año en eeuu?

@camilovergaraeissmann9136 4 жыл бұрын

Somos 4! Aún espero que algún día vengan a Chile. Aguante Failure !

@Vrekaro 4 жыл бұрын

Buena cabros, tuve la suerte de verlos el año pasado en Los Ángeles, son mi banda favorita así que me pegué el pique solo a verlos a ellos hahahah, el mejor show que he visto, estos gallos están a otro nivel técnicamente hablando, así que el sonido era espectacular, ojalá algún día los traiga algún festival, ya que pa venir solos es super complicado el tema del presupuesto (hablé con ellos en meet & greet también afortunadamente)

@mortalmars3881 4 жыл бұрын

Gosh these videos are awesome! Thank you for making these!

@joeygassmann5595 4 жыл бұрын

SO AMAZING! Thank you for this!

@RickardCarlsson 4 жыл бұрын

Massively appreciated!

@jonathan.linton 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome stuff Ken. Many thanks for sharing and happy new year to you!

@markrobertsproducerenginee945 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thanks, Ken! 🙌

@defshrimp Жыл бұрын

Amazing. Thank you.

@drack1997 4 жыл бұрын

This is awesome, I cant wait to hear remixed the old stuff remixed. I would like to see a video on HOW you guys get your bass/guitar sounds... or a working with DISTORTION video, cause recording and mixing heavy distortion always seems more difficult to me.

@ozzfan458 4 жыл бұрын

I second this

@boglot 4 жыл бұрын

Yes. Ken is an absolute monster when it comes to distorted tones with the perfect blend of bass guitar. When the guitar comes in on the Stuck on You intro it sounds massive even on my freakin iPhone speakers.

@projectnero 4 жыл бұрын

@@ozzfan458 I third this!

@laundry08 4 жыл бұрын

What a treat! Thanks Ken.

@thesean3194 Жыл бұрын

This is awesome Ken thanks.

@borndrumming1972 4 жыл бұрын

This GREAT!!! Thank you so much Ken!

@JonMichaelDeShazer 4 жыл бұрын

Ken, I have sung your praises as a musician and producer ever since I got my hands on my own copy of Fantastic Planet in 1996, including several of my producer friends. To me it's one of the greatest rock albums ever produced and was so different from what was becoming a very derivative rock music scene in the mid-late 1990s. I just discovered your channel yesterday and I have watched every single video. Thank you for taking time from your busy life and schedule to indulge nerdy middle-aged fans like myself with this channel.

@BrettTalleyMusic 4 жыл бұрын

Incredible.

@Fu_kTheZeitgeist 4 жыл бұрын

That was incredible. Love this record!

@LeighWesleyMusic 4 жыл бұрын

I got so much out of this, loving your videos and always excited to see a new one drop!

@Karmandarm 2 жыл бұрын

This is amazing

@pop_o_matic 4 жыл бұрын

Hell yes to this!!

@tripplanier3207 4 жыл бұрын

This is so good. Keep 'em coming, Ken.

@OldChurchRecording 4 жыл бұрын

Great memories - thanks Kendrews

@GFreeze11720 4 жыл бұрын

Wow that’s amazing to hear those tracks in iso. Maybe another space song in the future ? along with heliotropic it’s my all time favorite guitar tones/effects. Thank you for doing this ken!

@dustinpayton5937 4 жыл бұрын

each one of these is an informational gem from a stellar producer :) Thanks Ken!

@tink06tinker 4 жыл бұрын

This is just mindblowing!

@JPNesker 2 жыл бұрын

This is such great content.

@SLAVECO3 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing that Ken! Cheers!

@untilwemeetagain_ 4 жыл бұрын

Man this was a fun one, thank you!

@TouringBassist Жыл бұрын

Mind blowing this exists. Thank you for doing this, it's amazing.

@healyed 4 жыл бұрын

This was super cool and inspiring to watch. Thanks for sharing Ken.

@robstrange 3 жыл бұрын

Great video... really enjoyed this

@JonJourdan 4 жыл бұрын

Loving the content Ken! Looking forward to more!

@GillBoldberg 4 жыл бұрын

My Dad has been a studio engineer for over 40 years and still uses the Mackie 32x8 to this day. Awesome video!

@craig7050 4 жыл бұрын

WOW!!! This is amazing stuff!

@catloverextreme 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for doing these videos. I've watched thousands over the years and yours are possibly the best I've seen.

@ZachWish 4 жыл бұрын

Sooooo killer. Thanks Ken!

@Mrmre 4 жыл бұрын

awesome, really hear CAVEIn. Failure was a huge inspiration for them. awesome video

@lkb3rd 4 жыл бұрын

Really enjoyed this Ken!

@Eggbertman2001 4 жыл бұрын

once again our minds are blown away thank you for taking us to your world of mixing

@michaelparisi6758 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ken, it's super rad you are doing this.

@brandonhighfill9163 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! So refreshing to see a KZfaq production video with music I actually love.

@arjunapartha 4 жыл бұрын

Yes!

@TravisOrbin 4 жыл бұрын

So damn cool!

@moonbeen101 4 жыл бұрын

Incredible video about one of my favorite songs. Y'all really knocked it out the park making a completely unique sounding piece.

@captianobvious9234 2 жыл бұрын

Failure is one of the few bands that actually take me to a different headspace when I listen to them. So cool to see all this as a recording musician.

@dallask.5932 4 жыл бұрын

You and Colin Richardson are the two dudes who inspired me to start mixing. Thank you for all that you do brother.

@kdbrown777 4 жыл бұрын

Super informative and interesting, Ken!

@PrawdaTV 4 жыл бұрын

Best episode yet, very informative. I wouldn't mind breaking down like that more Failure songs

@crestiferj2689 4 жыл бұрын

this is absolutely mind blowing. thanks for doing these, ken. fantastic planet has long been one of my favorite albums and i've always marveled at the production. i love seeing how simple and yet incredibly huge sounding your basic tracks are.

@skyrocketdaydream 4 жыл бұрын

This video was super informative. Definitely learned some cool things from this vid! Thanks for sharing!

@rockboy360 4 жыл бұрын

One of my all time favorite album mixes!

@professorx4588 Жыл бұрын

U guys are the best

@guitaristssuck8979 4 жыл бұрын

Epic song

@JobyP 4 жыл бұрын

Best bass tone... ever... Thanks For Sharing Ken!

@ChiacchieriARTStrong Жыл бұрын

Absolutely love Distorted Fields. It was so cool to watch you guys play it in Denver back in June. Thank you

@MrMatamatic 4 жыл бұрын

I had a smile from the beginning to end of this vid ! I cannot believe this is happening ! Thankyou Ken !!!!!!

@tristenpritchard5604 4 жыл бұрын

BEST EPISODE YET!!!! I'm sure this was a bucket list episode for a lot of us; certainly was for me! Thanks heaps for diving deep into one of my favourite songs of all time. Can't wait for the next episode!!!

@juanticimo 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing the details on Bass sound for Heliotropic!! You are the best Ken!

@elzippo488 4 жыл бұрын

Outstanding! Thanks for the tips on the SSL settings.

@aneisaspencer9205 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ken love these videos and all your music and Greg is a machine he can play any instrument you throw at him

@mjmartinez7167 4 жыл бұрын

Christmas came twice for me!! I’ve always wanted to know the magic to this jam!! Thank you Ken so very fkn cool of you to do this!! Amazing episode!!!

@markgoetz 4 жыл бұрын

So, so awesome & generous. 20ms. Thanks Ken!

@FromNowhereMusic 2 жыл бұрын

Ken - Thank you so much for taking the time to give us some insight into your mix philosophy. I've long been infatuated witht he sound of Fantastic Planet, as well as the most recent Failure albums, so being able to get a glimpse into the ideas behind it is incredibly invaluable and inspiring.

@catharsisecho 4 жыл бұрын

Ken, you are a gentleman and a scholar. I can't wait to see you guys in Chicago!

@richdome220 4 жыл бұрын

Pissed I just found your channel here in mid-January. Better late than never. Subscribed immediately!! Huge fan of all of your work, especially YOTR and of course Failure. I have seen Failure the last 2 times you played Lincoln, NE. Phenomenal!! This channel is phenomenal!! All of episodes have been fantastic!! Pun very intended. Can't wait for future stuff. Immensely entertaining, informative and inspiring!! Thank you for all you do.

@Infrared72 4 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed this mix walk through - the track Heliotropic was my introduction to Failure many years ago. Killer song and that dirty 5 string bass absolutely slays on this track!

@KenAndrewsMusic 4 жыл бұрын

No 5 string Basses in Failure! I think the chord is what throws people off. It makes it appear as if there is an extra octave below, when there is not.

@ryanfinnie2461 4 жыл бұрын

Love it! This channel is a gold mine. My favorite producer/engineer showing me through the session of a song from my favorite album. Thank you Ken!! PS: So cool to see that bowed bass, had never noticed it in the mix before, but it definitely adds character

@TheGonzeaux 4 жыл бұрын

Oh and that trick of adding a panned track delayed by a few milliseconds... Absolutely brilliant!

@JosePerez-jl9bu 4 жыл бұрын

Yo Ken, seriously thank you for doing these videos. When me and all my musician nerd friends got ahold of Fantastic Planet back in the 90's, it blew all our minds and we immediately sat down and learned the whole record. Been a massive fan of your work since, and I'm happy af that Failure is active again. You guys are my absolute favorite! Anyway, I used to spend hours wading through gearslutz back in the early 2000's in the hopes of any inkling of how you went about a mix, to little avail. Learned a few things there, but would've killed for these vids! Thanks again and keep em coming!

@Charlyfromthenuclearcity 4 жыл бұрын

I already likeed this guy A LOT. But this is just a dream come true !

@IanHolwood 4 жыл бұрын

I’m looking forward to seeing you mix and show other techniques. Great channel so far!

@snavs420 4 жыл бұрын

This is an absolute joy. I can't wait to hear the new remixes of Comfort and Magnified. I'd love to hear the multitracks of those albums as well.

@denverrandy7143 3 жыл бұрын

Freaking AWESOME!!!saw them back in 2016 when they did fantastic planet all the way through here in Denver. Still my favorite band never get old. True Talent virtuosos

@uselessfuse 2 жыл бұрын

thank you for making these videos! it's so amazing to see how other people approach mixing. there just isn't a lot of quality content about mixing for rock music.

@nolanneal 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for making these videos! I was wondering what that killer music in the intro of your vids was! Checking out the Failure records today! Don’t know how I missed them! Again, dude... thank you so much! My in the box vs analog console anxiety is FINALLY gone! These videos are like music production therapy ;)

@Wearehighlow 4 жыл бұрын

Those Room mics sound incredible! Also, what a bass fuzz!!

@minuteofarc 4 жыл бұрын

this is a dream come true

@AlexKFong 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing! "Fantastic Planet" was a huge record for me, and I love it to this day. Really thrilled at getting a chance to peek into the multitracks from one of the songs off the album.

@nongrataaz 11 ай бұрын

Damn humbling. Can't ever get ciose to anything like this.

@mbrivera83 4 жыл бұрын

Love all of these, but this is easily my favorite episode so far. The first 5:30 run through of 90's studio equipment, analog-to-digital transfer, was utterly fascinating. Don't think i ever considered Heliotropic would include cello and police sirens - truly amazed by the magic of the studio.

@bentaylor8589 3 жыл бұрын

Not only did I recently begin my own audio engineering journey, but I recently discovered Failure as well so this is super cool! :D

@garrettlemieux4620 4 жыл бұрын

Ken, theres nothing I can say that anyone else hasnt already.... Thank You

@nastyporch3275 4 жыл бұрын

Really interesting to hear all the tracks individually, it really helps me as a musician kind of get some ideas on how to process instrument tracks.

@BroDocTrev 4 жыл бұрын

The deepest respect for you, your craft and the fact that you're on here sharing your insight. You're one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to musical engineering and I thank you for the mark you've left in the industry.

@gatherstudio5219 4 жыл бұрын

One of your videos came up In my feed and i must say am very glad it did really really great music so much like the way i liket to write . Looking forward to digging into your channel

@projectnero 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for doing this! I've been following you guys for quite some time now. Absolutely love Fantastic Planet! Bought your Golden CD after watching the documentary on KZfaq. I gotta say I teared up a bit when I saw you working on a cassette multi-track...that's what I started with back in the day. Years ago I did some research on records made with a Mackie 8 bus and read interviews about your experience with it on Fantastic Planet. I still hold that up as an excellent example what can be accomplished with relatively cheap equipment. You guys really knocked it out of the park on that one. This video popped up on my KZfaq feed and subscribed instantly. Going to watch the rest of your videos. I'd love to see you do a mix with the masters video or any tutorials like that. Keep up the good work brother!

@ricebum8808 4 жыл бұрын

Loving these vids Ken. Would love to see more vids on examples from Fantastic Planet

@RogueEagle 2 жыл бұрын

Love you failure!

@WarlikePeace 4 жыл бұрын

Great episode, Ken! I, for one, cannot wait to have the boxset and hear those remixes. To be honest, I've been a fan since 2000 but only after seeing you live these past few years and hearing the Comfort material live did I really start appreciate that album. I foolishly ignored it compared to Magnified and FP because of the production on it. Nowadays though I listen to Comfort and Golden the most. I do love me some fretless bass!