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Bijoux
Kent Hillman, Bijoux
KHD • 2005
Synopsis by Jay O’Keeffe
Artist Profile
Kent Hillman’s gentle and seemingly effortless finger picking style belies the complexity of his music. As a purveyor of an eclectic style of guitar, Kent infuses jazz and classical elements with a down home feel, bringing a relaxed articulation to the often intricate arrangements.
But his music is not ostentatious, flourish and filigree are not Kent’s style, he relies upon the subtle interplay of rhythms and the duality of melody and harmony. The gentle color shifts of orchestration, not ornamentation best describes his approach to the instrument. One does not marvel at a brief passing moment of virtuosity, but appreciates the minutiae in Kent’s playing.
Session Notes
The recording of Kent’s debut disc, Bijoux occurred in a circuitous manner.
I first met Kent several years ago at the inaugural “West Coast Guitar Night”, hosted by Les Finnegan. After sound check I asked Kent if he had any CDs for sale as I was floored by his playing. Sheepishly he said he had not and that he was hoping to record one soon. Well, this conversation was to be repeated over the next several years of the event, not only for myself, but for an increasingly larger fan base. Finally one day the phone rings and it’s Kent, ready to make an album.
Kent, like most musicians, has dabbled a little in home recording, but never to great success. He had never recorded in a controlled environment or with the benefit of a producer. To ease into this first venture he came by the studio for a brief getting-to-know- you (pre-production) session, where we recorded several songs and experimented with sounds and textures.
During this first session we talked a lot about the type of recording he desired, material selection, his performance expectations and the sonic design aesthetics. When listening back, we discussed various elements of his playing that he should adjust in order to enhance the finished project.
The mechanical noise of guitar playing needed to be addressed, everything from fret buzz to string squeaks to clearing ones throat as a preface to a new tempo or section were all small details that had to be attended too. Kent was surprised at how noisy his playing could be as microphones tend to pick up sounds often overlooked. Kent realized that the songs would all benefit from reduced noise by changing fingering and chord positions.
Kent was also surprised at the nuances of dynamics that were captured by the microphones, he immediately became aware that when his guitar was played vigorously, while dramatic live, sounded harsh and forced when recorded. He also became aware of how broad the overtones were, even when played softly.
Subsequent sessions fell into a familiar pattern, we would record a couple of tracks that were keepers and did pre-production on a couple of others. While recording we paid close attention the counter rhythms that lay under the principle melodies. We also were vary conscience of preserving the melodic phrase arcs especially when the voicing variations became complex.
I noted early in the sessions that, while spectacularly played, some of the tracks were lacking personality and emotion. Having said that, Kent agreed and began to adjust his playing accordingly. Ennio and Andrea Morricone’s theme from the film Cinema Paradiso as a track especially benefited from this, there is a sense of drama and tragedy that is contained in the tension and suspension of the musical passages, invoking a plaintive grandeur to the woe of love lost.
After completing a couple of sessions, some things occurred which encouraged us to re-record most of the material. Kent switched to a new brand of strings, which really enhanced the harmonic overtones of his already beautiful sounding guitar. At the same time he had managed to alter his playing habits, reducing mechanical noise and thereby rendering the earlier recordings less desirable.
Kent also found the balance between the emotional and musical context of the record. As he became more comfortable and confident in the studio the pieces collectively began to achieve a cohesiveness that had previously been missing, it was no longer a collection of songs but an album
The only track that remained from the early sessions is Moondance and it was a real struggle when mixing and mastering the album to ensure that it had a tonality and warmth similar to the rest of the album.
As the album was going to be for solo acoustic, I wanted the sound of the record to have a sense of motion that extended beyond the notes. During our initial session I demonstrated to Kent some of the various recording possibilities and we both felt that a warm ambient recording would best suit his style. This meant recording with multiple microphones from multiple perspectives.
During the recording process we experimented with several microphone positions and combinations before we found the most desirable. In general we used an Audio Technica 4033 positioned near the bridge, either an AKG C414 or C2000 was used where the fret board meets the sound hole. Neumann KM 184’s were used as a stereo pair about three feet from the instrument and positioned at head height. And a late addition to the mic collection, Alessis / Groove tube AM 30’s were used for room ambience.
We had also tried B&K 4006’s and both Royer and vintage Shure ribbon mics, large diaphragm Sennhieser and Electrovoice mics, virtually everything in the arsenal, but the aforementioned combination seemed to compliment the guitar best.
The signal path was through a Focusrite Octopre straight to Protools, with just the barest hint of compression on the close mic’s to help control transient spikes. On the final mixes only a small amount of EQ was used, a little upper mid notch to the sound hole mic, and a high pass filter set at 45 Hz on most of the other microphones.
The room in which we recorded has a wonderful tone, with a pleasant splash and decay time. Therefore only the barest hint of reverb was needed in the final mix, and this took the form of an emulated early reflection designed to support the low mids of the guitar that had become a little ambiguous through the use of so many microphones.
While mixing, Kevin Kane (formally of The Grapes of Wrath), a tremendous guitarist in his own right, wandered in from Studio A to have a listen. He immediately commented on the complexity of the material and marveled at Kent’s pitch adjustments to compensate for the minute variances in the instruments intonation as he moved up the neck. Heady praise indeed.
But beyond Kent’s abilities is his knowledge and appreciation of music. During the course of the project our numerous conversations ranged across a abroad spectrum of musical topics. He shared his insight into the complexities of arranging orchestral works for guitar and we discussed the dichotomy of the classical and jazz approaches to musical interpretation.
As Kent has a tremendous ear, recognizing nuances of performance and stylistic signatures, it was very easy for us to discuss in detail musical possibilities. No matter how broad ranging or seemingly obscure my points of reference, from Vocalion B-sides by some of blues lesser known to the lute works of a German Baroque composer, Kent knew almost all.
As much as Kent learned about recording, I learned about the history and development of guitar works over the last century.
Summary
The circuitous route continued throughout the recording.
From the false start brought on by strings, to his instrument being shanghaied by repairs, to the discomforts of late summer heat, to the waylay of sewer construction that rendered recording impossible for almost two months, culminating in my last minute fussiness to tweak the mixes and mastering one last time, not to mention complications in securing performance rights and the usual delays to artwork and manufacturing, all transpired to forestall the completion of Kent’s album.
But in hindsight, all such delays meant stronger performances, better sounds, more intricate mixes and ultimately, in my own opinion, a tremendous debut album, one that had already been 25 years in the making.
Album Credits
Produced by Kent Hillman and Jay O'Keeffe
Engineered, Mixed and Edited by Jay O'Keeffe
Recorded at Profile Studios
Musicians
Kent Hillman; Guitar
Recording Format: Protools HD 24/96
Reviews
"... this eclectic program of material is bound together by Hillman’s consistently masterful and expressive guitar work." Ron Forbes-Roberts, Acoustic Guitar Magazine
Session Photos:
Measuring the distance from sound board to the Nuemann KM 184's. We are also using an AKG c2000, Audio Technica 4033 & an Alesis AM 30.
Thumb picking Kentucky style in studio B.
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Text © 2005 Jay O’Keeffe
