Tag Archives: Reber Recording

Kickstarter Campaign for When, Not If

The good boys in When, Not If have started a kickstarter campaign to raise the necessary funds to record a full-length album here at Reber Recording! With your help, this will be the third album that I have had the pleasure of recording thanks to kickstarter funding. Take a quick moment to MFT#001 featuring When, Not If to check out what some of the new songs sound like when performed live. Now… Imagine how much more awesome they will sound when we get to take our sweet time going over all the details!

MFT#006: Raafiq Alim

Listen to MFT#006 w/ Raafiq Alim while you read!!!

This week I am mixing things up a little bit. Until this point I have only featured bands and acoustic artists… This week I had the opportunity to work with Raafiq Alim (formerly known as Merc Versus), a 10-plus year veteran of the local/regional underground hip-hop scene. He has been compared to such diverse artists as Mobb Deep, Outkast, Wyclef Jean, Wu-Tang Clan, and A Tribe Called Quest. His inspirations include Kool G Rap, Sam Cooke, Bad Brains, Peter Tosh, and The D.O.C. Being from a unique geographical location in terms of hip hop (Indiana), Raafiq represents a rare perspective of the culture. He is currently Vice President of the Indiana chapter of the Universal Zulu Nation and is managed by former Def Jux artist and underground hip hop legend C-Rayz Walz.

The first three songs featured in this session are a collaborative effort between East Harlem, New York native Udi the Erratic Assassin, Indiana native Raafiq Alim aka Merc Versus to form BEDLAM BRETHREN. I took my time to fine-tune these tracks and add subtle changes to make the listening experience unique. The final 2 tracks are previews of a second collaborative effort titled, Mystery School. The Mystery School tracks are not complete. They are merely previews featuring Raafiq Alim’s contributions. The finished versions of these songs will be made available on an upcoming album titled, “Class Envy.” There is no set release date as of this time.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.If you’ve been following the MFT sessions that I have been releasing you may notice that this particular session is a bit different; and not just in terms of genre. The whole performance is a different creature. There are no amplifiers or drums for me to capture… the music is essentially pre-recorded and ready to go. This makes it rather difficult to capture the feel of a live performance and so I have opted to approach the hip-hop genre a bit differently. Although there are still elements of the live performance in terms of vocals, I have opted to create a unique mix of the music in addition to the vocals so that there are subtleties in the music that you wouldn’t be able to hear anywhere else. But that’s enough shop talk… I was fortunate enough to sit down with Raafiq Alim and ask him a few questions regarding his transition from Merc Versus to Raafiq Alim, his affiliations with the Zulu Nation, and his outlook on current hip hop trends.

MFT#005: The Bashville Boys

(Ryan Lash, Jim Flatford, Kyle Beaty, Ryan Cochrane)

Click HERE to be redirected to my recording studio’s webpage to vie2w MFT#005 featuring The Bashville Boys!

MFT#004 with Hotfox

CLICK HERE to be redirected to MFT#004 with HOTFOX over at REBERRECORDING.com

Strand of Oaks – Mixed by Frank Reber

Artist: Strand of Oaks
Song: Spacestation
Mixed by: Frank Reber

This song was provided by Shaking Through and Weathervane Music. This is my first Shaking Through mix and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the whole process. This company is providing an amazing resource for people that are interested in trying out their skills with properly recorded instruments… Oh, and the tracks sound good too.

MFT#002: The Bears of Blue River

Listen to MFT#002 w/ The Bears of Blue River while you read!

This week we were fortunate enough to hook up with The Bears of Blue River on the last leg of their Dastardly Tour. Our session took place on a Tuesday morning before they were scheduled to drive up to Michigan for their last two shows. We were scheduled to start at 10AM but The Bears had played a show the night before so I had expected them to be a little late. It was a good thing I did because they didn’t end up arriving until 10:30. The band loaded in around 10:45AM while I made up a big pot of coffee. Early morning sessions are usually pretty rough. It just isn’t natural to make music early in the morning unless you stayed up all night and haven’t gone to bed yet. Nonetheless, we marched on in the hopes that the morning bummers would pass (and they did). We hashed out a few early takes to get everyone warmed up and feeling good as the fatigue fled our bodies. I can hear the early morning hour retreating throughout the session.

The weather was exceptionally warm for February which made the outdoor photo shoot nice and comfortable. The Bears picked a few hats, glasses, and props from around the studio and trudged out into the forest to have their likenesses captured by Lauren of Lauren Bultman Photography. The photo session was pretty fun. The Bears made sure to include my dog Cleo in the shoot… oh, and a grill. Yeah, it was one of those mornings.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

We didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend on the interview process because the band needed to hit the road if they were going to make it to Michigan in time for their load-in. Despite our limited amount of time, we were able to get a quick interview with The Bears of Blue River. Hopefully it will make you crack a smile.

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