Industry news & advice blog

Hey. I'm Dan Weller. I'm a music producer/mixer and songwriter.  I used to play guitar in a metal band called SikTh.  Since then I have worked all over the world with lots of cool bands and artists trying to help them bring their music to life in the best possible way with my engineer and partner in crime, Tim Morris.

Monday 16th December

Today isn't just a normal day in the studio.

9:20am - I wake up in a cosy little bedroom in Chapel Studios, a residential studio near Louth in Lincolnshire. Tim and I come here regularly; we recorded the Enter Shikari and Kids In Glass Houses records here earlier this year.  This week we are starting work with a new band from Norwich called Avosetta (yes there have been a few Partridge-isms already).

9:40 am - Whenever I'm working away with a band I make sure that we maintain a routine. The mantra is work hard, play hard and the days can be LONG!  I begin the day by giving the band an extremely loud wake up call; banging on their doors and shouting "GET UP… MUSIC TO MAKE!"  My aim is to get them excited about the day ahead; I blast music, share a cuppa and try to generate some positive energy (caffeine helps). I pop out for a jog whilst everyone else enjoys bacon sarnies. Working away from home so much makes it hard to maintain a fitness regime, but I force myself to exercise every day.

11:00am - After a quick shower I go through to the live room where the drum kit is in pieces. New skins are on but my first job is to stretch them in and start to tune the drums. 

11:30am - Still in the midsts of drum world I get a phone call about something else thats going on in my life this week. Today it's being announced that my old band SikTh are reforming to headline the Red Bull stage at Download Festival 2014. The announcement was supposed to happen at 6pm but someone let the cat out of the bag this morning and a shit-storm has ensued online. There has been an amazing reaction and there's a lot of people to talk to. 

12:00pm - Having spoken to our press people for a while I get back to work with Tim. I get the drum kit tuned and I'm pretty happy with the way it sounds. Unfortunately the low tom isn't to my liking so I spend half an hour going completely mad trying to get it to sound right. Eventually we get there and I leave Tim and James to carefully position the 23 microphones while I start my bonding session with the band, making a Spotify playlist of tracks they like and listening to their demo on repeat. 

1:30pm - I get a call from the SikTh press people to say that I need to do an interview with 'Metal Hammer' shortly.  Shit. I haven't done an interview for years, what the f**k am I going to say?

3:30pm - After a few hours line checking the drums, we are pretty happy with the sound so we have a late lunch break. 

4:00pm - Time for my Metal Hammer interview. We always told the fans that we would reform when the time felt right, and we can't wait to play the songs again. We played Download twice before we broke up, so it feels like the natural place to make our return. Interview done, I go back through to start getting a bass guitar tone with Avosetta's bassist Jay. Jay has a brand new Fender Jazz and it sounds great.

4:30pm - Guitars next. For any guitar nerds out there… we have an original Marshall JMP going into an Orange cab. We also have a Mesa Dual Rectifier going into a Mesa cab. Jack, the writer and guitarist is using his scheckter to sound check. I like to use the MXR distortion + ahead of the amp which fattens everything up slightly. 

5:00pm - So we have a great sound for the drums, bass and guitar, now it's time to get the vocal chain fired up. Tim and James have built a booth in the live room which is a singers paradise. As with bass, getting a vocal sound should be a very simple process. Vocalist Sam hasn't warmed up too much so we try not to stress his voice. We try out 3 different microphones - an SM7, a U87 and a C12. The C12 (being a £6,000 mic!) often wins the race and once again it doesn't fail. 

6:30pm - DINNER TIME. Tim is an amazing chef so on un-catered sessions he often goes all Jamie Oliver and makes something special. Tonight it's a lovely chorizo linguine. Dinner is a great time to gather everyone together and talk music. My priority is to make sure everyone is fired up and excited about the week ahead. When people feel confident in the song and the set-up it brings out the best in them.

7:30pm - After dinner I do a phone interview with Daniel P. Carter for the Radio 1 Rock Show. It will be recorded live but will go out later that evening. I've known Dan for a long time as he used to come to our gigs and was always a great supporter of SikTh. In fact, his very first show on Radio 1 featured SikTh live at Maida Vale. That was way back in 2006! The reaction from Dan and the SikTh fans online has been extremely humbling.

8:15pm - Back to work. The band and I gather in the control room and get into detail about the song.  We move onto ProTools where I start to mark out the song structure and tempo. We discuss structural ideas/changes and start jamming, then put some guide music down for Wil (the drummer) to play to. 'Guides' are literally just that…rough and ready takes of the song that are mainly there as a reference for me. While recording drums I constantly check the guide vocal so that I know everything is complimenting Sam (the vocalist).

12:00am - Drums are down. Wil is particularly good and this song is very easy for him so It's a case of making sure he's in a great mood and therefore playing with as much feel as possible. 

12:05am - It's time to chill out. We all gather in the Pool room and turn on Radio 1 to hear me make a dick of myself. Getting together in the evening and having a proper drink together is a big part of recording sessions. I love to help the band feel like they're on a big holiday together.

2:00am - I retire to my bedroom a little worse for wear.  I attempt some sit ups, set the alarm for 9am and pass out.

Follow Dan on Twitter here @danweller or check out his website for more details of his work: www.danwellermusic.com