Josh Molen used his ASP880 8-channel mic pre and iD22 USB audio interface to help record and mix C.H.A.D., his first album recorded under the moniker, Your Sister Is A Werewolf. Released at the end of February, his album had the added bonus of being mastered by Bernie Grundman, whose credits include Michael Jackson’s Thriller & Prince’s Purple Rain.
“Both Audient pieces were absolutely indispensable”
Josh is no stranger to the inside of a studio, as he composes the music for shows on Netflix, Hulu, TLC & I.D. Discovery Channel for a living. (Read more about his setup and what he does here.) Three years ago however, he realised that he had a hankering to write the music he loves to listen to himself. “I’m a huge fan of 80s film/synth music, but there’s not much call for it when writing for tv shows.
“So after writing the first track, I messed around with some other ideas along those lines. Then a few months later, when I got some down time from composing for TV, I worked on another idea or two. Cut to three years later and it all just kind of fell together and I was able to get a solid ten song album.”
“The ASP880 allowed me to hook up multiple synths and drum machines and create a live/jam environment”
He hit the nail on the head: C.H.A.D. is definitely a homage to the 80s and is described online as, ‘Neon drenched film music delivered to your ears.’
Josh utilised his Audient gear to help him with his creativity. “Both Audient pieces were absolutely indispensable,” he says, when talking about his writing process. “The ASP880 allowed me to hook up multiple synths and drum machines and create a live/jam environment for songwriting and getting ideas down. A couple of the finished tracks were actually recorded this way to give them a very live and spontaneous feel, with just a few overdubs added to fill them out.”
When Josh sent his work to Bernie Grundmann Mastering, he was naturally extra keen to get Bernie himself to work on it. “I knew he could give it that extra bit of polish to put the album over the top sonically,” he said. Following in the footsteps of 80s musical legends Michael Jackson & Prince turned out to be a good decision for his 80s inspired album. “What he sent back was incredible,” confirms Josh.
Click through for the Your Sister Is A Werewolf album here, or check out Josh’s music library at the Tune Peddler.
