The whole method
Since 2016, unchanged
Keep the take that felt best in the room.
Keep the take that felt best in the room.
Not the tidiest one, not the one with the fewest mistakes. The one where the room and the song agreed with each other.
Not the tidiest one, not the one with the fewest mistakes. The one where the room and the song agreed with each other.
(How I make a record)
Write it standing up
Songs get built on my feet with a guitar plugged in, played through end to end until the shape of it shows up.
Set one lamp
Two microphones on the room, one on the voice. I move the mics and the amp, not the faders, until it sits right.
Roll the tape
Three takes maximum, no click and no punch-ins. The rain, the chair and the amp hum all stay in the song.
Keep the best take
I keep the take that felt best in the room, not the tidiest one. That is the whole of my quality control.
(How I make a record)
Write it standing up
Songs get built on my feet with a guitar plugged in, played through end to end until the shape of it shows up.
Set one lamp
Two microphones on the room, one on the voice. I move the mics and the amp, not the faders, until it sits right.
Roll the tape
Three takes maximum, no click and no punch-ins. The rain, the chair and the amp hum all stay in the song.
Keep the best take
I keep the take that felt best in the room, not the tidiest one. That is the whole of my quality control.
Write it standing up
Songs get built on my feet with a guitar plugged in, played through end to end until the shape of it shows up.
Set one lamp
Two microphones on the room, one on the voice. I move the mics and the amp, not the faders, until it sits right.
Roll the tape
Three takes maximum, no click and no punch-ins. The rain, the chair and the amp hum all stay in the song.
Keep the best take
I keep the take that felt best in the room, not the tidiest one. That is the whole of my quality control.
(A recording day)
Ten in the morning to whenever
Ten in the morning to whenever
10:00
Coffee, then chords for an hour
Nothing recorded. If a song does not survive being played badly at ten in the morning, it does not survive.
10:00
Coffee, then chords for an hour
Nothing recorded. If a song does not survive being played badly at ten in the morning, it does not survive.
10:00
Coffee, then chords for an hour
Nothing recorded. If a song does not survive being played badly at ten in the morning, it does not survive.
15:00
Sewing machines. Unusable.
I use the hour to move microphones around and write down what did not work yesterday.
15:00
Sewing machines. Unusable.
I use the hour to move microphones around and write down what did not work yesterday.
15:00
Sewing machines. Unusable.
I use the hour to move microphones around and write down what did not work yesterday.
19:00
Tape on, first pass
Almost never the keeper, but everything after it is measured against how this one felt.
19:00
Tape on, first pass
Almost never the keeper, but everything after it is measured against how this one felt.
19:00
Tape on, first pass
Almost never the keeper, but everything after it is measured against how this one felt.
00:30
The take that gets kept
Street quiet, voice tired enough to stop performing. Seven of the nine songs on Nocturne happened between midnight and two.
00:30
The take that gets kept
Street quiet, voice tired enough to stop performing. Seven of the nine songs on Nocturne happened between midnight and two.
00:30
The take that gets kept
Street quiet, voice tired enough to stop performing. Seven of the nine songs on Nocturne happened between midnight and two.
03:00
Label the reel, go home
One line on the box, no editing, no listening back. That happens on a different day with different ears.
03:00
Label the reel, go home
One line on the box, no editing, no listening back. That happens on a different day with different ears.
03:00
Label the reel, go home
One line on the box, no editing, no listening back. That happens on a different day with different ears.
(Credits)
Who I call in
Who I call in
I write, play and record the records myself. These are the only other names in the credits — same four since 2019.
I write, play and record the records myself. These are the only other names in the credits — same four since 2019.
01
Nico Ferrante
Drums & photographs
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
01
Nico Ferrante
Drums & photographs
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
02
Dave Kessler
Mix, Bushwick
Has never once asked me to re-sing a line. Five days a record, then he stops answering.
02
Dave Kessler
Mix, Bushwick
Has never once asked me to re-sing a line. Five days a record, then he stops answering.
03
Marisol Reyes
Live sound
Mixes the room, not the desk. If a show sounded good, it is because she was at the back of it.
03
Marisol Reyes
Live sound
Mixes the room, not the desk. If a show sounded good, it is because she was at the back of it.
04
Owen Pratt
Everything else
Drives the van, packs the merch, and tells me when a set list is two songs too long.
04
Owen Pratt
Everything else
Drives the van, packs the merch, and tells me when a set list is two songs too long.
01
01
What is on the turntable
Nico Ferrante
Five records I keep stealing from
Five records I keep stealing from
01
01
A voice and a room, nothing else
A voice and a room, nothing else
Taught me that reverb is a place, not a plugin.
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
Taught me that reverb is a place, not a plugin.
1971
1971
02
02
The one recorded in a kitchen
The one recorded in a kitchen
Proof that a fridge hum on a record is a feature if you commit to it.
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
Proof that a fridge hum on a record is a feature if you commit to it.
1994
1994
03
03
Soul sides my father kept
Soul sides my father kept
Where the tempo of everything I write comes from. Nothing on them is in a hurry.
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
Where the tempo of everything I write comes from. Nothing on them is in a hurry.
1968
1968
04
04
A live tape from a church hall
A live tape from a church hall
Forty people coughing between songs and it still sounds better than most studios.
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
Forty people coughing between songs and it still sounds better than most studios.
1979
1979
05
05
Whatever the tailor plays downstairs
Whatever the tailor plays downstairs
Radio, all day, through the floor. Two songs on Nocturne started as something I misheard.
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
Radio, all day, through the floor. Two songs on Nocturne started as something I misheard.
Daily
Daily
(Ten years, short version)
2026
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
2026
Plays with brushes so the building stays friendly. Shot every cover I have used.
2019
Drives the van, packs the merch, and tells me when a set list is two songs too long.
2019
Drives the van, packs the merch, and tells me when a set list is two songs too long.
2022
First shows outside the city: Philadelphia, Washington, and a festival slot in Chicago.
2022
First shows outside the city: Philadelphia, Washington, and a festival slot in Chicago.
2024
Nocturne — nine songs, one lamp, and the rain that showed up at 3am.
2024
Nocturne — nine songs, one lamp, and the rain that showed up at 3am.
2026
Eleven dates across the Northeast, and a fourth record half-written on the road.
2026
Eleven dates across the Northeast, and a fourth record half-written on the road.
(Booking)
Book us
for a show
Live / Booking
live@voltasunday.com
Press
press@voltasunday.com
Management
mgmt@voltasunday.com
Based in Brooklyn · touring worldwide · rider on request
(Booking)
Book us
for a show
Live / Booking
live@voltasunday.com
Press
press@voltasunday.com
Management
mgmt@voltasunday.com
Based in Brooklyn · touring worldwide · rider on request
(Booking)
Book us
for a show
Live / Booking
live@voltasunday.com
Press
press@voltasunday.com
Management
mgmt@voltasunday.com
Based in Brooklyn · touring worldwide · rider on request
