Studio Addiction

As I mentioned on this weeks Sound System Podcast; Kilkenny grungers Chemical Addiction hit the studio this week to record their E.P, ‘The Brian Jones E.P’. After the podcast I headed out to the Mill Studios to have a chat with the lads, get some shots and get a sneak preview of things to come.

It was a cold, dark night outside, but inside the studio was warm, friendly and I could feel pure energy coming off the lads. They’ve been flat out for the last two weeks, they’ve had eight practices in the ten days leading up to recording, the result is impressive and clearly shows the benefit of being prepared. They’ve been in the studio with Daw for only two days. Yesterday, they laid down the drum and bass tracks, this morning they recorded the guitar tracks and tonight they plan to record the vocals and harmonies.

I ask the lads about the E.P title. They had recently watched a film about Brian Jones, a founder of the Rolling Stones and a member of the infamous 27 club, the E.P is named after him but they stress that they aren’t too bothered with the Stones, just the man.

I ask how the recording sounds? “Do you want to have a listen for yourself?” is the response and Daw cues up the title track of the E.P, ‘Brian Jones’. From start to finish the song is pure catchy and riffy (it may not be a real word but it best describes the song), it’s very noticeable how tight Chemical Addiction have gotten their sound, and how it is clearly influenced by bands like Alice In Chains. The song peaks and finishes with a building harmony, which sounds great! I look at Chemical Addiction and they are smiling, excited by how the recording is sounding already, and they should be!

It’s now time to record Danny’s vocal tracks for ‘DisBehave’, he steps into the booth and it begins. He nails it pretty quickly and as he leaves the booth, Ben goes in to do the backing vocals and harmonies. It’s not long before he strolls out after also nailing it. They’re making this look very easy and we all sit back and listen to the song. ‘DisBehave’ is filled with heavy, building riffs and catchy harmonies, it’s once again extremely tight and myself, Daw and Chemical Addiction are once again smiling.

This is the lads first time recording yet they have a calm and professional attitude towards the whole process. Everything is discussed and every ones opinion plays a part. There’s great collaboration between the band and Daw, who’s engineering and producing the E.P. They constantly brainstorm ideas for the harmonies and sound. When I talk to him, he has nothing but good things to say about working with Chemical Addiction. They in turn have nothing but praise for working with Daw. The result is a pure pleasure to watch as the band glide through the recordings. At the same time the conversation is off the wall, not a minute goes by without everybody laughing at something. Conversations vary from the strange smell coming from the fridge in the kitchen, how to perform “jumping farts”, techniques to growing a moustache and how “Kilkenny is crying out for a porn industry!”

They record the vocal tracks for ‘Town Down’. The song has a frantic, pacing riff, the verses are toe-tapping and the chorus is nothing short of bouncey. It ends with a heavy breakdown and pounding drums which is guaranteed to get you moving. This track is once again filled with great harmonies which they record with pure ease. It’s not that anybody is rushing any of this recording, they’re just nailing it, most of the time in only one or two takes!

They finished up with ‘Live Fast’, it’s an acoustic track, slowly strummed with a hint of an electric guitar in the back. Danny’s vocals are slightly higher on this one, but he’s hits the notes easily and this is the song that best shows the strength in his voice. It also shows how much Chemical Addiction have matured when writing their songs.

Ben leans into me and smiles; “I only wrote the second verse last night”. It’s hard to believe. Once he records the backing vocals we sit down and listen to the song. It’s hard to believe that “24 hours ago, that song wasn’t written”, it sounds brilliant, perfectly crafted with great harmonies and lyrics like “I don’t need your tomorrow, I didn’t want your yesterday…”

It’s nearly 1am when they finish up. Everyone is shattered, even Ciwi who’s normally like the Duracell bunny has fallen asleep on the floor, but the hard work is over, at least for now, and it has really paid off. Last night they decided to record one more song, ‘Californian Hillbilly Suicide’, to add to the E.P bringing it to 6-tracks. This will happen in the next few weeks, then it’ll be mixed, mastered, duplicated, I’ll be working with them on the cover art and it’ll be launched early next year.

I remember their very first gig, upstairs in the Widows, back in February 2005, and I’ve seen them several times since as they played countless gigs. But when they launch “The Brian Jones E.P” next year, everyone will see that Chemical Addiction have come a long way, they’ve gained alot of experience, they’ve gone through lineup changes and downsized to a 3-piece, all of this has helped them to find their own sound, and it sounds great. Chemical Addiction are definitely a band to watch out for in 2008.