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  3. Recording Empire Central – A Conversation with Snarky Puppy
Published
20th October 2022

Snarky Puppy, the large, high-energy band founded by bassist Michael League, has a new album out titled Empire Central. Recorded in Dallas, the band’s original stomping grounds, before a live, studio audience (donning ATH-M20x headphones, we should add), the album captures the electric spontaneity that has made this genre-skirting band a music and internet sensation. We sat down recently with League and engineer Nic Hard to discuss the making of this record, see how Audio-Technica mics and headphones helped them achieve the sound they wanted, and learn how the band transitions from studio to stage. 

Snarky Puppy Album – Empire Century

Nic Hard – Audio Engineer

A-T: How does having a live studio audience affect your work? What do the ATH-M50x and ATH-M20x professional monitor headphones lend to the recording process?

Nic: Having a live studio audience only changes a few aspects of the process for me.  Firstly, and most importantly, it means there needs to be a way for the audience to hear what is going on. This also means there needs to be a live mix created for the audience.  In this situation, as there was no PA cranking out 100 decibels, things needed to be done to make sure the audience received a full, rich and enjoyable sound, things like using good headphones – headphones like the ATH-M50x and ATH-M20xs!  These headphones are especially effective in the studio because of the great bass response, but also the isolation they provide. That means the sound for the listener is great and less of it gets out into the microphones.

 

A-T: Empire Central features a 19-piece iteration of Snarky Puppy, comprised of electric guitars, keyboards and bass, along with trumpets, saxophones, drums and more. What are the challenges of recording this band? How did the Audio-Technica mics used on the album help you get the sound you wanted?

Nic: The largest and most significant problem to overcome in a session like this, is reducing the amount of bleed in the microphones.  This is especially challenging when you have three drummers in the same room!  I used a bunch of AT-4050s on this session because of the selectable pickup patterns.  Using the different patterns helps me not only focus on what is being picked up, but also using what is not.  With the horn section, I used AT-4081s. These are ribbons which not only sound great on horns, but they reject sound coming from the sides of the microphone.  This made them ideal to place perpendicular to the drummers.

 

Michael League – Founder, Bassist

A-T: Michael, this is the first live-in-studio album the band has recorded in several years, and as such is something of a return to familiar ground, as is the return to Dallas. Yet in talking about this album you have stressed the need for artists to constantly change and evolve. How do you square these elements? What changes can fans expect to hear on Empire Central?

Michael: It's definitely familiar in terms of the format (live in-studio, audience, headphones, etc.), but musically we made a point to take things to new places. For the first time ever, I actually gave the band a brief to help them hone in compositionally – "think about Dallas." I think this resulted in the music being harder-hitting, funkier, and more grounded. In a way, the comfort of returning to this recording format allowed more time and energy to be spent on making the music unique. And maybe most importantly, the band has grown dramatically (both collectively and individually) since the last time we recorded like this. Those six years of experiences across 19 members really add up.

 

Snarky Puppy

 

A-T: The album features compositions by you and several other band members. Can you tell us a bit about how you bring compositions to life in the studio? Are they rehearsed beforehand? Do the pieces change much from page to performance? How much do band members improvise?

Michael: To begin with, the music never lives on the page. It actually doesn't get written down until after the album is done! We learn the songs by ear, using audio demos in Logic that are uploaded to a Dropbox folder. We rehearsed two new songs per day over seven days and added two songs during the eight nights of recording. The goal in rehearsal is to play the songs exactly as the composer intended. Once we've achieved that, the doors open for each member of the band to give feedback and start changing things. This part of the process is the most essential, in my opinion. It's when the band starts to sound like Snarky Puppy.

 

Snarky Puppy

 

Snarky Puppy

 

A-T: The late jazz and funk keyboardist Bernard Wright, whom you have identified as a godfather-like figure, plays on this album, in what, sadly, would be his final recorded performance. What impact did he have on you and the band and what did it mean to have him at these sessions?

Michael: It wouldn't be the same record without him. In addition to the incredible performance that he gave on 'Take It!' simply his presence in the room as a listener inspired us. He was my personal mentor and a mentor to several members of the band for years, and I don't think any single musician has had a greater impact on the ethos and direction of the band than Bernard Wright.

 

A-T: As alluded to above, Snarky Puppy has recorded – and become known for – many live-in-studio records and videos with audience members listening through headphones. What does the band gain from recording in this manner? How does it differ from playing to a conventional audience?

Michael: For us, it's the perfect combination of live show energy and high-quality sound recording. You play differently when there are people in front of you – especially when they are one foot away! It takes you out of the it-has-to-be-perfect recording mentality and puts the focus more on communication. I love it.

 

Snarky Puppy

 

Snarky Puppy

 

A-T: In October, Snarky Puppy embarks on a worldwide tour. How does the music evolve once you take it on the road, from night to night and over the course of several months?

Michael: We never play the same setlist, so that inherently changes the energy of the show from night to night. Additionally, we try to never play a song the same way twice. Sometimes I might start a certain song, and the next night it will be the horn section. We don't plan it beforehand – sometimes it just happens naturally, or we'll call things out on stage. From the beginning to the end of the tour, some songs become almost unrecognizable!

 

Snarky Puppy

Snarky Puppy

 

A-T: What else would you like our readers to know about the new Snarky Puppy album, and how can they keep up with the band?

Michael: Only that it felt amazing to come home and make music in the place where it all started. I hope that the viewers and listeners feel that. We try to stay up on our social media networks, so that's a good place to start. But our website is probably the most consistent place: www.snarkypuppy.com.