Mark_Budgell
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Can you play well with your significant other? I met Saher and Susan —the rock duo Galt Aureus – after one of their music videos was nominated for the HP-sponsored YouTube Play program. (Check both of them out in this mini-documentary about the program and here providing a tutorial on the making of that video.)
When we decided to test Beats Audio out with select tastemakers, I thought of them first. After all, they have built a huge fan base using social media instead of the more traditional route with a record label – and it doesn’t hurt that I’ve become a big fan of their music. Later this week we will have the privilege of unveiling the latest Galt Aureus song over on HP Play, and Saher will be guest blogging here on The Next Bench. Until then, here’s his story.
Where did the name Galt Aureus come from?
“Galt” comes from the novel Atlas Shrugged and
“Aureus” is the Latin word for golden. I'll say no more lest I giveaway
too much of a great work of literature!
Musically, I'm a singer,
pianist and composer, and Susan plays guitar and sings. But we end up
doing a lot more than just playing music since we also do all our own recording
and mixing. We produce our own videos and we even make online adventures for
the Galt Aureus Legion.
As a result, pretty much every skill we've ever developed goes into what we do.
Susan is really adventurous and so she's usually charged with bringing to life
our big, crazy ideas or the things we've never tried before. She has such
a remarkable ability to make things work that I just start to assume that she
can do anything.
I'm more focused on the blueprints. It's a bit like how I won't sit down
at the piano until the music is already playing in my head or how I won't start
recording a piece until I'm finished composing it in my mind. That is to
say, I tend to take on the projects that I can see through to the end.
What is it like working in this creative field with your significant other? Any advice for how to be successful with it?
I can't think of anything better than doing what you love with the one you
love. Maybe we're lucky that there's a sort of synergy in how we work
together, though I really think it's just a matter of finding something you and
your partner can get passionate about, and then going for it.
Your video and song “The
Armada” was recently made the short list for YouTube Play. What was
it like to be recognized on that scale?
Exciting! We felt like YouTube Play was such a forward-looking project
that we were overwhelmingly honored to be a part of it. Not to mention
that we love YouTube so much, to be a part of one of their events was kind of
surreal.
I also noticed that your song “The Queen of Blades” won the BlizzCon 2010 song contest. So, two questions: 1) What was that contest all about? 2) Does that mean you’re a fan of the Zerg rush?
Susan and I get into video games
and we had been playing...kind of a lot of Starcraft II. When I saw
that Blizzard was holding a song competition, the concept for "The Queen
of Blades" immediately gripped me and I knew I had to see that song idea
through.
I've enjoyed lots of the musical scores for Blizzard games so when I found out
that they actually chose my song as the winning entry, it was a big
thrill.
And now the time I spent playing Starcraft, I get to call
"research," right?
Yep, try writing that off on your taxes. Tell us about your newest album, Citadels. What was the creative inspiration behind it?
There isn't really a succinct answer; though there's an ongoing story for that album for anyone who joins the Legion and takes up the challenge. It starts at The Legion Citadel.
The Legion Citadel? Can you tell me more about it, or would you have to kill me?
I am sworn to secrecy! One gains insight into the Legion only through completing a series of trials.
You have been using PC’s to produce your own music for some time now. How important is technology to your creative process?
In terms of the execution, it's indispensable. The ideas all happen inside our heads but they're not exactly going anywhere without technology. It might seem like a bit much for two people to do everything, but I think controlling every step of the creative process results in a much more genuine representation of our ideas. And we owe everything to technology for making that possible.
Can you walk us through how technology is letting you do more of the creative process without getting in the way? What sort of software / hardware do you rely upon?
Our recording studio revolves around a PC, the audio interface and a good set of near-field monitors. Aside from plugging in the instruments, the microphones and hitting record, there's nothing between us and creating music -- and that's really important. My favorite recording sessions are the ones driven by a feeling of immediacy and spontaneity, and that would most certainly be spoiled by a convoluted setup. As for software, I've spent time with most of the major music recording programs out there, and the one that makes the most intuitive sense to me is Cubase, so that's what I use. In terms of actually doing more of the creative process, there's a lot that happens during recording and mixing that determines how a song sounds on a fundamental level -- a staggering amount of decisions are made that many artists who just walk into a studio and let the engineers take over probably never even know about -- and now those things are entirely within our control.
That’s a good segue to get your thoughts on the Envy 14 Beats Special Edition we sent along. What are your first impressions?
I think it's kind of beautiful. Really, it looks amazing. With the Solo headphones in, audio playback is nicely detailed. There's very, very impressive bass response. And there's no noise! No electronic hums, no high-pitched whining sounds coming through the headphones. And without noise masking the lower dynamic levels, I can hear a wide dynamic range including the very subtle nuances that make a musical performance personal. Its fan is also mercifully quiet which means I can keep it in the studio without it registering on the meters. So my first thought is also an emotion, which is love.
What can we expect next from Galt Aureus?
We'll be starting work on a new album project with a concept that is decidedly...Galt Aureus.
