NYC Studio THROWDOWN! The Magic Shop Takes On Stratosphere Sound for The NowhereNauts

SoHo/WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN: Why record your debut album at one slammin’ NYC studio when a dozen would do? That’s what the NYC rock three-piece The NowhereNauts thought as they attacked the making of their stirring, wise-beyond-their-years self-titled release that came out this week.

The Nowhere Nauts: Three shots from the Magic Shop.

As it turns out, a dozen studios would have been nuts (and over budget), but two was certainly feasible. Ergo, producer Kevin March (drummer for Guided by Voices, the Dambuilders) and the band – vocalist Sofie Kapur, guitarist Hunter Lombard, and bassist Anders Kapur (Sofie’s bro) — split the spunky collection up between downtown contenders The Magic Shop and Stratosphere Sound.

The result is a record that’s absolutely worth a listen: The group has been together since their early teens, and their songwriting chemistry here is sharp, deep, advanced and still jarringly raw – articulate emotions, insistent guitars and jamming breaks come through loud and clear. Kevin March’s rhythms rock, but bring an intelligent twist to each section. These are songs that keep you guessing, in a most welcome way.

At SonicScoop’s behest, March and his charges pitted The Magic Shop against Stratosphere: The winner in this epic indie rock recording cage match is YOU.

Kevin, why do you think The NowhereNauts chose you to produce their upcoming eponymous record?
Kevin: I had already been working and recording with The NowhereNauts the past few years as part of an original music education program I was developing. That trial program introduced them to writing original music and then recording it all in a studio, so it was natural for me to continue developing and producing them.

I noticed in each of them a creative spark that reminded me of the many great musicians and songwriters I’ve been fortunate enough to create music with over the years. Also, their work ethic and drive reminded me a little bit of myself as a young musician.  As a result, I had my eye/ear on them and, when an opportunity came up, I approached them because I thought that they would be great to work with – and I was right!  I love their unique sound and the energy that they bring to making and creating music.

Drummer/producer Kevin March took on two of NYC's top studios in the name of The NowhereNauts.

Bands obviously work in multiple studios all the time — in this case, why did The Nauts record in two NYC studios instead of one? How did you finally decide on The Magic Shop and Stratosphere?
Kevin: I chose Stratosphere and The Magic Shop because I had done extensive, spectacular-sounding recordings at both studios in the past. I also felt that my pre-existing relationships with the owners and engineers would allow me to successfully produce a complete album with a band new to the professional recording environment.

Almost all of The NowhereNauts’ debut album was recorded at The Magic Shop in 2010. The band recorded a different album as another band with Geoff Sanoff at Stratosphere in 2009. But, due to some unfortunate and unforeseen events, the album was shelved, the band dissolved and — the good part — The NowhereNauts were created.

Hunter: We chose the Magic Shop because our first recordings, ever, were made there and we really like the sound that we can get out of that studio. Stratosphere was chosen because of Kevin’s connection to Geoff Sanoff.

Fair enough! Which songs did you do at Magic Shop? What were the best things about recording there?

Kevin: The songs that we recorded and mixed at The Magic Shop (over two weekends) with the amazing  house engineer, Ted Young, were “Rather Be Haunted,” “Try to Light My Fuse,” “I’m Unlucky,” “We Got the Message,”  “Heat Stroke,” “Over and Over Again, “ “Newspaper Today,” “Delightfully Distracted” and “In the City.” Basically it was the entire album except “Where Is My Mind?”

The best thing about recording at The Magic Shop is the Neve console they have. It just sounds amazing, and it looks really cool too!  The live room is not too big, but it has a nice, controlled, accurate sound.  I love the vibe of the studio. Also, their  2″ Studer A827 tape machine, which we used to record all of the basic tracks, is in great working condition.

Anders: We powered through all the songs. It was insane how little time we had to record everything and how fast we got it done. Ted was so efficient; he got our recordings on to tape and, somehow, retained the rich, vintage-y vibe we were going for. His work in the studio is one of the reasons this album sounds so great.

Sofie: I loved the vibe at The Magic Shop, and the opportunity I got to experiment a little with mics. We also really got comfortable with Ted. Of course, his mixing is great too. We recorded on tape there, which really captured the sound we wanted.

Moving across town, why did “Where Is My Mind?” emerge at Stratosphere?

Their self-titled debut dropped this week.

Kevin: The best thing about recording at Stratosphere Sound is that the live room sounds amazing!  And I can’t neglect to mention that all of the house amps and guitars that James Iha and Adam Schlesinger have there are in top working condition and sound incredible; but, of course, only with the help and knowledge of Geoff.  Geoff is a fantastic engineer with a musician’s ear and brain. He knows how to capture the audio of a great performance and, just as important, he knows how to create a comfortable, productive working environment.

Hunter: At Stratosphere you can get the HUGE guitar sounds that I really, really love. Also, our first time recording to tape was there and that was a very cool experience. I don’t think we could ever go back to recording digitally after that.

Anders: We tracked two other songs that aren’t on the record as well. I really love the atmosphere there. And, by the end of our recording sessions, I personally felt really comfortable and at home in the studio. Geoff was instrumental in getting the recordings we made there to sound as rich as they do. He had a lot of great input on our guitar and bass tones and the methods we used to achieve them. Having him there was almost like having a second producer.

Sofie: For my vocals, I recorded in the room with Geoff. It was a much more direct approach. I could have recorded in a booth, but I liked that I could see him and the band while I was recording. Also, the space is amazing — which I know isn’t exactly sound-related but, still, I’d live there if I could.

OK, most important: Who would win in an Ultimate Fighting match: Stratosphere’s people or the Magic Shop staff?
Kevin: The Magic Shop’s people! They have a lot more heavy vintage gear to throw around. Also, Stratosphere’s people are just so nice and easy-going that they wouldn’t want to fight.

Hunter: Tie! We really love the people that work at both studios. The workflow is really different for each of them, but the end result is always what we want.

Sofie: I’d have to put my money on Stratosphere, mostly because of Atsuo, the assistant engineer. He’s quiet, but something about him makes me think he’s secretly a superhero or a ninja or something. The Magic Shop would have a chance if they could bring all their action figures to life though!

— David Weiss

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