On The Record: Producer Jim Keller On Demander’s Future Brite

EAST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN: NYC rock trio, Demander, officially release their second full-length record, Future Brite, today. This bad-ass East Village band has a refreshingly hard-edged, melodic rock sound, combining the sweet (Kathleen Hanna-meets-Karen O) punk-rock-howl of lead vocalist/bassist, Karen Kanan Correa, the thunderous rock drumming of Sivan Harlap and chugging, post-punk guitar varieties by Dave Kurutz.

Demander

Future Brite was produced and engineered by Jim Keller (Franz Ferdinand, Mastodon, Franz Nicolay) between studios in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

“I met Sivan on a flight — it was one of those random things that I guess is somehow just supposed to happen,” says Keller. “She gave me a copy of Demander’s first record.  I thought they had some great ideas and I felt like I could help them expand on them.

“I went to see them live a couple of times and they were just having a blast on stage…actually smiling and looking like that was exactly what they wanted to be doing at the time.  That was great to see!  I knew that getting a solid sound behind some well-honed songs would make a good record.”

Keller began working with the group in rehearsals prior to recording. “All of the songs were pretty far along by the time I came in,” he recalls. “We mostly concentrated on song structure.  We took out some sections, used other sections more and just made sure that the mechanics of the songs were working.  Dave and I came up with guitar parts in the studio and they all came together really quickly, which was a treat.

The group recorded drums and electric guitars at Manhattan’s Madpan Studios and bass and vocals at Keller’s own private studio in Brooklyn. “We also did a day of strings at Avatar,” adds Keller. “There are times when you need a solid, commercial room and string dates are certainly one of those times!”

Keller mixed the bulk of the record at Electric Lady in Studio A, and a few songs at his place. John Agnello mixed ‘Math’ at Headgear in Williamsburg.

“For mastering, I went to Randy Merrill at Masterdisk,” Keller adds. “ Randy and I were on staff at Avatar together and I really trust his judgment when it comes to mastering.”

What’s Keller favorite track on Future Brite?

“Definitely the title track. It’s dynamic in every sense.  We spent a long time on the middle section and it really makes the whole track.  It’s a breakdown followed by a great build.  Franz Nicolay (The Hold Steady) came in and just nailed the piano part for the section.  We were also fortunate to have some really talented string players for that section as well.  It’s just a cool song!”

Check out “Future Brite” on Demander’s Myspace, and the album single, “Math,” here!

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