New R&B Artist Reveals Keys to Vinyls Comeback
His name is Nick Waterhouse and odds are you may not have heard of him, but you may have heard his music. His song I Wanna Know was heard in an Acura commercial two years ago, and his song Some Place is currently being heard on a commercial for the FIFA 2014 video game.
If you can recall those commercials then you, like me probably thought that music was from the late 50's or early 60's and not made as recently as 2012, or by a 26 year old in Los Angeles. But all that music is Nick Waterhouse's, the sound, the recording method, and even the songs themselves are all his.
What is the most compelling about Waterhouse though is his perception of how the music should sound. You see while other artist are running to recording studios to lay down tracks electronically or on CD, Waterhouse made his first singles on 45'. Waterhouse knew vinyl would give his music the sound he wanted. But to help finish the effect Waterhouse decided to record at LA's Distillery Studios one a very few analog recording studios left, and becuase it was someplace Waterhouse grew up around. In producing his sound Waterhouse has also modified his electric guitar a Gibson SG, to give it a more authentic 50's sounds, and complete the feel of his music.
In an interview with Seattles KEPX Waterhouse was qouted as saying "I come from a lineage of record people", and also "There is nothing like holding a record in your hands". I think these qoutes sum up Waterhouse's love for the vinyl movement, and for the sound it can produce. This love has transferred into a passion for getting the sound just right, something he has managed to do well. For Waterhouse vinyl is about the experience that having a vinyl record can produce.
I need to add one more thing though. Listening to the sounds of Duffy, Adele, the late Amy Winehouse, or even some Cello Green it would be easy to throw Waterhouse into the retro-R&B movement. But Waterhouse does see himself as part of this movement, but more of a direct R&B artist.
If you want to check out Waterhouse's sound it is available on iTunes, but you can also get it on
vinyl via Amazon, or eBay if you want to hear it as it should sound. His album is called Times All Gone on 33', CD, or electronic formats. As for his singles on 45' they are out there but they are considered collectors items and get pretty pricy but it's a true piece of the modern vinyl era.
Also you may want to check out his KEPX interview: http://feeds.kexp.org/kexp/liveperformances
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