Ochre

I figured it was about time I revamped my line up of shirts in an effort to simplify what’s on offer and cut down on choice paralysis. The options have been whittled down to logos in black and white (leaving you to select your shirt colour), plus a small selection of hand-picked colourways. Garments are limited to mens’ tees, manufactured by those wacky soft pornographers, American Apparel (though I might try some other garments soon). The stores are also a little prettier and more easily navigable these days too, following some thorough settings-delving and customising. No longer do you have to click on an individual garment to change colour.

Although I’ve still got both shops on the go, the US-centric .com and the Eurocentric .net, there’s nothing to stop you ordering from either. Spreadshirt seem to operate on a 1$=£1 basis, which while initially baffling, might not be far from the truth when you factor in customs and VAT if ordering from the US store to the UK, for example.

I’ll also be ending the current sale on physical products soon. No set date, but probably some point this week, so if you’ve been thinking about grabbing a Lemodie CD or Midsummer vinyl, act (moderately) quickly.

Lastly, you’ve probably noticed the new ‘Production’ label in the menu. As well as being kept comfortably busy with the mastering, I’ve also been doing more bespoke production work for various media clients, which I’ve been thoroughly enjoying. The frenetic work pace, prescriptive briefs and urgent deadlines contrast nicely with my (perhaps overly) leisurely Ochre output of late. I’ll add these projects to the site once I receive the completed video files etc., and will no doubt post an update.

Oleg Mokhov, co-founder of net radio station BlueRize, was kind enough to host a Skype interview with me recently for his Mix & Master show.

Over the course of the interview we discuss how my burgeoning mastering business, Melograf Mastering, got off the ground, as well as getting into the logistical nuts and bolts of its everyday operation. It’s quite an extensive interview, and as such is split into two parts. The first covers why and how I decided to set up Melograf, with the second part following next week, covering the actual audio processing minutia and associated geekery. You can stream the first part here.

Goodness me, that was quick. It just recently occurred to me that my sister-venture, Melograf Mastering, has survived its first year formally in business. I can still recall the trepidation I felt when I first set about completing the paperwork. But, thanks to the help of some very kind friends, plus of course the clients who have entrusted me with their music over the course of the year (a good start — over a hundred projects), it’s been a great first year.

The procurement of a set of ADDA convertors last week (to join my lone monitoring DA) was clearly an unconscious celebration of this feat. Time to start thinking about some choice outboard for the new analogue loop.

Now that I’m back in the land of music-making after a summer of ridiculous humidity, pink flamingos and pastel-coloured houses (guess where?), I’ve re-opened my shop and resumed mastering. Current mastering rates: £12 per track (plus £12 for CD compilation). Current shop inventory: double AMND 12″ vinyl for £10 (CDs now sold out). As ever, if there’s anything you’d like to see in the shop (more CDs etc.), I’ll try and make plans for it.

I now have a new website for the mastering side of things, too: Melograf Mastering!

Also added a nice new album review from The Milk Factory.

Just a final reminder that I’ll be closing the mastering service and shop before the end of the week, until August, as I’ll be off to concentrate on my thesis work over the summer. I’ve got 7 Midsummer Nice Dream CDs left in stock, which would be nice to clear; considerably more vinyl is available, so don’t worry about that — plenty left. If you need any odd tracks mastered, please arrange to get them to me by Wednesday at the latest, just so I’ve got a couple of days to work on them and get them back to you.

I’ll still be online around here though and obviously contactable via email—not going to leave the face of the planet while I’ve got an impending album release.

Just a quick note — my mastering service will be put on hold from the end of the month until the beginning of August, as I’ll be away from the studio for a while. So, if you envisage needing my services over the next few weeks, then please get in touch ASAP to see if I can fit you in before the summer break. Once I return, the service will be back with a vengeance, hopefully with some exciting new toys to play with.