Singer Helen Darling Records

by Gary Powell, Vocal Producer

Songwriter David Barrett lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you watch college basketball on television then you have probably heard David’s work. From David’s site: “The song is “One Shining Moment”—the paean to endeavor that now crowns the NCAA Basketball Finals.” I have only met David once while he visited Austin, but found him to be soft spoken with a kindly and considerate demeanor living a clearly examined life. He’s the guy you wish could have a larger voice in the world of music. I hope you will visit David’s site to learn more about this talented man.

David and I met through my long time friend and colleague Helen Darling. Like most of us, David loves the way Helen sings. Helen brought in an mp3 of David’s song, “Sleeping with the Blues” which we imported into Digital Performer in preparation of her vocal. David’s lead vocal was previously recorded and Helen added a quasi duet and additional backgroud treatments to enhance the lyric. I then compiled Helen’s performance into a single file called a soundbite, one soundbite for each of the three tracks she performed (three part harmony, thusly three tracks).

I recorded Helen’s vocal with a Mojave MA-200, the new David Royer cardioid tube microphone. It was run through a Peavey VMP-2 tube mic-pre and a Manley Vari-Mu tube compressor before hitting the A/D convertors in the MOTU 2408MK3. This is my new favorite microphone and signal path for about 90% of the Austin studio singers who work with me here. Thank you, David, for trusting Helen and me with another one of your great songs. Thank you, Helen, for another musically rewarding and fun day!