Perfect Beings – I & II

When a bunch of incredibly talented musicians with a passion for prog rock akin to Yes, King Crimson, and Pink Floyd get together to form a super group, I get really excited. Being invited to hit record for the album recording is pretty much the icing on the cake. And this is exactly what happened when Perfect Beings created their first two albums “Perfect Beings I” and “Perfect Beings II” in sunny California.

The band based around guitarist/producer Johannes Luley, singer/songwriter Ryan Hurtgen and keyboardist/synth-maniac Jesse Nason were joined by drummer Dicki Fliszar and bassist Chris Tristram. Why do these names matter? Because all of them are seasoned rock musicians with amazing chops. Accordingly, the primary task as an engineer is to just not fuck it up. Things get really fun though, because it allows focusing on capturing the unique sonic character of every musician in the best possible way.

The tracking session for both albums took place at Johannes’ private studio called My Sonic Temple on Los Angeles’ Westside. The studio is also the home base for the band to write and do pre-production. It turned out to being the ideal place for us to get into a relaxed yet productive vibe. Because Perfect Beings’ music consists of sophisticated composition, a huge amount of time goes into writing and preproduction. The actual tracking sessions on the other hand are all about capturing great performances and unique sounds. Sometimes that means all musicians need to perform at the same time without a click, sometimes it requires hours of tweaking a particular patch on a synth.

Both records were mixed by Johannes Luley and have been released on his own signature label, also named My Sonic Temple. Check out the “making of” video above to get an up and close look at the recording process for the first album. The band members share their thoughts on the writing and production process, as well as their influences. Maybe it’s because of the California sun or just the magic of the moment: but to me the video reflects how relaxed everybody is and how great of a vibe we had going. And hopefully you’ll be able to hear that within the music we recorded!