The Owl Ones

The Owl Ones is a lovely jazz trio project conceived by the Austrian vocalist Veronika Morscher and Irish tenor sax player Matthew Halpin, supported by two of my favorite piano players,  Pablo Held and Kit Downes. Titled “Shadow Loves The Sun” we created a compelling record back in 2015 that features Pablo and Kit taking turns on the album tracks. Rather than going to a commercial studio the album was recorded at Pianohaus Schoke, a piano dealership in Cologne.

What made the project exciting for me was that the musicians opted to perform without headphones to create a more natural feel and dynamics. Also, there were no baffles or booths around to help with separation. So I had to pull every trick in the book in terms of positioning the musicians and using microphone placement to manage bleed and create a good balance in the room. On the flip-side though, being outside a “real studio” established a very comfortable and intimate atmosphere that was well worth the extra effort. The fantastic sounding Steingraeber & Söhne grand piano was definitely a joy to record and instrumental to the sound of the album.

All the recording gear had to be hauled in of course, but that allowed me to put together a custom rig streamlined for the job thanks to additional support by my friend and colleague Jonathan Hoffmann. Veronika had had some troubles finding the right microphone for her voice, so I paid extra attention to matching her vocals with a complimentary mic. After minimal editing, I handled mixing and mastering in the B room at Maarwegstudio 2, since my own studio was still under construction.

Ultimately then we ended up with a really emotional and intimate album featuring both cover songs and original compositions by Veronika and Matthew. Their sound is characterized by so much depth and dreamy soundscapes that make it a must-hear for me. Check out some of the pictures below for glimpse behind the scenes!