SERVICES
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all sessions will be carried out remotely until further notice.
MIXING
(starting from £75 per song -
discounts available on projects)
Once all individual stems of a song have been recorded, The engineer will EQ each stem to allow all of the instruments to inhabit their own frequency areas. This allows the track to be clear and each part distinguishable. Compression, reverb, delay, and other processors can be added to stems for the desired sound.
Manipulating fades and effects throughout can help control the sonic qualities of the song.
MASTERING/
STEM MASTERING
(starting from £30 per song)
Once we receive your mixed stereo track or grouped stems for "stem mastering" (explained below) the process can begin.
Subtle adjustments are made with EQs, compressors, limiters, and stereo enhancement tools to correct and compliment the characteristics of your track.
Stem mastering is when the engineer is given grouped stems for a track e.g. a stereo grouped vocal stem, a stereo grouped instrument stem and a stereo grouped drum track etc...
DIGITAL EDITING/
RESTORATION
(price dependant on service)
This could be anything from removing "hum" or "hiss" from a recording, to lowering a vocalist's breath between lines, or creating radio friendly versions of songs.
For albums we offer sequencing services, placing tracks in running order, applying the correct fades/spacing and bringing tracks to consistent volume levels so the album flows cohesively.
DDP masters available on request if you have your ISRC/EAN/UPC numbers.
COMPOSITION &
REMIX WORK
(starting from £150)
We also offer composition/ production services. We have broad stylistic experience to draw on and many seasoned beat makers/producers and session musicians in our network.
We produce original music or creative remix work according to the needs of our clients.
Check some of the listed work in our portfolio.
ABOUT US
Tessellated Sound was started in 2015 by Ken Gardner & Curt Cataract, who apart from being father and son, were long time musical and production collaborators. Ken sadly passed away in 2018 but made sure he imparted as much of his experience and knowledge possible to Curt over the years they worked together. The pair started the studio in order to have their own space and equipment to create but quickly realised how "in demand" they became for their skills and dedication to the craft.
Curt has become known for working extensively with the UK HipHop scene but his taste in music is vast and his expertise can be applied to any job regardless of genre or style. Curt carries his father's affinity for the psychedelic and esoteric, and is able to employ this insight.
We use a mixture of digital processing plug-ins, rich warm analogue equipment, our carefully calibrated monitoring system and our trained ears to take your music to the next level.
Find out more about our founding engineers...
Curt Cataract
Curt grew up in and around studio environments and developed an understanding of the recording process from a young age. He quickly became obsessed with making his own music and the equipment used to do so.
When Curt isn't working on a post production job, you'll probably find him tinkering with an old sampler or drum machine. Curt studied at Westminster uni and was mentored by Ken as well as other veteren engineers.
Notable credits: Gatecrasherz, Blaq Poet, Manage, Big Toast, Doug Sure, Mys-diggi, Mister, Chris Orrick, Igor's Night Off, OneOz, Oliver Sudden, Jack Diggs, Micall Parknsun, Dark Greenn, Greg Blackman, The Strange- Neighbour, Hemlock Ernst
Ken Gardner (1955-2018)
Ken, or "Dark Greenn" spent all of his life making music, as both a solo artist and fronting numerous bands, (Lycanda, The Public Heirs, Igor's Night Off) where his talents as both composer and arranger were put to use.
In the early years he would record demos on a 4 track Tascam porta-studio. Despite the technical limitations, it was these demos in part that garnered the interest of Blackwing recording studios, where he worked from 1986 to 1998, working with many greats.
Notable credits: Levitation, Pixies, Ride, Stereolab, Smiley Culture, My Bloody Valentine, Vex, Autumn
ARE YOU MIX READY?
Headroom / Limiting
• When making your final mix, be sure to leave at least -6dB at peak level.
• Do not use any “Brickwall” limiter on the master bus at mixdown. If you still want to use compressors EQ or limters to add character to the mix, than be careful not to compress or limit too hard.
• Do not normalize your files at mixdown.
Format/Resolution/Bit-depth
• Please send us your audio files in WAV or AIFF format. Please avoid sending us MP3s or other compressed/lossy formats.
(if compressed files are all you have, we will handle it anyway).
• As far as Sample rate and Bit depth are concerned, we would like the files to be in the same resolution as your recording and mix were made. Please don´t convert the files after mixdown unless absolutely necessary.
Editing/Fade
• Do not cut or bounce your mixed files too close to the beginning or end, please leave a few seconds before and after all instruments, delays and reverbs are completely silent.
• Do not fade at the end of the song, please leave it to us. Please describe if you have wishes for special in / out fades. Sometimes a fade can be absolutely crucial to the end of the song or transition to the next.
Data/Information
• For mastering rename your files:
”[Track number on album, eg 01] – [Full song title]
• For mixing rename your files:
”[Full song title] – [Stem title] eg snare, bass or guitar.
• If we are going to make a DDP master for you, we would like to have a document with this information:
* Artist / band name, * Album title, * Complete song list, * ISRC codes, * ev. EAN / UPC code.
• Make a ZIP file of all files before uploading your material. Name this with artist / band name and your email address.
CONTACT US
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Central London location.
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Closest station: London Bridge.
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Outside of the congestion zone.
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Exact location will be disclosed upon booking.
