El_Txef_A

El_Txef_A – Tio Pete Studios

Tio Pete studios is where I decided to record my second album, We Walked Home Together. Located on the Basque coast, this versatile and unique studio has been my home for two weeks.

With a high level assembly, fully designed and conducted by Philip Newell and Reflexion Arts in the late 90s, they have an exclusive monitor system by Reflexion Arts and an LN Raindirk Symphony console with 56 channels installed. Alongside me I had the sound engineer Jose Lastra and a number of different musicians collaborating.

Lexicon, TC, Roland and Eventide Outboard

We used the Lexicon PCM 70 and the TC Electronic D-Two effects machines on every song. I remember using the Lexicon delay for the main pad on ‘Claim Of Planet Earth’ – basically the pad sounds dope but after using a small delay from the Lexicon the surround was something out of control. We had a little problem with the Roland Chorus Echo tape, but Jose is a handyman and I was so surprised to see the tape rolling inside this amazing machine.

Lexicon LARC 1

The remote controller for the famous Lexicon 224XL and 480L reverbs is another sign of the level of this studio. It’s so comfortable to have this controller in front of you so you can modify all the parameters on the two units.

Roland TR-909, 606, 727 & CR-78; Akai MPC 60

The TR-606 was my first drum machine. I remember I bought it on eBay for no more than 150 euros. The groove of the hi-hats is unbelievable. I recorded the 909 kicks for some of the tracks on the album and I also used the whole kit for ‘Claim Of Planet Earth’, which is one of the tracks on the album with a heavier beat. About the MPC 60, I always believed that the 2000 was the best option, but this Roger Linn design is something unique.

Manley Limiter, Urei 1176LN, DBX 165A

We used the Manley electro-optical limiter and the Urei 1176LN for all the vocal and guitar recordings. They give you a real fat sound with many nuances. While recording the track ‘Mugarrirantz’ with the folk band Napoka Iria, we recorded a slide guitar and it was crazy how the sound become fat, dirty and clear at the same time. For me the 1176LN is the perfect machine for the vocal recording sessions.

Roland Juno-106

I bought this renovated Juno-106 three years ago from Japan and we used it for a backing pad for ‘The Love We Lost’. The track was 99% finished but my brother Hibai listened and listened to it and told me that he thought it was missing something. We started jamming on the Juno-106 and wow, the track lifted. It was something magical. The sound is so 80s, I think, so I didn’t use it more on the album recordings, but it definitely is one of the must-have synths.

Reflection Arts 234

One of the jewels of the studio is this pair of Reflection Arts 234 monitors. The studio was created by Philip Newell in late 90s and these monitors were made exclusively for the room. After finishing the recordings of every track I just stayed for like two hours listening to the same track and making sure the sound was just amazing.

1962 Gretsch, 1971 Gibson Les Paul Triumph Bass, Fender Twin Reverb

What can I say? I just cried when I saw theses ladies. The Gibson has independent control of the bass and highs and is just amazing. We recorded it using the the Fender Twin Reverb amplifier. On this album I used guitars on three tracks: more crunchy stuff on ‘Someone Is Gonna Paint You Another Sky’, classic folk with the Gretsch on ‘You Left Us In This Physical World’ and on ‘Mugarrirantz’ we recorded some slide guitars.

Raindirk Symphony LN

This mixer is something out of space. Jose Lastra who is in this picture with me taught me lots of tricks for this special console. He’s the sound engineer who helped me on the recording of this album. They’re thinking about changing the mixer in the studio but Jose refuses to replace this unique beast. It was my first time using an engineer for the recordings, and I must say it was so helpful because I could concentrate more on the production.

Tannoy little red monitor

These vintage monitors are located in the studio’s recording room. We just used them for some jamming – we played the rough mixes from the control room and jammed on the pianos and guitars like we were in a rehearsal room. It’s nice to see how these old babies are still rocking.

MEC MEC Food

We had sessions lasting up to 20 hours a day, so this restaurant helped so much on the outcome. The pizzas are amazing and also the hamburgers are DOPE!