Making an album takes time. Unless you have gone through the process, it is difficult to understand. Aside from the technical aspects of choosing microphones and sounds, there are the physical parameters of schedules and personalities. The number of decisions one must make is endless. Is that a good sound? Was that a good take? Did the groove feel right? Are those the correct notes?
Every Instant Emotion album was recorded, engineered, and produced by me. Those early albums have their own style and sound. When I began producing music as Andrew Maz in 2006, I worked to create a new sound and style for the music I was creating.
I wanted Instant Emotion to have its own identity, separate from Andrew Maz, as if it is a completely different writer and band. There was only one way to achieve this goal.
Follow any artist and you will hear their sound change dramatically from one album to the next. The liner notes often reveal a different. An experienced producer will bring in their own ideas and interpretations of the songs. A producer shapes the album.
If I wanted Instant Emotion to stand out as a separate entity, I need to remove myself from the entire production.
I asked Dora Ramos to produce Where It Finds You.
As a student, Dora was involved with the recording and editing for Singularity. She then mixed the Singularity album release concert. I brought her back as an hourly employee after she graduated from Cerritos College to move into the new building. She learned the new sound systems and ran sound for the campus events.
Dora’s experience with live sound and production compelled me to bring her in as part-time faculty to assist me with teaching live sound in Spring 2024, a class which she will teach on her own in Spring 2025. She volunteered six weekends to help us prepare for the Winter album release concert.
Dora is one of my closest and most trusted collaborators. She deserves her own album credit.
Work progresses on Where It Finds You.
