This week has been fantastically productive and an absolute pleasure. We've had John Bull and The Bandits here for a 5 day lock-in. The guys are really creative, tastey players and their songs are emotive, groovy and catchy. Monday and Tuesday saw us getting a drum sound down with Max's vintage Ludwig Kit and alternating between his Ludwig 400 and Cambridge Drum Company snares. Max was playing with Joe (bass) and Jamie (guitar) in the live room and Sam laying down guide vocals in the control room. The vibe was great and everything we aim for at Pistachio Palace. A mixture of amazingly musical playing, some great mics and preamps and we were all over the moon with the drum sound. From Wednesday to Saturday morning we were overdubbing guitars, vocals and a little percussion. Trialling a Mojave MA300 valve mic on the vocals (and earlier on the kick drum alongside an AKG D12VR) has meant the mic won't be going back... It's been added to the mic locker (alongside a really fun Placid Audio Copperphone).

One of the guitar highlights was hearing Jamie lay down some lap steel on the studio's lap steel guitar with a little copicat going on too. He's a great player and very sympathetic to the songs... which can be hard to come by in some players. Joe's bass playing compliments Max's drumming in a fantastic way that you don't often hear and comes from years of playing together. The bass was DI'd for tracking purposes and I'm looking forward to reamping that next week through the Ampeg.

On Wednesday evening we were joined by Tom who, over the next two days, laid down some fantastic backing vocals with Jamie and beautiful acoustic guitar. The studio's Auden Chester being the weapon of choice for acoustic guitar duties.

It's been a busy week of long, intense days from everyone but there hasn't been a single moment that wasn't immense fun. When you have five minutes check out the guys on the internet and go and see tham play a show, you won't be dissapointed. We're excited to be getting stuck into preliminary mixes next week.

Here's Jamie, Sam and Joe going through a few bits and pieces... even in their down time they were working.

And the late nights were just as much fun (Joe, Jamie, Sam and Max).

More photos to follow soon.