The news that Robert Pattinson tested positive for Covid-19 a few days into resumed filming for The Batman film highlights just how important and necessary strict safety precautions are in order for the entertainment industry to continue production. The music industry is no exception. Chromium was able to have its first live recording sessions since before the coronavirus pandemic in the first week of September with new safety measures in place.
Chromium’s first recordings were with the Sofia session orchestra in Bulgaria, while remotely working from Chromium’s London office. In line with Bulgaria’s current safety regulations, the performers were sat socially distanced and wearing masks, apart from the brass section for obvious reasons, who were recorded separately in a later session. Though having to dial in via the internet to communicate with the engineers and orchestra to give feedback and direction, the remote recording process proved successful. There is definite potential for this way of recording to open up opportunities for remote recording around the world.
Our second session saw us return to Master Chord Studios in North London. We were last at Master Chord back in October 2019 recording tracks such as ‘Romanza’ and ‘Cantus, after Bach’ by Joseph Phibbs. Things this time around were a little different to what we’re used to with masks having to be worn at all times and implementing staggered call times for composers and session musicians to enforce social distancing in keeping everyone safe. Composer Jasha Klebe joined us over Source Connect and Zoom from LA to give direction on his pieces.
As Chromium’s sync coordinator, organisation was fundamental. It was important we kept to call times to eliminate unnecessary contact between sessions, on top of the usual jobs that go into live recording. There was ample hand sanitiser available and in order to keep numbers down, we decided to not have guests along for the sessions. Everyone either brought their own lunch or went out to eat. Wearing a mask, though not ideal, proved not to be a hurdle for my responsibilities of monitoring the progress of the recordings and ensuring the musicians and composers have everything they need.
Despite the difficulties posed by the restrictions, the efforts of studios both in London and Bulgaria, engineers, musicians, composers and the wider team surpassed expectations in ensuring we were able to record new music safely. We were lucky enough to capture both sessions in this current normal and we’re very much looking forward to sharing more new music and behind the scenes with you soon. Here is a behind the scenes glimpse into the recording of Thomas Farnon’s track ‘Lost’.
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