Marcus Wolf

The new Marcus Wolf album called “Mirror” is set to be digitally released on 10.10.10. I started recording in March 2010 during a few days off of the David Garrett tour. We had two rehearsals and recorded 12 songs in two LONG days…. The rhythm section features Adrian Harpham on drums and Jon Maron on bass. Both players had been playing with me for years with other projects and a few MW shows so they knew where I was coming from and we put together 12 songs very quickly. We tracked basics with Phil Nicolo engineering in Conshohocken PA at Studio 4.

The drums and bass were set up in the studio and I was in the control room singing and playing…

my view while tracking

setting up in Studio 4

guitar amps in the lounge… We recorded  to 2″ Studer tape machine thru a fat vintage Neve. It was so nice to hear music off of tape again! No new technology has surpassed the warmth and depth of tape…

Studer 2" tape deck

Vintage Neve console

All overdubs were done at o1studio, my own production office where I recorded any guitar and vocal overubs. I had some great friends help out as well! The beautiful Ann Marie Milazzo sang on 3 songs. Cello and Piano virtuoso Dave Eggar helped arrange the strings and piano for the title track “Mirror”. He also played a beautiful solo cello on “Island Time”. Keyboardist Ben Stivers filled in a few holes on two tunes, playing all the right notes in the right places as usual!

random overdub guitar set up

David Garrett Marshalls & Stradivarius

Decca Records artist David Garrett was kind enough to support the idea of this project from the start and lent his talent on a track that we’ve been playing on his tours for the past year. “Little WIng” by Jimi Hendrix features David and it’s the first recording of him using his recently acquired Stradivarius. David’s part was overdubbed at Electric Lady Studios at the end of the day when I was recording guitars for David’s “Rock Symphonies” album. It was pretty cool to be hearing David with this violin built in 1717 playing a classic Hendrix tune in the studio that Jimi built!

Little Wing will only be available with the physical CD purchase and is being sold at the merchandise tables on David’s upcoming German tour. When I return from the fall tour the physical CD will be available from Amazon in December.

I went back to Conshohocken for the final mixes with Phil Nicolo engineering. His mix room has Pro Tools HD and a vintage E series SSL console. We used all outboard gear and console eq/compression for the mix. No plugins really needed, thank you! We printed to a half inch tape machine. Once again I love that tape sound! All the recent audio technology has not made things sound better as far as I’m concerned… Though the fact that recording can be done practically anywhere these days proves the convenience factor can’t be ignored! The art of engineering is still the key to a pro sounding record and I was so grateful to have the chance to work with a master industry veteran like Phil.

Marcus & Phil in Studio 4 mix room, Conshohocken PA

Many of the songs chosen were written by my good friend and music cohort Michael Katz of my side project M2B. We had made demos of Mike’s favorite songs and I always wanted to take some of the tracks I fell in love with and make proper versions of them. One of the tunes “For All” was written in response to the untimely death of Mike’s Rabbi who passed away with his wife in a tragic fire and is dedicated to Jacob & Debbie Rubenstein.

The album is dedicated to my Mom & Dad. Dad passed away while I was on tour with David in Ocober 2009.

Mirror photo Shoot

Mirror photo shoot with Kim Kennedy

My good friend Kim Kennedy took the photos for the record. He worked on a few projects that I produced in the last few years. He is a well know fashion photographer based in Boston and New York. Kim has been recently dealing with some tough times…. Lymphatic cancer. He has a passionate love for life and hunger to celebrate  life’s joy with everyone he connects with. A vibrant soul, this brother is a light on the planet and an inspiration to all who get to know him. If you are in a position to help please check out this website http://www.everybodysbrother.com and help out! Kim’s situtation is curable.

Kim Kennedy and Marcus Wolf at Beth Israel 8.28.10

Thanks for reading and enjoy the music beginning on 10.10.10!!

Big Love,

Marcus

Credits:

All There Is To Say, Better Than You, For All (dedicated to rabbi Jacob & Debbie Rubenstein), Island Time, Pretend, Signs, Smile Where You Stand, Where It Takes Us written by Michael Katz (BMI)

Seconds written by Michael Katz & Marcus Wolf

Higher, Give Back To You, Mirror written by Marcus Wolf  (o1music ASCAP)

Little Wing written by Jimi Hendrix (Experience Hendrix LLC)

Jonathan Maron – bass

Adrian Harpham – drums, shaker on “Where It Takes Us”

Ben Stivers – piano on “Give Back To You”, keys on “Pretend”

Ann Marie Milazzo – female vocals

Dave Eggar – cellos & piano on “Mirror”, solo cello on “Island Time”

David Garrett – violin on “Little Wing”

Marcus Wolf – vocals & guitars, percussion

Produced by Marcus Wolf

Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Phil Nicolo at Studio 4, Conshohocken, PA

Assistant engineer for basic sessions – Steven LaFashia

Overdubs recorded & engineered by Marcus at o1studio

Photos and concept – Kim Kennedy www.ksquaredstudios.com

Styling – Sheryl Murakami

Grooming – Mariolga Pantazopoulos (Mariposa)

Design – David Quattrini

Jewelry – Stephen Kris www.stephenkris.com

other pages:

http://www.myspace.com/jonathanmaron

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adrian-Harpham/153635597408

http://www.myspace.com/benstiverskeys

http://www.daveeggarmusic.com/

http://broadwayworld.com/people/AnnMarie_Milazzo/

http://www.david-garrett.com/

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Phil+Nicolo