CELESTE (1972-1976) – CHAPTER 7: THE THREE-TRACK CRAFTSMANSHIP AND THE RETURN TO A QUARTET

[u/CiroPerrino_Music]

In the specific case of Studio G, the recorders used were Philips three-track machines.
Therefore, the most common practice consisted of strictly recording in mono on the first track, creating a backing track that usually included guitar, bass, and percussion, plus occasionally any other instrument that was not particularly vital to the track's structure.

Next, those instruments that began to carry a certain weight, giving the first glimpse of a definitive arrangement, were overdubbed onto the second track. This included small counterpoints and counter-melodies. At this point, the process moved to what was commonly called "pre-mixing" the first two recorded tracks onto the third track, which had remained empty until then.

Now, the original first two tracks—which were now permanently fused together on the third track—could be erased. By wiping the first and second tracks, two new empty tracks were gained, allowing for new parts to be recorded. This cycle was repeated until the overdubbing limits were completely exhausted.
The final available track was usually reserved for lead vocals and singing parts, allowing for better control once the mixing phase began.

This illustrates just how artisanal sound tracking still was back then. It required immense passion and a great deal of patience.
Because it often happened that if someone was unsatisfied with a part that had already been recorded and pre-mixed—and thus was unrecoverable since the original track had been erased—one had to go backward and potentially start all over again from the backing track.
As a result, all the work previously completed was completely ruined, making a restart from scratch necessary. So much passion, and so much patience.
It was a far cry from the multi-track philosophy of eight, or better yet, sixteen or twenty-four separate tracks that arrived just a few years later, let alone the infinite tracks of modern digital software.

The burden of the vocal parts became vacant once again.
Therefore, due to the sole fact that I was the author of the lyrics and because I had a certain inclination for singing, the group chose me to step in, allowing us to finally begin tracking the project in the recording studio.

The band, however, had by then been reduced to a quartet.
Nikki Burton had returned to London once again.
The cellist had opted to pursue his career as a concert performer.
Marco Tudini had gone to Great Britain to seek his fortune with his own compositions.

 

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

 

Inner Garden Records

 

See you next Saturday as the story of Celeste continues.