Around this time last year, I was asked to head into the mountains of Georgia with my good friend, JT Brown, in order to capture the process of recording his full length album, Phantom Heart. We were to be simultaneously filming a documentary about the process, so there was a lot to do in the 10 days we spent in a cabin called Dancing Bear.
JT wanted to escape the vices of his hometown in the Tampa/St Petersburg area of Florida and create a unique experience for everyone involved in the making of his record. Among the crew involved were both Denny and Alex of Polyenso, a band I also frequently work with.
Shawn Kyle rounded out the squad to offer his engineering and songwriting skills to the record.
The idea was simple, spend 10 days away from everything in a cabin in the woods whilst tracking as much of the record as possible. Denny started the process by laying down drum tracks.
A master of his craft, Denny needed little assistance in figuring out what JT wanted from him for each track.
Much of the album was already written, but there was many decisions to be made amongst the crew.
Alex's songwriting skills rounded out the project, laying down the backbone of many of the songs on bass.
JT is one hell of a performer, easily laying down the tracks once the ideas were in place.
The cabin created a special vibe that we enjoyed for the entire process, bringing us closer together as friends and inspiring special moments in the album.
Dancing Bear: The Making of Phantom Heart
The short film, directed by Dylan Melcher, chronicles the making of J.T. Brown's latest record, Phantom Heart. It takes you from a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, back to streets of Tampa, giving you an inside look into the experience of making a record in a unique way.
Phantom Heart
You can listen to Phantom Heart on Spotify or check out the track The Devil's Shoulder below
Thanks for looking!
JL
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