Boston .- BerkleeÂ’s student-run label Heavy Rotation Records (HRR) releases its latest project, Under the Influence, digitally on December 6. The compilation features Berklee students and alumni covering some of rock’s biggest names, including REM, Green Day, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, and Smashing Pumpkins, and the seminal bands that influenced their sounds–Mission of Burma, Hà 1/4sker Dà 1/4, Joy Division, Gang of Four, the Pixies, and My Bloody Valentine.
HRR celebrates Under The Influence with a concert Saturday, December 3 at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, featuring special guest Roger Miller of Mission of Burma performing acoustic. The HRR artists (details below) will perform songs from the CD. The concert is $8 in advance ($12 day of show) and begins at 8:15 p.m. Tickets are available at berkleebpc.com and at the box office. The venue is wheelchair-accessible. Please call 617-747-2261 for more information.
Under the Influence was produced by Paul Kolderie, cofounder of famed Fort Apache Studios, who produced or engineered some of the original artists. Unlike past HRR CDs, where students submitted songs already recorded, Kolderie went into the studio with artists chosen by the label and helmed the project from the beginning. He used the same console he used to record the Pixies and Radiohead, along with some of the original amps, pre-amps and mics. «Unfortunately the original studios are gone, so we couldnÂ’t go to those locations,» said Kolderie. «But we did as much as possible to incorporate the older gear into the new songs.» In addition to Pixies and Radiohead, KolderieÂ’s credits include Billy Bragg, Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr., Hole, Morphine, Portugal. The Man, and many more.
The recording features Julia Easterlin (Pixies, Radiohead), Da’Rayia (Gang of Four, Red Hot Chili Peppers), David Pramik featuring Johnny Duke (Joy Division, U2), the Boston Boys featuring Emily Elbert (HÃ 1/4sker DÃ 1/4, Green Day), the Berklee String Metal Ensemble (My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins), and Pinn Panelle (Mission of Burma, REM). The project gave each HRR artist the opportunity to reinterpret songs by a pair of these classic bands, using their creativity to make something new. They wrote their own arrangements and instrumentations for the new versions. Although the artists are performing covers for this project, they are not cover bands. Each writes and performs original music in varied genres Â- with the exception of the Berklee String Metal Ensemble.
HRRÂ’s faculty advisor Jeff Dorenfeld hatched the concept for the record while talking to his son one day. «He was listening to My Bloody Valentine and Husker DÃ 1/4, and it dawned on me that these bands have become more popular because of the bands they influenced,» said Dorenfeld. He took the idea into his class and added constraints: a member of the influenced band had to mention the influential band [in print], and the influential band could not have had a major recording career. The students researched the bands to choose the artist pairings for the album. «We also decided to cover the bands in different genres than the original recording, which led to picking a bluegrass band to cover punk bands Husker Du and Green Day, for instance,» he added.
HRR is a class that gives music business/management majors at Berklee hands-on experience in running a record company. Under DorenfeldÂ’s guidance, the student staff oversees all of the label’s functions, including marketing, sales, web development, media, and accounting. The label presents events in the Boston area and at some of the music industry’s largest festivals, including SXSW in Austin and the CMJ Music Marathon in New York, and recently had an artist perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
The labelÂ’s releases since 1995 have included Shekinah: 13 Artists, distributed by Epic; Apollo Sunshine’s second CD, co-released with spinART; and Dorm Sessions 1Â-7. Many up-and-coming artists have appeared on HRR albums, including St
