NEWS
Human Resources Release New Album "Champagne"
(left to right) Paul Chelmis, Aaron Utterback, Matt Zutell, Dries Vandenberg
Human Resources Release Full Length Album "Champagne"
Produced by Human Resources
Recorded & Mixed by Matt Zutell at Coast Records in Charleston, SC
"Sylvia" and "Caught Up" produced by Taylor Locke & Human Resources
Recorded & Mixed by Taylor Locke and Kyle Fredrickson at the Velveteen Laboratory in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA
Mastered by Matthew Garber | For The Record Mastering
www.hrtheband.com
STREAM
Thompson Faulk Releases First Single off New Album
Written by Thompson Faulk
Produced by Matt Zutell
Recorded & Mixed by Matt Zutell at Coast Records
Mastered by Matthew Garber | For The Record Mastering
Vocals - Thompson Faulk
Guitars - Dries Vandenberg
Bass - Aaron Utterback
Keys - Paul Chelmis
Drums - Matt Zutell
Rare Creatures Release Music Video for "The Howl"
Video Directed & Edited by Coleman Sawyer
Filmed by Dries Vandenberg
Starring Richards Gregory
"The Howl"
Produced by Matt Zutell & Coleman Sawyer
Recorded & Mixed by Matt Zutell at Coast Records
Mastered by Matthew Garber | For The Record Mastering
Human Resources Release Second Single "Amigos"
Excerpt by Chris Huber, extrachill.com
This morning we're happy to premiere the second single, "Amigos", off the upcoming Human Resources album Champagne. "Amigos" was recorded at drummer Matt Zutell's Coast Records Studio in downtown Charleston, and is fittingly the first official release to come out of the new studio.
"Amigos" is a song about growing up filtered through a Human Resources lens. When guitarist Dries Vandenberg joined SUSTO last year, the band was faced with a whole set of challenges associated with the perpetual absence of a core member. Dries being on the road with SUSTO for extended periods of time introduced an element of uncertainty to the band dynamic, and made the time that they do have together even more valuable.
Human Resources took advantage of these windows of opportunity to brew Champagne, which is possibly my most anticipated Charleston album of 2018. "Amigos" is a sampling of that home-brewed goodness that addresses the uncertainty as well as a transition between the carefree college years and the reality of early adulthood. I have reason to believe this will be a central theme on Champagne.
“Amigos can come across as a straightforward dance song," bassist Aaron Utterback says, "but we tried to keep it sincere and introspective enough to interest people on a deeper level".
Champagne is slated for release later this month (tentative date is May 25th), and Human Resources is throwing an album release party at The Royal American on Friday, June 1st. Joining HR that night will be Athens-based musicians Drew Beskin of The District Attorneysand Phillip Brantley of Palace Doctor. Tickets are $10 at the door.
- Chris Huber, extrachill.com
Stream "Amigos" below
Produced by Human Resources
Recorded & Mixed by Matt Zutell
Mastered by Matthew Garber of For The Record Mastering
Chris Wilcox Releases "Songs For Myself" EP
Excerpt by Chris Huber from extrachill.com
This morning, Chris Wilcox released a new four-track EP, Songs for Myself. The EP features two new songs, and two that were previously released as singles ("Drive" and "Captiva"). Chris recorded the tracks with Matt Zutell of Coast Records here in Charleston, with whom he is also working on a full-length album that will be released in the near future. The tracks were mastered by Matthew Garber at For The Record Mastering.
The first of two new songs on Songs for Myself is "You Have Me", which Chris had initially written a while back but couldn't quite figure out how he wanted it to sound. The song came alive in the studio when Paul Chelmis added some keyboard magic, bringing a piano ballad feel that builds to a crescendo as the song progresses. I have to say that a good buildup is one of my favorite things in music, and "You Have Me" completely satisfies in that regard.
Next up we have "Every Time", which is a simple song as far as lyricism goes. This lyrical simplicity allowed for some experimentation production-wise, and they ran with that during the recording process. Dries Vandenberg brought out his pedal board and gave the song an ambient feel that helps foreshadow what's to come from the upcoming full-length.
The title for this EP comes from the mindset that Chris found himself in after meeting with several major publishers in Nashville, who mostly told him that his sound didn't fit their "formula". The suits told him that his songs were too long, too chordsy, and just didn't work for them. Instead of cutting back his sound to fit inside their box, Chris used their rejection as fuel for his creative fire and came up with Songs for Myself.
- Chris Huber, extrachill.com
Tom Mackell's "Where The Whiskey Flows" Live Studio Session
Tom Mackell performs his song "Where The Whiskey Flows" live in our studio
Featuring Charlie Thompson on dobro & Aaron Utterback on the telecaster and harmonies
Produced by WAV Creative
Video filmed & edited by Dries Vandenberg
Audio recorded, mixed & mastered by Matt Zutell
For this session, I recorded Tom's vocal using a telefunken CU-29 Tube mic and ran it through the universal audio la-610 preamp/compressor to give it a rich and smooth sound
I used my neumann TLM 103 on the acoustic guitar for the clarity and clean sound that mic produces
I recorded the dobro using the wa-87 microphone which has a nice mid range and a soft high end to keep the scratchy nature of the dobro from sounding too harsh
i used a cheap ribbon mic on aaron's vocal for the harmonies and threw a sm57 on the guitar amp cuz let's be on honest, it sounds great and there's no need to overthink it
I Ran the acoustic and the dobro mics through my joe meek twin q channel strips for some light eq and compression before it reached the computer
Thompson Faulk Live Studio Sessions @ Coast Records
Thompson Faulk performs songs off his upcoming album at our Coast Records studio
Filmed by Dries Vandenberg & Jess Spence
Video edited & produced by Dries Vandenberg
Audio recorded & mixed by Matt Zutell
Chris Wilcox Premieres New Single "Captiva"
"Captiva" is the latest single from Chris Wilcox
Produced, recorded & mixed by Matt Zutell
Mastered by Matthew Garber
Written by Chris Wilcox
Track Credits:
Vocals - Chris Wilcox
Acoustic & Electric Guitar - Dries Vandenberg
Additional Electric Guitar - Thomas Kenney, Steve Dawson
Pedal Steel - Steve Dawson
Piano - Paul Chelmis
Bass - Aaron Utterback
Drums - Matt Zutell
"Captiva" premiered courtesy of Extra Chill
Check out the full article here
Paste Magazine Premieres Human Resources' New Single
Click artwork for full Paste article
Human Resources, an alternative pop-rock band from Charleston SC, release their new single, "Sylvia", this week. The track ropes you in within the first five seconds. It is a smart, fun and exquisitely produced track bringing to mind the best elements of Hall & Oates, early Phoenix, Duran Duran and Vampire Weekend. Formed in 2015, Humans Resources quickly adopted a unique role in the blossoming Charleston music scene as a pop-centric counterpart to the neo-southern and indie rock acts prevalent in the area at the time.
Human Resources is the pop brainchild of Susto guitarist, Dries Vandenberg, and Brave Baby bassist, Aaron Utterback. The pair teamed with producer Matt Zutell (Drums), of prominent Charleston studio, Coast Records, and photo/videographer Paul Chelmis (Keys) in 2015 and have since released one full-length record, En Route (2015), and one E.P. Pizza Dreams (2016) since it’s inception. Both releases received positive local reviews and back to back local music awards. While touring obligations with Susto and Brave Baby keep live appearances exclusive, Human Resources played a handful of shows in the southeast in 2017 and plan to play more this year.
Serving as the lead single from a forthcoming full length L.P. “Sylvia” was produced by former Rooney guitarist, and current Sparks touring guitarist, Taylor Locke, at his studio The Velveteen Laboratory in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. One additional song produced by Locke will appear on the L.P. slated for release this Spring. The remaining tracks are produced by drummer Zutell in Charleston, SC.
Human Resources had this to say about the new track: “It represents an effort to bridge our established sound with new influences that are explored more heavily on the rest of the album. It was our first time working with a producer outside of the band, and recording outside of our hometown which took us to new places that we really vibe with.”
"Sylvia" is available for streaming on all major platforms.
- Paste Magazine
