CD debut.

(top) Master CD and lyric sheets with notes from the sound engineer
(bottom left) Entrance to the recording studio
(bottom right) View of Funabashi from the studio building

I love singing and karaoke. This is one of the first things people learn about me. I sing everywhere and anywhere. Even to the point where I go to karaoke on my own for hours on end!

During a conference I attended earlier this year, one of the speakers said to thank you and goodbye to all the people who have supported me throughout these years in a meaningful way. Thoughtful and significant.

A number of people I've met here have told me they would totally go for my CD if I ever made one. Figuring that it would make the perfect thank you gift, I decided to make it happen!

Recording booth...just seeing this photo makes me want to go again!

That said, I had no idea how to go about doing so. After doing all sorts of research on the Internets, I knew I wanted to try recording in an actual studio...and eventually came across the establishment I wound up choosing, RBC's! Not only was it reasonable despite including sound adjustments and direction, but it was super close. The studio is just about a 20 minute ride by train, and located pretty much right next JR Tsudanuma Station. Perfect.

It's a small, homemade studio tucked into what seems like an apartment building (but all the other rooms on the same floor also seem to be occupied by various businesses). It was fantastic though - and I am really happy with the end product!

The spectacular sound engineer, Tamaki-san, hard at work!

I had no idea what I was going into when I walk through the door, but Tamaki-san, the guy who runs the place, was incredibly helpful and great about walking me through the process. I recorded 3 songs over 5 hours (you can rent out the studio on an hourly basis).

If you're recording vocals like I did, you bring in the instrumentals for your songs, as well as copies of your lyrics. Tamaki-san will even provide a little advice on singing/expression - I was just a breath off in my timing for one of my songs, so he pointed that out to me and we fixed it. :)

Anyway, we record one song at a time - usually singing 2-3 "full cuts." Then Tamaki-san will put together the best parts of the cuts, and we can record individual parts if necessary.

After all the songs are complete, there's a little adjustment here and there...and voila! We actually got done earlier than the 5 hour mark, so we spent awhile chatting about random stuff - like how Tamaki-san is from Okinawa (in addition to his sound engineer job, he also does Okinawan music performances here and there!).

He's very professional and thorough, but Tamaki-san is also incredibly easy to work with so that you can relax and create your music just as you imagined it.

And just as he told me - "レコーディングは癖になる,"  or "Recording's addicting"! I think he's right. I wish I'd known about his place sooner - but perhaps the next time I come to Japan, I'll drop by for fun (and maybe record another song while I'm at it?!).

RBC's Funabashi studio official site: http://homepage3.nifty.com/rbc/