Leading Ivors Academy composers have established an open database to connect composers with professional musicians able to record from home.
This has come as a response to the impact of coronavirus pandemic, which has seen thousands of musicians losing work as tours, gigs, concerts and studio sessions are cancelled. The Remote Recording Directory is designed to bridge the gap.
The database lists professional self-recording instrumentalists and vocalists along with technical roles including music editors, orchestrators, copyists and record/mixing and mastering engineers.
Award-winning film composer and Ivors Academy Media Committee member Nainita Desai came up with the idea after being commissioned to produce a live orchestral score for a Netflix feature two days into the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.
Nainita Desai said: ‘With the UK in lockdown I realised that the only way I was going to be able to deliver the score was to bring musicians on board that could remote record themselves with their own studio facilities. At the same time I started getting messages from musicians who had suddenly lost all their work overnight. It immediately dawned on me that I could bring these two needs together.’
Describing her process producing scores with musicians working remotely, Nainita shared: ‘I send rough mixes of my music, along with sheet music, for musicians to play to. Using live video apps I can connect and communicate with them. Within hours recorded files start to be sent back to me, which I then edit and mix into the score’
Commenting on the initiative, Graham Davies, chief executive, The Ivors Academy, said: ‘Composers and songwriters are innovating during Covid-19 to keep their careers and the industry alive. We encourage all music makers to join the Academy’s growing online community and make use of this new directory - this is vital support, at a critical time for creatives across the music industry.’
If you’re interested in being added to the Remote Recording Directory, you can sign up here.
