CONTAGION - THE JOURNEY
Studio Diary

February 14th 2002… The time has come for Arena to record their fifth studio album, and for that particular task they have chosen to work with Mike Stobbie in Arena Studios, London. 

Part One 
After Mick had completed the drums, Clive and Mike spent time sifting through keyboard parts, sequences and checking the keys with Rob. When this was in place they were ready to start on the vocals. The reason they decided to do the vocals next was because that would give them some 'musical clues' that would work well for the other instruments (oh, it's all very complicated this recording thing... or at least that's what they make us believe!).

The name of the album (Contagion) seems to have been a bit of an omen, because a whole bunch of Mike's disc drives went mad and stopped working, so the brave soldiers in Arena Studios were plagued by a few days of technical problems. (Hence the reason Mike might look a little under pressure!) Actually, it doesn't really matter which studio Arena go to, they always find a ghost in the machine! 

Despite these problems, they have now made a start on the vocals and Rob is already halfway though the album. It will soon be time for John to make a start on the guitar parts, so watch this space!

Part Two
As work progresses on the new Arena studio album Contagion, we catch up on some of the bits and bobs that go with a new release. 

The artist David Wyatt has been working on the cover, the booklet and various extras over pretty much the same period of time Arena have written the album, and Mick told Arena World that there's been a constant dialogue between the artist and Arena, and that David has a really good ability to understand what Arena want and put the music into images. Clive says ‘When we first saw David's 'quick sketches', we couldn't believe our eyes. He has got some really great ideas, and when I had finished writing the lyrics, I sent them over to him to give him even more insight to what it is we want. Now when we're on our way towards the finished products - his pictures and our album -I can honestly say we're very happy with the result.’

Both Clive and Mike have bought new, sexy 'Virus' keyboards, which will be featured on Contagion. ‘A new, exciting sound is always a good source of inspiration to write new material’, says Clive.

Part Three
As you may see from the pictures below, John and Clive have been locked in the Outhouse Studio (Johns hideout, that is) and they have been working on a plethora of guitar parts.

According to Clive, there will be everything from the lightest of themes to the heaviest of metal (oh, well, Clive might be exaggerating just a little bit here ;-)

Mick, being a man who 'knows where his towel is', popped in to see to that the boys were behaving and that everything is as it should. We can see where he's coming from, after all, making an album is like having a baby, isn't it? Isn't it...? Well, he looks happy with the result, doesn't he?

The job now is to put down lots of guitar parts to sift through later. ‘It's easier to cut than to add later’, Clive assures us.

Part Four
As things continued in London, it was time to work on some new guitar parts. John and Clive sat down and started drafting some of the more complicated leads. ‘I think it's better for me’, said Clive, ‘I just have to press the record button’.

Back in London, Mick furthers his education while Mike solves a hard disk problem which held them up for a day or two. This was getting to be a rather irritating habit.

Part Five
Things have come a long way since the album's working title 'Monkey'. In fact the whole concept and structure is now completely different. Although the lyrics were completed some weeks ago, Clive keeps changing the track titles, but we've been assured that this is 'pretty much' the final version:

1. Witch Hunt
2. An Angel Falls
3. Painted Man
4. (This Way) Madness Lies
5. A Spectre At The Feast
6. Never-Ending Night
7. Skin Game
8. Salamander
9. On The Box
10. Tsunami
11. Fallow Ground
12. The City Of Lanterns
13. Riding The Tide
14. Mea Culpa
15. Cutting The Cards
16. Ascension

Part Six
Arena received a visit from 'The Cage Fan Club Organisers': 'Little' Marcel, 'Big' Marcel and Erik last weekend. They had a listen to the Contagion demo, and took a trip into Arena Studio in London. Ian was just finishing off his bass recording, so there was plenty of new stuff for everyone to hear. This visit was by coincidence the day that the Queen Mother died.

Mick said ‘you can really hear the album coming together now... very exciting’. Well, the guys in the fan club seemed to agree! When they arrived, Ian was looking pale after his three days of intemsive recording, he said ‘that really pushed me: the next tour is going to be a challenge!’.

Clive and Mike will be getting together next week to work on Keyboards and some backing vocals. 

Part Seven
During the last couple of days, Mike and Clive have been working on the keyboards, re-sculpting the sounds of the leads and some of the other parts. Clive says: ‘It sounds big. Really big.’

Part Eight
Time has been the enemy in the making of this latest studio album, and as a result of this Mike Stobbie has stepped back from the production duties. This means that Clive Nolan and John Mitchell are now at the helm. As a way of making up time Clive and John have been working full on at both Thin Ice and the Outhouse studios. This has enabled them to make some excellent progress on the album. Contagion a big project to do and with the additional EP’s, which have to be accounted for, there is a lot to think about. This is an unfortunate turn of events which we could all have done without, but there we are.

So where are we now with it all?
Rob - having recorded the vocals quite early in the process has returned to replace some of his takes. As the music has developed on the album, so he wanted to 'update' his approach to certain key sections. In fact it was decided to re-record all the vocals for the sake of continuity.

John - has almost finished work on the guitars, with just some acoustics and harmony parts to do.

Clive - has 'pretty much' completed the keyboards, and is just fine tuning some of the sounds and atmospheres.

Ian - finished the bass work a while ago in London. A change of attitude towards sound and style has lead to some excellent results.

Mick - has recorded the drums, and has recently been adding some overdubs and additional bits of percussion.

Backing vocals - Clive and John have just recorded these this week. There is also something called the 'Floodgate Choir'... more news to follow!

What's left to do?
Icing - No, this isn't a technical term! This is what Clive and John call spending a few days reviewing the tracks, and considering what works and perhaps what doesn't. Some of the best 'moments' on Arena albums have been added at this point in the process.

Mixing - Once all the recording work is done, it's time to mix the album. The guys will take a week off before this, just to clear their heads of the last few months. Then it will be time to make those final decisions, and run for the finishing line!
Mastering - The tracks will then hopefully be taken to Abbey Road to be mastered, which is where the music is compiled and finalised before heading for the pressing plant.

Pressing - Time for a whole bunch of plastic disks to be churned out.

Release - The release date is still planned to be the 23rd September.

So there we have it! It's going to be an intense few months for the boys, but they are confident that the result will be worth it. Here's what they have to say:

Clive: ‘Contagion has been the most organic process ever. As the days goes by the album just keeps on developing. It has a life of its own’

Mick: ‘I think we'll all give a sigh of relief when the album is finally done, but with every delay, there has been some great new ideas’

John: ‘Contagion is at a very exciting stage now. The recording is mostly done. its time for the mix!’

Rob: ‘I'm looking forward to taking this out on tour - it'll be a great show!’

Ian: ‘Have you got any jam?’

Part Nine
Mixing continues on the Arena album, with John and Clive locked away in the Outhouse studio. Over the last few days we've had some hot weather which according to the boys makes things pretty hard going. ‘With all that gear on, this place is more like an oven’ said Clive. Nevertheless, progress is being made, and seven of the tracks are now mixed. 

‘It's hard to know when to stop’ said John, ‘we get a mix running and suddenly Clive notices something in the keyboards, or we need to check a bass part, or something could be a little too loud’. Clive continued, ‘Skin Game took two days to mix... I thought it would never be finished... it sounds great now though!’ 

For those who might find this of interest one day, the tracks mixed so far are: Bitter Harvest, Skin Game, (This Way) Madness Lies, Mea Culpa, Spectre at the Feast, Salamander and Tsunami.

Part Ten
Here we are at the end of the recording process. The album is mixed, and the mastering is completed. Does it sound like the band thought it would?
You Bet!!

By: Arena