The Key Studio Sessions: Arc In Round

I’m not going to front: Recording the Key Studio Sessions can be intimidating, especially when my subjects happen to be longtime professional audio engineers. That was the case when Arc In Round visited XPN last weekend. Half of the band works in sound all day, every day (singer-guitarist Jeff Zeigler runs Uniform Recording in the Eraserhood, drummer Matt Ricchini is a house engineer at Kung Fu Necktie and Johnny Brenda’s)—so I spent the soundcheck wondering if my microphone-wrangling was going to be up to their standards. It was a huge compliment, then, when the band hopped in the control room for a quick playback and Zeigler gave my mix the thumbs-up of approval. Gotta give credit, though: the band’s smart arrangements and skillful playing made things easy. The set was dense and incredibly loud, but spaced out enough that it never felt confined or claustrophobic. Mikele Edwards’ singing positively floats on a white noise-y surface; bassist Chris Coello gives the songs a robust core. Next Thursday, May 12, my full session and interview with Arc in Round airs on the Y-Rock on XPN Philly Local Second Shift—tune in to hear how these formidable pillars of sound are built, find out about the band’s upcoming releases and freak out to its slammin’ interpretation of Can’s “Oh Yeah!”