Glass Animals

The writing studio’s compactness leant itself nicely to Bayley’s process. Keeping his essentials within arm’s reach, he has guitars: Hofner 176, Fender Stratocaster, Selmer Classical, Fender Precision bass with flat-wound strings, Roland Jupiter-6, Korg MS-20, ARP 2600—which made it onto every song on the album—a vintage Neumann U 87 microphone, and a couple of API preamps. Recording happens into Pro Tools, with Ableton preferable for sequencing and programming. Keeping things simple allows Bayley to whiz around, patching in what he needs quickly.

"On the overheads we had a Neumann U 67 and AKG D19, both in the center above the snare. We then would choose one or get a blend that worked for each song. Occasionally I added a second pair of overheads, some Sony pencil condensers in x-y, just in front of the kit about two meters off the ground. These microphones sound very hard and in your face, so it worked out great."

On the overheads we had a Neumann U 67 and AKG D190, both in the center above the snare. We then would choose one or get a blend that worked for each song. Occasionally I added a second pair of overheads, some Sony pencil condensers in x-y, just in front of the kit about two meters off the ground. These microphones sound very hard and in your face, so it worked out great.

“We used condensers on the close kit for brightness and attack, with the exception of a dynamic on the hi-hat for a bit more chunk than sizzle,” says Wiggins. “A Coles 4038 was placed above the kick and distorted for when more crunch was needed.