Story
About Pique! Recording
Pique Recording is owned and operated by singer/songwriter/producer James Meder in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Pique uses the best in analog and digital recording equipment to ensure that no detail goes unnoticed. Capable of recording, mixing, mastering and every record-related audio service in between, Pique Recording welcomes all types of music and backgrounds - ensuring that your recording experience will be second to none.
The recording environment is compromised of 2 live rooms, one of which is more dry sounding with a carpeted floor, strategically placed curtains and an acoustic-tiled ceiling. The other room is more reverberant with wood floors, brink on one of the walls and acoustic panels on the other, drywalled surfaces. These 2 spaces provide a wide range of tonal options. The mix room is fitted with bass traps and acoustic panels to ensure an even playback response and critical listening environment. There is a couch at the back of the room for artists to make themselves comfortable when listening. The space is very conducive to a fast and efficient work flow. Designed to prevent technical hangups at every stage of the recording process.
Hello and Welcome! - James Meder Bio
My name is James Meder and I am an explorer of all things musical. In 2008 I picked up the guitar and started singing. A few years later I got obsessed with the possibilities of sound, which landed me in the recording studio. I have dedicated my life to learning the craft of music and recording and have had the opportunity to work with many very talented musicians - for which I am very grateful. I have found that I have a knack for helping artists discover, develop, and diversify their muse.
Please take a moment to peruse this site, I hope I may be of service. Enjoy!
Bio (long-winded style)
I decided to pursue the guitar during my first semester at Cal State Monterey. I entered the school on a whim in 2007 after years of dabbling in audio mixing at the local church where my dad operated the soundboard.
At Cal State Monterey (2006-2011) I took courses in vocal training, music theory, music production, and other areas of music technology. To occupy my extracurricular time, I played gigs at local open mics and organized shows along the Monterey Peninsula and in my hometown of Granite Bay, California (near Sacramento).
I was turned onto the craft of songwriting by listening to some of my favorite artists, including Damien Rice, Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch, and others of past decades such as Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Young, The Kinks and, of course, The Beatles. When I’m feeling adventurous, I delve into other genres such as jazz (Eric Dolphy, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis) and pioneering rock groups such as The Mars Volta, Tool and Dredg. I consider my music taste very eclectic and won't shy away from a good song!
During my final two years at Cal State Monterey, I focused on making records. I got together with my good friend Andrew Morgan, a local singer/songwriter who wanted to record some tunes to share with friends and family. He approached me with a few partially-completed songs and through a lot of hard work and determination a full-length album of material was written, recorded, and mixed. I had my first produced record under my belt!
It wasn't long until I had a couple more records complete and I was set to graduate. I found that I had developed a skill for working with people in the studio and that I am able to intuit an artist’s intentions to create the best possible final product for each individual project. It's extremely gratifying to follow a song from its birth, nurture it by helping develop its potential through production and arrangement, and then ultimately realize the song in the recording studio under the microphone. I felt then as I still do today: I had found my purpose.
After graduation I moved to Oakland, California. I bumped into fellow engineer/producer Nino Moschella via a Craigslist gear sale and was introduced to his studio, Bird & Egg Recording, located in El Cerrito, CA. Since 2012 I have worked with artists of all different genres in this space. I have been fortunate enough to record jazz, rock, gospel, rap, folk, hip hop, bluegrass, and everything in between. I continue to work at Bird & Egg when I am not busy in my own studio.
In September 2015 I moved into a live/work space in Oakland where I set up shop for my own recording and mixing productions. I call this workshop Pique Recording. I have been collecting esoteric recording gear since my early twenties and this move finally gave me the chance to utilize my equipment like I have always hoped. It has also given me the chance to fine-tune my production chops. Because I now live with professional studio monitors - I have the opportunity to listen to high-quality recordings at my leisure. This has really helped strengthen my ears and develop an adeptness in achieving classic sound and taste.
At the beginning of 2017, Pique Recording Oakland abruptly came to a halt when the building where the studio was located was sold to developers - ask me the details of this ordeal in person to hear more about this crazy story! It's an all too common situation in the bay area and it was time to setup shop elsewhere. I moved to Los Angeles during the summer months of the same year and landed in a home in Northridge where I now operate Pique Recording Los Angeles. It was a very difficult move for me but I now feel that I have the opportunity to plant roots for a long career of record making!
Pique Recording gives me the chance to dig deeper into sound, and I want to extend this opportunity to those I work with. Being a songwriter myself, I understand the frustration that comes after a studio session where the final product does not reflect the original vision. I do my best to ensure that clients leave Pique Recording feeling like the song they first hear in their heads has been successfully realized for others to enjoy.
See you soon!
James Meder, December 2017
