The following is a selection of my relevant work. To find out more, feel free to get in touch, or head over to my LinkedIn profile.
Production & Mix
Callum Gardner
I recorded, co-produced and mixed the latest four singles for this super talented London-based singer-songwriter. I also played both fretless and fretted bass, in the studio and live.
Ember Rev
The co-production for the latest two albums of this fantastic rock-folk band based in Cambridge, UK, has been a great experience.
Mally Harpaz & Ciara Clifford
I Recorded, co-arranged and produced the violas — played by Paolo Clementi, for two songs in Mally’s stunning new album, Zoom In Zoom Out. For Ciara’s brilliant eponymous album, I wrote the cello parts, recorded and produced the violas together with Paolo Clementi.
Tøtem
Eclipse is a single by the young producer Tøtem, part of a different batch of new releases, where I upped the ante and played three different electric bass parts. I also co-produced the single.
Bass
Antiquity, Callum Gardner & More
Besides playing in the studio and live in the UK, for the last few years I’ve been the bass player for the transatlantic ensemble Antiquity, led by multi-instrumentalist Gerald Duchene. It’s been an invaluable experience to me.
Antiquity – ‘The Experience’ (album) Callum Gardner – ‘Wriggle a Little’ (single) Antiquity – ‘The Road From Salvation’ (single) Callum Gardner – ‘Hang Loose’ (single) Antiquity – ‘The Far Side of the Sun’ (single) Callum Gardner – ‘Without You’ (single) Antiquity – ‘The Evil Between Us’ (single) Callum Gardner – ‘Commit to the List’ (single) Antiquity – ‘In Our Dreams’ (single) Tøtem – Eclipse (single) Gianluca Lo Presti – ‘Cent’anni di solitudine’ (album) Minutes to Midnight – ‘After 1989’ (album)
I’ve worked with Simone on both my projects and his and the professionalism and quality of his work is world class. I have rarely had to give direction and he takes direction like an interested pro. I’m very partial to his style and tone. I hope to be still playing with him in the years to come.
Gerald Duchene
Sound Design
Animation
I’ve been working as a sound designer for the 3D cartoon series Car City InvenTom, created by Amuse Animation.
Game Audio
During my years as a game sound designer, I was in charge of writing the soundtrack as well as creating and editing all the sound effects.
The following prototype teaser, short and extended version, is a full-motion extract from a longer promotional video. The majority of the sound effects were recorded in the studio using Foley techniques.
Short Version
Extended Version
Working with audio programmers, I also implemented an adaptive soundtrack within the in-house game engine: MXE©.
The playlist below can only show the linear tracks, while in reality I deployed stems divided in adaptable chunks. Similarly to what can be achieved now in middleware tools such as FMOD Studio, they could be played in layers, following the intensity and the mood of the gameplay.
Game Audio Portfolio Copyright Notice
© (copyright) and ℗ (sound recording copyright) by Simone Silvestroni (Minutes to Midnight), except: Boss, Tex Mex, Funk, Party © shared with Joseph Blanc; Industrial City, Racing Pt 1, Tribal and Cave © Playstos Entertainment, ℗ Simone Silvestroni (Minutes to Midnight).
Noise Removal
During a recent production, I received a Pro Tools session where a squeaky hi-hat pedal sound found its way through a couple of microphones, unnoticed. Using iZotope RX‘s spectral editing, I painstakingly cleaned it up with excellent results.
Before
After
Tuning Correction
After recording 12 tracks of viola for a song of mine, we noticed how a few takes were slightly skewing an otherwise perfect tuning.
Before
After
Audio Restoration
Because of my passion for historical recordings, this is arguably one of my favourite tasks. The following example is an audio cleaning I performed on a famous 1968 live recording by Robert Francis Kennedy. I even ended up using it in a song of mine:
Before
After
Drum Doubling
After receiving one muffled mono overhead track of a drum recording, I dug in and suggested drum doubling as a solution.
I sampled three tracks from the drums, and turned them into MIDI. Applying my digital drum kit of choice to those new parts and blending them with the original drummer, I was able to recreate both the missing room and a nicer round ambience, fixing the narrow stereo image.
Before
After
Composition
‘After 1989: A Trip To Freedom’
Writing music, whether in the form of songs or bass and drums grooves, has always been an integral part of my creativity.
Under my moniker Minutes to Midnight, I released a concept album in the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall, titled After 1989: A Trip To Freedom, and a companion EP containing demos and outtakes.
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