# Good remote recording experience in Sofia with George Strezov



## JohnG (Nov 14, 2019)

Hi all,

Just finished another three days of remote recording with George Strezov and his team in Sofia, wrapping up the main recording of over three hours of music for an epic Japanese TV series. There will be more in 2020 but we're now mixing as fast as possible to deliver for the series, which starts January 2020.

Overall, it was an excellent experience, with very good players and a good quality studio, good mics and outboard gear -- very much a high quality situation. One of the better things about this group is that they have their own "home" recording studio, which is not the case for all the remote-recording options out there.

When recording, naturally I prefer to be there, to be able to communicate in real time and just "be" with people. Plus, we don't get orchestral resources every day and that alone is something great to experience; it's part of the fun. But, with one thing and another, and having already spent five days there a month ago, remote recording made sense to get things done on time.

The technical setup is pretty straightforward -- they send a link that you can call up on your computer and a separate Skype contact so you can give comments, directions, discuss retakes and all the other issues that come up when recording. Ironically, given the geographical distance between Los Angeles and Sofia, I had less latency from Source Connect than I have had in the USA recording remotely.

Pro Tools files are available right away, and overall everything is very strong. They have six or eight (at least) English speakers who understand idiomatic and musical terms perfectly, verbally and written, so that part is excellent too. Both the engineer and the Pro Tools operator speak English as well, so changes can be made quickly.

If anyone wants to hear the nuances, feel free to PM me.

[edit:] contact information -- email: [email protected] Website is: http://www.fourformusic.com 

Kind regards,

John Graham


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## Kent (Nov 14, 2019)

I'd be interested to hear what circumstances led the producers of an epic Japanese TV series to find you in LA!


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## goalie composer (Nov 14, 2019)

JohnG said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Just finished another three days of remote recording with George Strezov and his team in Sofia, wrapping up the main recording of over three hours of music for an epic Japanese TV series. There will be more in 2020 but we're now mixing as fast as possible to deliver for the series, which starts January 2020.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the insight, JG!


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## JohnG (Nov 14, 2019)

kmaster said:


> I'd be interested to hear what circumstances led the producers of an epic Japanese TV series to find you in LA!



Fair question! My agent was born in Japan. Plus, I've done a few projects for Japanese companies previously.

Fortunately, I love history and was / am quite happy to read a bunch of books about Japanese medieval history before writing my pitch / demo.


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## CGR (Nov 15, 2019)

JohnG said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Just finished another three days of remote recording with George Strezov and his team in Sofia, wrapping up the main recording of over three hours of music for an epic Japanese TV series. There will be more in 2020 but we're now mixing as fast as possible to deliver for the series, which starts January 2020.
> 
> ...


I've been impressed with what George Strezov & his team produce, both with sampled instruments and this recent studio performance:





__





Something weird I had to get out of my system


Hi akl, My dream has always been to write music... but believe me, when I hit the mark around 8 hours of music this year alone I had to finish my album I've been writing in my spare time since mid 2018. Just wanted to share this experiment of mine.... Kind regards from Bulgaria, G




vi-control.net





Talented & passionate musicians & producers.


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## d.healey (Nov 15, 2019)

George and his team do excellent work and their players are great!


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## Patrick.K (Nov 15, 2019)

Great John !.... it must be a passionate experience, more and more scores are recorded in the countries of Eastern Europe, often for cost reasons, but they have excellent orchestras and musicians.


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## MartinH. (Nov 16, 2019)

JohnG said:


> wrapping up the main recording of over three hours of music for an epic Japanese TV series. There will be more in 2020 but we're now mixing as fast as possible to deliver for the series, which starts January 2020.



Can you tell us more about the series? What kind of genre, name, when/where will there be a chance to watch it subtitled on a streaming service?


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## JohnG (Nov 16, 2019)

MartinH. said:


> Can you tell us more about the series? What kind of genre, name, when/where will there be a chance to watch it subtitled on a streaming service?



For about a year, I've been working on the music for "Kirin Ga Kuru," the 2020 installment of the Taiga Drama ("river drama"), a series that has been on since 1963.

This year's series (about 50 episodes), focuses on Akechi Mitsuhide, one of the most famous people in Japanese history, who lived in the 1500s. A consequential character about whom there are many questions and stories, he is most famous for having betrayed and brought about the death of Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga, in turn, is possibly the most famous (and popular) military and political figure from the Sengoku period (often translated as, "the period of the warring states").

*Music and Story*

I've read a lot of books and visited Japan; I read quite a lot before I even wrote the demo. Since then I've imbibed history books, Japanese fairy tales, biographies, watched movies and TV about the period, and watched plenty of other media from Japan, ranging from gangster movies to dramas to history; I looked at art about and from that era -- all that.

We recorded in Japan, USA, and Europe so far.

For me, this is a dream project. I love history and learning about another country. The writing, acting and direction are subtle and skilled. Everyone has deep experience in his or her position, which helps on many levels. And, of course, I'm doing my utmost with the music, thoroughly exhausting, but supremely satisfying.


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## Assa (Nov 30, 2019)

Hey John,

this sounds like a fantastic project, congratulations!  Is the music going to be released at some point ? Would love to hear how it turned out. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience with us, I can certainly feel your passion for this project !


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## JohnG (Nov 30, 2019)

Assa said:


> Is the music going to be released at some point ?



Yes -- the plan is to release multiple soundtracks, as there are many hours of music for such a big series. I don't know the exact schedule; the series begins airing in January, so I assume they have plans to release the first one around that time. All the tracks are due from me on December 1.


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