Behind the Board: Kenny Cash of Neon Sines & Factory Underground Studio Discusses Recording

Despite its retro, new wave qualities, you should not take Neon Sines’ new single “Adeline” as a definitive statement on their sound. The duo just released “Adeline” this week, a radio-ready, danceable, ’80s-inspired synth pop anthem. The track features British artist Ollie Wride and indie duo Che-Val. You can feel all the retro vibes flowing through you when you hear the song. If you grew up listening to music in that era, the song is sure to conjure up a lot of nostalgic emotion in you.

Neon Sines is led by producer and composer Kenny Cash with songwriter and keyboardist Evan Murphy. From Norwalk, Connecticut, the project came about thanks to Cash and Murphy’s shared vision of creating collaborative new wave-sounding songs. Not just collaborative between each other, though, but collaborative with artists around the world. It all goes hand in hand with the primary objectives of this songwriting project. For the duo, it is more about the freedom and fun of writing and recording music. Genre and rules take a backseat to vibe and feeling. Neon Sines is not about operating in a box full of rules. Quite the contrary, it prioritizes riding waves of emotion and experimenting with different sounds and genres. It’s a very open environment, intended to promote creativity and imagination.

We are pleased to have Kenny Cash join us for a Behind the Board interview to discuss recording, musical production, working in the studio, and more.

What’s the weirdest sound you’ve ever recorded and included in a track?

Kenny Cash: “I’m not sure if it’s the weirdest, but the most memorable sound that I recorded is what we called the ‘Lake Solo,’ which can be heard on Goose’s song, ‘Lead the Way,’ off of Moon Cabin. It was the only time I left the cabin located in far upstate New Hampshire. It was freezing outside, but we strung a couple of cables together, fell in the snow a couple of times and went for it. Staring at about three minutes into the song, it sounds like whales or something. Every time I listen back, it’s like a time portal.”

If you could have any artist, living or dead, produce your next track, who would it be?

“I would love it if David Bowie could produce a Neon Sines record with us. I don’t even know if it would turn out good, and I wouldn’t even care because I know it would be straight art!”

Factory Underground Studio, photo by Guzman Gonzalez (@ggonzalezgraficas)

What’s one piece of recording equipment you refuse to work without?

“I’m not really like that. I like the challenge of creating with whatever tools are at my disposal. With that said, my favourite piece of outboard gear is my Louder Than Liftoff, Silver Bullet made by drBill.mojo. There are so many different vibes I can get with it. Sometimes I use it for my rear bus in a mix, sometimes I track vocals and guitars with it, and sometimes I’m just using the Fairi-Mu Mojo Module that I have installed for some compression. On the Neon Sines, Ollie Wride, and Che-Val collaboration, ‘Adeline,’ I used it alongside my Neve 8424 to add some rear bus compression and saturation that really gave the record some excitement.”

Factory Underground Studio, photo by Guzman Gonzalez (@ggonzalezgraficas)

What’s your opinion on Auto-Tune and pitch correction software?

“If Auto-Tune is an artistic choice, that’s cool, but if you’re using pitch correction to tighten a performance, I think you must be really locked in with the project that you’re working with, especially the singer. I’ve noticed that almost every artist I work with perceives tuning differently. Some people hear variations in vibrato as pitch issues. If you tune the beginning of the note too much, it may have too much of an over-tuned sound. Some artists may just prefer the performance to be a little pitchy to keep the emotion of the performance. A project like Che-Val, where we are writing a lot for reality television sync like Temptation Island, etc., will be pretty spot on versus the more indie electronic stuff I do with Neon Sines.”

Factory Underground Studio, photo by Guzman Gonzalez (@ggonzalezgraficas)

What common mistakes do artists make when first recording?

“I think sometimes beginner artists don’t set realistic goals for their music, or sometimes they don’t even know why they are recording, other than it’s the thing to do. Setting realistic goals at the beginning of the project can save you from the ‘release blues’ down the line, as well as influence your process, budget, etc. This is something we take very seriously at my studio, The Factory Underground. We do our best to nurture young artists, but at the same time make them aware of the reality of the music business and the process of recording and finding your unique voice.”

Factory Underground Studio – Kenny Cash, photo by Guzman Gonzalez (@ggonzalezgraficas)

How much of producing music is technical skill vs. intuition?

“I think it’s all intuition. To make great art, especially in a collaboration, it is such an ego game. There are times when you must remove your ego completely from the room completely. Which means you have to kind of forget your ‘musical knowledge and abilities.’ And then there are times when you must become the Alpha. I would rather be the Alpha because you trust that your artistic vision is correct. If I’m going to have to be the Alpha, I would rather it be based on my intuition than my skill level. I can find someone to handle whatever skills I am missing, but I can’t hire someone to replace my intuition.”

Name a trend in music production that you wish would disappear.

“Over clipping for saturation/distortion. I get it. I know it’s a thing, but I just think there are so many ways to make a track sound aggressive with cooler saturation out there. I tried, but I just can’t get into it.”

What’s your favourite plugin or software right now?

“Because I’m in the depths right now with a jazz fusion project that has been using a lot of remote recording, I’d have to say FabFilters Saturn 2. It’s so helpful to have multiband saturation, especially if the track lacks depth, or there are missing frequencies in the tracking.”

Factory Underground Studio, photo by Guzman Gonzalez (@ggonzalezgraficas)

What’s the best studio prank you’ve pulled or witnessed?

“One time, one of my engineers found an old ID of mine at the studio. He decided to make copies of it and hang employee of the month photos all over the studio with my old ID photo. So, when he came to pick up his next check, he found his payment in the form of a Ziploc bag filled with loose change.”

What’s your biggest pet peeve when working with new artists?

“I think it’s all about communication. I’m a big fan of listening to reference tracks alongside the artist to start establishing a language. But sometimes an artist will be stuck in the reference that they are basically looking to recreate something that 1. either doesn’t really fit their voice or abilities, or 2. they are so stuck on re-creating something that already exists rather than finding their own unique voice.”

Factory Underground Studio, photo by Guzman Gonzalez (@ggonzalezgraficas)

What’s your favourite non-musical inspiration when producing?

“Hands down, I would say television shows and movies. I find so many bands and tracks that I love from shows like Shrinking, Love, etc. Visuals influence my work so much that I feel like, while procuring or mixing a song, if I start getting visuals, then I know the record is close. For instance, when I’m working on Neon Sines, if I start visualizing scenes from a John Hughes movie or like and ’80s sci-fi flick, I know I can run with it.”

Factory Underground Studio – Kenny Cash, photo by Guzman Gonzalez (@ggonzalezgraficas)

How important is studio ambiance, and how do you create yours?

“So important. Our studio, The Factory Underground, is a complete vibe. It doesn’t have the biggest board or the hugest mic locker, but people love coming there because it’s impossible not to feel inspired or artistic. Myself, my business partner (Ethan Isaac), and staff, have spent 17 years now building a unique space. I feel like people would rather work at home if they couldn’t come to a place that gives you creative feels. We have a soundstage, Cyc Wall, four control rooms, a student-led radio station and more, which allows us to do shows, video shoots, live broadcasts, and photography in addition to tracking/producing music.”