Hello and welcome to Sidrat Studios!


Dan Hewett - Owner & Director, Sidrat Studios
My name’s Dan, owner of Sidrat Studios, a small music production, recording and design studio, right near the centre of Chelmsford, Essex. I provide my clients with a wide range of audio- and design-related services, suited to all kinds of musicians, vocalists and businesses who are looking for a professional product at a reasonable rate.

I compose original backing tracks and instrumentals for singers and rappers, recording their vocal performance and sequencing all the music to fit perfectly, before mixing the various elements to form a cohesive track in the genre of your choice. I also produce music for business purposes as well as for sync on TV, film, radio, etc. Please take some time to check out the music throughout my website.

My cosy garden studio is perfectly suited to the production of most modern and traditional types of music, for any number of different purposes... It's ideal for recording vocals and solo instruments, as well as rehearsal and any number music production purposes.

I'm also an experienced graphic designer, a skill which I apply to a variety of specialist projects. I have designed numerous logos for musicians and businesses, as well as a wealth of marketing and promotional items, from flyers, posters, booklets and programmes, to cover art, illustrations, website design and more. If you're interested in my design services, please take a look at the design pages, where you'll find a selection of my previous work.



Music Production for Musicians

Music Production for Musicians

  • Record your vocal performances, from singers and rappers to spoken word artists - and even beat-boxers

  • Record instrumental performances - acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, hand and stick percussion, woodwind, brass, orchestral and world instruments and many more

  • Create sequenced or live accompaniments to complement your tracks, from basic beats, drums, bass, chords, to full musical backing arrangements

  • Compose entire backing tracks in any genre - completely original, consisting of various sections, transitions, risers and drops... whatever the music needs

  • Edit all your audio, fixing mistakes in takes, cross-fading and tightening up timing and adjusting levels throughout the track

  • Mix all the elements of your music and vocals together, bringing out the best in every aspect to form a cohesive track, ready for mastering

  • You can even practice your performance in the live room, using the built-in PA to help you get into the feel of it

Audio Production for Business

Audio Production for Business

  • Record your spoken word for a variety of advertising and marketing uses; jingles, presentations, introductions, instructional videos, slideshows, audio books, adverts, etc., etc.

  • You can use a voice artist of your own or please feel free to choose from one of the professionals we work with on a regular basis

  • Edit your voice-over, fixing small errors and unwanted noises, cross-fading takes to get the perfect 'take' and adjusting levels throughout the recording

  • Book live session musicians, using a selection of instruments you've chosen to perform backing music composed to your specifications

  • Sequenced backing tracks to suit your project, from chilled-out jazz grooves to up-beat, string sections to piano arrangements - whatever you need

  • Mix the various elements of your project together, arranging your spoken word and backing music and ensuring every aspect is ready for mastering

  • Slice your finished piece into segments, to then be synced up with the slides in your presentation or as separate chapters in your new audio book, etc.


The studio is conveniently close to Chelmsford city centre, just 15 minutes' walk from the train station. In fact, it's just at the bottom of my own little garden and I do all the work myself - not on the garden, that's the other-half's area of expertise - but, as far as the studio is concerned, I'm a one-man-band.

I have an insatiable passion for music of all kinds and my work speaks for itself, because I always approach every track with the same objective - to make it shine!





Recording


Recording - Studio live room

Vocal Recording

Capture your live vocal performance in my small and friendly recording studio. Singers, rappers and vocalists: you can perform 'a capella' or along to any music you supply.

If you want to make a mix tape or if you perform covers of other artists' tracks, that's absolutely fine - just provide me with your choice of backing music and, as long as the quality is up to spec, we can record your vocals straight after the sound-check.

I also have plenty of experience recording spoken word for various purposes, such as audio books, commercial advertising, automated telephone systems, marketing videos, training and instructional videos, poetry, jingles, slideshows and PowerPoint presentations, among others. After editing the spoken word to match your supplied script, I can then help you to take this to the next level, providing my design skills to make your end product look just as good as it sounds.

Instrument Recording

If you’re a solo artist - or a duo, or trio, or band - I can mic up and record you playing your live instruments - acoustic, electric or electronic. Using multi-mic techniques, selecting the right mic for the right spot, I can capture the sound of your instrument from different angles, with varying characteristics, blending these sources to create a full-range recording suitable for any mix situation.

We can either add your vocals afterwards, or record them simultaneously as you play your instrument, if you feel more comfortable performing that way. This technique is ideally suited to electronic instruments with a line output, but can also be highly successful with acoustic instruments.

Mixing


Mixing - Studio control room

Audio Editing

Mixing incorporates a wide range of skills, using various techniques, not least of which is editing the raw audio waveforms, which requires considerable experience and accuracy to achieve a good result.

I’ve been honing my audio editing skills for over two decades and I’ve learned some valuable lessons - as well as a few tricks. I can fix all kinds of performance errors seamlessly, including timing, pitching, mouth noise, breaths, blending alternate takes, shortening or lengthening sustains, levelling and more. Rest assured that, once I'm finished with your audio, it will sound tight and pristine, even to the keenest ear.

Multi-channel Mixing

Balancing a mix between several instrument layers and vocals can be an art form, just as much as a technical process. The use of compression, EQ, reverb, delay, distortion and myriad other effects is as much about personal taste as anything, allowing for the blending of all the elements in a track to produce a single coherent sound.

If you’ve already made your recording, but you’re just not satisfied with the mix, just send me the mix and the stems - I’ll be happy to give it a listen. Often all you need is a fresh pair of ears and some minor tweaks here and there, but sometimes stripping everything back and starting over from scratch is the best (and only) way to move forward.

While my recording studio is in the back garden, my mixing studio is up in the loft. Although I have an assortment of hardware synths and drum machines surrounding me, which I often use as sound sources during creative production, my mixing work is primarily in-the-box, using high-end modelled plug-ins to carve out each element in the mix.

Sequencing


Sequencing - Studio control room

Backing Tracks

As a vocalist (singer, rapper, etc.), sometimes it's really hard to find music you can put your lyrics to. If you don't know any musicians and you can't play an instrument yourself, you might feel that you're limited to using other artists' instrumentals. But that's where I can help...

Creating original backing tracks in a wide spectrum of musical styles is my specialist area; I build beats and loops for any number of modern genres, from hip-hop to house, funk to electronica, rock to jazz and everything in-between, as well as composing more traditional music, using orchestral instruments, such as strings, brass, piano, double bass, etc.

I use a combination of software applications and hardware equipment to produce my music, with a wide range of plug-ins and real-world gear to choose from, depending on what is required for the job.

Accompaniments

If you're a songwriter, playing an instrument while you sing, you may want a subtle or rhythm-based backing to accompany your performance. I'm well experienced in recreating many different real-world instruments through MIDI sequencing, from acoustic or percussion to string quartets and full orchestral arrangements, as well as more modern sounds, like analogue drums, pounding bass lines and electronic synthesizer mayhem.

These musical elements can be arranged in such a way as to work perfectly with your own live instrumental arrangements and vocal performances. Whether you're a solo artist or part of a full band, my accompaniments will complement and enrich your tracks, without obscuring your vocal parts or any of the live instruments in your track.





Design

Another service I provide is professional graphic design, creating original cover art and Insert layouts for bands and musicians, as well as numerous applications for business clients, from logos to slideshow presentations. Designs can be made ready for print or provided in digital formats for online use.

As well as utilising my skills as an illustrator to produce unique cover artwork inspired by your music, I also specialise in logo design and the creation and application of visual identities for both the corporate and music industries, from small businesses to solo artists and bands.

Among other things, I can then apply this styling to eye-catching flyers, posters, ads, merchandise and promotional items, all of which can be designed to your own specifications.


Ease Springs - album cover illustration

LIIBA - corporate logo design

Richard Capener - CD face design

If you're an artist who is planning to produce a physical CD or vinyl for real-world release, I can handle all the technical print-related aspects for you. Purely digital releases are becoming more and more common, however, so you may not think you need a cover design - which is where you would be mistaken. A strong visual identity is even more important when vying for your potential fan's attention, when using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and the rest.

If you're a business in need of printed stationery, marketing materials, etc., I can also deal with the print on your behalf as well as supplying digital files either for printing yourself or for online applications, similar to those a musician would access to connect with their fans, so you will need to use them to connect with your customers, which has become a common business marketing model these days.

If you're interested in any of my design services, please get in touch and I’ll be happy to discuss the details with you.