EDGE SESSIONS 003: PDOTBANG!
my thoughts on hanging out with LA rapper & singer PDOTBANG! + producing his Edge Session
PDOTBANG! is the project of Rancho Cucamonga-based rapper and singer Preston Anchang. Like with Nico of bedlamb, I can’t even remember how Preston and I originally connected, but since then, he has performed in my living room 4-5 times because he puts on an amazing show and we keep inviting him back. Preston is a natural performer with seemingly endless charisma and style, plus music that is as cool as it is enjoyable and accessible - a very difficult feat.
PDOT’s session was one of the first I recorded. I wanted him to go early because I had so much confidence in his ability, which allowed me to focus on the technical side and capturing his performance in a way that did it justice. I also knew Preston would be an effortless interview because, frankly, the dude is just full of life and personality
Preston showed up late, as he mentioned in his interview—but in LA, that’s understandable. Honestly, we should just be grateful he made the nearly three-hour trek (in traffic) from Rancho Cucamonga at all. So PDOT showed up after sunset, I made him some hot ginger tea, and we got to recording his session and interview.
On a technical level, the audio recording was fairly straightforward - I set him up with a Shure SM7B running through a Soyuz Launcher, a pre-amp similar to the well-known Cloudlifter but with a bit more character, and sent his instrumentals to his headphones. The video recording, however, was the more dynamic process, as PDOT played to all four camera angles to emphasize certain lines of his lyrics. We did our best to capture that in a way that would translate effectively to the final product.
Interviewing Preston was just as enjoyable and entertaining as his performance. If I gave him a topic, he’d run with it—sharing his thoughts and any related stories that came to mind—then turn it around and ask me a great question, like, “Have you ever died in a dream?” I think this interview lived up to my expectation that a viewer would feel like a fly on the wall of a regular conversation between friends rather than feeling like they’re watching a canned or contrived artist interview. You know the type - “what are your influences?”, “what was the inspiration for this project?”, etc.
After recording the session and interview Preston and I hung out a bit, talking about what music he had lined up to release next and what he had been working on lately. He told me that he had recently started making beats himself (one of my favorite things to hear from any friend) so I checked some of his new instrumentals out and was thoroughly impressed, especially for how new he is to beatmaking/producing. I proposed recording another session when he has a self-produced project ready. I’m curious and excited to hear how his music will evolve and take on an even more distinct style as he begins making every element of it himself.
While mixing and producing the session I tried to keep it as simple as possible. I gain staged, compressed, and EQ’d the vocal to taste and from there tried to find the right volume level to make it sit in the instrumental as best I could. I didn’t use any (not even a little!) auto tune on Preston’s singing because his natural tones work well with the music. Interestingly, Preston thinks of himself as more of a rapper than a singer. I think he’s got plenty of talent and his own style for both.
What do you think?
Check out PDOTBANG!’s EDGE SESSION and find his music on YouTube or any streaming service. Also, follow him on Instagram where he’s most active.
You're never more than 6' away from a spider. Just sayin'