TRACHTA

I began collaborating with Stefan Shambora and Matt Medellin in 2014-2016. It didn't take long to realize that the chemistry between us was something unique and our jam sessions quickly turned into recording sessions. The home studio recordings were so much fun and had great energy, but it was obvious that a dedicated studio made better sense for the project. 

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In 2016, Matt, Stefan, and I decided to record four songs at Harter Music in San Antonio. Jon Harter took the reigns and engineered while we worked through any necessary changes and recorded the rhythm tracks live in the studio. The bass and drum tracks were the main focus of our recording efforts the first day. I continued to record guitars, keyboards, and vocals to finish the songs. Throughout the following months, I invited three other artists to contribute to the project. Keith Harter played lap steel guitar, which essentially became the coolest part of the song. Brandi Neely did a fantastic job and sang backup vocals on nearly all of the songs. One of the songs, "Subterranean", began sounding more like a movie soundtrack as we started digging into the mixes, so I worked with a digital artist from Spain to produce a music video, the concept based on the lyrics in the song.  Chus F. Sarrión illustrated and animated the music video which ended up winning multiple international film festival awards. The entire project was such a great kickstart back into writing and producing music again!

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We began recording the second EP, ”Moving At the Speed of Life", at Harter Music in 2018. These songs had a live energy feel to them, so it was even more important to record the rhythm tracks live in the studio once again. This time I wanted to release the songs as singles, allowing us more creative energy to sculpt the sound and take our time with each song. Emily Monsen sang backup vocals and Keith Harter recorded another iconic guitar track on "Grizzly Country", both parts were essential to help breathe new life into the song. Now, I can't even imagine listening to the song without Keith or Emily's parts! Chus F. Sarrión designed and animated our second music video for "Rise Up", again winning international film festival awards.

 

In 2023, I went back into the studio and began recording brand new batch of songs. The energy in the studio this time was so different, and we had a completely opposite approach to recording compared to the last two projects. I  had to record scratch tracks for each instrument to make sure the song remained consistent from start to finish during the live tracks. It was very interesting and sped up the recording time in the studio quite a bit, I also had time to experiment with new audio soundscapes throughout the mixes. Trisha Trachta played bass guitar on the first two tracks, it was her first time recording bass in a studio session and she knocked it out of the park. Jon Harter, the engineer from all of our previous projects, agreed to play drums on the first three songs and his parts have brought so much life and necessary energy to this project so far, I'm constantly blown away how easily he makes this all happen. Jon, Josh, and Kieth are the best, a father and his two sons playing music together!  I really love working and recording at Harter Music, so much fun and always great energy in the studio!

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I'm so excited to share all of this new music online. "10k Thoughts" and "Sound Travels" were just recently released and both songs are available for download and also streaming on your favorite music sites. Check out the links in the "Music" tab to listen to each project's playlist on Spotify. Otherwise, most streaming options are on the home page. I'm looking forward to hearing from you, so please drop me a line or message me if you want to connect. Stay tuned for more new music!