The Art of Recording

12	The Aesthetics of Recording Production

The differences between the various approaches to the aesthetics of recording production can be reduced to two central issues: (1) the relationship of the recording to the live listening experience and (2) the relationship of the recordist to the creative and artistic decisions of the recording.

The recording process can capture reality, or it can create (through sound relationships) the illusion of a different world. Most recordists find themselves moving within the vast area that separates these two extremes, where they enhance the natural characteristics and relationships of sounds. The recordist will determine an appropriate recording aesthetic for their current project based on its planned material ...