Carlos Bess

Type the name Carlos Bess (aka C12) into a search engine and you’re likely to come up with reference to his stellar work as an engineer and producer with the seminar hip hop group, Wu-Tang Clan. This New York City native’s credits extend far beyond Wu-Tang to artists such as Jay-Z, G-Unit, Gravediggaz, John Digweed, 50 Cent and producing acclaimed albums by Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah. All in all, he’s engineered or produced 30 gold and platinum albums. But that’s just one element of the multidimensional talent that Bess brings to his music.

A talented drummer, programmer, producer and master editor, Carlos Bess is just coming into his own as a recording artist. In this interview, he discusses his own band, Majestic 12 (M12), as well as the Integrated Process, a near-scientific method he has developed to recreate existing sounds and master recordings of the past. In fact, this process played a key role in a song found on the smash soundtrack album to the film, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. We caught up with him on a break between sessions at Integrated Studios, a five-story media and entertainment complex in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood at which he serves as both Chief Engineer and in-house producer.

Can you tell us a little bit about Majestic 12, how the group came about?
Prior to starting up Majestic 12, right after the first Wu-Tang album (Enter the Wu-Tang) I was working in the mid-90s with a poetess named Jolé, as well as doing production for other hip hop artists. Jazz music was a heavy influence in these artists’s music but I felt I wanted to do something on my own that wasn’t only jazz-influenced. I was getting into these sci-fi sounds at the time and then I heard the first Portishead album (1994’s Dummy). The concept really opened the doors for me. I knew that I had to create my own New York-flavored style a la Portishead, that blended all sorts of musical influences -- Latin, jazz, hip hop, soul, you name it. I started out just building some tracks, experimenting with some original material and some classic tunes on my own. Eventually, I met up with a singer/songwriter who owned a business on the same floor of the studio, Paulisa Moorman. I loved the sound of her voice, so I asked her to sing on a demo for me. I had been working on the tracks for more than two years at that time and when she sang over the tracks, she just blew me away!

Taking Music to a Higher Place During our interview, Carlos’s manager, Christianne Cook, dropped into the room and we switched topics to a new compilation that the two of them are putting together, appropriately titled, Heaven on Earth: Volume 1. “The idea behind it,” says Cook, “is to utilize some very high profile artists we are in negotiations with to give some emerging artists a greater profile, while at the same time, raise awareness and funds for social issues that Carlos and I believe in supporting. Music is the most powerful tool in the world we have to create change. We want to recognize artists that use their music for a purpose, to communicate a message of social awareness.” The first volume will generate funding for Action Against Hunger, an international non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce the impact of global hunger and extreme poverty. They are developing an innovative program for prevention and treatment for those suffering with the HIV/AIDS virus. “We have finished production and are finalizing deals with artists right now,” added Carlos. “It’s a very exciting project. We’ll begin to get the word out once we finalize who will be contributing beats and music.” It’s no surprise that there’s a lot more to the music and emotions of Carlos Bess than his discography reveals. The soft-spoken mixing guru seems intent on not only changing the face of hip hop, he also plans to do his part to help out those less fortunate than himself, using music as the medium. Carlos and Christiane will be leaving much more than the hypnotic sounds of Majestic 12 and the Integrated Process if the Heaven on Earth series takes flight as they envision it.

We started recording and many of the songs we did were our own versions of standard tunes including “Fly Me to the Moon,” “What a Difference a Day Makes,” Billie Holliday’s “Strange Fruit,” and “Prisoner of Love,” to name a few. We played the tracks for a few record companies and definitely caught their attention. We signed with Loud Records in 1998, but soon afterwards, they folded, and we got shoved off from one label to another in the consolidation that occurred in the late 1990s. As a result, the Majestic 12 project never saw the light of day.

In 2002 (Wu-Tang’s) RZA introduced me to a German artist, Xavier Naidoo. Xavier is a huge pop star in Europe, and when he heard some of the Majestic 12 tracks he decided to get involved. In summer of 2003 Paulisa and I toured Germany opening up for Xavier. After the third live show, there was enough interest for Sony Germany to sign us to a deal there. The record will be coming out in the fall in Europe and the first single, “With You,” features Xavier performing with us. Bob Power is taking care of the final mix on this track. There will be a video and TV appearances to support that song, as well.
What does the live show consist of?

Well, I’ve got my laptop playing tracks and two Pioneer CDJs (a professional CD/DVD player configured for spinning), Paulisa is singing and playing trumpet. Together we sound like a funky big band. We’ll also be doing a TV show in the fall in Europe, so we’re excited to get this music out -- it’s been seven years in the making.

Could you talk about your beginnings, how you got started?
I dropped out of high school in 1987 to make music. I had gotten into programming drums and I played drums. I spent most of my time programming drum patterns and after awhile started getting calls to program drums for recording sessions around town. I was fascinated with the sound of drums on records and I wanted to get my hands on every record I could to analyze just how they got their drum sounds. At the time, there were a few records of drumbeats and grooves and I wanted to get them. Of course, when I asked other producers around town what records they were using and where I could get them, it was a big secret -- nobody would give me the titles for the vinyl. So I eventually got the idea to make my own record of drum sounds.
I’d go from studio to studio and when I could, experiment making recordings of drums, sometimes on two track, other times on eight tracks. I found an old Westrex tube tape recorder, fixed it up and started using it. I owned two SM-57s and with that Westrex tube two-track recorder I just started recording drums constantly.

Finally, in 1991, I actually went into a studio and put together what became the first of the Funky Drummer albums (Volume 1 to 4). That first one was very basic; I used three mics, two U-87s and a 414-EB, that was it. I had two snares, a Rogers and a Ludwig, which each had a different sound. I spent lots of time with t-shirts, clothing and tape, damping and muffling to get exactly the sounds I heard in my head from that drum kit. The signal chain ran from the mics to a set of API mic preamps, then to a PCM 60 reverb, an 1176 compressor and then into an Akai S-950 sampler to loop the beats, ending up on a 2” analog recorder. Then, when I was happy with the sound and beats, I’d record it to DAT and after mastering, the records came out. You can still buy the vinyl today at any shop that sells vinyl for DJs. I worked with DJ I-Cue on all the Funky Drummer records, he is my extreme collaborator on the series. Another nice side effect was that because a lot of people heard and used the record, I started getting many more calls to do engineering, especially recording drums, so one thing fed another.

What was different from the other drum samples available at that time?
I set out to create drum tracks that sounded like samples. I wanted live music that sounded exactly the same as samples, but were actual drums. I kept working until I could get a drum sound that was different than any other acoustic drum sample at that time.

Have the samples been widely used?
Yeah, I’m proud of how many times these drums have been sampled. Of course, RZA has used them extensively in his earlier works, but also national ad campaigns like Coke and Sprite and The Cartoon Network shows Dexter’s Lab and Samurai Jac; Extreme Makeover, Home Edition (ABC), MTV and VH1. I’ll hear a snippet on TV and say, “Those are my drums!” Producers Q-Tip and D’Angelo, and many producers associated in making R&B, rap and pop music have also used the samples extensively . At last count, the Funky Drummer beats have been on more than 20,000 records and TV commercials. I’m thinking now about maybe putting out a fifth volume when I get the time.
Speaking of sampling, you mentioned your process to replace samples with live musicians, could you talk about that a bit more?

Get Rich or Die Tryin' soundtrack CD featured Carlos's Integrated Process of sample replacement.

I call it the Integrated Process. Ever since my first real studio job at Firehouse Studio here in New York 12 years ago, that’s been my goal, to be able to replace the sound of a sample with live musicians and have it be so true to the original that no one can tell the difference. I’ve finally perfected that process.

A good example would be the track, “Things Change” from the soundtrack to the film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ by 50 Cent (Song #3 “Things Change” Featuring Spider Loc/50 Cent/Lloyd Banks). I was asked to replace the sampled sounds on the track with live musicians.

Although it’s a time consuming process, when 50 heard my version, he couldn’t tell the difference from the earlier sampled version. I replaced the guitar, bass and replay used on that track for him.

The use of samples has changed a lot since the early 90s. Today, getting clearances and permissions for sample use are much more complex, drawn out and potentially very expensive, to the point where someone may decide, ‘let’s just create some new sounds using live musicians and replace the original samples.’

Walk us through the Integrated Process.
I start off doing research. First, I have to deconstruct the original producer’s work, so I go to the mastering suite (Integrated’s Mastering Suite with Mastering Engineer Larry Lachmann) and listen to the original master over and over. I’ll work with the mastering engineer to identify the instruments, the panning, the spatial envelope, the balances and tone quality of every instrument, ambience and sound that is on that master.

Next, I’ll do research on the musicians who played on the original master. What types of instruments did they play, what amplifiers, etc. I’ll try to secure copies of the session notes or track sheets from the original recording and find out what compressor or processor was used in the recording, what type of reverb was used on the mix. No detail is insignificant.

Once I have all this research completed, I begin the reconstruction process. I take the original master recording into ProTools and I create a tempo map. Using the original master as a guide, I then start to bring in musicians and lay down one track at a time until, if I’ve got everything just right, the original master ‘disappears,’ replaced by the new track which is a perfect duplicate in every way. I then take that master, which can be anywhere from 10 to 50 tracks depending on how many instruments were needed, and put it into the new recording.

The vintage SP 1200 drum machine is one of Carlos's favorite tools.

For the Majestic 12 album, since I was using some complex original recordings as its basis, the Integrated Process, deconstructing and reconstructing the original masters, became a monumental project. You might say I had sort of a sleepless summer doing all the research and reconstruction, but I think the results are worth it. One song we did was a remake of a KRS-One song titled “Friend,” which when he did the original, he sampled all the parts. (The song is re-titled “Journey” on the forthcoming M 12 release.) We redid it with live musicians, recreating every part from scratch including all the SP-1200 drum programming so it’s not only a new song, but it’s a new copyright as well, since there are no samples of other recordings used anywhere on the track.

With the guidance of G-unit’s A&R Director, Mr. D. Prosper, I’ve been helping out G-Unit in much the same way, using the Integrated Process to give them an entirely original recording that’s still true to the spirit of whatever sample originally inspired them.

Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers matched the skills of Carlos Bess behind the board with the seminal artists who changed the sound of hip hop.

How did you begin working with the Wu-Tang Clan?
Pretty much by accident. They were recording and mixing their first album for Loud Records, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, and their engineer got the flu. So I was called up as a substitute. They liked what I was doing and I finished up the record. I mentioned to RZA that I had released an album of drum samples, Funky Drummer I, and played some beats for him and he dug the sounds. So I started working with the group and some of the individual artists from that point forward. On the second album (1997’s Wu-Tang Forever) I played most of the drums live.

After working at studios all around the world, you’ve settled down at Integrated Studios in your hometown, New York City. How have you set up the studio?
It’s different than a lot of studios out there today. It’s a hybrid between analog and digital. I’m a strictly analog person, by that I mean I need my 2” machine to get the sounds I hear -- smooth, fat, saturated. Although I’ve been using ProTools since 1993, for me, personally, it’s a great editing tool. In the past five years, I feel like I’ve taken how I use ProTools to a new level, being able to really fine tune things exactly the way I want.

Carlos's current mixing base, the SSL 9000J room at Integrated Studios.

But I still go out to an analog console and mix to analog. I love to edit tape, whether it’s a 2” or a two-track master. I may not have 50 lbs. of tape on the floor next to my analog recorder the way I used to back in the day, but there is no way in Pro Tools to get the sound of physically cutting tape. So I use tape and tape editing whenever I need to.

I’ve always liked the sound of an SSL console on my mixes. I grew up using the [SSL] 4K consoles with the “G-series” equalizers. Here at Integrated, I like mixing on the SSL 9000J because it gives my records a pop edge. (Integrated is equipped with an SSL 9000J desk installed by Pro Audio Design of Rockland, Mass.) The 4K console has a little more headroom than the 9K, and I tend to push the channels very hard, so I have to be a bit careful not to blow out a channel. I also use a lot of tube gear, some of my favorites include my Pultec EQs and the newer Tube-Tech EQs, both of which sound great and let me fine tune sounds while maintaining the warmth of the original track.

What projects have you been involved in besides getting Majestic 12 up and running?

Tony Yayo's debut album.

I worked on the debut album with (G-Unit’s) Tony Yayo, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon and I’m regularly submitting new tracks to G-Unit. I’ve been working on some songs on and off with Lauryn Hill, hopefully, we’ll be doing a lot more together.

I’ve also started working with a new band called Cipher Soul, their sound is an interesting blend of jazz, hip hop and soul. I’m also helping to put out a benefit compilation called Heaven on Earth, Volume I (see sidebar near top.)

Where do you see yourself at five years from now?
I want to develop Majestic 12 as far as it can go. Beyond that, I want to be teaching the art of hip hop sampling to new producers. The Integrated Process is a whole new way of making records. Because of the way that the laws have changed the use of samples, it’s now just as important to become a good researcher as it is to be a good recording engineer. So I want to teach others how to do that. It takes patience and hours and hours of research, listening, talking to musicians, engineers, poring over original session notes and take sheets, but the results are worth it.

My sound will always have a link to RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan. I’m always going to have the Wu-tang signature sound. I’m proud of the work we have done together. I want to use Majestic 12 to open up people’s ears to what can be done by blending musical styles and samples and hopefully challenge artists and listeners with something that they’ve never heard before.

Thanks a lot, Carlos!

Integrated Studios – www.integratedstudios.com
Action Against Hunger – www.actionagainsthunger.org