PopWorks Production

TRUTHLiVE " Shoot Me Down" Mixed by Rick V.

2010-02-08T15:19:00.001-08:00

As owner and founder of Interdependent Media, Evan Phillips (a.k.a. TRUTHLiVE) knows how to spot a solid hip-hop beat, and here he takes an epic instrumental from Tha Bizness—a track full of strings, synths, gunshots, pianos, and plenty of slap—to serve as the backdrop for his storytelling flow. Phillips takes every opportunity in "Shoot Me Down" to paint a picture of his coming-up and elaborate on the struggles of remaining an independent artist, themes which are sure to be explored further upon in his forthcoming debut full-length, Patience.
Shoot Me Down by infopopworks

"Distant Relatives" New album "This Changes Everything"

2010-01-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

In the studio practicing for live performances for album "This Changes Everything"

Album features Grouch & Eligh and Zumbi of ZionI. Produced by Rick V

Rick V. playing Wurli for new Distant Relatives track.

2010-01-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

Rick V. playing keys for new Distant Relatives song from Rick V. on Vimeo.

Truthlive and eleven30 recording @ Laughing Tiger Studios with Rick V.

2010-01-20T16:34:00.001-08:00

Truthlive & eleven30 @ Laughing Tiger Studios recording new track from Rick V. on Vimeo.

PopWorks Sessions @ Laughing Tiger w/ The park, Truthlive, DonWill and eleven30

2010-01-20T03:12:00.001-08:00

PopWorks Sessions @ Laughing Tiger Studios from Rick V. on Vimeo.

New Album "Money in the Streets" from Jay Tee, mixed by Rick V.

2010-01-18T23:31:00.000-08:00

Born and raised in Vallejo, California, James Trujillo would be thrusted into fame and fortune and transformed into Jay Tee as the front man of the platinum selling rap group N2DEEP. Beyond that though, Jay Tee is the owner of 40 Ounce Records and a producer and innovator in his own right. Aside from his contributions as one half of N2DEEP, Jay Tee is responsible for putting together the Latino rap super-group Latino Velvet with Baby Beesh, Frost, and Don Cisco. Stepping out from the shadow cast by the huge success of N2DEEP, Jay Tee has gone on to establish himself as one of the most well-known names and faces in the underground rap community through his collaborations and appearances on the hottest albums in the country.

http://www.myspace.com/jaytee

Behind the scenes producing "Sorta Like" for Distant Relatives new album " This changes everything"

2010-01-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

Distant Relatives "Sorta Like" behind the scenes 1. w/ Rick V from Rick Vargas on Vimeo.

Popworks presents STREET DREAMS the Nas remixes

2010-01-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

Nas intro by Eleven30

Nas made you look remix by Eleven30

Nas street dreams remix by Eleven30

Nas got yourself a gun remix by Eleven30

Nas survivin the times remix by Eleven30

Nas revolutionary warfare remix by Eleven30

"The Are" Recreates Tracks for the Canibus Album

2009-10-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

"The Are" arrives at Laughing Tiger Studios in San Rafael CA to mix the two tracks he produced for Canibus. After realizing our session still consisted of the two track beat, "The Are" quickly came to the conclusion it would be easier to re-make the tracks on the spot, since the tracked out versions would be impossible to retrieve, being that they lived back home in NY. After some setup of the drums and loading sounds from Reason, he was able to recreate the tracks in no time.

The drum set was a custom Gretch jazz kit that we set up in the large live room. I only placed a few mics on the kit. I went for a different approach on the snare. I put a senheiser 421 with a akg 251 next to it, with no space between the two. The kick drum was set up with the head off and filled with a temperpedic pillow with a d112 placed close to the inside head. Another Akg 251 was placed on the Hi Hat and a small cap condenser as my mono overhead. Knowing we would probably throw some sample drums under the existing recorded take, I figured I would take a simple approach. I ran all the mics threw the SSL4k using the onboard compressor and inserted some outboard compressors on the kick and snare. After we record a few takes, we sampled 8 bars and looped for the remaining time. "The Are" then put some extra drum samples underneath and played out the rest of the track on the midi controller with sounds from his bank.

After the track was finally recreated I then mixed the track threw the SSL doing the majority of automation and fx in Pro-Tools.

To see "The Ares' story of the session visit.

http://theare.wordpress.com/

FlapJacks and Waffles Mixtape by Fever and Lapotic

2009-06-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

Give it up to some hardworking Hip-Hop heads out of San Rafael and Richmond. I've been working with these guys for the past year. Both stunned me with their ability to hold down so much personality in their music. The mix tape is filled with some slapping tracks and poured on swag. "Fever" definitely has the lines to make you keep repeated in your head. "Lapotic" has a naturally rhythm that just hugs the beat. Both are a great fit for this project. I can see some real progress threw the project and expect big things from this crew. Check it out - R

Hit up Fever for more info:
http://www.myspace.com/fivemusik

Tanya Morgan's New Video "So Damn Down" on mtvU

2009-06-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Tanya Morgan's New Album Brooklynati mixed by Rick v.

2009-05-28T10:28:00.001-07:00

PopWorks is proud to be apart of the new album "Brooklynati" by Tanya Morgan. This Hip-Hop group is headed toward big things. A really talented group, with great focus towards their music and respect for their fans. Don't sleep on this album please. - Rick V.

To see where the album got mixed, check out LaughingTiger.com, home base for iM Recording and mixing. And see what projects are currently being wrapped up to hit stores near you.

Laughing Tiger Studios

2009-05-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ari, this studio you have here is a beautiful baby. I'm glad to have discovered you. I'm loving the Big Room's tone on my guitar!
We'll definitely be back! - Carlos Santana, Recording Artist

I have never heard the lows and highs of Carlos' guitar tone captured so accurately as they were in Laughing Tiger's "A" room. - Ed Adair, Santana's guitar tech. of 18 years.

I don't know what you did recording my vocals, but they sound amazingly present and crystal clear! - Ledisi, Recording Artist

Laughing Tiger allows you to take your mixes out of the box and onto an SSL. You get the tactile feel of a mixing console and it's so much faster grabbing faders and knobs instead of scrolling up and down your session in Pro Tools. The vintage outboard gear selection gives you
that sound you can only get with analog gear. - Tyler Crowder, Engineer

New Album from Donnie Walden " Colors"

2009-05-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

I recorded and mixed this album a few months back. I knew when I first heard Donnie's material that it would be a great album. I work with a lot of bands over the years, but this would have to be one of the best. Donnie Walden III is straight out of High school, I literally had to wait till the parents left to pop a beer... His natural talent to sing and play guitar really took me by surprise. We maybe recorded a song in two or three takes tops. The whole album is a feel good vibe, I can see any age picking up this record. The Album is entitled " Colors" and you can find it on iTunes. Just type Donnie Walden in the search..spread the word. - R

http://www.myspace.com/donniewalden
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1300793529&ref=ts

PopWorks gearing up

2009-05-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Starting to finaly launch some work. Well Adam C. more than me...but we are getting our act together in a more collaborative way. We are currently finishing up "Distant Relatives" new album. I would say 80% of the material is ours. 100% if we had any say. The album is a collection of tracks from Adam and myself. Distant Relatives are definitely bringing some heat making this album sound better every day.

Well post new material very soon. - Rick V.