Emily Chen - 24
When I first heard Emily’s demo of her song “24”, recorded in GarageBand, I immediately recognised its potential. Having spent years working in GarageBand myself before transitioning to Logic Pro X, I could hear both her creative instincts and the possibilities for further development. It quickly became my first pick of the Vermillion High projects.
We recorded everything for “24” across just two sessions. The remaining instrumentation — primarily guitars — I developed at home, staying in close contact with Emily to ensure the direction reflected her artistic vision. We made full use of QUT and Vermillion’s studios and resources, bringing in session musicians for our first recording day. Alongside Milly Tagney and Hannah Jones (assistant producers), I helped finalise the arrangement and prepare Emily for her vocal sessions.
Once we got into the studio, Emily was initially quite shy, so for our final booking I organised a closed recording session — just the two of us. As someone who also prefers to track vocals privately, I understood how intimidating the studio can feel, and I wanted to create a comfortable environment that allowed her to perform freely and confidently.
THE PROCESS:
CONSTRUCTING THE INSTRUMENTAL
Our first recording session took place in the Audient Room (Z9-520) on the 25th of September with Jacob Mills on drums and Sylvie Morse on bass. I set up a 7-microphone drum configuration (see table, left) and routed Sylvie’s bass directly into the desk alongside Emily’s guide guitar and vocal tracks (see video below). From the outset, I made it clear that this session was focused solely on capturing drums and bass, so there was no pressure on Emily to deliver final takes. With Jacob behind the kit, we were able to refine the song’s structure and add musical nuances that elevated the overall arrangement.
RECORDING GUITAR AND VOCALS
Emily was away in China with her family for the remainder of her holidays, meaning that the production for '24' had to be halted for about a month, but on the 26th of October, we finally had our second session. Since our first, I had experimented with recording some guitars at home straight into my DAW (digital audio workspace e.g. Logic Pro X), taking inspiration from her reference tracks and artists (Beabadoobee and Alvvays).
We worked for a few minutes on the guitar and although I knew I would do most of the heavy lifting, for authenticity, I wanted to capture 2 solid takes of Emily playing her song.
Then, I had set up the vocal booth (Z9-513) with three baffles (walls that allow for a tighter recording sound) and an overhead vocal mic with a fluffy cover and a pop filter. I initially was just using the cue button on the desk to communicate with Emily, but once the recordings and harmonies got more complicated, I set up a dynamic microphone to streamline communication into the booth. This also allowed me to further help Emily achieve the desired harmonies, as she often found it tricky to pitch some notes (especially over long phrases), so we sung most of the takes together (see video below). For every harmony we tried to do at least doubles and sometimes 4 tracks for a single melody.
MIXING THE TRACK
I spent around 30 hours on this track all up, with majority of that time spent on the vocal mixing. Meaning the pitch correction, tone adjustments and my guitar (but mostly the pitch correction).
COLLABORATION & COMMUNICATION
All communication for this project was coordinated through Emily’s A&R representative and assistant producer, Millie Tagney, who acted as the main point of contact throughout production. Together, we organised session bookings, ensured consistent scheduling, and maintained alignment between Emily’s creative vision and Vermillion’s production goals.
In the studio, this project required a high level of hands-on communication and musical guidance. During the second recording session (see video above), Emily struggled with melody and pitch consistency, so I took a more active coaching role — stepping out from behind the desk to sing alongside her. This approach helped build her confidence and improve her vocal delivery in real time.
Balancing professionalism with empathy was crucial; the project reminded me that strong communication in a production setting isn’t just about logistics, but about fostering trust and creating an environment where the artist feels supported enough to take risks and grow.