We are proud to announce a new custom IQ Beats package for Global Radio’s Heart Network and the flagship Heart 106.2 in London. Going on air at 4pm GMT at the beginning of the Club Classics show, you will have to remain patient to hear all of the 22 different pieces of custom imaging crafted from the ground up throughout the duration of the weekend culminating with the debut of new themes for the Jamie and Harriet breakfast show.

Wow, what can we say? Well, first we’d like to say thanks. Thanks to the entire Global Radio crew. And that means Global executive Richard Park, Programme Director Mark Browning and all of the people responsible for hustling to get this thing on air while the paint is still drying. And let it be known that a certain behind-the-scenes figure is well due some serious props… You know who you are and smooches to you!

What else would we like to say? How about whew! This project has been months in the making and started off back in April with a trip to London in order to take the brief in person and soak up some Heart-ness. During this time composers Steven Scalfati and Patrick Napper wandered the halls of the Global Radio building to find out “what it’s all about” and even sat in on a session of the Jamie and Harriet Breakfast show. The lads left impressed, inspired, and ready to write.

From these talks it became apparent that the station the station wanted to keep its strong rhythmic up-tempo feel, and create a forward thinking musical package which reinforced its warm, contemporary, uplifting brand values. So began the search for the definitive vocal combination that ultimately lead to:

• 3,468 vocal takes of audio
• 42 hours of billed time with vocalists
• 500 hours spent composing and producing the tracks
• 150 hours mixing
• 420 pieces of audio delivered
• 3 singers rejected
• 1 ident singer debut
• 2 international flights
• 3 hotel rooms
• 1 domestic flight
• 5 singers used throughout the package
• 40 Whole Foods sandwiches
• 45 bags of Kettle chips
• 16 cans of Diet Rockstar
• 1 dinner at the Palace Kitchen

The week spent in Seattle by Mark Browning and Mark Hall was action-packed with vocal sessions from 10am to 6pm with short bits of time in between singers for grab-and-grin photos and to slam down a sandwich, some chips and an energy drink. Here is a gallery of images from one very concentrated week of production…

The process of securing a deal, decoding a brief, composing and then refining tracks, scheduling and producing vocal sessions, mixing, mixing and more mixing culminating in the final delivery of a package is a cycle of life that is intense, exhausting and ultimately rewarding.

And after the package is delivered and on air, not much is more rewarding than some evidence that our clients love and appreciate what we do for them. Even though we’re Yanks and on the other side of the pond, we know what Harrod’s is all about and are thoroughly lavishing in some nice cups of tea after what arrived on Wednesday…

Listen to the package cut by cut here or Download a montage of the new cuts | 2.8MB

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under General, Audio, Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.