David Glasebrook produces music for Royal Oakie Records, the independent label he started 12 years ago. “There’s a million ways to make a record, and they’re all worth trying,” he said, speaking from his Garden Shed Studio in Oakland. He runs the operation with the help of a small, dedicated team. He also frequently produces albums for freelance clients.
“Often sessions will start with the full band doing what we call ‘basic tracking,’ where you capture either all of the band, or at least the rhythm section, playing live,” Glasebrook said. “Then there’s the overdub sessions, where you layer lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, strings and other instruments that are best recorded in isolation, one at a time.
“Then there’s the mixing sessions,” he continued. “Where the elements get combined into a cohesive whole and finally, the mastering, where the final mixes are assembled into an album. That’s when adjustments are made to the overall sound, and the music is prepared to be reproduced on various playback mediums.”
Glasebrook said he’s always trying to find ways to help an artist sound like the most authentic version of themselves, or expand into some place that they’ve been reaching towards. “I always strive to balance innovation and familiarity, creativity and authenticity. I grew up playing in bands in a small town near Indianapolis,” Glasebrook said.
He produced CDs and 45s for those bands and sold them at shows and local record stores. After high school, he made his living as a musician, finally moving to Santa Monica to attend college, then up to UC Santa Cruz.
Royal Oakie was started to release the first album by Glasebrook’s Santa Cruz band, Deep Ellum. “We toured California and met a lot of talented musicians,” he said. “That planted the seed of growing Royal Oakie into an ongoing label. When I moved to Oakland, there was a lot of underground music that deserved a wider audience.”
With the help of his friends, the label began putting out albums by bands like Sparrow’s Gate, the Blank Tapes and Sugar Candy Mountain.
The success of Mystic Hits, the second Sugar Candy Mountain album, helped the band and Royal Oakie build an international following. Glasebrook took it in stride, and kept building up the label and his producing career.
“I consider freelance producing, engineering and mixing to be my full-time career,” Glasebrook said. “That’s what pays the bills. Royal Oakie is my passion project. All the revenue it brings in gets invested back into the label.
“One of our goals as a label is to help our artists build a career in music,” he continued. “Typically, once a band is signed, we help them finish their album, create artwork and packaging layouts, devise plans for marketing and publicity, make their music available to the agent we work with to shop for sync placements and include them in the live music events we put on. This all leads up to the album release.”
Two recent albums to watch out for: Iain Mann’s Magic Tracks, an album of psychedelic folk songs from the Oakland-born, Cambridge-based songwriter. It was written and recorded during the pandemic and produced long distance by Alexi Glickman (Sandy’s), with players from Berlin, L.A., Seattle, Marin County and Oakland.
Leanna Kaiser, who records as Holy Matter, released her debut album, Beauty Looking Back, on the label in October. It came out in the EU/UK on Dec. 5.. Kaiser writes ethereal, chamber pop tunes, touching on psychedelic folk and experimental noise.
“I worked with Leanna for a couple years, starting with demos, tracking drums and bass and, finally, mixing and mastering the album at my studio,” Glasebrook said. “It was a treat to see her demos and experimental recordings evolve into a beautiful album.
“The music industry is constantly changing,” Glasebrook said. “From sheet music, to wax cylinders, to phonograph records, to magnetic tape, to vinyl LPs, cassettes and CDs. Part of working in this industry is learning to adapt to changing conditions.”
Royal Oak Records manufactures vinyl LPs, CDs and cassettes. It distributes releases to streaming platforms and offers digital downloads on Bandcamp and on its website. Some tracks have logged millions of plays, according to Glasebrook.
“Most record labels are relatively small operations,” Glasebrook said. “As of 2024, there are only three major labels left. They control most of the pop-music world. Everything else, including underground music, emerging artists, jazz, ambient, classical music and niche genres, is mostly released by indie labels.”
He added, “As far as indie labels go, I wouldn’t consider us all that small. We have dozens of artists on our roster, distribute music worldwide and have millions of streams for our releases.”
‘Royal Oakie – Greatest Hits of 2024’ will be released on Friday, Dec. 27. More info at royaloakierecords.com and davidaglasebrook.com.
Upcoming events of Royal Oakie artists include:
Sandy’s & Friends New Year’s Eve Bash, 8pm Tuesday, Dec. 31, at Smiley’s Saloon, 41 Wharf Rd., Bolinas. 415.868.1311. smileyssaloon.com.
Tom Henry and Sharp Pins, Chime School and the Private Eye, 8pm Friday, Jan. 10, at Kilowatt Bar, 3160 16th St., San Francisco. 415.861.2595. Killowattbar.com.
