AES Fall Convention 2023

Multi-GRAMMY winning producer Cheryl Pawelski and multi-GRAMMY winning mastering/restoration engineer Michael Graves will share the background of this historically important and illuminating project - the first extensive set of its kind to focus on the Stax songwriters, telling their stories largely through their own previously unheard demo recordings. The recordings in this set range from demos captured on boomboxes or who-knows-what kind of early home recording gear, to outtakes from the studio with full-blown arrangements that didn’t make the final cut for an album, to everything in between. Co-produced with Stax artist, songwriter and long-time publicist, Deanie Parker, Written In Their Soul shines a light on the legendary Memphis label through the lens of its composers from a source who knew and worked with them all. The demos range from hit songs by known artists/writers like Eddie Floyd and Carla Thomas, to demos of songs never cut or released by more behind-the-scenes artists/songwriters like Homer Banks, Bettye Crutcher and Mack Rice. From sourcing the demo recordings through restoration of all the tracks, the presentation will walk listeners through the different audio anomalies and challenges that were present in both the original sources and subsequent digital transfers, as well as playing recordings of both the demos and final released masters.