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Ryan Hyslop - Trash Boat
Ryan Hyslop

Ryan Hyslop - Trash Boat

Musician, Producer
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Ryan Hyslop

Top axe-man Ryan Hyslop and his band Trash Boat are helping keep the UK pop-punk scene alive and kicking - and Ryan’s using Aston mics to capture the energy...

Trash Boat
All aboard

UK band Trash Boat are currently busy touring their raw blend of hard-core and pop-punk round the UK’s major cities, but lead guitarist, founder member and Aston aficionado Ryan Hyslop took time out to share some thoughts on his roots, his gear and his experiences with the Aston brand.

“I got into music at a young age as my dad was playing in bands and it was something that I felt I also wanted to do. I started learning the guitar at the age of 11 and I wanted to be able to play well enough that I could play with friends and maybe at some point start a band. I ended up playing in numerous local bands and then in 2014 me and some friends started a band called ‘Trash Boat’.” Ryan told us.

Following the release of their self-produced debut EP Look Alive in 2014 the St. Albans five piece signed to Hopeless Records in 2015. The band gathered momentum with festival appearances and a support slot touring with USA rock band New Found Glory. There followed a second EP, Brainwork, and the band’s debut album, Nothing I Write You Can Change What You've Been Through, released in 2016.

A pop-punk landmark

Two years on, Trash Boat’s second album, Crown Shyness, released in the summer of 2018, has helped consolidate the band’s place at the forefront of UK scene. The album reached no. 2 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums Chart and was welcomed as a breath of fresh air by a press who, at the time, had become a little weary of the ‘pop-punk’ monicker. Music site DistortedSoundMag.com wrote:

“It really is nice to hear a pop punk album that sounds like it was recorded by actual people rather than a lead singer and someone with a panel of filters, effects and algorithms.”

AlreadyHeard.com also heralded the work as a significant landmark in the movement:

“To put it simply, ‘Crown Shyness’ is the best step forward that the pop-punk scene has seen in a long time.”

The demos for the album were all recorded using Ryan’s Aston Origin and the mic still forms part of his core recording kit:

“My day to day setup consists on Yamaha HS7’S, Focusrite Liquid Saffire, Kemper and an Aston Origin.” He told us. “At the moment for vocals I’m using the Aston Origin straight into my interface, everything else is done in the box!”

Ryan has found the Aston Halo reflection filter and portable vocal booth just as important a part of his set-up for capturing smooth and consistent vocals:

“For me, the HALO has just changed the way I can record vocals. Its isolates them so perfectly and helps with getting that really tight in your face vocal that everyone is searching for.”

Going back to Origins

Comparing Aston mics to more expensive ‘classic’ mics has become something of a theme amongst Aston’s growing family of artist, engineers and producers. In our recent interview with legendary producer Tony Platt he tells the story of how he mistook an Origin for a U87 in an exercise with his University students, and Ryan Hyslop also found the Aston condenser more than a match for the Neuman:

“I’d heard some great things about Aston off some friends and online. I decided I wanted to give the Origin a go. Last year I was recording a vocalist using a Neumann U78. A year later I was recording the same vocalist with the same signal chain but this time I tried the Origin instead. I couldn’t believe how clean it sounded and how much clarity there was. I went back to the old project I was doing to listen to the raw vocal takes and the U87 wasn’t even close to what I was getting from the Origin.”

Ryan has also put the Aston Starlight small diaphragm laser-guided condenser mics to use on the band’s recordings, with a stereo pair going straight into a Focusrite ISA 828, the results of which he describes as the “best sounding overheads I ever captured!”

It warms Aston hearts to see the UK’s cutting edge talents putting our mics to work and we look forward to more great music from Ryan and the band. Welcome to the family!

Out-takes

Q. Who are your favorite artists?
A. Currently I’m into a load of chart music. Dua Lipa, Chainsmokers. Not really band specific, just whatever is catchy!

Q. If you weren’t working in music what would you be doing?
A. I'd like to think that id be a footballer, but thats me dreaming!

Q. What would your fantasy mic be?
A. For me its just mics that sound great and feel solid. Theres nothing worse than picking up a mic that feels like its going to break in your hands!

Q. What are the 4 words you’d chose to describe Aston, or your experience with the brand?
A. Friendly, helpful, understanding, trusting

Credits

Trash Boat

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