James Burke

Drummer | Recording Engineer

James Burke is a Drummer/Recording Engineer based in Cambridgeshire UK. 
He owns a project recording studio called “The Noise Cabin”, which is situated within a shipping container he converted himself, and has been around for 10 years.
He plays for Deathmetal outfit ‘Celestial Sanctuary’ and Black Metal band ‘The Infernal Sea’.

Having toured extensively since 2009 and self produced many of his bands albums and EPs, he’s been approached by many peers through networking on the road to capture drums for their next releases and has been fortunate enough to be involved in an array of records that have either been self released or gone out on independent and major labels for all to hear.

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James Burke

Drummer | Recording Engineer

James Burke is a Drummer/Recording Engineer based in Cambridgeshire UK. 
He owns a project recording studio called “The Noise Cabin”, which is situated within a shipping container he converted himself, and has been around for 10 years.
He plays for Deathmetal outfit ‘Celestial Sanctuary’ and Black Metal band ‘The Infernal Sea’.

Having toured extensively since 2009 and self produced many of his bands albums and EPs, he’s been approached by many peers through networking on the road to capture drums for their next releases and has been fortunate enough to be involved in an array of records that have either been self released or gone out on independent and major labels for all to hear.

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About

James has been playing drums for 22 years and recording for 18 years as it stands.

He studied music technology at Cambridge Regional College, started collecting microphones and various audio equipment from there.

James specialises in recording drums and takes pride in ensuring the source is sounding its best before introducing microphones.
You’ll find him tinkering in the live room with drum tuning and mic placement, way ahead of hitting that record button, listening back to test runs to ensure that optimum performance is captured with the intention of doing as little as possible in the box to improve upon the original audio.

During his years at college, he was fortunate enough to meet the legendary producer Russ Russell, who did a presentation explaining the techniques involved in recording the extreme side of music… Death metal, Black metal, Grindcore, and everything in between.

He informed the class of his humble beginnings as a studio engineer, having imposter syndrome when being approached by labels after hearing what he’d managed to put together for friends’ bands.
This was all off Russ’s own back, as he didn’t go to uni for further education, as was discussed at the pub after class.

This DIY approach resonated with James and prompted him to eagerly gain as much practical experience as possible.

The logistics of trying to gain said experience in his parents’ garage were getting tricky, and this led to the short-lived rental of various rooms and setting up and then tearing down equipment in rehearsal studios.

Eventually, he landed on the idea that approaching a local storage container dealership, based on a nearby airfield, would be worth a shot, and it worked!

A small unit was rented at first to get a feel for it, then once that felt outgrown, the next jump was made to a 40ft container on a rent-to-buy basis.
This was the birth of “The Noise Cabin”. A safe haven for solo recording, his own band rehearsals, and local artists to come and record their material.

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“My first ever condenser microphone was an sE Electronics 2200A, it felt like a real step up for me compared to the clip-on dynamic microphone set I’d been using to record drums in my parents' old garage (much to the neighbours' delight).
I was fresh out of college and feeling like I was able to get slightly closer to the higher-quality equipment you’d be able to book out for sessions on the college grounds.
Once I heard that extra detail the condenser added to my setup, it got me hooked on trying to improve upon my placement and experimenting to capture better and better source sounds.
I love the sE Electronics brand as a whole, the innovative nature, the affordability of the entry-level mics, and the mind-blowing detail of the higher-range mics.

The sheer quality and look of the products have consistently set them apart from the rest.

A favorite in my collection would be my Gemini II condenser for its ability to produce both a Tube and a FET output simultaneously, for greater options and ability to tailor the sound to suit the song being recorded”.

— James Burke (drummer, recording engineer)
sE gear