In the Recording Studio with dOpe Tendencies

The moment you step into the professional home studio of Nick Gardino, New Royalty Records, you feel connected with the music and the atmosphere around you. Inside the isolation booth, Gardino sits in front of his digital audio workstation, surrounded by mixing consoles and audio equipment, cued up a custom track, giving dOpe Tendencies to go ahead to begin recording for their mixtape.

dOpe Tendencies is rap and hip-hop band that combines the vocal talent of Mark Sperandeo with the beats of Danny Maurrasse to create a brand of music that is truly unique. Sperandeo and Maurrasse met during their senior year lunch period at St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip. They decided to combine their musical talents and produce a blend of music that will be at the top of everyone's playlist.

Maurrasse has been DJing since the age of 12 and has his own studio equipment where he produces custom beats that are purchased by other music artists all over Long Island. In April of 2009, Sperandeo was unable to continue as the vocalist for a Long Island band, A Way In Air. The lyrical demands of the hardcore band were stressing his vocal chords and forced him to part waves with the band members. Interests in the same type of music brought him together with Maurrasse to form a new band that featured an electronic, hip-hop beat with rhyming lyrics.

Inside the recording studio, Sperandeo wears a pair of headphones and stands in front of a microphone which is routed into the isolation booth. Inside the booth, Gardino is able to play Maurrasse's custom beat into the headphones and combine the vocals of Sperandeo. The band and producer listen carefully to every word to make sure the lyrics are properly aligned with every beat. If something does not sound right, they stop, rewind, and begin recording again. The band and producer spent over an hour recording one verse of the song to ensure the lyrics were clean and there were no overlaps in the beat.

"A great song begins with an environment that inspires and nurtures creativity," said Gardino.

The graffiti art inside the studio adds to the atmosphere where creativity is all around you. Maurrasse and Sperandeo are passionate about their music and Gardino helps the band preserve their artistic vision by capturing their talents in his studio.

Gardino's home studio has been up and running for just over two months and has recorded with eight different artists. Gardino also works as a studio assistant at Five Towns College, where he manages and runs music sessions for students. Any musicians, bands, or artists looking for studio time can contact Gardino.

You can listen to dOpe Tendencies on PureVolume and become a fan of them, as well as New Royalty Records, on Facebook. The band is competing at the $10,000 battle of the bands on June 28 at Broadway Bar in Amityville.

"It's not music, it's a movement," said Sperandeo during the studio session.

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